Good news everyone! Apparently they're gonna be released a version of Zune software that'll work on Macs. Not quite sure how many Mac users are part of the target demographic for WinMo7 phones, but eh, more options are always good. Hopefully it'll work better than iTunes on Windows! :-D
I do agree about storage woes though, I don't have a ton of music (3000 songs) but even that puts me at exactly 16 gigs. Include movies, and what not and I'm at 25. If they do really good streaming, by which I mean you can set up your Zune software to run like a base station, and stream your collection from anywhere (I think there's an app for that (tm) ) then that'd be fine. But then you run into the 10 gigs a month limit on data.
I have to say, I'm a little shocked. The Zune was doing well, market-share wise, when compared to the non-Apple brands (Creative, Archos, etc.). I even think it was beating it, coming in at a (far) second. But convincing the iPod faithful to switch would be very, very difficult.
But I'm just guessing. Hopefully Zune on OSX won't be the piece of crap iTunes on Windows has managed to be for the last few years.
Phone wise, I like the look of the models, and if the basic music programs work in the background, should not be a problem.
So, I'm in a quandry. I'm with AT&T and I'm out of contract as of 11/8. I Want a new phone, I currently have an iPhone 3g. I'm grandfathered in with unlimited broadband. Now, my problem. Do I get a Captivate with android 2.1 and hope that Froyo drop soon or do I wait until 11/8 and pick up a Samsung Focus (best W7Phone for me as far as I can see). I also have a 32gb Zune HD that I love and will likely renew my zune sub if I go win7 phone. So, I have options, enough to have me spinning my wheels.
UncleChet on
I'm sometimes grumpy and random, feel free to overlook the strange man in the corner.
If you've got a Zune, I'd go with the Focus and WM7. You'll already be in the ecosystem, and if you have a Xbox as well, that's another two spokes on the wheel.
If MS can actually get all of it's things really centered around a hub, That'll be very very interesting. They have the potential for it, but it may need a critical mass of people for developers to really support it.
Ghostly Clockwork on
FTC: honk.
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0
SpudgeWitty commentsgo next to this blue dot thingyRegistered Userregular
edited October 2010
A quick tidbit on the "removable storage" system
Microsoft is doing it this way to further the stability of the systems. It allows them further control of the stability, handling and speed of their product (the OS) by making streamlined data protocols through the entire handset market. There won't be speed differences we see in Android phones today because, well Microsoft controls what speed and quality of chip is installed
So someone with an 8GB chip in a Focus will have the same usability as someone with a 32GB chip. I haven't been able to find information pertaining to which SD cards are going to be supported, but since Microsoft is such a huge player in SDXC we stand a good chance of seeing capabilities over 32GB available soon
Spudge on
Play With Me
Xbox - IT Jerk
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
I have to say, I am a huge fan of the UI direction for WP7. Nice, clean lines and big square buttons. But I'll probably wait until Microsoft finishes adding multitasking before I seriously consider buying one.
So, after talking to my friends who have AT&T, they all tell me they wish they could go back to Verizon because the phone service is so terrible, shiny iPhones be damned. I guess I'll wait until "next year". Still sucks.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
So, after talking to my friends who have AT&T, they all tell me they wish they could go back to Verizon because the phone service is so terrible, shiny iPhones be damned. I guess I'll wait until "next year". Still sucks.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
My experience with their actual laptops is...less than stellar (mine was part of a class-action lawsuit though), but I haven't heard anything about their phones. If I get a Windows 7 Phone, I'd need one with an actual keyboard, and the Dell one here is pretty interesting.
Synthesis on
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SpudgeWitty commentsgo next to this blue dot thingyRegistered Userregular
edited October 2010
The Venue is supposed to be the SHIT. The Super AMOLED screen kinda sets it apart from a lot of the other initial WinPho offerings. Also initial reviews say the keyboard is responsive and has a great feel to it
Dell can build some really awesome products from time to time
Spudge on
Play With Me
Xbox - IT Jerk
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
yeah, I think I'll probably grab a venue pro, and then maybe just get a data-only line for it. the HD7 looks neat, but I'm going to miss having an amoled screen around if I upgrade my nexus to the new mytouch
Good news everyone! Apparently they're gonna be released a version of Zune software that'll work on Macs. Not quite sure how many Mac users are part of the target demographic for WinMo7 phones, but eh, more options are always good. Hopefully it'll work better than iTunes on Windows! :-D
It's not Windows Mobile 7, it's Windows Phone 7 (WP7). You might say so what or what's the difference and I'll tell you, WP7 is a brand new OS written from the ground up. That's probably the best aspect of WP7, no old recycled code.
So, after talking to my friends who have AT&T, they all tell me they wish they could go back to Verizon because the phone service is so terrible, shiny iPhones be damned. I guess I'll wait until "next year". Still sucks.
A big part of that sucky terrible service is the iPhone it's self. I know many people on AT&T and the only people who ever have issues are iPhone users. Paul Thurrott has talked about this in two ways. First he talked about his KIN one getting crystal clear coverage in remote desert areas while his iPhone showed the "Edge" Network logo and was useless. And now he has one of the WP7 beta test kit phones and never has a problem on AT&T anymore. The only time he has calls drop is when he's talking to iPhone users and it's on their end.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
That's where the Zune Pass comes in. You'll be able to dl songs over wifi or 3/4G if it's in your account profile. Even if you don't already own the song/album if you have the Zune Pass Subscription it's all you can eat so you'll be able to just go to the store and dl them directly to the phone and sync to your computer later. You also get the options of 10 songs a month that you get to own permanently.
My only hope is that MS or a partner releases a Zune HD2 that matches to the WP7 phone specs for the software. So MS has their own version of the iPod Touch.
the kin was on verizon. gettign good service on a kin has nothing to do with AT&Ts network
I'm aware of that, I was making the comparison of his various talking points. That doesn't change the fact that the cheap AT&T phones usually work in those areas on AT&T's 2.5G Edge network. Yet his iPhone couldn't make calls let alone data functions.
So, after talking to my friends who have AT&T, they all tell me they wish they could go back to Verizon because the phone service is so terrible, shiny iPhones be damned. I guess I'll wait until "next year". Still sucks.
A big part of that sucky terrible service is the iPhone it's self. I know many people on AT&T and the only people who ever have issues are iPhone users. Paul Thurrott has talked about this in two ways. First he talked about his KIN one getting crystal clear coverage in remote desert areas while his iPhone showed the "Edge" Network logo and was useless. And now he has one of the WP7 beta test kit phones and never has a problem on AT&T anymore. The only time he has calls drop is when he's talking to iPhone users and it's on their end.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
That's where the Zune Pass comes in. You'll be able to dl songs over wifi or 3/4G if it's in your account profile. Even if you don't already own the song/album if you have the Zune Pass Subscription it's all you can eat so you'll be able to just go to the store and dl them directly to the phone and sync to your computer later. You also get the options of 10 songs a month that you get to own permanently.
My only hope is that MS or a partner releases a Zune HD2 that matches to the WP7 phone specs for the software. So MS has their own version of the iPod Touch.
The only thing about the Zune Pass is it doesn't solve the issue entirely; let's say I have a song in my library on my PC that isn't synced to my phone. Sure, I can get it through Zune Pass on the phone, but that'd mean I'd have to look it up in the marketplace first instead of just throwing a playlist on and relaxing.
If they made it so you could still see what songs were in your library even without them actually being on the phone, that'd fix this nicely (i.e. I can have a playlist with items that are not actually present on the device, and when it comes to playing them it'll automatically stream off Zune Pass.) That might get a bit confusing, though.
Another issue is when you simply don't have a good/reliable signal - my work place is way underground, and we have our own cell repeaters but they tend to cut out now and then.
(Don't get me wrong - I'm still incredibly stoked to get Zune support on a phone, even if it means I can't keep my entire library with me - it's just that it'd be even nicer if I could.)
My experience with their actual laptops is...less than stellar (mine was part of a class-action lawsuit though), but I haven't heard anything about their phones. If I get a Windows 7 Phone, I'd need one with an actual keyboard, and the Dell one here is pretty interesting.
The only reason I'm still not using my Dell Axim anymore is that the charger broke. It continued working perfectly fine after dropping it probably like a dozen times from waist height onto concrete
The Venue is supposed to be the SHIT. The Super AMOLED screen kinda sets it apart from a lot of the other initial WinPho offerings. Also initial reviews say the keyboard is responsive and has a great feel to it
Dell can build some really awesome products from time to time
Interesting. I liked the appearance of the LG Quantum, but the reviews have been mixed...apparently, the keyboard's position of the shift key is very strange, and the actual slide action isn't great. So unless that changed, the Dell looks like the best option....
So, after talking to my friends who have AT&T, they all tell me they wish they could go back to Verizon because the phone service is so terrible, shiny iPhones be damned. I guess I'll wait until "next year". Still sucks.
A big part of that sucky terrible service is the iPhone it's self. I know many people on AT&T and the only people who ever have issues are iPhone users. Paul Thurrott has talked about this in two ways. First he talked about his KIN one getting crystal clear coverage in remote desert areas while his iPhone showed the "Edge" Network logo and was useless. And now he has one of the WP7 beta test kit phones and never has a problem on AT&T anymore. The only time he has calls drop is when he's talking to iPhone users and it's on their end.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
That's where the Zune Pass comes in. You'll be able to dl songs over wifi or 3/4G if it's in your account profile. Even if you don't already own the song/album if you have the Zune Pass Subscription it's all you can eat so you'll be able to just go to the store and dl them directly to the phone and sync to your computer later. You also get the options of 10 songs a month that you get to own permanently.
My only hope is that MS or a partner releases a Zune HD2 that matches to the WP7 phone specs for the software. So MS has their own version of the iPod Touch.
That does sound like a great system. It would work fine for quickly downloading something onto the phone. But, I'm one of those weirdos who buys CDs, and rarely downloads music. 90% of my ~30gb library was ripped from a CD I own. So, of those 10 songs I get to keep a month... I want the physical album as well. And, that's another problem. I don't listen to songs. I listen to albums. I hear a Lady Gaga single I like, I go buy the album, and listen to all of it. And, surprise, some of the non-single songs on the album are even better. And, especially with metal, it always leaves the biggest impression on you if you listen to an album all at once, from beginning to end. Dimmu Borgir's new album just begs to be listened to all at once. You miss out on so many emotional twists if you just pick and choose a few songs. And I'm getting really off topic. I'm just explaining why I'm weird. But... yeah, 10 songs a month isn't very much, for me.
I like the idea of having your library sort of connected to the cloud, though. I'd be down for that. That would more or less solve my storage issues. I actually wouldn't mind streaming music to my phone. Telus has very good reception in the city. But, I get the feeling we aren't quite at the point where Microsoft's (or anyone's) servers can dedicate 30 gigs of storage to me for my mobile streaming needs. And, I would need one helluva data plan to accommodate all that music streaming.
The only thing about the Zune Pass is it doesn't solve the issue entirely; let's say I have a song in my library on my PC that isn't synced to my phone. Sure, I can get it through Zune Pass on the phone, but that'd mean I'd have to look it up in the marketplace first instead of just throwing a playlist on and relaxing.
If they made it so you could still see what songs were in your library even without them actually being on the phone, that'd fix this nicely (i.e. I can have a playlist with items that are not actually present on the device, and when it comes to playing them it'll automatically stream off Zune Pass.) That might get a bit confusing, though.
Don't quote me on this, but you kinda CAN do that. If you use the SmartDJ system, you can set it to include songs on the Zune marketplace and it'll stream em. I know you can do it on the PC and with a phone that's always on, I'd be shocked if you couldn't set it to do it as well. It's not exactly what you mean, but they may rig something up. The Zune pass is MS's big strong point. Now if they would just include movies and TV on there as well...maybe a TV show you could buy for 5 "free song credits" and a movie for 10. We'll see, with Apple getting the 99 cent shows, something like this is likely in my opinion.
The only thing about the Zune Pass is it doesn't solve the issue entirely; let's say I have a song in my library on my PC that isn't synced to my phone. Sure, I can get it through Zune Pass on the phone, but that'd mean I'd have to look it up in the marketplace first instead of just throwing a playlist on and relaxing.
If they made it so you could still see what songs were in your library even without them actually being on the phone, that'd fix this nicely (i.e. I can have a playlist with items that are not actually present on the device, and when it comes to playing them it'll automatically stream off Zune Pass.) That might get a bit confusing, though.
Don't quote me on this, but you kinda CAN do that. If you use the SmartDJ system, you can set it to include songs on the Zune marketplace and it'll stream em. I know you can do it on the PC and with a phone that's always on, I'd be shocked if you couldn't set it to do it as well. It's not exactly what you mean, but they may rig something up. The Zune pass is MS's big strong point. Now if they would just include movies and TV on there as well...maybe a TV show you could buy for 5 "free song credits" and a movie for 10. We'll see, with Apple getting the 99 cent shows, something like this is likely in my opinion.
Yeah, I was referring to songs you've manually added to a playlist; Smart DJ is brilliant, but it's stuff that's been chosen by the system.
That's one more thing I'm a little disappointed in, actually: the Microsoft site seems to indicate you can sync Smart DJ playlists to the phone, but you can't call up Smart DJ on an album/artist/song straight from the device. Hopefully that'll be added in a future update.
(My carrier opened up preorders today to be collected next week, but the HD7 is listed as "Coming Soon" )
The Zune HD had the same deficit for awhile, you could not start the smart DJ from the device, only use the playlists. They patched that in later, and it works great. It will even automatically download Zune Pass content via wifi if you have a connection. Otherwise, it will only play what you have on your Zune at the moment.
I would imagine that if we didn't get that feature right away on the phone, it would be coming soon. One of the issues is enabling Zune Pass content automatically when someone doesn't have an unlimited data plan. That would get really expensive fast.
It could be that Smart DJ on the phone only pulls from locally downloaded songs. That said, I'm not worried about that - I'm looking at the Samsung Focus and it's potential 40gb of storage. Even though it'll probably only support an AT&T supplied pocket-gouging SD card.
Also, I like Paul Thurott's little anecdote about dropping his first AT&T call on WP7 in three months. He was talking to his wife, and when she called back she asked; "Did you switch back to your iPhone?"
I've been interested in the Dell Lightning, I just have to wait now to find out when & where I can get it.
I was too (it's now called the Venue Pro if I'm not mistaken), but then I found it it will initially be available only through T-Mobile and no word yet on when other than "holiday season."
Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I'm worried this "launch" will be more like grinding gears. Only two(?) carriers at first, and they're busy selling iPhones already. Why does Microsoft always have such difficulty with sales and marketing? You'd think they could afford to hire somebody who knows what they're doing.
El Guaco on
0
SpudgeWitty commentsgo next to this blue dot thingyRegistered Userregular
edited October 2010
They're hitting 50% of the major carriers at launch, and remember Verizon turned WinPho down at launch. Yeah A&T has the iPhone but T-Mobile has nothing really. The G2 is neat I guess for some people but really TMo has never really been the forefront of awesome phones
Not to mention the majority of large businesses either run AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint and well they're covering a large chunk of their corporate base on the launch. Corporate users are just dying to get rid of their WinMo pieces of shite
WinPho will sell great on TMo, and it won't be long until Sprint and Verizon get their chance
Spudge on
Play With Me
Xbox - IT Jerk
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Having looked through all the hardware available at release, it really makes me wish that Microsoft had included requirements on the hardware branding. I don't want a giant SAMSUNG or HTC taking up space on the front of my device.
So, basically, that leaves the Venue Pro as the only valid hardware choice...
...which still doesn't help me since I'm stuck on Verizon.
Word on the street is that MSFT is planning on spending $400m to $500m on advertising for WP7. For that kind of money, you could give away 1 million phones.
16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
That's where the Zune Pass comes in. You'll be able to dl songs over wifi or 3/4G if it's in your account profile. Even if you don't already own the song/album if you have the Zune Pass Subscription it's all you can eat so you'll be able to just go to the store and dl them directly to the phone and sync to your computer later. You also get the options of 10 songs a month that you get to own permanently.
My only hope is that MS or a partner releases a Zune HD2 that matches to the WP7 phone specs for the software. So MS has their own version of the iPod Touch.
That does sound like a great system. It would work fine for quickly downloading something onto the phone. But, I'm one of those weirdos who buys CDs, and rarely downloads music. 90% of my ~30gb library was ripped from a CD I own. So, of those 10 songs I get to keep a month... I want the physical album as well. And, that's another problem. I don't listen to songs. I listen to albums. I hear a Lady Gaga single I like, I go buy the album, and listen to all of it. And, surprise, some of the non-single songs on the album are even better. And, especially with metal, it always leaves the biggest impression on you if you listen to an album all at once, from beginning to end. Dimmu Borgir's new album just begs to be listened to all at once. You miss out on so many emotional twists if you just pick and choose a few songs. And I'm getting really off topic. I'm just explaining why I'm weird. But... yeah, 10 songs a month isn't very much, for me.
I like the idea of having your library sort of connected to the cloud, though. I'd be down for that. That would more or less solve my storage issues. I actually wouldn't mind streaming music to my phone. Telus has very good reception in the city. But, I get the feeling we aren't quite at the point where Microsoft's (or anyone's) servers can dedicate 30 gigs of storage to me for my mobile streaming needs. And, I would need one helluva data plan to accommodate all that music streaming.
maybe WP7 will get an Ampache app?? (iphone, android, blackberry, palm all have clients)
space problem solved! (as long as you have a machine at home that is on whenever you're out and about)
First reviews are out on Gizmodo and Engadget. Seems fairly positive, they love the keyboard for one, but still a lack of force in apps. But it's still a very new system, and developers don't want to spend time and money making a app for a OS that's gonna fail. I just hope it works and takes some of the smug out of Google and Apple. They both need more competition.
They're hitting 50% of the major carriers at launch, and remember Verizon turned WinPho down at launch. Yeah A&T has the iPhone but T-Mobile has nothing really. The G2 is neat I guess for some people but really TMo has never really been the forefront of awesome phones
Not to mention the majority of large businesses either run AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint and well they're covering a large chunk of their corporate base on the launch. Corporate users are just dying to get rid of their WinMo pieces of shite
WinPho will sell great on TMo, and it won't be long until Sprint and Verizon get their chance
T-Mobile also has the Samsung Vibrant and the MyTouch HD is pretty top of the line!
judging from the reviews the lack of third party multitasking is a big problem
Does it lack proper state saving?
About the only thing I find really benefits from proper multitasking on a smartphone are non-first-party audio apps (like streaming radio or ampache clients.) Otherwise I don't really see how, provided state-saving is well implemented, it's an issue, given that the screen sizes and more importantly interfaces aren't really conducive to doing two things at once.
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http://www.dailytech.com/Windows+Phone+7+PreOrders+Come+With+3+Free+Months+of+Zune+Pass/article19859.htm
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I have to say, I'm a little shocked. The Zune was doing well, market-share wise, when compared to the non-Apple brands (Creative, Archos, etc.). I even think it was beating it, coming in at a (far) second. But convincing the iPod faithful to switch would be very, very difficult.
But I'm just guessing. Hopefully Zune on OSX won't be the piece of crap iTunes on Windows has managed to be for the last few years.
Phone wise, I like the look of the models, and if the basic music programs work in the background, should not be a problem.
If MS can actually get all of it's things really centered around a hub, That'll be very very interesting. They have the potential for it, but it may need a critical mass of people for developers to really support it.
FTC: HONK.
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Microsoft is doing it this way to further the stability of the systems. It allows them further control of the stability, handling and speed of their product (the OS) by making streamlined data protocols through the entire handset market. There won't be speed differences we see in Android phones today because, well Microsoft controls what speed and quality of chip is installed
So someone with an 8GB chip in a Focus will have the same usability as someone with a 32GB chip. I haven't been able to find information pertaining to which SD cards are going to be supported, but since Microsoft is such a huge player in SDXC we stand a good chance of seeing capabilities over 32GB available soon
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
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16GB for storage is plenty. Before you argue with me it's not, let me propose something. Let's say that the average 3 minute song is 6MB of storage. That means 16GB stores ~2700 songs (or more than 200 albums!), which would take you 136 hours to listen to all of it without any repeats. Even if you managed to assault your ears for 10 hours a day, that's still 2 weeks of uninterrupted & unique music. Assuming you have such unusual listening habits, you'd only have to sync your phone every 2 weeks to get your next fix.
Sure, it's convenient to have all of your music collection in your goddamn pocket, but do you really NEED it? It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. It hasn't hurt iPhone sales in the least bit.
Here's a different scenario: Your taste in music is extremely varied, and what you want to listen to at any given moment is extremely variable. I've had smaller media players, and almost on a daily a basis, I'd have a moment of "awww... that album isn't on here ". So, yeah, I definitely want as much storage as possible. And, unfortunately, no phone has been able to offer me enough so far. Do I really need it? No. Just like we don't really need phones at all. Or computers. Or cars. You get my drift
Different people want different things. It did actually prevent me from buying an iPhone. I'm not going to pay that much for a phone that doesn't replace my iPod completely.
My experience with their actual laptops is...less than stellar (mine was part of a class-action lawsuit though), but I haven't heard anything about their phones. If I get a Windows 7 Phone, I'd need one with an actual keyboard, and the Dell one here is pretty interesting.
Dell can build some really awesome products from time to time
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
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that's the one i'm debating buying without service and using as a zune replacement
But I can't find anything on a Dell Venue, so I'd say the Venue Pro is the only Venue you can Venue
[tiny]Venue Pro Venue Venue Pro[/tiny]
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
yeah, I think I'll probably grab a venue pro, and then maybe just get a data-only line for it. the HD7 looks neat, but I'm going to miss having an amoled screen around if I upgrade my nexus to the new mytouch
It's not Windows Mobile 7, it's Windows Phone 7 (WP7). You might say so what or what's the difference and I'll tell you, WP7 is a brand new OS written from the ground up. That's probably the best aspect of WP7, no old recycled code.
A big part of that sucky terrible service is the iPhone it's self. I know many people on AT&T and the only people who ever have issues are iPhone users. Paul Thurrott has talked about this in two ways. First he talked about his KIN one getting crystal clear coverage in remote desert areas while his iPhone showed the "Edge" Network logo and was useless. And now he has one of the WP7 beta test kit phones and never has a problem on AT&T anymore. The only time he has calls drop is when he's talking to iPhone users and it's on their end.
That's where the Zune Pass comes in. You'll be able to dl songs over wifi or 3/4G if it's in your account profile. Even if you don't already own the song/album if you have the Zune Pass Subscription it's all you can eat so you'll be able to just go to the store and dl them directly to the phone and sync to your computer later. You also get the options of 10 songs a month that you get to own permanently.
My only hope is that MS or a partner releases a Zune HD2 that matches to the WP7 phone specs for the software. So MS has their own version of the iPod Touch.
I'm aware of that, I was making the comparison of his various talking points. That doesn't change the fact that the cheap AT&T phones usually work in those areas on AT&T's 2.5G Edge network. Yet his iPhone couldn't make calls let alone data functions.
The only thing about the Zune Pass is it doesn't solve the issue entirely; let's say I have a song in my library on my PC that isn't synced to my phone. Sure, I can get it through Zune Pass on the phone, but that'd mean I'd have to look it up in the marketplace first instead of just throwing a playlist on and relaxing.
If they made it so you could still see what songs were in your library even without them actually being on the phone, that'd fix this nicely (i.e. I can have a playlist with items that are not actually present on the device, and when it comes to playing them it'll automatically stream off Zune Pass.) That might get a bit confusing, though.
Another issue is when you simply don't have a good/reliable signal - my work place is way underground, and we have our own cell repeaters but they tend to cut out now and then.
(Don't get me wrong - I'm still incredibly stoked to get Zune support on a phone, even if it means I can't keep my entire library with me - it's just that it'd be even nicer if I could.)
The only reason I'm still not using my Dell Axim anymore is that the charger broke. It continued working perfectly fine after dropping it probably like a dozen times from waist height onto concrete
Interesting. I liked the appearance of the LG Quantum, but the reviews have been mixed...apparently, the keyboard's position of the shift key is very strange, and the actual slide action isn't great. So unless that changed, the Dell looks like the best option....
That does sound like a great system. It would work fine for quickly downloading something onto the phone. But, I'm one of those weirdos who buys CDs, and rarely downloads music. 90% of my ~30gb library was ripped from a CD I own. So, of those 10 songs I get to keep a month... I want the physical album as well. And, that's another problem. I don't listen to songs. I listen to albums. I hear a Lady Gaga single I like, I go buy the album, and listen to all of it. And, surprise, some of the non-single songs on the album are even better. And, especially with metal, it always leaves the biggest impression on you if you listen to an album all at once, from beginning to end. Dimmu Borgir's new album just begs to be listened to all at once. You miss out on so many emotional twists if you just pick and choose a few songs. And I'm getting really off topic. I'm just explaining why I'm weird. But... yeah, 10 songs a month isn't very much, for me.
I like the idea of having your library sort of connected to the cloud, though. I'd be down for that. That would more or less solve my storage issues. I actually wouldn't mind streaming music to my phone. Telus has very good reception in the city. But, I get the feeling we aren't quite at the point where Microsoft's (or anyone's) servers can dedicate 30 gigs of storage to me for my mobile streaming needs. And, I would need one helluva data plan to accommodate all that music streaming.
Don't quote me on this, but you kinda CAN do that. If you use the SmartDJ system, you can set it to include songs on the Zune marketplace and it'll stream em. I know you can do it on the PC and with a phone that's always on, I'd be shocked if you couldn't set it to do it as well. It's not exactly what you mean, but they may rig something up. The Zune pass is MS's big strong point. Now if they would just include movies and TV on there as well...maybe a TV show you could buy for 5 "free song credits" and a movie for 10. We'll see, with Apple getting the 99 cent shows, something like this is likely in my opinion.
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Yeah, I was referring to songs you've manually added to a playlist; Smart DJ is brilliant, but it's stuff that's been chosen by the system.
That's one more thing I'm a little disappointed in, actually: the Microsoft site seems to indicate you can sync Smart DJ playlists to the phone, but you can't call up Smart DJ on an album/artist/song straight from the device. Hopefully that'll be added in a future update.
(My carrier opened up preorders today to be collected next week, but the HD7 is listed as "Coming Soon" )
I would imagine that if we didn't get that feature right away on the phone, it would be coming soon. One of the issues is enabling Zune Pass content automatically when someone doesn't have an unlimited data plan. That would get really expensive fast.
Also, I like Paul Thurott's little anecdote about dropping his first AT&T call on WP7 in three months. He was talking to his wife, and when she called back she asked; "Did you switch back to your iPhone?"
edit: What El Guaco said.
I was too (it's now called the Venue Pro if I'm not mistaken), but then I found it it will initially be available only through T-Mobile and no word yet on when other than "holiday season."
Not to mention the majority of large businesses either run AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint and well they're covering a large chunk of their corporate base on the launch. Corporate users are just dying to get rid of their WinMo pieces of shite
WinPho will sell great on TMo, and it won't be long until Sprint and Verizon get their chance
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
So, basically, that leaves the Venue Pro as the only valid hardware choice...
...which still doesn't help me since I'm stuck on Verizon.
maybe WP7 will get an Ampache app?? (iphone, android, blackberry, palm all have clients)
space problem solved! (as long as you have a machine at home that is on whenever you're out and about)
FTC: HONK.
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(hah)
T-Mobile also has the Samsung Vibrant and the MyTouch HD is pretty top of the line!
Does it lack proper state saving?
About the only thing I find really benefits from proper multitasking on a smartphone are non-first-party audio apps (like streaming radio or ampache clients.) Otherwise I don't really see how, provided state-saving is well implemented, it's an issue, given that the screen sizes and more importantly interfaces aren't really conducive to doing two things at once.