Newsletter Archives

• The woes of Windows Phone

  Posted on January 3, 2012 at 21:13 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Sometimes I really wonder if Windows Phone will ever have a chance.

  Microsoft’s pulled ’em out of the fire before, but this time the deck’s stacked  overwhelmingly in the competition’s favor.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8

• Mobile Windows market share stabilizes

  Posted on October 12, 2011 at 06:46 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  … but is it too late to save the patient?

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7

• Windows Phone 7 sends location data without your approval

  Posted on September 26, 2011 at 22:36 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Rafael Rivera nailed it.

  See my InfoWorld Tech Watch post.

  Windows News Location Data, Privacy, Windows Phone 7

• Windows Phone 7 update – wotta mess

  Posted on February 23, 2011 at 12:48 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  A friend of mine is suggesting that I start an MS-DEFCON system for Windows Phone 7 updates. I really don’t know enough about WP7 to provide decent advice, but there’s no doubt at all that somebody should do it.

  Why? WP7 was supposed to have an update about four months ago. MS kept stalling and stalling, and finally released a teensy, tiny update last week. Not The Big Upgrade many folks were expecting, mind you, but a piddling little thing.

  And it fell over. Big time. Good article on Ars Technica.

  Sorry, but I don’t think WP7 is going to go anywhere. When I invest gray cells in new mobile technology, it’s slanted toward Android, with a leeeetle bit of iPad-centric iOS. Anything else is just fanboyism, IMHO. (Put down that brickbat, Paul.)

  Other Windows Phone 7

• 1.5 m Windows Phone 7 devices sold? Humbug.

  Posted on December 22, 2010 at 22:08 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Everybody wants to know how well Microsoft is faring with Windows Phone 7.

  Looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer.

  Yesterday, the Microsoft Press Pas site posted an ersatz “interview” with MS VP for Mobile Communications Business and Marketing Achim Berg. In that story, Mr. Berg avers, “We are pleased that phone manufacturers sold over 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks, which helps build customer momentum and retail presence.”

  As you may know, everything on MS Press Pass has been vetted ten ways from Tuesday by Microsoft’s independent PR agency and a bevy of legal types, so what you read is quite precisely correct. But in this case, what you read isn’t what’s been reported. Mr. Berg didn’t say that 1.5 million Windows Phone 7s have been sold. He said that telephone manufacturers – in this case Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung – have sold (I would use the term “placed”) 1.5 million WP7 telephones into the distribution channel. In the U.S. at this moment, the distribution channel consists of exactly two telephone companies, AT&T and T-Mobile. In Europe, there are a few more: O2, H3G, Orange and T-Mobile; the phones are also available through various retail outlets.

  How many of those phones have actually been, uh, sold in the sense that somebody bought them? No way to know. Microsoft knows how many phones have been activated, but they aren’t divulging those numbers.

  Comparisons with competitors are fuzzy at best.

  Earlier this month, Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering at Google tweeted that “over 300,000” Android devices are being activated every day. Some dispute that number, but back in August CEO Eric Schmidt claimed 200,000 daily Android activations.

  In October, AT&T announced that it had activated 5.2 million iPhones in the third quarter – and that’s just the US. In September, Steve Jobs said Apple was activating 230,000 per day – and that doesn’t include upgrades.

  RIM announced earlier this month that it had sold 10.1 million phones in the third quarter, ending November 30. That’s about 100,000 a day.

  Even if Microsoft had sold 1.5 million WP7 phones in six weeks – really sold them to real customers – they’d only be looking at 35,000 activations a day.

  And if the level of Windows Phone 7 activations were anywher near that high, you might imagine Mr. Berg would’ve talked about activations, not stuffing the distribution channel, eh? Bah. Humbug.

  Other Windows Phone 7