Windows Mobile 6.5 to take on Apple's iPhone starting Oct. 6

[AppleInsider]

Microsoft announced Tuesday that hardware equipped with Windows Mobile 6.5, its latest smartphone platform to compete with Apple's iPhone, will be available to consumers on Oct. 6.

In a post on the official Windows Mobile blog, Apple's rival to the north declared that hardware equipped with Windows Mobile 6.5 will arrive in just five weeks. The first phone offerings in the U.S. will be on carriers AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, as well as Bell Mobility and TELUS. Hardware makers at launch include HP, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung and Toshiba.

"On Oct. 6th, you’ll see new Windows phones designed for a variety of tastes, needs and price points - with or without keyboards, with or without touch screens, as well as your choice of GPS, accelerometer and high resolution camera," Microsoft said. "There are a lot of great options and we can’t wait to show them to you. Until then, keep an eye on our partners as they announce details on new Windows phones and where you can find them this fall."

Devices will also debut on Orange, Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone in Europe; NTT DOCOMO, SOFTBANK Mobile, SK Telecom, Telstra and WILLCOM in Asia Pacific; and TIM Brazil in Latin America.

The blog post also noted that there is apparently confusion among users regarding Windows Mobile. It said that Microsoft intends to simplify its branding on mobile devices.

"Interestingly enough, we discovered that most people who carry a Windows phone don’t realize it’s running Windows Mobile," the site reads.

Following Apple's entry into the smartphone market in 2007, Microsoft has struggled to maintain marketshare and gain mindshare among consumers. Weeks ago, a report found that the iPhone outsold all Windows Mobile phones in the second quarter of 2009. Apple had a 13.7 percent share of unit sales for that period, while Windows Mobile devices sold 9 percent.



In its attempt to fight back, Microsoft has integrated a touch screen interface with Windows Mobile 6.5. The new operating system also includes improved notifications and updates from e-mail, text and calendar, as well as an upgraded Internet Explorer mobile browser. The platform will also have Windows Marketplace, an App Store-like hub for software downloads.

Weeks ago, a rumor suggested that even with Windows Mobile 7 looming next year, Microsoft willmaintain a dual-platform strategy to take on competitors Apple and Google Android. That report said that Microsoft is expected to lower the price of Windows Mobile 6.5 when version 7 launches in late 2010. That strategy would allegedly allow the lower-priced 6.5 to compete with the free, open source Android platform, while Windows Mobile 7 would be the premium competitor geared toward the iPhone crowd.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[supremedesigner]

First!

Still too ugly. Need something nicer.

EDIT: What I mean is - their interface is far from clean UI. Those icons looks hi-res but the rest (speakers, 5 bars, etc.) looks real ugly. C'mon. No one wants to buy it anymore

[Slang4Art]

I can't wait to see some sweet "Mobile Device Hunters" ads where uneducated cheap people seek out devices without touch screens, accelerometers, high res video cameras and GPS and then gloat about the purchase of their new $25 Windows feature phone with awesome features such as SMS and call waiting.

[sflocal]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

That strategy would allegedly allow the lower-priced 6.5 to compete with the free, open source Android platform, while Windows Mobile 7 would be the premium competitor geared toward the iPhone crowd.

WM7 is considered "Premium"?? Uh..oh... once again M$ is going to dilute another buzzword.

[auxlepli]

This will probably go the same route that Zune vs. iPod did.

[rnp1]

Originally Posted by supremedesigner

First! Still too ugly. Need something nicer.
- their interface is far from clean UI. Those icons looks hi-res but the rest (speakers, 5 bars, etc.) looks real ugly. C'mon. No one wants to buy it anymore

OH MY WE ARE SO SCARED!!! MICROSOFT MIGHT DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS TIME!!!!
Nah. More clutter, bad copying, missing the point and having their users sneering at Apple because there's no challange in using easy-to-use products and software!
Meanwhile we just float along, enjoying our devices and not being frustrated using them for phones, email, twitter, podcasts, watching movies...yawn!
-fanboy since before 84-

[nagromme]

It's insane how everyone copied Apple's aqua glass look starting in 2000, and has kept copying the evolution of it--currently glossy black for instance. And always with the same style of highlight and shading. You could say that there only IS one way to draw something glassy, or glossy, or whatever. But that's not quite the case. Companies could copy the "idea" of glassy or glossy and still not copy the specific look SO blatantly (in places, not everywhere).

[Ireland]

Who is this Microsoft I keep hearing about?

[technohermit]

Hasn't WM6 been around for over two years now? I remember I had an XV-6700 with 6 on it, and that was two or three years now? It crashed a lot, I remember that. My Treo I had before that was junk as well. I went to the enV after that Windows Mobile thing, because at the time I was convinced no smartphone was worth it. The iPhone was what I was waiting for and Apple finally invented it.
Good luck catching up MS, with your 3 year development cycle on upgrades, you'll never get it done!

[John.B]

Developers! Developers! Developers!

Now a hit music video! (+/- 10MB)

[KT Walrus]

Originally Posted by auxlepli

This will probably go the same route that Zune vs. iPod did.

Or, it could go the way it did in the early 1990s for PCs? Apple had a larger market share for Macs at this time than it does now for iPhones, but Microsoft's strategy of making the OS and selling to run on hardware from multiple vendors eventually led to Microsoft's near monopoly for it's OS software.

Now, almost 20 years later, Microsoft seems to be trying the same strategy again. If the OS for mobile phones is "good enough" for the average person and runs on cheaper hardware available from multiple vendors, this strategy could work again.

Apple does have a few advantages this time though. Mainly, the App Store is a huge competitive advantage. And, these mobile phones are sold with a carrier subsidy that makes the price of the iPhone as competitive as for a premium Windows Mobile phone. In fact, Apple has a huge advantage at this point in there ability to manufacture the iPhone so cheaply that the price of a subsidized phone could be zero and Apple would still make a nice profit. But, in the early 90s, Apple stubbornly held onto its high margins and rapidly lost market share. Advertising and branding can only go so far in a competitive market place where price will rule once the item becomes a commodity.

[mstone]

Originally Posted by nagromme

... still not copy the specific look SO blatantly (in places, not everywhere).

That's the funny part. Those icons are all over the map with no consistency whatsoever. It's like they gave the UI design to ten different people and said if you can't think of anything original just copy what Apple did. Look at the 'getting started' icon. I think there is a kitchen sink in there but it is so cluttered it is hard to tell.

PS: Now that I think about it, the fact that they even need a Getting Started button is a concession of failure. Sort of like the Windows Start Button on the desktop OS. They are saying our UI is so confusing and our users are so clueless we need to tell them where to start or they'll never figure out how to use this crappy software.

[bigdaddyp]

"Interestingly enough, we discovered that most people who carry a Windows phone don’t realize it’s running Windows Mobile," the site reads.

Apparently the disjointed look, multiple daily crashes, remove your battery to reset were not enough to tip people off they were using a Microsoft product?

[DougMcNerd]

Can anyone else smell the desperation?

[rnp1]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Who is this Microsoft I keep hearing about?

ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT THE "KERMUDGIAN" MS SUPPORT TEAM HAS YET TO COME HERE AND BLAST US APPLE LOVIN', UN-FRUSTRATED TECHNO USERS?

Is that because they have to wait for a new update in Defender or IE8 or some antivirus program to load before they can get on line and complain about our enthusiasm?

In all truth, while writing this, I'm watching my Parallels WIndows screen loading all these updates and crap I have no idea about! While I'm using the Mac side, Windows is hogging my internet and memory doing stuff to make it run better than it did yesterday? And I can't use it while it does this, and I might get a virus detection screen or some other dialog box which would ask me if I wanted to fix a problem and then, after saying yes, it will say "Unable to fix problem"!! When it was their problem in the first place! Grrrrr

[teckstud]

Be afraid, be very afraid!

[Quadra 610]

Is this some kind of joke?

[iBill]

It's so me too.

Yawn.

[dr_lha]

Originally Posted by KT Walrus

Or, it could go the way it did in the early 1990s for PCs? Apple had a larger market share for Macs at this time than it does now for iPhones, but Microsoft's strategy of making the OS and selling to run on hardware from multiple vendors eventually led to Microsoft's near monopoly for it's OS software.

Now, almost 20 years later, Microsoft seems to be trying the same strategy again. If the OS for mobile phones is "good enough" for the average person and runs on cheaper hardware available from multiple vendors, this strategy could work again.

Remember this is Windows Mobile 6.5 and 7 we're talking about, not 1.0. Microsoft has been in the Phone business for years, since around 2002, and hasn't managed to make anything like the impact is made with Windows back in the 80s. In fact, Apple came along after Microsoft had been "innovating" in the Phone OS market, and blew it away with a 1.0 release, and continues to be very many steps ahead in both sales and functionality.

This is however an OS that could fit the bill in terms of "good enough/cheap enough" and its free: Android.

[sflocal]

Originally Posted by caliminius

Learn to read. Microsoft did not use the term "premium" for WM7. Someone speculating about MS's strategy used that term. If you're going to bash MS, at least know what you're talking about.

Get a clue Einstein and a grasp of comprehension before you decide to attack another forum member. I did not say that Microsoft itself said that. Had you put some effort into reading the article, the very end of it stated it. I was responding (with the original quote attached) from that article about it being considered a premium competitor.

Sad state of affairs when whiners like you criticize people for making valid remarks. Obviously you're a parents-basement dwelling troll.

[slapppy]

They will call it the new "Windows Mobile HD"!!!

[chronster]

Originally Posted by rnp1

OH MY WE ARE SO SCARED!!! MICROSOFT MIGHT DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS TIME!!!!
Nah. More clutter, bad copying, missing the point and having their users snearing at Apple because there's no challange in using easy-to-use products and software!
Meanwhile we just float along, enjoying our devices and not being frustrated using them for phones, email, twitter, podcasts, watching movies...yawn!
-fanboy since before 84-

It's so funny how much emotion people invest into PHONES of all things!

In my experience at ppcgeeks and xda's forums, the truest of windows mobile geeks are generally geeks about everything, and appreciate the iphone for what it is. There are downsides to going with an iphone that some people find important that iphone users might not. There are advantages to having a windows mobile phone that some people find important that iphone users might not. It is literally that simple.

It's comments like yours that fuel the "sneering at Apple" and their users. For instance, everything you listed there, my phone can do as well, minus the frustration, and yet you so confidently speak of these things.

I won't lie and say that windows mobile is a perfect peach every step of the way, but I sure do enjoy the hell out of it.

[rnp1]

I spoke too soon!! chronster joined in and doesn't seem to mind that his copied software doesn't frustrate him. He is trying to take the hell out of it-which has been my complaint all along-MS stuff is hellish! -but then some people still cook on a wood stove and have an outhouse!

"WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE ENEMY TO JUMP IN HERE AND CALL US FOOLS FOR OUR LOYALTY AND PRAISE OF APPLE!!!"


Oh, did I mention I spend 80% of my time in Windows7 trying to find the perfect edge to click on and make it possible to just simply resize a stupid window? Why couldn't they have copied that better? Doug Engelbart had that figured out in the early 1970s! Grrrr!

[chronster]

Originally Posted by slapppy

They will call it the new "Windows Mobile HD"!!!

You joke, but I'm seriously calling it: Windows Mobile 7.1 = WMHD

Seems like calling things HD has taken on a trend like calling things ultra, or x2000 or something.

[chronster]

Originally Posted by rnp1

WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE ENEMY TO JUMP IN HERE AND CALL US FOOLS FOR OUR LOYALTY AND PRAISE OF APPLE!!!


Oh, did I mention I spend 80% of my time in Windows7 trying to find the perfect edge to click on and make it possible to just simply resize a stupid window? Why couldn't they have copied that better? Doug Engelbart had that figured out in the early 1970s! Grrrr!

If you spend 80% of your time doing something that simple, maybe it's time for a new mouse :P

1600dpi laser mouse

[chronster]

Originally Posted by rnp1

I spoke too soon!! chronster joined in and doesn't seem to mind that his copied software doen't frustrate him-but then some people still ccok on a wood stove and have an outhouse!

I guess I'm the one who spoke to soon. How funny is it that this is the first time I met you, and you know me so well already that you're confident in saying I don't mind being frustrated?

My phone's fine man :/

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Is this some kind of joke?

[chronster]

Originally Posted by teckstud

.....

WAAAAAAZAAAAAaaaaaaaaa

[skiracer1987]

"its latest smartphone platform to compete with Apple's iPhone"

like there's going to be any competition - lol

[JeffDM]

Is it really necessary to make entire sentences all-caps?

[rnp1]

Originally Posted by chronster

If you spend 80% of your time doing something that simple, maybe it's time for a new mouse :P

1600dpi laser mouse

Why do I need a new mouse? I have been using a Apple mouse since 1984 and always resized my windows the first time! The problem with these DPI mice, is that they are required to use for precision in Windows. A Mac has been pixel precise, without special DPI mice for 25 years. I have used a Apple mouse, moving pixels since MacPaint and Photoshop 1.0, with no problems.
What a waste of resources you guys have to buy into. Let alone the fact that Doug E. invented the mouse and when you buy one from Microsoft, or the many off brand suppliers, he never gets a penny. That's theft from the beginning of Microsoft's avoidance of where their ability to generate profits really came from!
Don't get me started!

[christopher126]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Who is this Microsoft I keep hearing about?

that says it all!

[DrBoar]

This is not PC in the 90s or 80s.
The reason to buy PCs wer that you could build cheap PC or tailormade PCs for specific needs. An other reason was that there was more applications for WinDOS than MacOS.

Apple will not cater for every taste in smartphones, for some Blackberry and other are better that iPhone.
Apple not MS has the upper hand in applications now.
Then we have the open source competition as well that MS (and Apple) has to fight with.

Sure MS can market WinCE for many years to come as they have Zune. But not only Apple but Nokia, SE, and many other will fight them.

[Gazoobee]

Originally Posted by chronster

... I won't lie and say that windows mobile is a perfect peach every step of the way, but I sure do enjoy the hell out of it.

Fanboy-isms aside, Windows Mobile does have a very hard row to hoe right now though.

It's already pretty much irrelevant in the consumer market already, which is what seems to be currently driving smartphone adoption. Being the "entrenched" enemy for the newer upstart smartphone OS's seems to give it no real advantages and a whole lot of downside from device support to branding and price.

Like many mobile device enthusiasts, I've used most of Microsoft's mobile OS's and most iterations of Palm's as well and it sure seems to me like this is destined to be far too little and far too late for MS to even regain relevance let alone sales.

Your right about the "geeks toy" aspect of it, but unless you are required to use a WinMobile device by your company or institution, I don't see any real reason the "average consumer" would buy one and that's death in today's market. The biggest lift they can (and possibly will get), is when they tie the whole Zune/XBox stuff into it, probably when they launch 7.0 at the end of next year, but will that be enough at that late date to do much for them?

I just don't see WinMobile going anywhere at all. It's basically circling the toilet already.

[chronster]

Originally Posted by rnp1

Why do I need a new mouse? I have been using a Apple mouse since 1984 and always resized my windows the first time! The problem with these DPI mice, is that they are required to use for precision in Windows. A Mac has been pixel precise, without special DPI mice for 25 years. I have used a Apple mouse, moving pixels since MacPaint and Photoshop 1.0, with no problems.
What a waste of resources you guys have to buy into. Let alone the fact that Doug E. invented the mouse and when you buy one from Microsoft, or the many off brand suppliers, he never gets a penny. That's theft from the beginning of Microsoft's avoidance of where their ability to generate profits really came from!
Don't get me started!

You're using an Apple mouse from 1984? Can you take a pic of that? That's pretty cool.

As far as resizing windows, I have a crappy bottom of the barrel dell trackball mouse here at work and I've never had issues resizing anything LOL. I know I sound like a broken record, where you complain about something, and I respond saying I've never had issues like that, but I'm serious. It's really perplexing to listen to someone complain about these things.

It's like if I complained about having to tie my shoes, use a microwave, or drive a car. Trivial things that seem to be the most basic tasks to other people could very well be nightmares for me.

But seriously, post that picture of the 1984 mouse. I'm not being facetious or anything, just curious.

[Hattig]

Ugh, it's a layer of glitz on top of the broken Windows Mobile UI paradigm.

And the glitz looks naff. Look at the marketplace app screenshot - scrollbar ahoy! Taskbar! Start menu! What? People don't want that, it's not integrated into the UI seamlessly like the current generation of mobile interfaces - iPhoneOS, Android, WebOS, Maemo...

Many WinMob people are moving to Android anyway. 6.5 is a patch on crud, and it won't rescue market share for Microsoft. Of course they're going to make their best attempt at it, and they will remain cheerful about it all as they have to, but they know, inside, they've lost it. Not to iPhoneOS, but the competitors that iPhoneOS created, the fast movers who suddenly saw the light. Android. WebOS. Maemo. All Linux underneath. iPhoneOS will succeed as well (in the long term, we know it's been a knockout in the short term already), but as a single-carrier, single-manufacturer prospect it will be limited in market opportunity (not that it will be insignificant).

[chronster]

Originally Posted by Gazoobee

I just don't see WinMobile going anywhere at all. It's basically circling the toilet already.

You're right. We have no clue what WM7 will bring that's so great (seeing as how Ms has a hard time thinking outside of the box) and 6.5 took long enough that I might have a flying car before we see 7. It's NOT an OS for the main stream, no matter how badly HTC tries to revamp the UI. MS needs to learn this lesson.

I don't know what MS could think when they see Samsung use Symbian instead of WM on their new Omnia HD (the omnia i900 is WM.) Do they think they're doing well!?

Same with HTC migrating towards android a bit more.

[rnp1]

Originally Posted by chronster

You're using an Apple mouse from 1984? Can you take a pic of that? That's pretty cool.

As far as resizing windows, I have a crappy bottom of the barrel dell trackball mouse here at work and I've never had issues resizing anything LOL. I know I sound like a broken record, where you complain about something, and I respond saying I've never had issues like that, but I'm serious. It's really perplexing to listen to someone complain about these things.

It's like if I complained about having to tie my shoes, use a microwave, or drive a car. Trivial things that seem to be the most basic tasks to other people could very well be nightmares for me.

But seriously, post that picture of the 1984 mouse. I'm not being facetious or anything, just curious.

if you want to see a 1984 mouse, just google it-di you not know about the 128K Mac?

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU, its about Douglas Engelbart and how Microsoft has stolen all his work and has never implimented it properly anyway. At least Apple paid something for. And Andy Hertzfield and others modified it to make it more artistic and better for plain folk to create cool stuff.

[Inkling]

I'd be more impressed with both Apple and Microsoft if they'd get together and offer syncing for Windows Mobile phones with OS X. I can't afford a service contract for an iPhone, so I use Windows Mobile phone I got cheaply. It has the features I need, although poorly organized, but OS X won't sync to it like it did my earlier RAZR.

And to add insult to injury, OS X knows it's connecting to a Windows Mobile smartphone, it just turns up its nose and refuses to have a conversation.

Apple and Microsoft need to get over their schoolyard macho and make their products work together. "It just works" should apply to Windows Mobile phones.

[rnp1]

Originally Posted by chronster

You're using an Apple mouse from 1984? Can you take a pic of that? That's pretty cool.

As far as resizing windows, I have a crappy bottom of the barrel dell trackball mouse here at work and I've never had issues resizing anything LOL. I know I sound like a broken record, where you complain about something, and I respond saying I've never had issues like that, but I'm serious. It's really perplexing to listen to someone complain about these things.

It's like if I complained about having to tie my shoes, use a microwave, or drive a car. Trivial things that seem to be the most basic tasks to other people could very well be nightmares for me.

But seriously, post that picture of the 1984 mouse. I'm not being facetious or anything, just curious.

if you want to see a 1984 mouse, just google it-did you not know about the 128K Mac?

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU, its about Douglas Engelbart and how Microsoft has stolen all his work and has never implemented it properly anyway. At least Apple paid something for. And Andy Hertzfield and others modified it to make it more artistic and better for plain folk to create cool stuff.