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Topic: Windows

Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

Summary: Microsoft issued a challenge at CES to see if your phone could smoke a Windows Phone

Joel Evans

By for The Mobile Gadgeteer |

We've heard claims by Microsoft that Windows Phone is far more efficient at everyday tasks than other phones on the market. Well, the Windows Phone team issued a $100 challenge to anyone whose phone could beat the Windows Phone. To make it fair, the team even let the contestant choose the function that they would be performing on both phones.

In summary, the results will surprise you. In almost every instance Windows Phone smoked the competition, as you can see in the video below.

This video got me thinking that I should start messing with my Windows Phone again. It's a sweet interface, but I never thought it would actually perform everyday tasks faster than my iPhone 4S.

What phone do you use and why?

Topics: Windows, iPhone, Microsoft, Mobile OS, Operating Systems, Smartphones, Software, CES

About

With more than 15 years of mobile, Internet and wireless experience, Joel specializes in taking existing brands and technologies into the mobile and wireless space. Joel is currently the VP of Strategy Integration for Mobiquity, an enterprise-class mobile solutions provider.

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66 comments
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  • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

    HTC Desire, because it was free on contract, other than free it has no redeeming features.
    jlwarlow
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

    HTC Radar 4G. I am on T-Mobile and at the time it was the best Windows Phone I could get on the carrier. I love it.
    TheRackow
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

    Awesome video. They should use that is some of their promos, go with the whole "I just got smoked" thing. Microsoft did put a lot of thought into the design of WP7.
    Loverock Davidson-
    Reply Vote

    • WP7 has failed

      @Loverock Davidson-

      Windows Phone runs on the Windows Vista Kernel and that is why it is so slow and buggy, not enough RAM.

      Windows marketshare is so bad it got #smokedbybada

      First they said wait for Mango, then they said wait for Nokia Hansets, Now they say wait for Apollo.

      This whole "year of WP7" reminds me of year of the Linux Desktop....

      Time To accept WP7 has failed ..............
      DejaVu2
      Reply Vote

      • Really? That's actually impressive

        @garyc2011
        "Windows Phone runs on the Windows Vista Kernel"

        We kept hearing about how bloated and resource hungry Vista was. If this is true then that actually says amazing things about Vista's kernel considering it is running on a very weak CPUs (compared to desktops).

        If what you say is true, MS deserves a lot of congratulations for building such a technically fantastic kernel.
        toddybottom_z
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @garyc2011 Interesting points you write here :) And also a very strange lie... Windows Phone is not based on the Vista kernal, instead it's an optimized version of the Windows embedded CE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_CE)

        And... Have you ever tried a Windows Phone? xD Slow and buggy? I've actually never heard those words about a WP7 :)

        As far as I know, many people are waiting on the next android devices and iphones to come out. Why is it so bad if someone is waiting for the next windows phone thing to come out? :)

        Some might say WP7 has failed, but I don't think so. You might say it's been out for a long time, but fact is the WP7 marketplace has been growing faster then the android marketplace did in the beginning.

        But hey, time will tell the the truth :)
        PlayFoLife
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @garyc2011 Not that facts matter to someone like you, but Windows Phone DOES NOT run on the "Windows Vista" kernal. You have no idea what you are talking about. It's also neither "buggy," nor "slow" and it's obvious you've never tried it or you'd know!
        whyjoe
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @garyc2011

        Do you hear the common theme here Gary? Shhh, I hear a troll running back under his bridge.
        rrathbun
        Reply Vote

      • Stooged Experiment

        It's a stooged set up. This is EXACTLY how Magicians "trick" people. Penn and Teller do this everyday. Notice, *BEN* controlled the entire experience. How do we know all of the questions he asked were not already in cache and we're seeing Cached versions.

        A *REAL* test is to randomly pick someone. As them. Tell me where to check the Weather, I want you to check the same place--GO!

        Come on....in one stop he says "I'll check Redmond"---PLEASE and that's not Cached?

        I got a bridge to sell you if you believe this "Experiment"
        2012WillGO2012
        Reply Vote

      • Yeah Stooged, totally /s

        @2012willgo2012

        Yeah, you could say that but let me tell you a personal experience that puts my Titan up against an iPhone 4. I walk up to a buddy who has his 4 out and I ask him what hes up to, he replies that hes checking the weather, before his app even opens I already had the information he was looking for thanks to the weather channel apps live tile. If it was controlled, why does been often let the challenger choose the task? Or have you never actually watched these videos?
        arhus
        Reply Vote

  • Good for Microsoft, they've clearly done some great things with WP7

    Yet they are stuck at a miniscule marketshare which is falling by the day. Why?

    There are many reasons but it ultimately comes down to the same reason that Windows PC absolutely annihilates Macs in the marketplace. People don't buy based on a single technical merit in the product. Many other factors come into play that aren't technical at all.

    - How easy is it to buy? I've heard that it is very difficult to buy a WP7 phone because salespeople will actively discourage you from doing so, preferring to sell you an iPhone.
    - What is the ecosystem like? The Zune brand name is non existent and from what I understand, the Zune service isn't even available in most countries. Web sites don't advertise that they have a WP7 app for that. When I walk into a Best Buy, I see a ton of iPhone docks. No WP7 docks.
    - What will others think? "I have an iPhone" leads to a positive emotional reaction in a significant portion of the population. "I have a WP7 phone" leads to "What?". Teenagers (and adults with teenage minds) can't show off their WP7 phones like they can their iPhones.
    - Apple conducts the right type of advertising. While they also spend money on national advertising campaigns, Apple is a master at astro turfing. The John Grubers, the Walt Mossbergs, the David Morgensterns are all part of Apple's advertising arm. Hearing from your local blogger that iPhone is great and WP7 is terrible is more effective than seeing an NBC ad from MS that WP7 is great and iPhone is terrible. Of course MS is going to say that. The naive public however will believe that Gruber, Mossberg, and Morgenstern are independent bloggers / journalists.

    iPhone will have 95% marketshare just like iPad does today. People ask me why I think it is a sick market, why we all lose. We all lose because if WP7 does have some fantastic design elements and truly would let people get their work done faster, we lose when that product is killed by a monopolist.
    toddybottom_z
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

      @toddybottom_z Good products speak for themselves. Check out the Windows phone reviews from Pogue and Mossberg!
      jatbains
      Reply Vote

      • Okay, now what?

        @jatbains
        http://allthingsd.com/20101020/microsofts-new-windows-phone-7-novel-but-lacking/

        His conclusion:
        "Overall, I can???t recommend Windows Phone 7 as being on a par with iPhone or Android"

        http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/technology/personaltech/28pogue.html

        His conclusion:
        "this may not be the phone you???ll want to buy"

        While both Pogue and Mossberg sprinkled some faint praise in there, they both ultimately recommend that their readers do not buy this phone.
        toddybottom_z
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @toddybottom_z<br>Try reading some recent reviews. The one's you pulled out are from the initial release on 1st gen hardware. WP 7.5 + newer hardware are a very different experience and have gotten generally positive reviews.
        jonathanmarston
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @toddybottom_z Mossberg did a 180 on that January 2012. "Windows Phone 7 ought to have a better shot. It???s not merely an adequate substitute for Apple???s iPhone software or the industry-leading Android phone software from Google Inc. It is first-rate, a worthy rival to the iPhone and decisively better than Android. "

        ...and so did Pogue last October. "Windows Phone 7.5 is gorgeous, classy, satisfying, fast and coherent. The design is intelligent, clean and uncluttered"

        And in Mossberg's case, his attitude changed before any of the software did! (Which goes to show you how much sense his reviews make, anyway.)
        whyjoe
        Reply Vote

      • Thanks for the update

        @jatbains <br>I learned something today.<br><br>It must have really hurt those 2 to write that. WP7 must be a lot better than the iPhone for them to write that it was as good as the iPhone.<br><br>I'll check out the Nokia 900 when it comes out and I'll prepare to be impressed.
        toddybottom_z
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @toddybottom_z
        I'm impressed. A grown up admitting that he may have been wrong. Very rare in this scene. Regardless of allegiance and hardware / software of choice, I stand up and applaud you. Why is it typically so hard for people to do that? God.
        mountjl
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

    Wait till the Nokia Lumia 900 hits the streets. These are only sub 1GHz single core phones. the Lumia is a 1.4 GHz phone, which will even further show the power and beauty of WP 7
    Stephen-B
    Reply Vote

    • @Rick_Kl

      How many god phones do you have now?
      toddybottom_z
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Is your phone faster than a Windows Phone?

        @toddybottom_z since you are this Rick_kl you tell me. Wait don't you own an iJunk phone? I own a Samsung, HTC, and Nokia Lumia phones. What is this so-called god phone, and where do I get one?
        Stephen-B
        Reply Vote
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