Windows Phone 7: Why It's a Disaster for Microsoft

[GayWolf]

From the first time I got a good look at Windows Phone 7, it had all the earmarks of the end of the line for Microsoft's mobile aspirations. After spending an hour with a beta version of Windows Phone 7 in July along with a room full of developers, I was shocked (as were they) at how much was missing from the OS and thus how incapable it was -- there were no signs of copy and paste, multitasking, devicewide search, or HTML5.

Now that Windows Phone 7 is shipping, the truth is even worse. I spent several days this wek reviewing a Windows Phone 7 device; in the process, I realized Microsoft made even more boneheaded decisions than I thought possible. You can get the detailed analysis in my deathmatch comparison between Windows Phone 7 and the iPhone 4, but Microsoft's made several additional and unthinkable lapses.

What's really sad, however, is that it didn't have to be that way. Windows Phone 7 does have a strong user interface -- much better than I originally thought (I take back that earlier criticism) -- that could still serve as the basis of a successful mobile platform if Microsoft moves very quickly.

What's wrong with Windows Phone 7 is partly technological and partly strategic, so moving from the bad 1.0 version to a strong 1.1 version by this spring (any later is pointless) would be no mean feat. Let me explain.

Technology miss: Windows Phone 7 is highly insecure

Windows Mobile was second only to the BlackBerry when it came to being secure. Even the military could trust it. By contrast, Windows Phone 7 is less secure than most other mobile OSes, with even fewer security capabilities than Google's Android OS. The big three missteps are lack of on-device encryption, lack of support for complex-password policies, and lack of VPN. These are basic requirements of any business to allow access to their corporate email and networks.

I really want to know how much security Microsoft will have to relax on its own network so that its employees, who are all being issued Windows Phone 7 devices, will be able to access it.

The result is that Apple's iPhone -- which started as a consumer device -- is now the second most secure device after the BlackBerry, and it's gaining trust at financial institutions, hospitals, and other regulated businesses, while Windows Phone 7 can't even be considered. How stupid was that decision?

Technology miss: Its Office apps are shockingly bad

You can't select ranges of text (much less copy or cut them); what you can do in Word and OneNote is essentially limited to jotting down some characters and adding formatting such as boldface, one word at a time. The only text option is to double-tap a word, then apply the limited formatting offered: color, boldface, italic, and highlight background. The Excel app is slightly more capable, but not much.

More irony: Sure, Office for Windows Phone 7 can connect to SharePoint servers -- assuming that you let your security guard down, of course. And when connected to SharePoint, there's little you can actually do with the documents you have access to. What's the point?

If any company should have been able to adapt Office to the mobile environment, it's Microsoft. What it delivers is less capable than a $15 app from a company no one ever heard of such as Quickoffice (available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and WebOS) or DataViz's Documents to Go. If you want Office on your smartphone, you'll need one of those apps running someone else's smartphone.

Microsoft should be ashamed that its mobile Office app is so poor. It should kill it and rely on third parties or make a serious revision effort. Either way, in the meantime it should rename its current mobile Office offering to some Office-less name so as not to further damage that brand. (That's what software updates are for.)

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full article

[TonyLock]

(Y)

[Billus]

Blah blah blah, blah blah.

Let's see in a year or two's time.

[MR_Candyman]

Blah blah blah, blah blah.

Let's see in a year or two's time.

Exactly. Both the iphone and android were horrible at first as well. Personally, I think WP7 has a ton of potential.

[kaffra]

Blah blah blah, blah blah.

Let's see in a year or two's time.

in a year or two for them to catch up with existing phones on the market?

[bjoswald]

Of course it's insecure -- it's a Microsoft product.

Still a little early to consider it a failure, though.

[HawkMan]

This article could also be titled

"I'm an Apple and iPhone fanboy and will hate anything by MS without even trying it. And if someone forces me to review one, I will only look at the flaws and ignore everything else, just like i ignore all the flaws of my perfect device"

At least it sums up the whole "article" if you want to call it that. but I'm sure the WP7 haters will hang on to this like flies to fresh dog crap. that's the purpose of it anyways.

[GayWolf]

Blah blah blah, blah blah.

Let's see in a year or two's time.

Problem is that its product will have a very bad name by then, even if Microsoft manages to fix most of what's seriously wrong with this version of their mobile OS. A fail at launch will take them a long time and a lot more money invested in marketing an PR.

DOA.

[HawkMan]

Of course it's insecure -- it's a Microsoft product.

Still a little early to consider it a failure, though.

that doesn't even make sense, MS makes the most secure OS on the market now for consumers. the one that takes the longest to hack on the competitions.

and never mind the fact that both android and iOS have proven very hackable lately, both have had proof of concept and int he wild trojans and viruses that can infect your phone without user action. Something that again proves it's all about marketshare. since Android and iOS has the highest marketshare in the mobile segment and are getting hacked, attacked and exploited right and left now.

[GayWolf]

This article could also be titled

"I'm an Apple and iPhone fanboy and will hate anything by MS without even trying it. And if someone forces me to review one, I will only look at the flaws and ignore everything else, just like i ignore all the flaws of my perfect device"

At least it sums up the whole "article" if you want to call it that. but I'm sure the WP7 haters will hang on to this like flies to fresh dog crap. that's the purpose of it anyways.

Not really, that article is quite objective and well written. Have you read the article by any chance...?

[HawkMan]

Not really, that article is quite objective and well written. Have you read the article by any chance...?

yeah, I read it without the "WP7 sucks" glasses on. meanwhile your opinion on a mobile OS you haven't even tried is fairly well known in your short history on these forums.

[acnpt]

So no VPN, but does it support WPA(2) Enterprise?

[GayWolf]

yeah, I read it without the "WP7 sucks" glasses on. meanwhile your opinion on a mobile OS you haven't even tried is fairly well known in your short history on these forums.

So you've replaced those glasses with the Windows Phone OS 7 is glory, and every single objective article written by professionals of the area that expose its failures are wrong?

My opinion about this mobile OS is irrelevant to the discussion, we are talking about the article here, not personal take on the matter. Seems irrelevant that you've mentioned such thing to comment on the article.

[speedstr3789]

Not really, that article is quite objective and well written. Have you read the article by any chance...?

The real question is why do you care so much? You obviously don't like it or don't like Microsoft. <Snipped> You have no real input or relevance to anything you say other than to diss a product we already know you don't like. It's getting to be very dull for you and your obsession.

and for the record didn't Galen Gruman used to work for macworld or something? <Snipped>

Edited November 14, 2010 by Anaron

[thenaes]

Exactly. Both the iphone and android were horrible at first as well. Personally, I think WP7 has a ton of potential.

100% agree. It JUST came out. Sure, they are behind, but that doesn't mean it is a "disaster" and it won't mature into something great.

[HawkMan]

So you've replaced those glasses with the Windows Phone OS 7 is glory, and every single objective article written by professionals of the area that expose its failures are wrong?

My opinion about this mobile OS is irrelevant to the discussion, we are talking about the article here, not personal take on the matter. Seems irrelevant that you've mentioned such thing to comment on the article.

Must be why I have a Android phone, and no I don't think it's perfect, neither do I think WP7 is perfect. but it's a lot better put together as a phone OS than the alternatives.

and it's funny the major gripe against it is copy and paste, something 99% of users don't care about, and the 1% (probably a higher number to) that actually do care, probably used it a handful of times a year. in the lifetime of my WM phones, I used it like ... 2 or 3 times. on android, I've tried using it once. but the implementation was so crap it was easier not to. And android doesn't even have a decent office suite to use it in.

[GayWolf]

Must be why I have a Android phone, and no I don't think it's perfect, neither do I think WP7 is perfect. but it's a lot better put together as a phone OS than the alternatives.

and it's funny the major gripe against it is copy and paste, something 99% of users don't care about, and the 1% (probably a higher number to) that actually do care, probably used it a handful of times a year. in the lifetime of my WM phones, I used it like ... 2 or 3 times. on android, I've tried using it once. but the implementation was so crap it was easier not to. And android doesn't even have a decent office suite to use it in.

Copy paste is NOT the only major gripe against Windows Phone OS 7, it's only one of the major gripes. If you think about it (like it's expressed in the article), it makes no point in packing an OS with an Office suite if you can't even make basic operations like copy, cut or paste... The fact that you do not use this feature doesn't mean others will not have the need to use it, think about corporate use.

But also take a chance to read all of the other equally (if not more) important points expressed in that article, so we can debate those too.

[ZekeComa]

that doesn't even make sense, MS makes the most secure OS on the market now for consumers. the one that takes the longest to hack on the competitions.

and never mind the fact that both android and iOS have proven very hackable lately, both have had proof of concept and int he wild trojans and viruses that can infect your phone without user action. Something that again proves it's all about marketshare. since Android and iOS has the highest marketshare in the mobile segment and are getting hacked, attacked and exploited right and left now.

I smell fanboism. Windows has had the worst security on it's OS for the longest about of time. If you really want to go there, you should see BSD or was it FreeBSD. It's been the most secure OS. I like to see your proof without biased or fanboism results.

[George P Global Moderator]

I smell fanboism. Windows has had the worst security on it's OS for the longest about of time. If you really want to go there, you should see BSD or was it FreeBSD. It's been the most secure OS. I like to see your proof without biased or fanboism results.

Give it a rest with the fanboi this fanboi that crap. He clearly said "MS makes the most secure OS on the market now for consumers. " You know, that large group that shun linux and wouldn't even know what the hell FreeBSD is. Outside of servers FreeBSD isn't really used as a desktop OS, if at all.

[Samurizer]

kinda sucks when someone calls you out for what you are doesn't it.

Don't worry, I'm bored with you at the moment...

Actually, what really sucks is when the fanboys want so badly to hit back that it hurts but can't come up with any logical arguments, so they resort to derailing the discussion with rage and ad hominems.

There's been no coherent argument from you so far, just desperate attempts to attack the character of other posters to try to keep them on the defensive.

[Twisp]

I smell fanboism. Windows has had the worst security on it's OS for the longest about of time. If you really want to go there, you should see BSD or was it FreeBSD. It's been the most secure OS. I like to see your proof without biased or fanboism results.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/15605/hacker_pwn2own_organizer_windows_7_is_safer_than_snow_leopard

[Mr. Gibs]

What a trash article.

Technology miss: Windows Phone 7 is highly insecure

This was well known before WP7 even was released. Microsoft isn't targeting businesses with this release, that will be added in with future updates. And the iPhone? Hell the first version didn't even launch with exchange support.

Technology miss: Its Office apps are shockingly bad

Yet again, they aren't targeting businesses yet. And copy paste will be added in with the first update.

Technology mismatch: A really good interface not backed up under the hood

What? The OS is blazingly fast and smooth and I have yet to see someone say otherwise.

Strategy miss: Abandonment of the full Microsoft customer base. Microsoft has created a consumer smartphone meant to compete at the low end of the market with the bazillion feature phones that come and go, not one designed to meet the needs of the business market. It certainly doesn't compete with the iPhone's or BlackBerry's "use it for personal and business as you like" market, which is the one of growth.

Low end of the market? Yeh right :rolleyes: And omfg yet again, THEY AREN'T TARGETING BUSINESSES WITH THIS RELEASE.

Strategy miss: Sticking to a plan that no longer made sense

Holy **** they aren't targeting businesses with this release.

---

So he could have summed up an entire 3 pages of trash article with 1 line. "Microsoft isn't targeting the corporate customer with this first release of WP7"

Edit: Oh look what a surprise, it was written by an Infoworld writer...

[Samurizer]

And the iPhone? Hell the first version didn't even launch with exchange support.

I really can't understand why people keep raising this argument, almost as though we're still in 2007 and Microsoft is competing against first-generation iPhones and Android devices.

How the iPhone and Android used to be are irrelevant. Nobody cares. Microsoft arrived late and now has to contend with established competitors. First-gen WP7 devices against matured iOS and Android probably isn't the fairest comparison to draw, but the world isn't and never was fair. Deal with it.

[spudtrooper]

Article is pure rubish. Its been stated before that WP7 1.0 wasn't an enterprise enabled phone but damn, if MS is pushing it for 89,000 employees i bet whatever shortcomings arise will be fixed soon.

Every fault found of Windows phone presented here could be said for every iOS and Android device that doesn't have that functionality either.

[jason13524]

Do people get paid to write this ********.