- February 16, 2010
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Blog
Microsoft has launched the latest version of its mobile phone operating system, called Windows Phone 7 series. The software has a redesigned user interface and incorporates many Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service.
The software was introduced at an event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft’s software currently has around 9% of the smartphone market. That puts it fourth in the global market behind Symbian, Rim (makers of the Blackberry) and Apple’s iPhone OS.
As for the competition, in a little over 30 months Apple has claimed 15% of the smartphone market, according to Canalys figures, whilst Google’s Android operating system has claimed 5% of the market in around two years.
The most interesting buzz surrounding W7M, however, has been the ‘tentative’ availability of Flash support, as stated by Adobe itself. Question – why is flash so hard to get, and how does this bode for the initial release of W7M. Do you see Microsoft overtaking the other three smartphone OS providers, or will W7M take as much time ‘stabilizing’ as other Windows predecessors?
Reference Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8515915.stm
http://gizmodo.com/5471700/all-but-confirmed-no-flash-in-windows-mobile-7-at-least-at-first
Well, frankly speaking the lack of Flash has been a puzzle for me. I have bought the HTC Touch HD when it came out and recently swapped it for its successor HTC HD2.
The device is marvelous, the screen is 2nd to none and I like the fact it is a big device, as I have big hand, so I don’t mind the extra weight and size.
However, the lack of Flash in WM6.5 and a mystery whether the device will be (officially) upgradable to WM7… well it is irritating.
I might switch back to Symbian…
Flash is slowly disappearing with the new upcoming HTML5. Most flash used on websites is either for a menu or for a movie/animation, which HTML5 will support.
So I don’t mind the lack of flash.
All mobile devices depend on IO wait states to conserve their battery power. For example, if a program is written that loops to self (the worst case) or does division in the loop (Which ARM chips don’t do) then the current drain is so strong the device will actually overheat and shut down.
Flash is architecturally poor at managing this and so Flash players tend to use so much battery capacity the consumer complains and blames the phone. A similar issue exists with animated GIF’s. Vendors and carriers tend to want to avoid customer service complaints with “Poor battery performance”. Most consumers who are far from a charger also don’t want the feature when they understand its consequence.
Silverlight is built from the ground up with this, among other things, worked out for acceptable battery perfromance.
Another thing that is going to be very troublesome for Apple is that their OS is not a multi-tasking one. A multi-tasking operating system that competes with Android or Windows 7 will tend to do badly with “legacy applications”. Apple is in some trouble over this. If you look at the features of the Android, you will see that Multi-tasking is central to the whole notification scheme, the “Cloud client” scheme and so forth. the current Apple OS literally could not compete.
Flash has far too large a data footprint for mobile and for most other consumer electronics (CE) devices, in fact. At CES this year, I saw ZERO devices running Flash (all were running JavaFX or JavaTV) and a myriad of others running Java (eBooks, SmartPhones, HD DVDs, Media Centers, PDAs, Set Top Boxes, NetBooks, Tablets, etc.). Java has a 2MB to 5MB player footprint, Flash is 10X to 20X this and not as fast or well optimized. Java is the future; there is a reason Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems.
Links:
http://www.mindtaffy.com
http://www.WallaceJackson.com
http://www.JavaFX3D.com
Apart from Html5 and battery life, MS has its own Flash competitor Silverlight which it would like to see on all browsers and Devices. Hence it makes sense for MS for limiting Flash support on its mobile operating systems.
Windows 7 MO series might stop MS mobile marketshare decline. But surpassing RIM or Apple might be challenging especially taking into account the time its going to take for the first device with Windows 7 mobile to debut which is end of this year. By then both Android and Apple devices are going to flock the marketplace The UI looks compelling and attractive compared to previous Windows Mobile OSes, but if it sacrifices businees/enterprise features for consumer experience then MS will have tough time gaining Marketshare.
Being in the fourth slot when there are 4 top OS isn’t a really great mark, is it? I’m yet to know if a Microsoft OS ever attains “stability”. Leave that aside; all versions of Windows Mobile are far behind in terms of functionality vis-a-vis advanced user convenience. MS is at its ebb
Windows Phone 7 is complete overhaul of Windows Mobile series, because it is built in recent years and is aimed to hit market at end of 2010, there are big chances that Windows Phone 7 will support Flash 10 and up, other top mobile OS platforms are getting Flash support, and if Microsoft will reject this chance, Windows Phone series will result in failure since users tend to request Flash support a lot nowadyas, as for HTML5, there shouldn’t exist any obstacles to evolve into something better, mobile OSes will follow trends, be it Flash or HTML5. Apple does have such luxury to avoid Flash as long as they have users that will use iPhone, this can grant some decent 2-3 years, but if HTML5 doesn’t arrive within that period and doesn’t set trends, rejecting Flash will create massive changes for Apple. Microsoft from other side doesn’t have that luxury in mobile OS market and must stick to what will recover their market share.
We live in fast paced world, lets wait and see what future hold for all of us.
With the coming of Flash 10.1 to mobile devices like WebOS, Windows Phone 6.5 & 7, Android and MeeGo, Apple will quickly become a thing of the past unless they change their stance on Flash. However, companies like Google have been able to work around the Apple issue by creating HTML5 cloud apps like Google Voice. Flash gives developers the ability develop a single platform for multiple systems. The information economy is moving towards integration and companies like Apple who resist this move are only a part of the problem. Adobe has had millions of unique hits on a special landing page for iPhone/iTouch users looking for Flash. This goes to show that a large portion of the web and it’s users want/need Flash to fully enjoy the experience. I’m all for innovation and I think this years best mobile devices will be Windows Phone 7 based. If you’re worried about backwards compatibility I can guarantee you that someone from the XDA-Developers community will write an app for that.
I don’t think Microsoft will overtake the others largely because I think the technology involved will be obsolete before they get there–but don’t ask me why my instincts take this stance because I don’t know.