While I have been exceptionally fortunate to get a Windows Phone 7 device, I still am using my Motorola Droid as my primary phone. The primary reason is that I use Verizon and my WP7 phone uses a SIM chip (Verizon doesn't use SIM chips). I expect you're reading this post to gleam some information about the WP7 phone, but let's start with the Android.
As some of you may know, the 2.2 version of the Android operating system (a.k.a. Froyo) was released and finally made it's way to the Motorola Droid last week. Google had promised a big performance boost with Froyo (100-500% by some accounts) mostly based on the new JIT compiler. So my expectations were pretty high. I got Froyo installed and while I liked the new features and home page changes a lot, I didn't see much performance change. In fact, the new phone felt downright sluggish. Event swiping the home screen was slow. So what gives?
I decided to do a little digging. My installation of Froyo was over an existing 2.1 phone. So all the old apps I was using were all still installed after the update. So I pulled out my trusty OSMonitor app to see who was eating up all the cycles. OSMonitor (unlike the extremely popular Advanced Task Killer) shows all the processes on the machine. I finally found that the replacement SMS program I was using was performing like a dog. Uninstalling it and going back to the built-in SMS app fixed the performance problem and I am happy with how the phone behaves now. But there is an intrinsic problem here. I had to use some spelunking to find out what background processes were killing my performance. This is a big bucket of FAIL.
Phones aren't for geeks, they are for regular people like my mother and my sister. The fact that most Android users learn to use a task management app means there is something wrong. Arguably this was the biggest fault of Windows Mobile devices. It was too easy to kill the performance of the phone with a single bad-acting application., My mother and my sister won't do that. They'll just complain and put up with it and hate their phone. I think this is what Apple got right with the iPhone. The overall experience has been better because of the lack of true background processes.
So that brings us back to the Windows Phone 7. I've run into a lot of Windows Mobile developers who are angry. I empathize but most of those guys are Enterprise developers. I hope they read this because they aren't the audience for this phone. Sure, Microsoft will certainly help those guys do what they need to do eventually, but right now its about winning back the consumer-level phone. Give Microsoft a revision cycle to get back to you. I know its hard, but its the right thing.
I am ecstatic that Microsoft is protecting the sandbox in Windows Phone 7 so carefully. Sure it makes it harder on developers, but it doesn't make it impossible. Arguably even with the strict sandbox and tombstoning, writing apps for the new phone is going to be much easier than Objective-C, or maybe even for the Android. This is what I think is crucial. We (the developers) aren't the most important customers to the phone, the consumers are. We're all bright people, we can work around the restrictions to create better experiences for the phone users. Working around the limitations (using Notification messages, and the lifecycle of apps) means we have to work harder, but when consumers love this phone, they'll buy more apps...meaning we'll have fun making more apps.
Temper your cynicism and remember that this is the first revision of the phone. Sure, Apple is ahead but as we've seen with the XBox, no lead is insurmountable. With Microsoft's ability to update the OS without involving the carriers (unlike Android), additions to the OS to improve the experience for all phones (and developers) is an update away. The WP7 ecosystem is run by a similar team to the Silverlight ecosystem. Iterating quickly, frequent updates, and open source solutions to fill in the holes. Just wait for those first phones to hit the shelves, its going to be a fun ride...at least I hope so.
What do you think?
Url: http://wildermuth.com/downloads/xboxbrowser.zip
The field of smart phones is getting larger this holiday season: the Microsoft offering is the Windows Phone 7. It should be of no surprise to most people that this category of phone is becoming increasingly important, but not because its a phone.
Many people spout off that the iPad is a category changed, but I think the iPhone was much more important. The hand-held computer is finally a reality. Having great experiences for consumers is the lynchpin of these devices. In this category are really four major players IMHO:
- iPhone by Apple
- Blackberry Phones by RIM
- Android Phones by Google
- Windows Phone 7 by Microsoft
I won't repeat the relative merits and misses that the other players have made, instead i'd like to make a pitch for both consumers that Windows Phone 7 is likely to be a great experience (and until we have final silicon and OS we won't know for sure).
Great Consumer Story
I think Microsoft is finally doing the phone right here. They've repeatedly stated that they will be focusing on the consumer story in this first release. While Microsoft can do and has done a great job focusing on the enterprise, they've struggled with their consumer level products in many areas (XBox notwithstanding). By not trying to solve both masters, this first version should provide a great platform for consumers. They're not being goaded by developers into opening up the platform to features which hurt the consumer experience (e.g. multi-tasking) while working with specific partners on features consumers want (e.g. background audio with Pandora and the like).
In addition, I think that being late to the game will actually help Microsoft this time. Phones are not like other devices. People are not as invested in them (or keep them as long) as other hardware. I firmly think that iPhone-fatigue is setting in. Some of it is the result of Apple's heavy-handedness in control of the AppStore and equally its reluctance to punish AT&T for bad service.
Android equally has other problems with multiple versions of their operating systems and are trying hard to have better control over that. The fact that when you go get an android phone and the average consumer has to know to get a 2.0 or 2.1 phone instead of 1.6 phone is just a travesty. This will ultimately hurt the adoption of the Android phone. While the Apple's AppStore is too tightly run, the Android store is too lose. Android is often called, "iPhone Without Rules". That comes with a cost.
Blackberry is a completely different animal. They've succeeded in the enterprise market and are certainly the big dog in the business sector, but this first Windows Phone isn't targetting them...but I suspect v2 will be all about business users.
But What About Developers?
A lot is made about the developer story on each of the platforms. Apple requiring Objective-C (or other C based coding) does seem shortsighted but at the end of the day the richness of the programming platform is only part of the story.
When I first got my Android phone I wondered how many of the apps that I craved on the iPhone would be on my new phone. I was pleasantly surprised that apps like Shazam and 4Square were already ported to Android. Similarly when the Windows Phone 7 was announced, some of these same apps were demo'd. But the reality is that most of the hard work of these apps aren't on the device. Building a new client for the functionality on the server means that most of the client code is just polish, not functionality in the traditional sense.
Let's use Shazam as an example. Shazam was ported quickly mostly because all it does on the phone is record and play music as well as show data of the songs that were identified. But the detecting of the song information is all done on big iron in the cloud. The radical change in the iPhone then seems to be the ubiquity of the Internet on a phone, not the phone itself. Turn off 3G and Wireless and see how many of your apps continue to work on your phone. Go do it now...i'll wait.
Finished yet?
As you've figured out, many of the apps you use are really the first of the new wave of cloud-based apps. The fact that instead of being web-driven, they are smart-client cloud apps. This affects developers by realizing that they need to get both sides right. A great user experience on the device that is driven by a great cloud experience. The skills required can be pretty varied to get both sides correct. Nothing worse than a great looking app that's waiting on server time-outs.
Late to the Party?
But is Microsoft coming out with their phone after Apple's already plucked the market from under them? Perhaps, but I think quickly coming up with a 'me too' phone would have proven disasterous. Coming late to this part may in fact be the reason for its success. With the relative success of the Android phone has shown, the iPhone is not indominable. In fact, the level of iPhone fatigue I think is at a high point at this time.
While coming late to the party, many people also worried about what Microsoft would come up to complete in this new phone era. The Metro (or Cosmopolitan) design language has thoroughly surprised me. I expected microsoft to just compete not to overtake. The new phone paradigm is still to be tested, but it is my sincere hope that this new hub system works as advertised.
Development Model
Much has been said about Apple's take on how to control their developers (and force their own language requriements). I think this will be ultimately lead to developers flocking to other phones. We are already seeing this on the Android phones as it uses Java and that helps re-use existing skillsets of language and tooling. I expected Microsoft to do something similiar but their decision to use Silverlight was a complete surprise. Using XNA for game development just fits (as that's how XBox Community, Windows and Zune games were written). But Silverlight as the programming model does several things in Microsoft's favor as far as I am concerned:
- Allows existing .NET developers to come to the platform easily.
- Allows existing Silverlight and WPF developers to use their skills seemlessly.
- Promotes cross-usage of assets on the desktop, web and phone.
I've played with the bits in building the course and writing the first chapter of my upcoming book (so I am obviously not a completely neutral party) but I am impressed so far.
I've updated my XBox Games Browser app for the phone to the most recent version (Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP (April 2010 Refresh). The biggest change in this version is that I had to use Tim Heuer's advice (and PowerShell tool) to remove the signing of the OData Library for the phone (I've included that in an externals directory in the source). You can get the project here:
http://wildermuth.com/downloads/xboxbrowser.zip
What do you think about Microsoft's new Phone OS and development platform?
Url: http://www.motorola.com/consumers/US-EN/Motorol...
I've given up on my old Windows Mobile phone and been looking around for a replacement. Now let me be clear, I can't have an iPhone because AT&T is clearly evil. So I decided to take the plunge on an Android phone. I've looked at a couple of the phones, but since I am on Verizon I grabbed the Motorola Droid. Its not bad for $199.
I don't intend to simply put some magic number rating of the phone, but I have some overall observations:
The Good
- The overall initial experience is excellent. I was wow'd from the minute I got the phone.
- I didn't read the manual (though I am not sure it would have helped), but the act of discovery worked really well. I had to get used to how the context menu and the back button worked (and no 'ok' buttons).
- The browser (though not tabbed) is excellent.
- Making phone calls is just great. No more worry about touching my ear to the phone and dialing just works the way I expected it to.
- Taking photos and videos are great. The phone has a better resolution than my point-n-shoot (though I am not sure it takes better pictures).
- I have been impressed by many of the Marketplace's apps. Though I am told not as slick as iPhone apps, I am very happy with most of the apps.
- The Marketplace's reviews and screenshots help a lot to find apps worth getting and their 24 hour return policy is nice. (Ahem...you listening Steam?)
- The GPS and Tower Location work great. It even worked inside my house.
- Google maps and turn by turn directions work well.
- Lots of apps I liked like TripIt, Seismic for Android, Evernote, Fish2Go, gStrings, Guitar Hero, Qik, Pandora, Shazam, YouTube and Steamy Window.
The Bad
- No integration with ActiveSync/Outlook at all. I found a great Sync2 app that would sync my contacts, but I still haven't had any luck syncing my calendar. And there is no sync of tasks whatsoever. I am told that the sync with Exchange is a lot better (I use Outlook but not Exchange). You kinda have to buy into the Google-verse to use the phone IMHO.
- The marketplace has issues. I initially could not download anything for about 1/2 day. I spent most of that time assuming it was my fault. Buying apps was even more painful as my google accounts are Google for Domains accounts. Through trial and error I found out that buying apps didn't work because I didn't have a gmail account. Once that was added, it just worked.
- The phone is very google-fied. You have to have a google account (e.g. gmail) for many of the features.
- No Flash, no Silverlight.
Mixed Bag
- Apps must be installed into internal memory (I think 256MB free), but has a 16GB SD card (upgradable) for other storage like pics.
- Like Windows Mobile, there are apps that run well on some phones and badly on others. You have to read the fine-print to see if the Droid is ok with an app (though Droid is one of the good ones most of the time).
Conclusion?
Since I just got the phone its hard to settle on a real conclusion. After a month with the phone I will have a better idea. Many of the location-aware functionality will either do well or badly in the coming weeks. I am hoping to really put the phone through its paces at the MVP Summit and at MIX. I'll let you know what I think after that.
Url: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/contro...
I've spent a week so far with my new phone, the Motorola Q9m. While its touted as a multimedia phone, I mostly got it for a smartphone and a MS platform to throw some code on. When you buy a phone its married (for the most part) to the provider and my provider is Verizon Wireless. I picked up this phone after two years with them for only $199 + a $50 mail-in rebate. Good deal for a phone of this quality.
Here are some pros and cons of the phone from my perspective:
Pros:
- Great size!
- Good memory.
- Keyboard feel is exceptional.
- Battery life so far is great.
- Can charge via USB 2.0!
- Screen is crisp and clear.
Cons:
- Verizon removed instant messaging.
- Can't charge via USB 2.0 if battery is completely dead.
- Case sucks.
- Dialing phone #'s is difficult for my Shrek-sized hands.
- Hard to tell when I am consuming Broadband minutes.
Overall I am very happy with the device though when the battery ran dry in Boston and I only had the USB 2.0 cable to charge it I panicked. Luckily I picked up a quick car charger and was good to go the next day.
Here are some things I did when I got the device that i would recommend to users:
- To alleviate the instant messaging I picked up a great little free IM app called Prelude. To get full IM support (MSN, AOL, Yahoo, etc.) you need to download it from Handigo (its free).
- Switch to using the normal home screen. The default one that Verizon throws up is hard to read and nasty.
- Visit and spend some time at http://www.everythingq.com - they have a great list of tips and tricks and if you look in the forums there are lots of free home screens that are just exceptional.
- Sync to your computer to get the most of out the phone. The new Windows Mobile 6 version of contacts does a great job of syncing details (and really important to me) the images you've attached to contacts. When I view them on my phone or in Outlook I get the image.
