Steve Ballmer: iPhone? WinMo is Where It's At!

[JMcEntegart]

Steve Ballmer has said and done some nutty things in the past (developers, developers, developers, anyone?) and his latest comments about the iPhone are definitely raising a few eyebrows.

Steve Ballmer: iPhone? WinMo is Where It's At! : Read more

 

[Guest]

1001

 

[tenor77]

I guess it's more a question of what you want the phone for. If you're doing business and need an office suite for your phone I guess WinMo is what you need. I'm more of a minimalist when it comes to my phones. I hate the fact I have to have one. If I'm out of the office....I'm out of the office. Wait till I come back. But that's just me.

 

[sfiorito]

I've been a WinMo user since the beginning, but I'm getting tired of waiting for Microsoft to catch up. WinMo 7 should've been out (or the features at least) 2 years ago. The platform is lagging behind in terms of usability. I love my Blackjack II and TyTn, but for usability they don't come close to the iPhone. As a developer, obviously I prefer WinMo, but as an end user I'm seriously leaning towards moving to the iPhone.

 

[g-thor]

At this point, I'd sit on the fence. Android looks and sounds good so far, but it is still in the ramp up phase. Can it live up to what Google sees it being? It really needs to see better acceptance from phone manufacturers (and I wouldn't mind seeing some of our mobile service providers in Canada joining in as well). That said, I am excited to see what innovations it brings to the market. I do think it has the chance of driving innovation and competition.

WinMo 7 - still an unknown to the public. Hey Microsoft, show us what it will do (as in Final Release version - the one that counts) and then we can actually do a comparison.

iPhone v3? We all know Apple. Whatever changes they make won't be known until it is released. (I'm pretty sure Apple has a chip they implant into all employees that keeps them from telling anything to anyone.)

Currently I use an HTC TyTN (old stuff) with WinMo 6 and it is adequate. That's all it will be because of the age of the hardware. I have used Blackberry and liked a lot of things about it, especially the battery life and reception range. I'd love to try out the G1 and see what Android has to offer, but that's a very expensive test run (maybe we need someone who rents them out for a week, or something).

What really counts, though, is usability. How well does it do what I want, and how simple is it to start the functions? WinMo needs to improve in those areas. RIM may have improved a lot with the new Bold/Storm combo, but they're way out of my price range at the moment.

I like the fact that the competition is heating up. This should lead to better choices for us, the consumers, so I don't care who wins or who raises the bar to the next level.

 

[Guest]

"The real market momentum with operators and the real market momentum with device manufacturers seems to primarily be with Windows Mobile and Android," explained Ballmer."

This statement betrays Ballmer's blind spot. With PCs, this was good strategy because IT departments made the majority of purchases in the early days when PCs were expensive. But with cellphones, the average consumer is going to decide, NOT the "operators" or "operators."

 

[eccentric909]

The IPhone would be much cooler if they lifted some of the restrictions on it and was more open-ended. Especially in the US, which I don't know if it's the case anymore, where you have to use AT&T.. at least that's how it was when it launched. AT&T is pretty terrible in my area, so the IPhone for me is a no go unfortunately.

 

[bunnyblaster]

Let's put it this way. Blackberry's main focus is email and online access. Apple is positioning its iPhone to be the all purpose mobile entertainment and platform that happens to have phone functions.

What do you think corporate executives want their employees using? A phone that can be modded full of games or a workphone if they are subsidizing the bill? The reality is most of the upper smart phone users are still corporate subsidized.

 

[Airrax]

I've got to say that the real determining factor is pop culture. Techies make up a small portion of the populous, even though it does seem that the majority of the population is starting to swing toward technological advancement, as seen with choosing Blu-Ray (Please do not start a war with this, mainly all I'm saying is that people decided on a format that holds larger capacity, unlike VHS vs. Betamax), and the popularity of digital distribution. The problem, though, is that most of the people in America will still choose hip over functional when it comes to a product that is 'attached' to them. Most people don't care if it's faster, or has a better camera, or is a better phone in almost all respects...so long as it increases their social standing in the 'fashion' world, and is easy enough for an untrained monkey to use.

I guess I can summarize this with the following: What's the difference between a $10,000 phone that Bill Gates buys and one that Paris Hilton buys? Most people wish they had the Paris phone. It doesn't matter that Mr. Gates' phone is capable of running his 'Sky Home' from anywhere in the solar system, has 7680x4800 resolution, and can play Crysis at 263 fps. Paris's is made of gold and has diamonds. It sparkles.

 

[jarnail24]

I'm a die hard windows fanboy but I can't help playing with my girlfriend's iphone. windows mobile can do anything the iphone can but on the iphone its enjoyable and so easy to use.

 

[theuerkorn]

There are those that would never accept anything Microsoft and there are those who don't think MS could ever fail. For the rest of us it's all about functionality and price. (These days mostly the latter.) The iPhone has a strong multimedia and ease-of-use aspect, while still lacking some business apps. Apple may not fix that even in the rumored next generation, but most people won't care and it sure remains strong. WinMo 7 is a lot of me-too and it will please those who want/need Windows. For me, after Palm it's now the iPhone and I have no immediate need to jump ship one way or the other.

 

[Guest]

i heard that in Japan iPhone 3G is offering for $0 with 2 yrs (or less) contract because almost no one liked the phone compared to other devices in Japanese market, Apple had a hard time there.

3G/GPS, wi-fi, camcorder, 6M+ pixels, multimedia-sms, web-TV, direct-sync/update (iPhone requires iTunes), and accessories friendly. Many local phones are already far better and cheap, too.

in fact i know that jap phones are wonderful, but Apple's phone for $0 and still sell very slow? Can somebody confirm that is it true?

 

[falchard]

iPhone costs too much to buy and to upkeep. Thats the reason for any sort of potential. Its because iPhone is a standard product sold and maintained at a premium rate.

 

[vaskodogama]

I Hate iTunes, I does nothing, it slows the computer [ windows based ], and, I hate it, but the winmo based phones, are like jack of all trades, they can be easily converted to usb storage, they can easily view photos of any size in any folder or ets, playing music NOT SYNC'd with your PC/MAC media player, shorty, it is a PC it self and I will stick to it, not the iphones stupii|) UI [ but I like the ease of use, and the graphics, but hate the iTunes ], and I think MS should make a good mobile suit available for the winmo based devices that look more friendly!

 

[jsloan]

wrong Ballmer, blackberrys is where it's at!

for god sake get a hair piece, your are scaring your clients away ;-)

 

[vaskodogama]

For iPhones and iPods, connectivity to a computer, PC or MAC with iTunes, specially in windows is a VERY big disadvantage. [ syncing the phone with itunes for anything, even photos videos, in my opinion looks ridiculous ]

For WinMo devices, the teem of different hardware setups for mobile devices is big disadvantage, MS could set a standard for the WinMo based phones, but they didn't, so we can't see a lot of good working 3rd party softwares for WinMo that we see for iPhone's.

and for PC Suit Software, MS must consider a new mobile suit that looks more user friendly, like Nokia's. I love Nokia's PC suit, because it gives you the sense that you can do everything with a click with your phone connected to computer!

eagerly waiting for WinMo 7 to rescue from bad functioning user interfaces built by manufacturers, like HTC and Samsung and etc!

 

[neiroatopelcc]

From a business point of view I think he could be right (ballmer). Nobody I know would probably buy an iphone, while serveral might consider other options in the same price range.
Personally I don't like apple at all, so it's a given I won't consider it. But most people I know don't share my point of view, and still don't want an iphone.

 

[blackened144]

[citation][nom]falchard[/nom]iPhone costs too much to buy and to upkeep. Thats the reason for any sort of potential. Its because iPhone is a standard product sold and maintained at a premium rate.[/citation]
A premium compared to what? I used 2 previous HTC WinMo phones before my iPhone. I switched because the 8gb 3G iPhone was $200 and ATT wanted $300 for the ATT Tilt (The newest HTC WinMo phone they had at the time). As far as Im concerned, it was the only actual DEAL at the time. Plus as far as the quality of the phone goes the iPhone blows away the Tilt. In fact my previous 2 HTC phones blew away the Tilt. HTC cheaped out a bit when they made it.