7
Windows Mobile 7 has a chance (an article I thought I’d never write)
WARNING: Pretty pointless rant ahead…
Ok, let’s be real here. Windows Mobile hasn’t really seen an update since PC2000 back in April of the year 2000(Wikipedia). That’s a decade of not really putting money into this OS and it dominated the phone OS market for a long time.
Microsoft made what I believe to be a good decision when they decided to no longer support Windows Mobil 5/6 applications. Some people may be upset by this but let’s be honest, all your windows mobile 5/6 applications are not that good. The applications have been driving the leading mobile OS’s for the last few years. The iPhone lead the way with their very large and hyped app store and then Google’s Android followed suit. I mean really, what’s the point of having a powerful and awesome phone if there’s nothing you can do with it? Which leads me to the next question…
What applications are going to be available for Microsoft new mobile OS? Or will Microsoft leave the ability to use their shiny new operating system behind?
What Microsoft is offering is “SkyMarket”. I couldn’t find a ton about SkyMarket but it appears that Microsoft is going to have an app store!
So the next question of course is, how good is their SDK?
Well you can download it here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=71deb800-c591-4f97-a900-bea146e4fae1&displaylang=en
I guess you’ll have to play with the SDK your self.
Overall I think Microsoft is heading in a better direction than they have in the past but I don’t see any innovation or excitement around this release, which leads me to believe that it will not be nearly as successful as the current leaders in mobile operating systems.
Microsoft had a real chance to come out with guns blazing but I think they missed their chance again. I guess we’ll see on April 12th when Microsoft unveils their shiny new mobile operating system.
25
On Android’s Market Share
Ever since Android was announced by Google a while back, Linux geeks everywhere have been hoping it would take a chunk out of the iPhone market. Though Android hasn’t really taken off as expected, hopes have been renewed recently with projections that the mobile OS would outpace the iPhone in the next year or two, especially with an armada of new phones intending to run it out of the box.
Personally, I doubt that Android will really dent the iPhone market. That’s not to say I don’t think it won’t be popular, I just think it will cut into a different mobile OS: Windows Mobile. Android and the iPhone do not really compete in the same arenas. The iPhone is a high-performance device with some core (limited) functionality. Android, however, is more of an all-purpose OS, as demonstrated by the diversity of hardware it can run on. To date, the all-purpose mobile OS has been Windows Mobile. In fact, it’s so all-purpose that the mobile checkout devices used by sales reps in Apple Stores run Windows Mobile.
As Android takes off, I’m guessing that Windows Mobile’s days are numbered. I haven’t heard anything about it in some time, and media share sometimes counts for more than market share. After all, if you looked around, would you guess that only 1 in 10 people use a Mac?
14
10/GUI and Reinventing More Than the Mouse
I stumbled onto 10/GUI over the weekend, a reimagining (not reinvention) of the traditional desktop. It has some interesting ideas, but most of all I’m glad to see someone is thinking about these things rather than just accepting the Old Ways.
26
Podcast Episode #6 – Way behind Schedule
Well we are extremely behind in recording these. I hope to get caught up at some point.
Here’s some of what we talked about…
- Topics
- Win 7 RC – is it worth getting hyped up for, windows mobile sweetness – gAlarm
- Agile/processes – New toys (Macbook Pro, Nokia BH-503), boxee
- OS X Java Vulnerability
- IT Conversations (Stackoverflow)
2
Episode #4 – A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Yeah we’re burnt out, tired, failing classes but we’re podcasting for you! Just for your enjoyment! Because we love you all!
- News
- Stock market 12 year low?
- MS wipes winmo 6.5 from stolen phone – engadget.com
- Windows 7 to Kill Quicktime ? techradar.com
- Google joins European Union in antitrust case for IE in windows tech.slashdot.org
- Gamer Skin disease idle.slashdot.org
- Topics/Rants
- Management Woes/Rewards
- Will there ever be a “Perfect” OS?
- College burnout How to remedy?
