Speaking of Windows Mobile… Windows Mobile 7
Posted by Chris Leckness on 09/23/08 in Windows Mobile 7
Eh, I don’t recall anyone officially saying Windows Mobile 7 would be out this year. All I’ve seen publicly are rumors and hearsay that X or Z manufacturer would be dropping a WinMo 7 Handset on certain dates. Those are all rumors and I don’t know why it’s any surprise to anyone what we see on Cnet this morning.
Microsoft has informed some of its partners that it has had to delay Windows Mobile 7, a much anticipated update to its cell phone operating system.
Although Microsoft has not publicly said when to expect Windows Mobile 7, partners who had expected to have a final release in their hands by early next year have been told now that it won’t be ready until the second half of next year, sources told CNET News.
The delay is a significant blow for the software maker, which has been counting on the next version of Windows Mobile to enable devices that better rival Apple’s iPhone. Among the features widely expected to be part of the release is advanced gesture recognition, perhaps along the lines of the iPhone, but possibly also using the camera as a means for reading gestures. Microsoft’s Tellme unit, which focuses on speech input, has also been working on Windows Mobile 7 features.
I mean we are just now seeing Windows Mobile 6.1 updates hit the streets.
Sure, people want to see Microsoft push out something that everyone thinks could compete with the slick Apple UI and the Android OS that will be powering the T-Mobile G1 hitting today.
I wish I could share more at this time, but don’t get upset. If Microsoft had announced Windows Mobile 7 to launch on a certain day officially and pushes it back, then you need to be angry. :)
Written by Chris Leckness · Filed Under Windows Mobile 7
Tagged: Windows Mobile 7
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Nice site here guys. I found it on google searching for the author to see what the beef was about this post. Fanboy post is all. I see it on every site. Nothing wrong with the post. You have a new reader mobilitysite.
I think WM 6.1 was just a quick response to the iPhone. Until the iPhone came out, everything I had read was about WM 6 and Photon (WM 7).
However, I can understand some of the angst about this. It’s a bit upsetting that Photon was being talked about before WM 6 was even out and now might not be available for another year.
Steve
I have a feeling that MS will push Windows Mobile 7 back as far as they dare to try and get some shared hype with the Windows 7 release in 2010.
If they keep the name Windows 7, the fact that they will finally have the desktop and mobile software versioning in sync will be too ripe a fruit for Microsoft marketeers to pass up.
I’m just amazed about the “hype” on the net about Microsoft pushing the release of Windows Mobile 7 back. I just can not find ANYTHING from Microsoft saying that it was going to be released early 2009. And now, all of a sudden, there is all this chatter …. Am I missing something? Can someone show me where Microsoft indicated a release date?
I’m amazed that you’re amazed. :D
First, this is supposed to be the biggest release of WM in a long time. Of course it’s going to have a lot of hype about almost anything.
Second, why does Microsoft have to made a public announcement for this to be news? Like most companies, they probably have an internal schedule that they have communicated with their partners about when WM 7 would be avaialble. One of the partners even gave some insight into that.
Now Microsoft is supposedly changing that internal schedule and telling partners WM 7 will be later. So what if they haven’t exposed an external schedule yet? It’s still news.
Third, given the activity in the mobile OS space lately (iPhone, BlackBerry touchscreens, Android, etc.), there’s even more focus on the companies behind them.
Finally, does this site report only about announced products? Was yesterday the first time the T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream was discussed?
The answer to both questions is obviously “No”, so why does the hype over this surprise you?
Steve
P.S. How did iPhoneBoi’s post get ahead of mine? I was the first to post in this thread. (I’m not a “first post” person; I just want to make sure nothing strange is going on with the system, especially as the post seems a bit generic and low on content, a tactic spammers often use.)
I assume this was tongue-in-cheek. If the delays were less than a couple of weeks, I could see that happening. However, given that WM 7 seems to be so important to Microsoft, I can’t imagine delaying it a significant amount of time just for marketing purposes.
Steve
As for the subject at hand… Sure, they don’t have to “publicly” announce it, but people are acting as if Microsoft said, “WM7 on this date” publicly. All there has been is device companies leaked info stating a device was coming Christmas timeframe with WM7. There have been interviews from people that said x or y from people that are not Microsoft. It just gets old hearing people bash Microsoft for “being late” or something on a release that hasn’t had public confirmation officially. Sure, I am disappointed that Microsoft hasn’t come out with something lately. I wish they would revamp their developmental process, but I am fairly confident that their hands are tied by the process. If that results in WinMo falling way way behind in the game, it’s on them. I’d hate to see it, but hey… IT happens.
I’ve seen lots of Google News alerts about the topic, but haven’t read the full articles. However, I didn’t get the impression that most people were claiming Microsoft was slipping a public deadline.
I agree with your home page post that that would be worse, but only slightly. Late is still late, whether it was announced publicly or not. You just get to save a little face by not having made a public announcement.
Of course, this assumes that there was in fact some slippage….
Steve
P.S. Thanks for the info on the moderated comment, too. It’s been a while since my first post, so I probably forgot. :D
It is disappointing, since I don’t think WM6.1 is so much different than WM5.0 that I’m ready to ditch my WM5.0 devices for the newer models. I had planned to wait until WM7 came out. Now, I’m not sure I want to wait that long…oh well, we’ll see what strikes my fancy over the next several months.
I do hate that since this news hit the web, that the doomsayers are predicting the end of windows mobile. As I see it, nothing much has changed much….life goes on and I’ll still be using my windows mobile devices.
Well, doomsayers are probably going on the fact that the iPhone is building share, Android will be out a year before WM7 is ready, and WM is starting to look tired in comparison. Look at what delaying an OS upgrade has done to Palm OS and to Palm?
These days the competition is more fierce than ever in this space. Maybe the bad economy will help, though; people will be reluctant to upgrade in the next 12 months anyway?