Microsoft's efforts to regain lost ground in the mobile phone business will see the company offering two different versions of its operating system next year.
The company will continue to broadly sell Windows Mobile 6.5 to a large variety of handset makers, while working more closely with several handset makers to sell phones built on a new version of Windows Mobile that has been several years in the making, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
While Windows Mobile 6.5 is a fairly interim update to the mobile operating system that Microsoft has been selling, Microsoft has also been working on more radical efforts to overhaul the operating system. Both its plans for Windows Mobile 7 and its long-running "Pink" project aim to match the kinds of experiences seen on the iPhone and Android, using more advanced voice and touch interfaces and higher-end hardware.
Microsoft demonstrated Windows Mobile 6.5 at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. That interim update to Windows Mobile will start arriving on phones this fall, while a more radical overhaul of Redmond's cell phone OS is due next year.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News)
A Digitimes report this week called the effort a "dual-platform" strategy, although I'm not sure I'd use that term to describe two versions of Windows Mobile being sold at the same time.
What is clear is that Microsoft needs to do something serious if it hopes to live up to its mobile ambitions. For years now, the company has made rather modest updates to the Windows Mobile operating system, which dates back to the days of code powered PDAs and other organizers that were neither phones nor, in some cases, even connected to the Internet.
In that same time, Palm has gone back to the drawing board and reinvented itself with the WebOS-based Pre, while the iPhone and Android have entered the market and even Research In Motion has arguably done more to capture consumer interest than has Microsoft.
Internally, Redmond has shifted a number of its people into the mobile unit. In addition to former server executive Andy Lees, who now runs the phone business, former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho has been leading a top secret "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the "Pink" work. The company purchased Danger, known for creating the teen-centered T-Mobile Sidekick, and Ho heads that unit as well.
The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.
Call waiting
Microsoft has been working on Windows Mobile 7 for what now seems like an eternity, especially in the mobile world. The product was supposed to be in phone makers' hands by early this year, but has suffered a number of delays.
Officially, the company will discuss only Windows Mobile 6.5 and its plan to start using the "Windows Phone" brand.
"We're on track to deliver Windows Phones that will be running Windows Mobile 6.5 this fall," a representative said.
But, in a discussion with reporters earlier this year, Microsoft Entertainment unit president Robbie Bach stressed the importance of new user interfaces, such as touch and voice.
"Independent of specific plans for any specific product, you should just assume over time that that's going to become part of the products that we produce," Bach said, according to a Seattle Times account. "And, you know, specific timing and all those things, I'll leave aside, but it is a huge trend. And once you have something like touch or voice to interact with, you wonder why you did it the old way."
And, although Microsoft has denied it is looking to enter the handset business itself, it has said it thinks it needs to partner more closely with a few companies in order to produce more competitive devices.
"To date, we haven't done as good a job as I would like in building the relationships and getting the right level of integration," Bach said at the company's financial analyst meeting last month. "Obviously phones take time to develop, so that won't happen overnight, but you're going to see a dramatic improvement in the integration between what we do in the software and what our hardware partners do on the hardware side."
The company has also aimed to have its software run on the widest range of devices, resulting in what Lees and Bach have both called a "lowest common denominator" experience.
In a July interview wMicrosoft's efforts to regain lost ground in the mobile phone business will see the company offering two different versions of its operating system next year.
The company will continue to broadly sell Windows Mobile 6.5 to a large variety of handset makers, while working more closely with several handset makers to sell phones built on a new version of Windows Mobile that has been several years in the making, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
While Windows Mobile 6.5 is a fairly interim update to the mobile operating system that Microsoft has been selling, Microsoft has also been working on more radical efforts to overhaul the operating system. Both its plans for Windows Mobile 7 and its long-running "Pink" project aim to match the kinds of experiences seen on the iPhone and Android, using more advanced voice and touch interfaces and higher-end hardware.
Microsoft demonstrated Windows Mobile 6.5 at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. That interim update to Windows Mobile will start arriving on phones this fall, while a more radical overhaul of Redmond's cell phone OS is due next year.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News)
A Digitimes report this week called the effort a "dual-platform" strategy, although I'm not sure I'd use that term to describe two versions of Windows Mobile being sold at the same time.
What is clear is that Microsoft needs to do something serious if it hopes to live up to its mobile ambitions. For years now, the company has made rather modest updates to the Windows Mobile operating system, which dates back to the days of code powered PDAs and other organizers that were neither phones nor, in some cases, even connected to the Internet.
In that same time, Palm has gone back to the drawing board and reinvented itself with the WebOS-based Pre, while the iPhone and Android have entered the market and even Research In Motion has arguably done more to capture consumer interest than has Microsoft.
Internally, Redmond has shifted a number of its people into the mobile unit. In addition to former server executive Andy Lees, who now runs the phone business, former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho has been leading a top secret "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the "Pink" work. The company purchased Danger, known for creating the teen-centered T-Mobile Sidekick, and Ho heads that unit as well.
The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.
Call waiting
Microsoft has been working on Windows Mobile 7 for what now seems like an eternity, especially in the mobile world. The product was supposed to be in phone makers' hands by early this year, but has suffered a number of delays.
Officially, the company will discuss only Windows Mobile 6.5 and its plan to start using the "Windows Phone" brand.
"We're on track to deliver Windows Phones that will be running Windows Mobile 6.5 this fall," a representative said.
But, in a discussion with reporters earlier this year, Microsoft Entertainment unit president Robbie Bach stressed the importance of new user interfaces, such as touch and voice.
"Independent of specific plans for any specific product, you should just assume over time that that's going to become part of the products that we produce," Bach said, according to a Seattle Times account. "And, you know, specific timing and all those things, I'll leave aside, but it is a huge trend. And once you have something like touch or voice to interact with, you wonder why you did it the old way."
And, although Microsoft has denied it is looking to enter the handset business itself, it has said it thinks it needs to partner more closely with a few companies in order to produce more competitive devices.
"To date, we haven't done as good a job as I would like in building the relationships and getting the right level of integration," Bach said at the company's financial analyst meeting last month. "Obviously phones take time to develop, so that won't happen overnight, but you're going to see a dramatic improvement in the integration between what we do in the software and what our hardware partners do on the hardware side."
The company has also aimed to have its software run on the widest range of devices, resulting in what Lees and Bach have both called a "lowest common denominator" experience.
In a July interview with CNET News, Bach acknowledged that Microsoft also just needs to pick up the pace.
"If your point is we haven't advanced Windows Mobile as fast as we like, I think the answer is that's true," Bach said. "You are going to see that change."
However, Bach didn't say much more about where Microsoft is headed, other than to point out that the company has made a lot of changes to the team working on the product over the last year.
"My view on these topics is talk is cheap," he said. "The next thing we are going to show people is Windows Mobile 6.5. There's plenty of innovation in the pipeline."ith CNET News, Bach acknowledged that Microsoft also just needs to pick up the pace.
"If your point is we haven't advanced Windows Mobile as fast as we like, I think the answer is that's true," Bach said. "You are going to see that change."
However, Bach didn't say much more about where Microsoft is headed, other than to point out that the company has made a lot of changes to the team working on the product over the last year.
"My view on these topics is talk is cheap," he said. "The next thing we are going to show people is Windows Mobile 6.5. There's plenty of innovation in the pipeline."
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sony Ericsson W518a Walkman Cell Phone (AT&T)
The W518a offers one must-have feature for the teenage set: instant Facebook access. Unfortunately, the app doesn't quite make the grade. Pressing the Shortcut key updates the screen with your News Feed info (status updates, Wall postings, and so on). From there you can update your own status, configure the Facebook app to show your friends' status updates on the phone's home screen, and...well, that's about it. Anything else requires you to use the mediocre built-in WAP browser to go to Facebook Mobile, just as on any other phone.
The app is useful if you just want to see the last 30 minutes or so of your News Feed, but considering that Facebook access is one of the W518a's huge selling points, Sony really should have included a full-featured program instead of an anemic accessory. If you're a Facebook addict, you'll appreciate the ability to upload pictures directly from the phone to your profile, but you might not want to share the subpar snapshots from the phone's 3.2-megapixel camera.
Music is the W518a's second specialty. The phone's built-in Walkman app handles all of the music functions. The interface looks kind of like a brushed-metal version of the PlayStation 3's menus, matching the W518a's brushed-chrome-and-silver hardware. Through the interface you can access your music collection as well as the built-in XM Radio ($9 to buy the app, though you'll need a data plan as well), FM Radio, Shop Music, and other miscellaneous music apps.
This is where some of the W518a's flaws show: It doesn't have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and worse, it doesn't come with a headset, so you'll have to shell out some extra cash for a compatible headset or an adapter. Until you get one, you won't be able to use the FM radio application (because it uses the headphone cord as an antenna), and to listen to music at all you'll have to use the phone's built-in speakers, which, while an improvement over earlier Walkman phones like the W580i, aren't an ideal solution.
The phone's physical design complements its musical functions nicely. When closed, the face of the W518a shows the artist and the title of the current track. Three playback buttons (rewind, skip ahead, and pause/play) sit below the track display, while the volume controls reside on the right edge, giving you easy access to them while the phone is in your pocket. Oddly enough, while the face buttons look like regular buttons, they're actually touch-sensitive spots that don't depress, which was hard for me to get used to. If you don't want to fiddle with the face buttons, you can hold down the pause/play button and shake the phone to change tracks instead. However, this is not only awkward (shake left for the previous track, shake right to skip ahead, shake wildly to shuffle) and potentially dangerous (I almost flung the thing across the office), but it's also pointless considering the minimal effort required to press the next-track button.
Along the same lines, the W518a introduces a few new control gimmicks that probably shouldn't have left the drawing board. Supposedly you can set your alarm on snooze, or silence incoming calls, by waving your hand in front of the camera. It didn't work too well, though: I tried a casual wave, a deliberate wave, even the Obi-Wan Kenobi "These aren't the droids you're looking for" wave, and had no luck with any of them. I did get the W518a to shut up one time by holding my thumb over the camera as soon as the call came in, but frankly it's less efficient than pushing a button. The volume controls on the side of the phone let you do the same thing without opening the phone up, and they're easier to find than the camera if you're holding the phone in your pocket.
Though the phone's physical design is undeniably attractive, most of the buttons are downright annoying. Besides the face-button problems mentioned earlier, the phone's menu buttons and numeric pad have sizable gaps between them, and my hands got tired quickly.
Other than the Facebook app, the music functions, and the gimmicky controls, the W518a is a fairly run-of-the-mill flip phone. The call quality was clear (nothing stunning), and it was reliable (I didn't have any dropped calls while I was testing it). The battery life was fairly standard for a flip phone, too. AT&T advertises the phone's battery life at 10 hours talk time and 400 hours standby, and I found that with my everyday-use patterns (Internet browsing, music playback, and about 30 minutes of phone calls a day) I had to recharge the W518a only every four or five days, which was nice.
Ultimately, the Sony Ericsson W518a is an incremental update to the Walkman phone line. At the low price point, the W518a isn't a bad choice if you're looking for a basic flip phone with a few extra features. However, for a device that claims to be a socially connected music phone, it lacks an awful lot--namely a full-featured Facebook app, headphones, and a standard headphone jack, all of which you can find in a refurbished iPhone 3G if you don't mind that handset's larger size.
Source
The app is useful if you just want to see the last 30 minutes or so of your News Feed, but considering that Facebook access is one of the W518a's huge selling points, Sony really should have included a full-featured program instead of an anemic accessory. If you're a Facebook addict, you'll appreciate the ability to upload pictures directly from the phone to your profile, but you might not want to share the subpar snapshots from the phone's 3.2-megapixel camera.
Music is the W518a's second specialty. The phone's built-in Walkman app handles all of the music functions. The interface looks kind of like a brushed-metal version of the PlayStation 3's menus, matching the W518a's brushed-chrome-and-silver hardware. Through the interface you can access your music collection as well as the built-in XM Radio ($9 to buy the app, though you'll need a data plan as well), FM Radio, Shop Music, and other miscellaneous music apps.
This is where some of the W518a's flaws show: It doesn't have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and worse, it doesn't come with a headset, so you'll have to shell out some extra cash for a compatible headset or an adapter. Until you get one, you won't be able to use the FM radio application (because it uses the headphone cord as an antenna), and to listen to music at all you'll have to use the phone's built-in speakers, which, while an improvement over earlier Walkman phones like the W580i, aren't an ideal solution.
The phone's physical design complements its musical functions nicely. When closed, the face of the W518a shows the artist and the title of the current track. Three playback buttons (rewind, skip ahead, and pause/play) sit below the track display, while the volume controls reside on the right edge, giving you easy access to them while the phone is in your pocket. Oddly enough, while the face buttons look like regular buttons, they're actually touch-sensitive spots that don't depress, which was hard for me to get used to. If you don't want to fiddle with the face buttons, you can hold down the pause/play button and shake the phone to change tracks instead. However, this is not only awkward (shake left for the previous track, shake right to skip ahead, shake wildly to shuffle) and potentially dangerous (I almost flung the thing across the office), but it's also pointless considering the minimal effort required to press the next-track button.
Along the same lines, the W518a introduces a few new control gimmicks that probably shouldn't have left the drawing board. Supposedly you can set your alarm on snooze, or silence incoming calls, by waving your hand in front of the camera. It didn't work too well, though: I tried a casual wave, a deliberate wave, even the Obi-Wan Kenobi "These aren't the droids you're looking for" wave, and had no luck with any of them. I did get the W518a to shut up one time by holding my thumb over the camera as soon as the call came in, but frankly it's less efficient than pushing a button. The volume controls on the side of the phone let you do the same thing without opening the phone up, and they're easier to find than the camera if you're holding the phone in your pocket.
Though the phone's physical design is undeniably attractive, most of the buttons are downright annoying. Besides the face-button problems mentioned earlier, the phone's menu buttons and numeric pad have sizable gaps between them, and my hands got tired quickly.
Other than the Facebook app, the music functions, and the gimmicky controls, the W518a is a fairly run-of-the-mill flip phone. The call quality was clear (nothing stunning), and it was reliable (I didn't have any dropped calls while I was testing it). The battery life was fairly standard for a flip phone, too. AT&T advertises the phone's battery life at 10 hours talk time and 400 hours standby, and I found that with my everyday-use patterns (Internet browsing, music playback, and about 30 minutes of phone calls a day) I had to recharge the W518a only every four or five days, which was nice.
Ultimately, the Sony Ericsson W518a is an incremental update to the Walkman phone line. At the low price point, the W518a isn't a bad choice if you're looking for a basic flip phone with a few extra features. However, for a device that claims to be a socially connected music phone, it lacks an awful lot--namely a full-featured Facebook app, headphones, and a standard headphone jack, all of which you can find in a refurbished iPhone 3G if you don't mind that handset's larger size.
Source
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