I got to spend some time with the Lenovo IdeaPad YOGA, a 4-way convertible Ultrabook. I like it a lot, and cannot wait for it to be released.
Lenovo Ideapad YOGA: Gets My Vote for the Best Ultrabook at CES
I was able to get some pictures of the Nokia Lumia 900 at the Nokia booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
I saw this in the Ultrabook section at the Intel CES booth. Why bother with these apps, at least on display PCs?? Sigh.
Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph runs yet another awesome campaign to show non-Windows Phone users how they phone is slower than Windows Phone. Puts $100 on it!
After a blog post created large-scale uproar, Microsoft clarifies the state of Windows Phone updates. It’s business as usual.
Windows Phone Executive: It’s “Business as Usual” with Windows Phone Updates
Windows Phone engineering team did a fantastic job after NoDo update fiasco - increased transparency and forced carriers/OEMs to synchronize. Sadly, that story seems to be ending.
My wish list for Windows Phone for 2012.
Wow. The #droidrage promo that Ben Rudolph ran a couple of days back, got 3,200 tweets in about 30 hours! That's 2 tweets per minute!
I guess Android owners are not too satisfied with their phones, eh? Must be the low-class nature of their existence? (I keeeeed, I keeeeeed!)
Wow, lots of #droidrage out there. 3,200+ people shared Android horror stories with @BenThePCGuy with hopes for a #windowsphone.
— Bill Cox (@billcox) December 15, 2011
BTW, those 3,200+ #droidrage horror stories all came in just 30 hours... nearly two responses every minute.
— Bill Cox (@billcox) December 15, 2011
Manan Kakkar just blogged about how some of Microsoft's iOS apps are a bad thing for Microsoft, and how the SkyDrive app for WP7 is useless to him. I'd like to use this blog post as a response to some of his remarks, criticisms and rants.
Kinectimals for iOS leaves no USP for the Microsoft ecosystem in the living room
I agree with Manan that there was an implicit promise of Windows Phone working very closely with Xbox and Windows in a way that iOS and Android could not and would not. At the same time, you have to remember - Microsoft is clearly pitching Xbox as a platform. If they want the Xbox to become a platform, they will need many more consoles out in homes. At the same time, the reality is that most Xbox users are most likely users of iOS devices of some shape or form.
Giving a taste of how a mobile device can work tightly with the Xbox gives Microsoft several wins:
All of these create the vicious circle of creating a bigger market for the console as well as selling more content off the console. For a platform company, is there a better recipe?
Microsoft is at a very interesting stage in its history. For the first time since it became the most dominant company in the world, it is facing a world where its operating system (note: not "software") may not be the most popular system. The world is moving towards smaller, lighter computing devices where so far, we have not seen Windows at all. Until we see Windows 8 succeed, we will continue with the argument that Microsoft is not a player in this new world where PCs will be outsold by smart devices which do not run Windows.
Why should I own a Windows Phone and not an iPhone, if the Xbox integration is going to be so tight with the iPhone?
First, I don't think every game is going to be made available on iOS. Kinectimals is one of those games Microsoft may be toying with, to see if there is any sense in pursuing that market.
So from a user perspective, you can be assured that Windows Phone will continue to have Xbox LIVE games which won't be on any other platforms, it will be the only platform with Xbox Achievements, and if there are games which get on iOS, Windows Phone will get them first for sure. It may not be a convincing argument, but frankly, if it were a convinving argument, Windows Phone would have sold way more than it has already.
Clearly, users don't really care much about Xbox on their phones enough to keep it a strict exclusive.
You bring one game, you have to bring all
I am not sure why they should be forced to bring every game with such tight integration. They chose this game just like EA Games or Pop Cap Games chose to bring one or two games to Windows Phone. I don't see any logical reason to bring every single title to iOS necessarily.
WP7 SkyDrive app is useless
This one confused me. Not because there is no basis for Manan's point. WP7 after all has an extremely efficient concept of Hubs which in fact avoid the need to have separate apps for each service. In that regard, my SkyDrive pics/vids can, and are available in the Pictures Hub. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote can, and are available in the Office Hub. So I'd call the new SkyDrive app redundant in some ways, but not useless.
Hubs are meant to make it easy to see and share stuff that you care about like Pictures, Music, Office docs, etc. The purpose of the SkyDrive app is not to just let you browse the stuff, but also allow it to be selectively shared with others.
Finally, I believe Manan has concluded that the app is useless because it does not serve two of his wishes (more than being really useless) - being able to save an attachment to SkyDrive, and being able to see files on other PCs and devices from SkyDrive. The former is a missing feature of the Mail application and perhaps of the OS itself (not exposing the file system) and the latter is a missing feature of SkyDrive the service. Neither is a shortcoming of the SkyDrive app.
By having an app, Microsoft can also rev it faster than the OS updates, much like Google's apps on Android which are now de-coupled from the OS itself.
I feel bad having the need to write a long response but twitter's 140 characters were just not enough to make my point.
Manan, cheers :-)
SkyDrive app? It's as if the Gods at Redmond have finally heard the prayers of the peasants! Not very useful on WP7 though.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan what do you want it to do? i see it being quite helpful. share/send link/browse. WP7 has adv of being able to edit from Office.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit honestly, it's a useless app only released to avoid the shit storm of "Oh MSFT releases app for iOS leaves WP7"
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan what it provides over-and-above Office Hub is Send Link and creation/deletion of files.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
.@TheRomit essentially, nothing. I need access to my devices.live.com stuff. Till then SkyDrive's cloud promise is broken.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan so you want access to files on other PCs/devices. functionality of the app remains the same, yes?
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit the app's functionality is no different to the Office hub. I preferred SkyDrive within Office hub.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan that is still there. don't put it in past tense :-) unclear if you could enable sharing from Office Hub.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit it makes more sense of adding capabilities of sharing into the hub than create an app that does all the same stuff.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit so when they do that the app might make sense. But they don't right now. Hence the app as of now is useless.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan i streamed video that i had uploaded to one of the folders. today.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit going by that logic, why show me office document in the app. They are Office documents.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan however you could make a case that sharing other files could be done via Pictures Hub. Sure. But one-stop shop is nice.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit I still am looking for a reason as to why I need the SkyDrive app on WP7. I see none. At all.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan the app is for storing and sharing vs self-consuming. Helps?
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit nope. since I can't store a PDF file I download which was an email attachment.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
@manan is that SkyDrive app's fault that you cannot access the file system? No.
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@manan (2/2) it may not be as necessary on WP7 w/hubs and stuff, but i can see how it can be useful. also, as an app, it can be reved faster
— Romit Mehta (@TheRomit) December 14, 2011
@TheRomit I don't care. I can't convince my univ's IT dept to endorse SkyDrive with that statement.
— Manan Kakkar (@manan) December 14, 2011
Steve Ballmer moves Andy Lees out of his position as President of Windows Phone. Terry Myerson takes over for Andy Lees, who moves to an interesting role.
Windows Phone Executive Shakeup: Andy Lees Out, Terry Myerson In
Windows Phone social champion Ben Rudolph (@BenThePCGuy on twitter) runs a promotion to offer Windows Phone for angry Android users.
Got #droidrage? Tweet to Get Your Android Replaced with a Windows Phone
Verizon Wireless wants Microsoft to include LTE in Windows Phone. Microsoft will need to react or else risk being cut off from the largest US network.
Verizon Wireless, Windows Phone, LTE and Microsoft’s Mobile Strategy Problem
The Valley Fair Microsoft Store opened last week. I intended to go for the opening, but saw the long lines being reported, and decided not to bother.
So finally, today I went to check the store out. It is almost exactly opposite the Apple Store in Valley Fair, but I didn't care about that too much. My idea was the check out the Microsoft Store and see if there is anything to like, and then compare the experience to that of being in an Apple Store.
The store is big, and has a lot of open space. The first thing you see from the outside is a bunch of people playing Dance Central on the Kinect. That is clearly the crowd-puller, both to get the people to come in, and also to get people to gather around.
As you enter, you notice the red color like the new Windows Phone theme across the entire store. You also notice video running on the giant screen that wraps the store. It has videos of Windows Phone, Xbox games, PCs, etc. showing in a loop.
Another thing I immediately noticed was the familiar fonts from Windows Phone and elsewhere, identifying the various sections in the store, like Windows Phone, Xbox and accessories, Service, Business, Cloud Services, etc. The middle of the store had a few tables with various laptops. The all-in-one PCs and tower desktops were lined up along the side. Xbox games and accessories were on the back and so was boxed software on the other side at the back.
The Windows ecosystem has a huge benefit in terms of choice it offers customers when it comes to buying a PC. I saw several laptops, from the regular and boring types to ultrabooks/ultralights and large-screen, gaming type of machines. I saw slates running Windows 7 from multiple providers, all-in-one PCs of different sizes and desktop PCs with large monitors set up for gaming and high-end graphics work.
I saw the new Windows Phones (and in fact, witnessed a regular guy buying a Windows Phone!), many custom Xbox consoles including a Stanford themed box and of course the "Service" desk which imitates the Genius bar from Apple Store. I saw a lady who had brought what seemed like at least a 5 year old laptop, trying to get something addressed there.
The very back of the store had a giant (~70 inches easily) screen hooked up to Xbox (I think). Since I went so early (almost at the time of store opening), I didn't see that area being used.
I settled down at the Samsung slate and was playing with it when Foo (seriously, his name tag said that!) came by, introduced himself and started a casual conversation about tablets, technology, etc. No sales pressure, mostly consulting/advice and product stuff ("yes, all these PCs are upgradeable to Windows 8"). After a few minutes of discussion I went over to see the other PCs. I was actually impressed with the various ultrabooks on display. I liked them a lot and can't wait for one of my PCs to die so I can replace it with an ultrabook.
The other PCs I liked included an HP laptop with red accents (seemed like a gaming machine?) and the Samsung Series 9 laptop, which I saw for the first time. After seeing those ultrabooks, the Series 9 seemed just-ok.
Finally, the had Windows Phone placed in multiple places and I especially liked the HTC Radar and the Samsung Focus S. The Focus Flash, which looks chunky (to me) in pictures, is actually quite cute. Speaking of the Focus Flash, as I entered the store, I overheard one of those consultants talk to a customer and the thing I heard was the customer saying "what? it's only $50??". Later, I saw him buying the phone. I guess the hard cost of the phone is in fact important sales factor, never mind that the cost of the phone with the 2-year contract includes a $15 data plan for 24 months.
Finally, the "Service" area, aka Genius Bar for the Microsoft Store. I did not actually interact with them but while I was waiting for closing out my transaction I saw a lady who had got her old (seemed VERY old) laptop with keyboard, extra battery, power, etc. and was talking to the consultant about the problem. Compared to the Apple Store, these "geniuses" have to understand/handle such a large variety of software and hardware combinations. Wonder what kind of quality of service they provide.
I ended up buying a Nyko Kinect accessory (to reduce the distance requirements in my house) and the 320GB Xbox hard drive.
I typically don't go to Apple Store, and I don't see myself going to the Microsoft Store much either. However, I do see that the store becomes a place where Microsoft can show off their consumer-related stuff like Windows Phones, Xbox, Kinect and also a place where they can aggressively sell "pure" PCs with the Signature image. In my limited experience with the Apple Store in the same mall, I felt the Microsoft Store was more cheerful, happier, colorful and generally, more fun.
These things will not be making money for Microsoft anytime soon, but will definitely help in increasing awareness among the non-tech crowd, brand recognition, and hopefully for them, therefore, sales.
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDXV1154lJM?wmode=transparent])
Interview with indie developer Samuel Clay, developer of popular RSS reader and Google competitor, Newsblur.
Developer Interview: Samuel Clay Of NewsBlur, a Google Reader Alternative
Windows Phone enthusiasts now have a way to unlock their devices to sideload applications.
An interview with Chris Sainty, the developer of gReadie, a Google Reader client for Windows Phone 7.
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) has been released. A Windows Phone user’s take on ICS.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich: From a Windows Phone user’s perspective
Microsoft erases the nightmares of NoDo and other updates with a super-efficient, coordinated, global rollout of Windows Phone Mango.
Microsoft fixes NoDo nightmare with super-efficient Mango rollout
Microsoft reveals the next version of its operating system tomorrow at //build/. Here is a background on Windows 8 and some unanswered questions.
