Microsoft exec admits Windows Phone was response to Apple's iPhone

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  • Reply 21 of 118
    One has to wonder if these two public admissions of late; this one from Microsoft and the one earlier this week from the Google exec praising AirPort, are coming out now since SJ is not around to hear them. They probably would have never given Steve the satisfaction while he was alive.
  • Reply 22 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dickprinter View Post


    One has to wonder if these two public admissions of late; this one from Microsoft and the one earlier this week from the Google exec praising AirPort, are coming out now since SJ is not around to hear them. They probably would have never given Steve the satisfaction while he was alive.



    Google continuously praise Apple. Hell I think they work with Macs as I always see them whenever they give a presentation. Android may compete with iOS in some categories but they will probably always have an undying appreciation for both Apple as an innovative company and especially Steve Jobs as an irreplaceable innovator.
  • Reply 23 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sevenfeet View Post


    Waiting 23 months to mak a decision on your mobile strategy is pretty much management malpractice.



    MS has had little but management malpractice since Balmer took over.The guy is a failure! Any other company would have said good riddance long ago. Asleep at the wheel!
  • Reply 24 of 118
    shadashshadash Posts: 470member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    Google continuously praise Apple. Hell I think they work with Macs as I always see them whenever they give a presentation. Android may compete with iOS in some categories but they will probably always have an undying appreciation for both Apple as an innovative company and especially Steve Jobs as an irreplaceable innovator.



    I don't think the feeling is mutual.
  • Reply 25 of 118
    no surprise here. everything microsoft does is in response to what apple does. why should their copy of the iphone be any different?
  • Reply 26 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sevenfeet View Post


    I can believe this all happened at Microsoft. But what is mystifying is why it took until December 2008 to scrap Windows Mobile. If I were Ballmer, I would have engineers working on a solution the moment Steve Jobs left the stage in January 2007 before the iPhone hit the market. If they had then, they might have gotten a product out the door before Android effectively took their market space. Waiting 23 months to mak a decision on your mobile strategy is pretty much management malpractice.



    My comment was along those lines, but you said it first. Instead of Ballmer putting the engineers to the task in '07, he scoffed at the idea of a $600 device, went back to his collection of belly button lint (one supposes), and only picked up his fiddle when Rome really started burning. Too little, too late; how long can you sustain a 1.5% market share (ask RIM next year)?



    It seems that there will be two portfolios of patents available: Palm/HPs (Pre) and Microsoft's once they throw in the towel with their phones…it's a shame, but yeah, management malpractice is a good phrase.
  • Reply 27 of 118
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmvsm View Post


    The problem is that MS needs to wipe out their top leadership, design team, and start over with a fresh and different approach. Everything that Balmer touches turns to turd cake. I'm really not sure how the share holders have allowed him to stay in his position.



    There's a lot of truth to that. Microsoft has fallen into a position of constant reaction instead of action.
  • Reply 28 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Microsoft's head of software design for Windows Phone has admitted that the company completely redesigned its mobile operating system platform as a response to Apple's iPhone and the "sea change" it created in the industry.



    ?We wanted to respond with something that would be competitive, but not the same.?




    In other words: "We decided we couldn't allow ourselves to be viewed as having copied the look and feel of Apple's software......again."



  • Reply 29 of 118
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    It's interesting to think about the timeline here. Microsoft realized they were in trouble with their mobile OS in December, 2008. That was five months after the launch of the App Store. Really, the App Store should have been the game changer that would immediately call together everyone involved with Microsoft's mobile division. The fact that it took FIVE MONTHS after the release of the iPhone 3G and the App Store shows just how slow to react Microsoft is.
  • Reply 30 of 118
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post


    You contradict yourself. What's easier to use than a "UI designed for pre-schoolers?"



    Will it be called a toy because of what they called it dumb down.
  • Reply 31 of 118
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Andysol View Post


    Duh...



    That was my exact same reaction when reading the article. I cannot grasp the reasoning for someone to share this info with a newspaper; it is simply rhetorical.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gprovida View Post


    They chose to compete on innovation not being a copycat and that is what is in the long run the most valuable to users.



    It goes without saying that is NOT the model of Google, Samsung, HTC, etc.



    Spot on! I'd rather see them, or any company for that matter create a poor product that is new and fresh, than a copy of somebody else's work. That way, they have a chance at getting it right.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmvsm View Post


    The problem is that MS needs to wipe out their top leadership, design team, and start over with a fresh and different approach. Everything that Balmer touches turns to turd cake. I'm really not sure how the share holders have allowed him to stay in his position.



    Steve told Walter that things won't change at MS with Ballmer at the top. I think he will be proven right for many months to come. Possibly years. Quite possibly about a lot of things he has said in the biography. Time will tell, obviously.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Once again, I'd like to offer my thanks and congratulations to Microsoft for making something with an original UI and use style for once in their company's existence. I wish only for Windows Phone 7 to be made better. Android as an iOS competitor isn't a stable future, and Apple needs SOMETHING in the way of professional competition to prevent monopoly whiners and keep innovation pushing forward.



    Together with Solipsism you two are the only ones who praise Microsoft for their efforts, which has to be appreciated with so many bashing posts. Thanks TS. (if I forgot anyone, sorry, not intended)



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    ?This boulder comprised of Apple and Blackberry rolled on our arm,? he said.



    That brightened up my day.



    That line stood out, didn't it? I like.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by whatisgoingon View Post


    I'm surprised it only took them two full years to figure out they needed to completely scrap wince and start over [well, they at least scrapped the wince UI layer].



    Why do you believe it took them two years to figure out they needed to scrap and start over? The article clearly states it took them 7 hours. It took them two years to create the new product.
  • Reply 32 of 118
    This is Windows Mobile 6 Professional... running on a Palm Treo 750... announced around the same time as the original iPhone.



    Quick question: If the iPhone had never existed... or some other disruptive product... how long would Microsoft have continued down this road?



  • Reply 33 of 118
    In the long run I think Windows 7 will replace android to a large extent and become the primary competitor for apple. The clean slate approach has given them a huge speed and usability advantage over android.
  • Reply 34 of 118
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Apple announces the iPhone in January 2007 and Microsoft doesn't have a meeting about it until December 2008???
  • Reply 35 of 118
    minicaptminicapt Posts: 219member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post


    That was my exact same reaction when reading the article. I cannot grasp the reasoning for someone to share this info with a newspaper; it is simply rhetorical.

    ----



    Why do you believe it took them two years to figure out they needed to scrap and start over? The article clearly states it took them 7 hours. It took them two years to create the new product.



    1. Jan 2007, Steve Jobs reveals the iPhone.

    2. Dec 2008, Microsoft holds a seven-hour meeting at which it is decided that "Something Must Be Done!!!"



    Twenty-three months is really quite close to 'two years', generally speaking.



    Cheers
  • Reply 36 of 118
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post


    This is Windows Mobile 6 Professional... running on a Palm Treo 750... announced around the same time as the original iPhone.



    Quick question: If the iPhone had never existed... or some other disruptive product... how long would Microsoft have continued down this road?







    I owned that phone. It had the worst interface of any phone I have ever owned. Nightmarish garbage. I was shocked at how much worse it was than the Palm OS Treos I had used before it.



    To answer your question: forever.
  • Reply 37 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post


    I owned that phone. It had the worst interface of any phone I have ever owned. Nightmarish garbage. I was shocked at how much worse it was than the Palm OS Treos I had used before it.



    To answer your question: forever.



    Agreed. Microsoft would have been TOTALLY happy to let IE6 be their last version of Internet Explorer if Firefox hadn't come along and messed up their plans to stay the course.
  • Reply 38 of 118
    maecvsmaecvs Posts: 129member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macismac View Post


    Looks like they did not get Craig Mundie's memo. WinMo 6x was just fine. It was just a marketing problem!





    Are you kidding me? The phone I had before my OG iPhone was a HTC touch running winblows mobile. It was a horrible piece of crap. Doing the simplest thing on it was a Hurculean labour! Half the time I couldn't even figure out how to get on-line, and when I did, it was the crippled Internet that SJ talked about in his initial presser for the iPhone. The OS was a nightmare to use, and completely user unfriendly. Don't miss it at all.





    It's interesting to look back though, how monkey boy initially said the iPhone was never going to go anywhere, or be successful. Obviously, he recognizes innovation with the same talent level that he runs Microsloth......
  • Reply 39 of 118
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Maecvs View Post


    It's interesting to look back though, how monkey boy initially said the iPhone was never going to go anywhere, or be successful. Obviously, he recognizes innovation with the same talent level that he runs Microsloth......



    Yeah the pre-iPhone days were really terrible. I envy the next generation who go to grow up with all this handy technology.



    Under Ballmer MSFT has lost half its value in the past 10 years. It took the board also 10 years to finally see this and cut way back on his bonus, though he still makes millions.
  • Reply 40 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post


    Yeah the pre-iPhone days were really terrible. I envy the next generation who go to grow up with all this handy technology.



    Under Ballmer MSFT has lost half its value in the past 10 years. It took the board also 10 years to finally see this and cut way back on his bonus, though he still makes millions.



    easy with that one cowboy...



    while i agree that Ballmer isn't Steve (who is?), I have a huge amount of respect for him.

    Since he became CEO, Microsoft stopped being evil.



    Even when they lost (zune for example) they tried fair and square unlike shmidt and others like him.



    It is true that windows 7 does the same as XP that does the same as 2000, but now it is stable and much more pleasant to use. xbox is also becoming really good and windows phone 7 is a great OS:



    I don't know how windows 8 will be, but at least they are trying to fight instead of copying.



    Microsoft is becoming good for apple just like apple is becoming good for them. that's healthy competition.
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