According to Digitimes, Microsoft will be using a “dual-platform” strategy to compete with Android and the iPhone. 6.5, due to be rolled out October 1, will stay alive just to compete with Android, while WinMo 7 will compete with the iPhone. I don’t think this is as shocking as Gizmodo does, but I certainly don’t see the wisdom in having dueling OSes. Dueling salsas, maybe.
On the other hand, I see the necessity: Windows Mobile is entrenched in its current form and that inertia is going to be difficult to overcome. At the same time, there’s pressure to compete at a lower level with a lighter and savvier OS — something 6.5 really isn’t able to pull off (despite looking nice).
What to do, what to do? Microsoft is between a rock and a hard place, but I think keeping a “legacy” system alive is a bad idea — as Microsoft has proven over and over in various arenas. I’d say take the Palm route: have an emulator or “classic mode”! Take 6.5 off the table, focus on 7, but make sure you’ve got enough soft back-compatibility to let businesses make the changeover.
With luck 6.5 will be nice enough, and run fast enough, at the end of 2010, that it will be a viable option for lower-end smartphones. We shall see.
[via GigaOm and others]
rsimon@msn.com
lame
Microsoft is not alouded in the cult?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ognb6AsakOY
wait to see it! ;-)
GO MICROSOFT!
sure its not being to be the case. Mo 6.5 has its own specialty and market. In my point Mo7 is going a newer one with improved technology. Neither of them is going to pit against one another.
Not sure what the issue is – there is an increasing move towards more sophisticated phones which Nokia at the moment copes with by using S40 on its featurephones and S60 on its smartphones.
This really isn’t any different from Nokia’s strategy which has worked extremely well for them.
Kinda like the way XP competes with Vista?
Vista ?? What is that LOL
this is a comment.
Well they put all that time into 6.5, doesn’t make sense to just drop it alltogether 6 months later for 7. Plus what aabout all the efforts by HTC and others in custom UI design.
Nah, I think this is a good move.
I think the first incarnation of WinMo 7 will be Verizon’s ‘Pink’ phone. This will be a heavily branded service integrated device (Bing, Maps, Radio, Zune Market Place). So, WinMo 6.5 will compete with the Zune Phone for about 6-18 months, until WinMo7 is released to other hardware manufacturers. However, the main thrust of MS strategy in 2010-2011 appears to be on the ‘Zune’ Phone.
Is this a good strategy? They are essentially conceding to Android the low cost smartphone market.
I am using WM 6.5 on my Omnia i900… and its awesome.. anytime better than Iphone.. and its still not the final version
I think the concept is fine, but the naming might be confusing. Perhaps Windows Mobile 7 and Windows 7 Mobile LE or Light or Lite or Lyte or some such differentiation (and maybe an umlaut or two). Don’t get me started about the confusion that will arise between Windows 7 and Windows Mobile 7.
How about launching 6.5 with a home, professional and ultimate versions and then launch 7.0 with starter, home, professional, enterprise, and ultimate versions -then it would be more up to Microsoft standards.
thats about what I have come to expect from microsoft…
”I don’t know if they can’t make up their mind or what the problem is over there. The last time I checked you don’t need two client operating systems. So I don’t really know what’s up.”
–Papa TurdBucket
It would make sense for Microsoft to have 2 variants of OS.
Note that WM 6.5 is still running on WM6 architecture, with most modules running in user mode which would mean that its less hungry for resources like memory, cpu power, battery life. Something that would be more apt for mid range phones.
On the other hand, WM7 is said to be more secured and most most modules running is kernel mode. Which means, more resource hungry, cpu power etc etc
This would make it perfect for a higher end handset, which can come lil expensive, but still worth for some of the additional security features it brings in!
Anyways, check this interesting article:
http://yampblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/5-reasons-why-microsoft-will-not-drop.html
Last time I checked Usermode system processes use more resources because off all the interprocess messaging that needs to happen between them. Monolithic kernel will be faster (if a little less idealistic). Anyway… if you reverse your points this makes good sense.
It’ll be interesting to see if the UI from the ZuneHD can be expanded into a proper smartphone OS. September’s looking like an interesting month…
6.5 wont be competing with 7 nor android directly
6.5 will be for masses and lower price, 7 will be the elite phone
I put to much thought in and over-wrote the whole thing. ,