Best Phone Blog

September is just a few months away and so is the launch of Windows Phone 7 (if earlier rumors are to be believed). The new platform from Microsoft is quite different from the previous Windows Mobile operating system and so is the target user base.

WP7’s main focus is on social networking, and while some users might appreciate the new approach, other could say that Microsoft has taken it too far.

There is nothing wrong about social networking on a smart phone; in fact, one can pretty much expect it. Integrated features for Facebook and Twitter are so commonplace that some smart phone buyers already consider if a basic feature. However, Microsoft has taken it one step further by choosing to replace certain aspects of the handset with social networking features –namely, the contact list.

This is where Microsoft might have stepped on a proverbial landmine. For most people, the friends list on Facebook is a collection of friends, family and “random acquaintances that would really help boost the number of people you get to play with on Facebook’s gaming applications”. That said; it is common that a mobile phone would have a more personal list of contacts. Microsoft takes away that distinction by placing everyone in a linked Facebook account into the smart phone’s contacts page.

Since the process is automated and there is no way of preventing it, the only other thing that people can do is to not associate a Facebook account in the OS.

Still, the OS manages to shine in many other aspects. The new UI design is both unique and impressive. But most old school users might not be able to adapt to the bleeding effect of the cut off text on top of the pages. The large empty space on the side might also throw off some users –especially those who want to fill up the entire screen with content.

According to Gary Marshall of Tech Radar, “maybe Steve (Jobs) should blog”.

The man has a point, not that Steve Jobs needs to start blogging sometime soon (though that would work too), but that Apple needs to change the way it interacts with the world.

Sure, they make decent enough products to become one of the largest developer-manufacturers in the world, but that does not mean that the world likes them. Steve Jobs has personally earned a reputation in the industry as the cranky old man who has a distorted view of reality, and the folks at Cupertino under him are not falling far from the Apple tree (and yes, pun intended).

They even went as far as telling the world that they forgo having PR, which is why they take things to a personal level –which is outright unprofessional and bad for their company. They have the option of taking things personally, but that does not mean they can lash out in the very same way.

It would be silly to believe that they have taken 22 days tackling the iPhone 4’s antenna issue and have only come up with such a crude solution. While a free iPhone case has been on the list of solutions early on, it is not something that a company that considers itself a rival to Microsoft and Google would waste so much time on.

There is no excuse that is acceptable at this point. While users will certainly appreciate a full refund, this does not bode well for those avid Apple supporters who have been hoping to use the iPhone 4. These people have remained loyal users to the Cupertino based company, and are willing to stick it out even with a faulty smart phone, and the best that Apple can do is a cheap free case (not even the slightly better looking iPhone bumper).

As impressive as the new Windows Phone 7 mobile platform may be, many gaming fans are still disappointed that there is still no announced lineup of games that the smart phone operating system will be supporting.

This is a major factor that many gamers are considering. For the most part, the hardcore market of gamers are not always too keen on spending money for mobile phones, many would be happy with basic GSM handsets and simply allocate their money for great games or updates to the console. And with Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 announced to be pretty pricey (as well as the new Xbox 360 “slim” type), they will need a very good reason as to why a gamer should also get a WP7 handset.

The integration of the Xbox Live Games service on the new OS did not really come as a surprise for the gaming industry; though many appreciated that existing accounts are reportedly useable in the new mobile platform. Despite this, there are some gamers concerned about the accumulation of gamer points and in game achievements as many still view the mobile app gaming industry as a casual gaming market. For points and achievements earned there to be counted along a player’s console rating is considered by some to be an affront to their skills.

As stated, there is still no announced lineup of games for the WP7 operating system. While it has already been demonstrated by Microsoft that games can be transferred from the phone to a computer or to a console, there are not titles that would be making use of the feature.

According to reports, Microsoft is offering various incentives to developers to create games for WP7 but with the production details becoming too complex for some independent creators, they still turned down the offer.

Now, if there is one form of electronic communication that people use, and more often than not, trust, it is Email. Email alone was enough to push mobile phone technology to develop better handsets and eventually smart phones (it was the need to have access to email that made RIM, Palm and Microsoft focus so hard on making pocket PC technology and later, smart phones).

Apparently, some folks at Facebook do not share the same idea, people like Sheryl Sandberg for example is one of them. Sheryl is chief operating officer for Facebook (though we now wonder how long she will be holding that position). According to her, Email is going away.

Now, the reason she states for this is mostly due to the fact that the ‘younger’ generation prefers to use the internal messaging and chat options of Facebook as opposed to having to open another browser window and sending an email (or opening up email software like Outlook). In this regard, yes, it is true; private messaging is becoming the favorite tool of choice for casual conversations.

However, email is also the individual’s private address on the internet, it is where information about banking details, account registrations, forum tracking, personal subscriptions and other such content are sent and stored. People even use an email address to sign up for Facebook as well.

So no, there is no need to shut down one’s email address today or even years from now.

Email will be around for a long time, it may take on a different form, hosted on a new server, or even start allowing users to send email content using various media (as opposed to simply attaching a file). In that regard, there is no way that a social networking site would ever be able to phase email out.

Microsoft is trying to drum up more hype for their upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform. Not only are they giving the public a few well-placed tidbits of information, they are also giving developers more of an incentive to work on projects for their upcoming entry.

In line with this, they have released new and improved policies for the Windows Phone Marketplace. This includes guidelines for the certification and application submission that will cover the upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform. Windows wants to open their doors (no pun intended) to independent developers, hobbyists and, possibly, new talent coming from schools.

Since the first Marketplace was introduced around eight months ago, the app store has shown promise in terms of customer base and reasonable terms for developers. They amped up the package with policies for an unlimited number of paid app submission, an annual registration fee of about 70 GBP that includes 5 free premium app submissions (14 GBP for succeeding apps) as well as a push notification service which is an optional asset for the developers.

To encourage students to try their hand on making their own apps, there is a free registration system for DreamSpark students which also has the 5 free premium app package.

For the benefit of both developers and consumers, a trial API is an optional inclusion in the package. This would mean that users would have to avenue to check whether they really want to buy an app after trying it out.

For a better market reach, Microsoft is also giving developers the means to publish their apps through a new “worldwide distribution” system which only has to be paid once.

Speaking of payment, a 70/30 scheme will be used in favor of the developers. It does seem like a hefty sum but at least Microsoft is transparent and reasonable about the policies. Hopefully they will not get Apple’s habit of spontaneous revisions.