Yet again we see a glaring example of one of the fundamental differences between Apple and Microsoft. Over the last few years it has been fascinating to watch as Apple's brilliantly devised and implemented strategy falls into place. A company that ten years ago made only computers and a limited range of high-end software, is now the dominant player in the PMP market, the leading music distributor in the US and now a major player in the smartphone market with the App Store setting the standard for the rest to follow. Each move has fitted neatly into their product portfolio, with cross-fertilisation - the 360˚ halo effect - benefiting all parts of their business. You can be sure that by the time AI is referring to 'the Cupertino-based tablet-maker' that product will both re-define and dominate that new market while bringing in additional business for both the ITMS and AS. Whatever your personal opinion on Apple, you have to admit that they are run by some extremely smart and focused people, and they know exactly where they are going.
Conversely, Microsoft lurch from one half-arsed effort to the next, wasting time, money and resources on an arbitrary hotch-potch of ill-advised projects which not only fail in the market but bring derision down on their head as well. With Apple you know they have a plan, whereas Microsoft seem bereft of vision and run by people who have no idea how to stop their sun sinking slowly in the west.
To an earlier post - the bashing of Microsoft for making bad products is valid - and the other bashing of Microsoft that you call trying to improve - is also warranted - as they are not innovating but copying - and also in this case it is only a rumor of discussions that they might be considering a product which may largely copy an existing successful product.
Feature parity with your competition is one thing - but imagine a car commercial that proclaims our vehicles will all have airbags and anti lock brakes in a couple years - when the direct competition has had those features for years already.
When some of us see those headlines what we hear is someone shouting Oh look we nearly caught up with you sort of.
The app store is the main thing they are copying (confirmed that is.) Copying a successful business model is something many companies do. The app store was a huge success, and it makes sense that Microsoft copies it. They aren't the only company to copy it, however.
The mere fact that WM has been around so long means I could easily say Apple copied Microsoft or even Palm for things like appointments & a calendar, wifi, or even mobile web browsing. Sticking with the car commercial analogy, it's more like a well known company introduced their first car with key features everyone uses, but improved gas mileage, leg room, and brought innovations like a nav system and heated seats, and also it can fly lol.
Oh how the hatred flies around here. Lets all say the same thing and agree, that makes it right!
First of all, I doubt there's any truth to this. Microsoft has stated for months now they won't make the phone, they'll make the software. Companies like samsung and HTC make the hardware.
Err, the article states almost word for word what you claim Microsoft has already said. The only new addition is that Verizon might be the carrier, and microsoft might have some say in hardware design. The article still clearly states - just as you did - that a 3rd party is ultimately building the phone.
Microsoft already does every single thing mentioned. They make windows mobile software running on 3rd party phones. This article mentions touch screen phones. It is not simply logical, but necessary for Microsoft to update windows mobile to be more touch friendly. We can expect them to do that already, even without these rumors.
People hold a certain contempt for Microsoft because they have not acted very responsibly. As an example, some of us find it a little dubious that a Microsoft commercial tells us to buy a laptop from HP. Has anyone at Microsoft experienced their software packaged with HPs bloated bullshit and strained hardware? Given the commercial, probably not.
"Lauren" is asked to find a touch screen cell phone with a great UI and common sense OS and most of all, must be "cool".
Goes to Apple store - Heaven's music blares out, a light from above shines down, a chorus of Angels sings - Lauren finds the iPhone 3G! She has arrived to The Kingdom of Cool!
Goes searching WinMo products, nothing there but, how did Steve Ballmer say it regarding third party phones with MS OS on them... Oh yeah, you can get a "capable machine" and it will "do music, do internet, do e-mail, do Instant Messaging". "I like our strategy. I like it a lot. We sell millions of millions of phones. Apple has sold zero phones (Ed. pre first iPhone launch comments). We'll see how the competition goes."
Guess now we have the answer with regards to how the competition is going.
Guess Microsoft is just "not cool enough" but now that they have Apple's iPhone as a blueprint, MS is trying!
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer described one thing right, "capable machine". That about sums up Microsoft's mantra, but you never hear the phrase of a MS product as being extraordinaire... \
Your right competition is good. It drives the free market. But competition is about being the best, entities competing to be superior in what they make than the other. However Microsoft seems to have given up on competition, because they are happy with adequate. They are not trying to create the best product just one that is ok.
My god Microsoft, haven't you learned your lesson yet. You haven't produced any good software in years, you had a huge Xbox recall just a while back & even now your Xbox continues to have hardware issues. Your mobile software will make a user pull their hair out & Now on top of all that you think you can produce a phone that can compete in a market place that's full of excellent choices.. Someone needs to put all the MS exec's on a bus & take them all out for an afternoon of shock treatment..
Yea, Yea, This supposed product will mainly be released, if ever, for the entertainment of those of us on this site, but I have an odd question:
Does anyone know if there is an equivalent site, like AI, for Microsoft? Like, Microsoft Insider, or whatever would be the clever moniker for a Microsoft Site?
I would love to read it. And read the Apple bashing. Just to see what the reasoning was like.
The app store is the main thing they are copying (confirmed that is.) Copying a successful business model is something many companies do. The app store was a huge success, and it makes sense that Microsoft copies it. They aren't the only company to copy it, however.
The mere fact that WM has been around so long means I could easily say Apple copied Microsoft or even Palm for things like appointments & a calendar, wifi, or even mobile web browsing. Sticking with the car commercial analogy, it's more like a well known company introduced their first car with key features everyone uses, but improved gas mileage, leg room, and brought innovations like a nav system and heated seats, and also it can fly lol.
i wonder if the "People familiar with the matter" are the same "people familiar with the matter" of Apple talking to Verizon for the last six months about giving them a version of the iphone/netbook/tablet.
I agree. The contempt between Apple fanboys and Microsoft fanboys is only out done by the contempt that exists between Conservatives and Liberals here in the States
I don't even know if it is out done by politics. Rivaled by, definitely.
Eh, ZunePhone is boring. MS, stop the copy game and do something original for once. Heck, all companies should really do their own original things! (Though, can we at least stick with some common standards instead of alienating yourselves from the group? Ahem, Apple, play nice please? Lets open the iPhone, the Mac OS, and make true competition. No, for Apple its about margins!)
All I want is a phone that works. So far, NO one has even come close. They all do fancy things, but no one, no carrier has thus far made a service/hardware/software that is reliable. Focus on that, then get back to me on the MS phone vrs. iPhone. Till then, I'll be idly by on my "came free with service" eNv2 phone. It has its own fair share of issues, trust me. I just want one that won't have issues, and then I'll buy a real cell phone, regardless of who the maker is.
Oh how the hatred flies around here. Lets all say the same thing and agree, that makes it right!
First of all, I doubt there's any truth to this. Microsoft has stated for months now they won't make the phone, they'll make the software. Companies like samsung and HTC make the hardware.
Secondly, even if Microsoft DID attempt at a good phone, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT PEOPLE? Apple ignited competition! That's awesome. Instead of bashing anyone who comes along and tries to step up to said competition, you should embrace it and hope it drives Apple to deliver an even better product.
Seriously, the level of contempt you people have for Microsoft amazes me. I know they fuck up, but reasoning around here is starting to go beyond facts and more like mere opinion driven by other hateful comments.
Don't hate on competition, embrace it. Root for Microsoft, hope they deliver, because in the long run you'll profit from it.
First reasonable post in this tread so far.
It is incredible how - according to AppleInsider - everything MS does is only because of Apple. Blackberry is still holding huge majority of businesses, and one of major points about Windows Mobile is integration with Exchange, but hey - why would MS want to compete with them, eh? There is only Apple and iPhone. And Nokia, while still being No.1 mobile phone maker in the world, is also irrelevant... because, hey, all MS tries to do nowadays is to copycat Apple and iPhone. And Google's Android, though Google is company with many highly successful projects, is completely out of MS sights because - all they see, do, dream, wish - is to try to reach unreachable Apple.
Talking about some overinflated egos around here... jeeesh.
And what is so important about that (still) imaginary phone being Microsoft phone? It will be built by HTC, Samsung... and will likely look like one of their existing touch screen models with some visual and functional touches and MS name on it. With so many touch screen phones on the market today - some of them already based on Windows Mobile - this one will be just another device on the market. Even MS themselves are not talking about it yet; I don't think they are finding it all that important, beside market presence and marketing reasons. When it comes to MS, it is much more about licensing than actually selling complete, final product - completely different business model from Apple who's trying to provide complete solutions. Whatever that phone turns out to be, you can bet there will be many others with same software and features, made by other phone makers traditionally allied with MS.
Why are you paying so much sick and obsessive attention to everything MS does, or is gossiped to be doing..? Hate, fear..? I'm really not getting it.
While I agree with everyone here that this would be a poor imitation of the iPhone, at best, this could also be a motivation for Apple to get in with Verizon. MS's phone doesn't need to be better than the iPhone, it only needs to be better than the other Verizon phones. MS could establish a beach head with Verizon customers making at more difficult for if/when Apple partners with Verizon.
The true genius of the App Store isn't that Apple makes money off of it, it's that it locks you into the iPhone. Once you've invested loads of money buying apps and spent hours learning them and entering your data, etc, you will be reluctant to switch to another device and have to start all over. The App Store is the equivalent of DRM in iTunes music. It locks you into Apple's hardware.
If MS can make an adequate phone (a long shot, but possible) and get people invest time and money in the platform, it will be more difficult for Apple to lure those customers away. But if Apple were to release an iPhone "lite" on Verizon's network before MS's phone is ready, they could prevent MS from ever getting a foothold.
Microsoft or Verizon won't strongarm Apple into making a deal. No way. Consider Verizon dead to Apple now.
Comments
....once the Pre comes and goes.
You mean, once the Pre is Post?
Conversely, Microsoft lurch from one half-arsed effort to the next, wasting time, money and resources on an arbitrary hotch-potch of ill-advised projects which not only fail in the market but bring derision down on their head as well. With Apple you know they have a plan, whereas Microsoft seem bereft of vision and run by people who have no idea how to stop their sun sinking slowly in the west.
10 CLS
20 PRINT"Create Microsoft Product"
30 INPUT"What is name of equivalent Apple product? ", A$
40 IF (LEN)A$ = 0 THEN GOTO 30
50 PRINT"Your new product is: Microsoft ", A$
60 END
To an earlier post - the bashing of Microsoft for making bad products is valid - and the other bashing of Microsoft that you call trying to improve - is also warranted - as they are not innovating but copying - and also in this case it is only a rumor of discussions that they might be considering a product which may largely copy an existing successful product.
Feature parity with your competition is one thing - but imagine a car commercial that proclaims our vehicles will all have airbags and anti lock brakes in a couple years - when the direct competition has had those features for years already.
When some of us see those headlines what we hear is someone shouting Oh look we nearly caught up with you sort of.
The app store is the main thing they are copying (confirmed that is.) Copying a successful business model is something many companies do. The app store was a huge success, and it makes sense that Microsoft copies it. They aren't the only company to copy it, however.
The mere fact that WM has been around so long means I could easily say Apple copied Microsoft or even Palm for things like appointments & a calendar, wifi, or even mobile web browsing. Sticking with the car commercial analogy, it's more like a well known company introduced their first car with key features everyone uses, but improved gas mileage, leg room, and brought innovations like a nav system and heated seats, and also it can fly lol.
Oh how the hatred flies around here. Lets all say the same thing and agree, that makes it right!
First of all, I doubt there's any truth to this. Microsoft has stated for months now they won't make the phone, they'll make the software. Companies like samsung and HTC make the hardware.
Err, the article states almost word for word what you claim Microsoft has already said. The only new addition is that Verizon might be the carrier, and microsoft might have some say in hardware design. The article still clearly states - just as you did - that a 3rd party is ultimately building the phone.
Microsoft already does every single thing mentioned. They make windows mobile software running on 3rd party phones. This article mentions touch screen phones. It is not simply logical, but necessary for Microsoft to update windows mobile to be more touch friendly. We can expect them to do that already, even without these rumors.
People hold a certain contempt for Microsoft because they have not acted very responsibly. As an example, some of us find it a little dubious that a Microsoft commercial tells us to buy a laptop from HP. Has anyone at Microsoft experienced their software packaged with HPs bloated bullshit and strained hardware? Given the commercial, probably not.
And then theres Windows Vista.
"Lauren" is asked to find a touch screen cell phone with a great UI and common sense OS and most of all, must be "cool".
Goes to Apple store - Heaven's music blares out, a light from above shines down, a chorus of Angels sings - Lauren finds the iPhone 3G! She has arrived to The Kingdom of Cool!
Goes searching WinMo products, nothing there but, how did Steve Ballmer say it regarding third party phones with MS OS on them... Oh yeah, you can get a "capable machine" and it will "do music, do internet, do e-mail, do Instant Messaging". "I like our strategy. I like it a lot. We sell millions of millions of phones. Apple has sold zero phones (Ed. pre first iPhone launch comments). We'll see how the competition goes."
Guess now we have the answer with regards to how the competition is going.
Guess Microsoft is just "not cool enough" but now that they have Apple's iPhone as a blueprint, MS is trying!
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer described one thing right, "capable machine". That about sums up Microsoft's mantra, but you never hear the phrase of a MS product as being extraordinaire...
Your right competition is good. It drives the free market. But competition is about being the best, entities competing to be superior in what they make than the other. However Microsoft seems to have given up on competition, because they are happy with adequate. They are not trying to create the best product just one that is ok.
It adds that Microsoft has been working on its own touch-screen smartphone hardware under the code-name "Pink."
Are they sure the code-name isn't "Brown"?
Does anyone know if there is an equivalent site, like AI, for Microsoft? Like, Microsoft Insider, or whatever would be the clever moniker for a Microsoft Site?
I would love to read it. And read the Apple bashing. Just to see what the reasoning was like.
Anyone? Anyone know the effect? Bueller? Anyone?
The app store is the main thing they are copying (confirmed that is.) Copying a successful business model is something many companies do. The app store was a huge success, and it makes sense that Microsoft copies it. They aren't the only company to copy it, however.
The mere fact that WM has been around so long means I could easily say Apple copied Microsoft or even Palm for things like appointments & a calendar, wifi, or even mobile web browsing. Sticking with the car commercial analogy, it's more like a well known company introduced their first car with key features everyone uses, but improved gas mileage, leg room, and brought innovations like a nav system and heated seats, and also it can fly lol.
Microsoft has stated for months now they won't make the phone
#2
Secondly, even if Microsoft DID attempt at a good phone, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT PEOPLE?
See #1
i wonder if the "People familiar with the matter" are the same "people familiar with the matter" of Apple talking to Verizon for the last six months about giving them a version of the iphone/netbook/tablet.
If it matters, we're familiar.
I agree. The contempt between Apple fanboys and Microsoft fanboys is only out done by the contempt that exists between Conservatives and Liberals here in the States
I don't even know if it is out done by politics. Rivaled by, definitely.
Eh, ZunePhone is boring. MS, stop the copy game and do something original for once. Heck, all companies should really do their own original things! (Though, can we at least stick with some common standards instead of alienating yourselves from the group? Ahem, Apple, play nice please? Lets open the iPhone, the Mac OS, and make true competition. No, for Apple its about margins!)
All I want is a phone that works. So far, NO one has even come close. They all do fancy things, but no one, no carrier has thus far made a service/hardware/software that is reliable. Focus on that, then get back to me on the MS phone vrs. iPhone. Till then, I'll be idly by on my "came free with service" eNv2 phone. It has its own fair share of issues, trust me. I just want one that won't have issues, and then I'll buy a real cell phone, regardless of who the maker is.
Oh how the hatred flies around here. Lets all say the same thing and agree, that makes it right!
First of all, I doubt there's any truth to this. Microsoft has stated for months now they won't make the phone, they'll make the software. Companies like samsung and HTC make the hardware.
Secondly, even if Microsoft DID attempt at a good phone, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT PEOPLE? Apple ignited competition! That's awesome. Instead of bashing anyone who comes along and tries to step up to said competition, you should embrace it and hope it drives Apple to deliver an even better product.
Seriously, the level of contempt you people have for Microsoft amazes me. I know they fuck up, but reasoning around here is starting to go beyond facts and more like mere opinion driven by other hateful comments.
Don't hate on competition, embrace it. Root for Microsoft, hope they deliver, because in the long run you'll profit from it.
First reasonable post in this tread so far.
It is incredible how - according to AppleInsider - everything MS does is only because of Apple. Blackberry is still holding huge majority of businesses, and one of major points about Windows Mobile is integration with Exchange, but hey - why would MS want to compete with them, eh? There is only Apple and iPhone. And Nokia, while still being No.1 mobile phone maker in the world, is also irrelevant... because, hey, all MS tries to do nowadays is to copycat Apple and iPhone. And Google's Android, though Google is company with many highly successful projects, is completely out of MS sights because - all they see, do, dream, wish - is to try to reach unreachable Apple.
Talking about some overinflated egos around here... jeeesh.
And what is so important about that (still) imaginary phone being Microsoft phone? It will be built by HTC, Samsung... and will likely look like one of their existing touch screen models with some visual and functional touches and MS name on it. With so many touch screen phones on the market today - some of them already based on Windows Mobile - this one will be just another device on the market. Even MS themselves are not talking about it yet; I don't think they are finding it all that important, beside market presence and marketing reasons. When it comes to MS, it is much more about licensing than actually selling complete, final product - completely different business model from Apple who's trying to provide complete solutions. Whatever that phone turns out to be, you can bet there will be many others with same software and features, made by other phone makers traditionally allied with MS.
Why are you paying so much sick and obsessive attention to everything MS does, or is gossiped to be doing..? Hate, fear..? I'm really not getting it.
While I agree with everyone here that this would be a poor imitation of the iPhone, at best, this could also be a motivation for Apple to get in with Verizon. MS's phone doesn't need to be better than the iPhone, it only needs to be better than the other Verizon phones. MS could establish a beach head with Verizon customers making at more difficult for if/when Apple partners with Verizon.
The true genius of the App Store isn't that Apple makes money off of it, it's that it locks you into the iPhone. Once you've invested loads of money buying apps and spent hours learning them and entering your data, etc, you will be reluctant to switch to another device and have to start all over. The App Store is the equivalent of DRM in iTunes music. It locks you into Apple's hardware.
If MS can make an adequate phone (a long shot, but possible) and get people invest time and money in the platform, it will be more difficult for Apple to lure those customers away. But if Apple were to release an iPhone "lite" on Verizon's network before MS's phone is ready, they could prevent MS from ever getting a foothold.
Microsoft or Verizon won't strongarm Apple into making a deal. No way. Consider Verizon dead to Apple now.