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

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 97
    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
  • Reply 2 of 97
    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.
  • Reply 3 of 97
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    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.
  • Reply 4 of 97
    This will probably go the same route that Zune vs. iPod did.
  • Reply 5 of 97
    rnp1rnp1 Posts: 175member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by supremedesigner View Post


    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-
  • Reply 6 of 97
    I'd use any Windows device over any product made by Apple in a heartbeat! Someone commented that this will be like the Zune taking on the iPod, well I have both (the iPod was free as I certainly wouldn't have purchased it) and the Zune is by far a superior player compared to the iPod, plus it has FM radio which is a very nice feature.



    When are people going to learn that Apple makes toys and that is really about it!
  • Reply 7 of 97
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    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).
  • Reply 8 of 97
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Who is this Microsoft I keep hearing about?
  • Reply 9 of 97
    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!
  • Reply 11 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by auxlepli View Post


    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.
  • Reply 12 of 97
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    ... 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.
  • Reply 13 of 97
    "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?
  • Reply 14 of 97
    Can anyone else smell the desperation?
  • Reply 15 of 97
    rnp1rnp1 Posts: 175member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    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
  • Reply 16 of 97
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Be afraid, be very afraid!
  • Reply 17 of 97
    Is this some kind of joke?
  • Reply 18 of 97
    ibillibill Posts: 400member
    It's so me too.



    Yawn.
  • Reply 19 of 97
    dr_lhadr_lha Posts: 236member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KT Walrus View Post


    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.
  • Reply 20 of 97
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by caliminius View Post


    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.
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