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Smartphones and Cell Phones

Matthew Miller
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Does Microsoft thinking copying the 2007 iPhone is a good idea?

By | March 16, 2010, 4:33pm PDT

Summary: We are hearing more details about Windows Phone 7 Series from the MIX10 event in Vegas, but some of what we are hearing leaves us wondering why Microsoft is taking smartphone back a couple of years this late in the game.

We were expecting to hear a lot about Windows Phone 7 Series at MIX10 in Vegas this week and while there has been some interesting news for developers, end users and enthusiasts are seeing their excitement for the late 2010 devices fad a bit as well. First, we heard that multitasking would not be supported at first and now we hear that copy and paste will also be missing. Did Microsoft lock their people in a room with an original 2007-era iPhone and tell them to copy it? Didn’t they see that even Apple added copy and paste to the iPhone after ever other smartphone OS has had this capability? I have to admit there are some very cool aspects of WP7 and I will probably buy one later this year, but I am pretty blown away by how far away from their core existing functionality they seem to be getting. I guess they can’t riff on Apple anymore as these things are harder than they thought huh? As my buddy Rene asked on Twitter, is a Windows Phone 7 Series device even a smartphone anymore?

Another item that Dieter picked up from sessions today was that Silverlight won’t be in the web browser, Internet Explorer, so you won’t be able to enjoy Silverlight content from within the web browser even though Silverlight is integrated all over this new operating system. I did like the demo of playing games on your Xbox 360, PC, and WP7 series device seamlessly, but it is going to take more than gaming to impress me. Microsoft also seems to be abandoning the enterprise market with these first WP7 devices and it will be interesting if there are enough consumers willing to leave the iPhone, Android, or webOS operating systems.

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Topics

Apple iPhone, Microsoft Silverlight, Operating System, Microsoft Corp., Smart Phones, Operating Systems, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Software, Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He is a co-host with GigaOM's Kevin Tofel on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and an author of three Wiley Companion series books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 125 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes an HTC Radar 4G, Dell Venue Pro, Apple iPad 2, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

Talkback Most Recent of 46 Talkback(s)

  • WP7S turning into a farce
    ?No copy / paste.
    ?No multi-tasking.
    ?No enterprise upgrade path (except to Android)
    ?No WebKit browser (for web apps)
    ?No browser Silverlight (so all apps must go via MS store)
    ?No side-loading of apps (Ballmer must approve all apps on WP7S)
    ZDNet Gravatar
    gjafg
    16th Mar 2010
  • Cue the double standards
    Funny thing is that your list applies to the 2007
    and 2008 iPhone and Apple apologists tripped all
    over themselves making excuses for why none of
    these are actually important. Watch those same
    people now suggest that these are show stoppers.

    Cue the double standards...
    ZDNet Gravatar
    NonZealot
    16th Mar 2010
  • RE: Cue the double standards
    But then it was 2007, now it is 2010.

    If you try to catch up, you should be faster, instead of moving at exactly the same speed.

    Why would anyone want a WP7S phone when it is exactly the same crap as the iPhone?!

    Heck, it is even worse, because the iPhone at least has c&p now, and it has lots of (good) apps (among all the crappy ones). WP7S has none and if they want to catch up with Apple's huge lead there, they must provide reasons for people to help them catch up (i.e. buy their phones so that developers find it paying to make apps for them).

    I have always bashed the iPhone for not having basic features. But in 2010, this is even more ridiculous than it was in 2007.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    drphysx
    16th Mar 2010
  • But iPhone was behind in 2007
    iPhone couldn't copy and paste, had no native
    apps, had no multi-tasking, and later forced
    you to purchase all apps through the app store
    in 2007 while WM had none of those limitations.
    None of those were important in 2007. Now that
    the situations are reversed and Apple has some
    of these features and WM will have none of
    them, why are they important in 2010? Have the
    reasons behind not needing copy and
    paste changed? The short answer is: yes and the
    reason is: because Apple has it and there is no
    longer any need to make up apologies for why
    Apple doesn't have it.

    Cue the double standards...
    ZDNet Gravatar
    NonZealot
    16th Mar 2010
  • Excellent point
    it looks as though the buying public doesn't care all that much for cut and paste, otherwise they wouldn't have boaught all those phones that didn't cut and paste.

    I have WM phone, and I don't even use cut and paste features, so how would I even notice?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    John Zern
    16th Mar 2010
  • Sorry, but... you seem retarded.
    Just because YOU don't use it, that doesn't mean that nobody uses it.

    To think so is moronic.

    And of course, in reality, lots of people use it. Otherwise Apple would not have added it into their iPhone, cause Apple always are the first to leave out things they consider "unnecessary". Copy/Paste is not among them obviously.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    drphysx
    16th Mar 2010
  • Cut and Paste
    Really, so you never move icons around, never move a cab file to another folder, never edit a text message? never copy a url from your browser, and paste it into a message?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    A. Noid
    16th Mar 2010
  • RE: But iPhone was behind in 2007
    There has NEVER EVER been an excuse for the lack of copy&paste.

    I'm just saying that in 2010, it is even more ridiculous than it was in 2007.

    Only stupid Apple fanboys came up with ******** like "nobody needs it" and then, when Apple added it, all of a sudden, they praised them for adding it in.

    And additionally, Apple has a huge lead now, because MS started from scratch, and in order to catch up, MS needs advantages. Throwing away all the advantages they had before won't help them at all.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    drphysx
    16th Mar 2010
  • I never made excuses in 2007....
    for the iPhones' lack of C&P. But as pointed out that was way back in 2007. Apple's first Smart Phone in the market, all features were not yet implemented. Many like myself knew they would get around to it which they did (and now it's prob the best C&P on any device).

    Microsoft with WinMo offered copy and paste to its users before 2007 and is not "not" implementing it in 2010, saying it's not important anymore!? In 2010? Looks like their famous Focus Group strikes again!

    Now when are you going to lash out at those Windows users saying it's not important? Like you did those few iPhone users back in 2007?


    Cue the double standards...
    ZDNet Gravatar
    dave95.
    16th Mar 2010
  • And this is 2010!
    NT
    ZDNet Gravatar
    webmaster@...
    17th Mar 2010
  • Are you serious?!
    They only double standards exhibited here are yours you hypocrite. Every post
    of yours related to the iPhone that I have endured, you have mocked these
    omissions, at the same time crowing about how much better and how further
    advanced Windows Mobile was and on occasion speculated how much better
    WinPhone 7 was going to be. You are such a blinkered and hypocritical
    fanboy that it has gotten beyond sad--it's self parody now!
    ZDNet Gravatar
    webmaster@...
    16th Mar 2010
  • See you've been released
    from your padded cell for the day and the meds have worn off.

    Ironic that you keep using your copy & paste "double standard" shtick to defend MS's lack of copy & paste.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    MacCanuck
    17th Mar 2010
  • Links please!!!
    Ironic that you keep using your copy & paste
    "double standard" shtick to defend MS's lack of
    copy & paste.

    Where have I defended the lack of copy & paste?
    Hint: I haven't. I am commenting, with a great
    deal of amusement, on the fact that all you
    people who apologized for the lack of copy and
    paste in the iPhone by saying it was no big
    deal and that they never used it anyway, are
    now saying that the lack of copy and paste is a
    show stopper. This pattern repeats itself time
    and time again:
    1. MS releases a feature rich product.
    2. Apple releases a crippled product 5 years
    later.
    3. Apple apologists claim the features Apple
    left out aren't important.
    4. Apple releases a new version with the
    feature.
    5. Apple apologists claim that Apple product is
    fantastic now that it includes said feature.

    What we've never seen before is:
    6. MS releases a new version without the
    feature.
    7. Apple apologists claim that MS product now
    sucks because it lacks the feature that they
    apologized for in step 3.

    I think WM7 is fantastic, not because I like
    the fact that it is missing some fairly basic
    functionality, but because it makes all you
    Apple apologists look like total idiots. happy
    ZDNet Gravatar
    NonZealot
    17th Mar 2010
  • Lucky for them you're allready a farce
    so you can give them some pointers! happy
    ZDNet Gravatar
    John Zern
    16th Mar 2010
  • Come, drop the insults, he made some good points. See if you can argue the
    good points of WinMo7.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    DonnieBoy
    16th Mar 2010
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