On Windows Phone 8: Two by Ewan ...
... Spence, a long time member of the 'All About ...'(Symbian and Windows) teams writing here as a guest contributor to Forbes.
Hopefully Microsoft's official WinPhone 8 launch (and their subsequent launch of WinPhone 7.8) will reveal some positive surprises. As for Microsoft readying their own Windows Phone 8 device, I happen to agree with Evan's POV.
>> What if Windows Phone 8 Is Not A Surprise?
Ewan Spence
Forbes
10/14/2012
tinyurl.com
Windows Phone 8 is on the way. The handsets have been introduced, the networks are lining up the deals… yet Microsoft’s new mobile operating system has still not stepped out of the shadows.
For the moment the mystery building up around Windows Phone 8 is mostly confined to the technology columns watching the lack of public developments. While some members of the public will have noted the announcements of the new phones running Windows Phone and are waiting for the smartphones to arrive on their chosen network, the majority of consumers will encounter Windows Phone 8 for the first time through the press and media coverage of Microsoft’s launch.
That’s why I’m wondering what Microsoft is building up to? Not only have they been very quiet about what Windows Phone 8 can do, they are actively discouraging any discussion over the topic.
Journalists have not been able to seriously test out the Nokia Lumia 9210, the HTC 8X, or the Samsung ATIV S, because if they do they’ll also be trying out Windows Phone 8. Access to the pre-release SDK has been on a case by case basis, with developers having to apply to Microsoft for permission, and signing strict non-disclosure agreements.
Why would Microsoft build up this deafening road of silence? Surely it can’t be because Windows Phone 8 is a step-change in smartphone technology and development?
The chances of ‘a game-changer’ are slim, precisely because there has been no effort put in to prepare the media. The preview in June would have been the time to hint at this, and nothing was offered. If it is something revolutionary and Microsoft wants complete silence before hand, they’re running the risk that they will have pivoted so sharply into a new direction it’s going to throw everybody off.
No, from the scraps we’ve seen from leaked SDK’s and a handful of customized apps from Nokia and HTC, Windows Phone 8 looks to be more of the same. The live tiles have some options to resize them, there’ll be more colors available for the themes, but fundamentally the user interface and experience is going to be broadly similar to Windows Phone 7.
Which leads to the interesting question, what if there’s nothing new for the press to write about?
It’s one reason Apple always pushes the idea of ‘over 200 new features’ with any updated piece of technology. That’s a number that a story can be hung on, unlike ‘the squares can be different sizes’.
There are significant changes under the hood with Windows Phone 8; native code support will allow for more advanced applications and the all important middleware that powers many Android and iOS titles to be ported to Windows Phone; the potential integration with Windows 8 and Surface tablets will be very slick; the ability to have smartphones running with multiple cores, different screen sizes, and SD card expansions; encryption and app deployment for enterprise deployments. These are all vital functions that are needed, but they’re not sexy enough to sell the story of Windows Phone 8.
The Windows Phone 8 launch could be nothing more than “here we go, it works just like Windows Phone 7, but with shinier hardware from our partners and more complicated computery things for the geeks!” How’s that going to play in Peoria?
There’s a cold logic to relying on the hardware partners to sell the hardware, after all that’s their area of expertise, but logic doesn’t sell handsets. Emotion, desire, lust, a feeling of missing out… that sells handsets. Right now Microsoft are delivering none of those to the Windows Phone table, and it’s very hard to see them doing something utterly out of character and amazing before the end of the month.
There’s not a huge amount of love for Microsoft in the room, and they need a big win with Windows Phone to stay in the smartphone game. The bases are loaded with Samsung, HTC, and Nokia ready to run home and score. To do that Microsoft not only need to hit the ball with the launch of Windows Phone, but to have everyone believe they can hit the ball as Steve Ballmer steps up to the plate.
From the bleachers, it looks like not enough people are believers, and Microsoft are running out of time. ###
>> Why It's A Good Idea For Microsoft To Build Their Own Surface Windows Phone
Ewan Spence
Forbes
10/07/2012
tinyurl.com
As Microsoft gears up to reveal Windows Phone 8 at the end of the month and their manufacturing partners, including Samsung, HTC, and Nokia, are preparing to sell their latest handsets. In this rush of publicity, many are asking if Microsoft is working on their own Windows Phone 8 handset?
While nothing has been confirmed, the idea of a Microsoft designed smartphone to sit alongside a Microsoft designed tablet (the Surface and Surface RT) has many advantages. Let’s run with the assumption that there is such a devices and ask ‘why?’
The biggest benefit of the rumors around a Microsoft branded Windows is going to be the impetus it gives the Windows Phone partners, especially Nokia and HTC, who are both making big investments into the Windows Phone ecosystem. The implicit threat from Redmond is that if they don’t come up to scratch with their devices, Redmond’s back-up plan is to show them how to do it properly.
Of course they could release the handset anyway. Google’s Nexus devices have a lot of credibility with hardware hackers and those looking for the ‘pure’ Android experience will gravitate towards the handsets and tablets from Mountain View. Windows Phone is a much more restrictive environment, with a consistent user interface over manufacturers, so there’s going to be less demand for a vanilla Windows Phone device than vanilla Android, but there would still be demand, especially if sold SIM-free.
Any Microsoft ‘Nexus-like’ Surface device would demonstrate a clear base-line of what Microsoft expects a Windows Phone 8 device to do, just as the Surface RT tablet will define the Windows 8 tablet experience. With less commercial pressure to differentiate and stand out, a ‘Surface Windows Phone’ would be a signpost not just for existing manufacturers, but a starting point for manufacturers coming into Windows Phone fresh.
Microsoft are no strangers to hardware. The Xbox console is the obvious example, but I want to point out the Zune media players, specifically the Zune HD. Running the user interface that would evolve into Metro and beyond to Windows Phone 8, the Zune HD is still one of the slickest, stylish media players out there. It may not have sold in significant numbers, but it shows that Microsoft can deliver quality hardware that delivers to the user.
If Microsoft are looking to have a hero device for Windows Phone that shows their vision, they why not have their own handset on sale through online channels and their retail stores?
It keeps their partners hungry for success and to build better devices; it gives direction and purpose to the platform; and it would allow them to test out variants of the operating system without favouring a manufacturing partner. If it were publicly available it would give Microsoft a small pool of users who they can liaise with directly over new firmware builds and applications, without having to go through carrier certification or worry about how it affects a wide portfolio of devices in a high street window.
Whether it remains as a bargaining chip, becomes a visible test platform, or released to the public, it makes a lot of sense for Microsoft to have their own Windows Phone 8 device ready to go. ###
- Eric - |
