Microsoft to Charge for Windows Phone 7

[crom]

The competitive environment has changed significantly since Microsoft released their first phone OS. You either have the bundled approach like Apple, or the free OS with revenue generated inside of it (Android.) From a manufacturer's point of view, the real competition is Google's Android. If I'm going to make a phone, why should I pay a licensing fee for a phone OS when I can get it for free and pull a similar return with the product I'm going to sell? The Windows phone either has to become more established or Microsoft should find a manufacturing partner and build it themselves.

 

[brendano257]

Is it just me or does that UI look rather ugly? It's blue blocks with white lettering on them.....not looking good for a first look.

 

[cadder]

Is it just me or does that UI look rather ugly? It's blue blocks with white lettering on them.....not looking good for a first look.

It's a bit plain, but perhaps highly functional for basic use. It appears to have dedicated links to common functions like phone, texting, email.

What isn't clear is how it will integrate with add-on apps. Will you need to hit "start" to get to a menu of apps? That could be a problem depending on how they do it. The similar interface in WM6.1 is pretty clunky compared to the competition.

 

[everlast66]

$10-20 per copy might be relatively low for a customer but for a phone manufactuter that expects to ship tens of milions of devices this would account to hundreds of millions of $ and why would a manufacturer decide to go for win7 and drop a free and PROVEN mobile os like Android. Even Symbian is becoming opensource now. Both of these OSs are considerably more successfull than WM and I don't see any major manufacturer opting for WM over these. They would offer a model or two just for the extra revenue from MS fanboys but this would never give MS any considerable share in this market.

Not even worth to compare to Apple's iPhone OS that practically invented the mobile touch interface and in a few months would be introducing the next major version.

MS's business model was truly successfull in the PC market, 1-2 decades ago and they are practically exploiting their monopoly position ever since. A PC OS is expected to do a LOT of things which makes an OS fee acceptable, expecially at the time when there were little competitors and a PC costed a riduculous amount of money. Even if smartphones have some advanced functions they are still quite limited and manufacturers are happy to write their own OS for the added functionality, plus they have at least 2-3 proven free alternatives.

 

[Hellcatm]

The only problem I see with them selling the software is the upgradablility. When WP7.1 comes out are the phone companies going to have to buy the update? Since the phones will be somewhat the same hardware will MS sell the update and we as consumers will have to buy it before it gets pushed to our phones? Are they going to sell it at the stores itself and we can either have the phone companies install it for extra money or we can install it? Or is it going to be like present WM phones and most won't get upgrades and we'll have to buy new phones to get new functionality?

I think that is the most important info to know because if I buy a phone and there is an update I want it. This is what makes Android...for the most part since a lot of the phones get updates...Palm and iphone look so attractive. If you can't update the phone OS to the new version people may not want to buy the phone no matter how nice the OS looks.

 

[jurassic1024]

[citation][nom]ajcroteau[/nom]I understand Microsoft is in the business of selling software, and obviously the other manufacturers are on board with this, there just going to pass the cost of the software back to the consumers. But, Microsoft has always been in the business of selling partially working completed software littered with bugs, then selling you the solution to their original problems later... case in point, Windows Vista & Windows 7...[/citation]
product.

LOL @ your Vista/W7 comparison! I needed that. Windows 7 beta got SOOOO much praise for letting VOLUNTEERED test and give feedback to later become the best selling OS ever. The "buggy" talk is getting old. I can find just as many bugs in the most recent Mac and Linux OS's.

 

[jurassic1024]

"The best things in life are free, right?"

*Looks @ Linux*
*shakes head*
"No, I guess not."

 

[Tomtompiper]

Does Win Phone7 have the same vulnerabilities as Windows 7? If so they can keep it even if they are giving it away.

 

[kronos_cornelius]

I think most of the comments ignore the best thing about Android. Android is open-source and open-standard. Even if they charge for Android, it would still be a better strategy than a closed-source, proprietary-standard OS from Microsoft (ideologically speaking).
Also, the reason that the free open-source software seems free is because millions of people paying 1 cent is enough to pay for a group of programmer to make the "free" application. Microsoft makes large profit margins, that is why Bill Gate was the riches guy in the word for some time.
I do agree that Microsoft's business model is a business model and the market shall decide which is the best model, or if both models deserve to survive.
The company I do despise because of its totalitarian form of managing the OS is Apple. I cannot think of a single thing Apple is doing to benefit society. Apple is all to itself. Selfish, greedy company.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Why not? They're just trying to generate additional revenue. Sort of like "Do you want fries with that?"

 

[pelomixa]

here we go again, corporate greed and stupidity make up for great decisions on the brilliant part of good old Microfail...

 

[anamaniac]

Somethings are worth paying for.

 

[abbadon_34]

Post deleted by Moderator

 

[crom]

[citation][nom]kronos_cornelius[/nom] I cannot think of a single thing Apple is doing to benefit society. Apple is all to itself. Selfish, greedy company.[/citation]

Are you serious? Here's just a few.

1. Apple made the PC affordable.
2. Apple made the PC stylish. If it wasn't for them we'd all still be using beige boxes.
3. Apple made the MP3 player a global phenomenon and lowered the price of all the competitor's models.
4. Apple revolutionized the smart phone industry.
5. Apple made MP3 music affordable by muscling the recording industry into a flat rate for each song.
6. Apple gave a seriously viable platform to compete against Windows on the desktop.

I could go on, but those are just a few.