gdp's Comments

WMPoweruser.com : Evernote coming to Windows Phone 7 soon

Wed, 4 May 2011 04:46:42 +0000

Yeah, I don't know why every month or so somebody on one of these Windows Phone news/blog sites writes up a story about how badly it is hurting Windows Phone 7 to not have an EverNote app. It doesn't make sense why anybody would even think about using EverNote when OneNote on the PC is better and OneNote on Windows Phone 7 is already built-in and syncs with the PC and SkyDrive.

WMPoweruser.com : Post NoDo Certificate update for Windows Phone 7 now rolling out

Tue, 3 May 2011 18:29:30 +0000

No notification yet, Samsung Focus on AT&T.

WMPoweruser.com : Post NoDo Certificate update for Windows Phone 7 now rolling out

Tue, 3 May 2011 18:12:53 +0000

Must have been. Looks like it is fixed now.

WMPoweruser.com : Post NoDo Certificate update for Windows Phone 7 now rolling out

Tue, 3 May 2011 18:08:29 +0000

How does the OS build go from 7390 (NoDo) to 7292? That's a downgrade.

WMPoweruser.com : IE9 coming to Windows Phone 7 much sooner than expected, support Silverlight?

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 16:45:07 +0000

Browser acceleration is a joke. It does wonders for hardware that supports it, but I have yet to use a computer where Firefox or Chrome's acceleration kicked in. Firefox always reports that I need a new graphics driver, but all the PCs that it says that on are already up-to-date.

WMPoweruser.com : New and cool Samsung Focus ad claim thousands of apps

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:03:14 +0000

I saw this on TV last night and was really impressed.

WMPoweruser.com : Microsoft pulls Samsung Omnia 7 update

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:55:18 +0000

On XDA they have almost conclusively determined that the only US branded phones getting this update are T-Mobile's Dell Venue Pros. HTC HD7 seems to be left out, as well as all three of AT&T's devices.

WMPoweruser.com : First Windows Phone Update Rolls Out Today And Its Not ‘NoDo’

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:04:08 +0000

Microsoft originally said that Windows Phone 7 updates would be cumulative, hence the carrier's ability to only delay by one update cycle. Why is it that we need an update for the update if NoDo should ensure that this patch makes its way into the phone anyway?

WMPoweruser.com : Are you being hit by a Contacts list and Phone Crashing Bug?

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:48:00 +0000

I had an app (not a contact) unpin itself last week. I repinned it and everything has been fine ever since.

WMPoweruser.com : Samsung Windows phones having problem with pre-update

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:47:05 +0000

Maybe this update fixes that exact bug. It's better to fix it now than to have NoDo be the fix for it and have NoDo lock up for everyone updating their Samsung phones.

WMPoweruser.com : Will Zune by any other name smell just as sweet? No.

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:12:08 +0000

These comments are all starting to converge around the same point, something I said when this news first began to trickle in last week: Microsoft needs to stop rebranding their products all the time. Average consumers can't keep track of what the difference is between MSN Music, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, and Zune. Let alone all the DRM technologies like PlaysForSure that consumers don't understand. In fact, the only exception to this seems to be Bing, and that's likely related to the fact that they continue to push Bing through TV ads and search deals (like the one with Verizon) to force consumers to give it a chance. But if you look back, the rebranding of MSN Search as Windows Live Search, then Bing is just too much for consumers who prefer stability. Think about Google. Rather than try to shed its odd name with the childish logo, Google embraces it and it works. Think about the iPod. When has the name of the iPod or any component of its ecosystem changed? Even the struggling Apple TV is still called Apple TV. Now think about the company we know today as AT&T. In 2004, the wireless side was known as Cingular, jointly owned by SBC and BellSouth. After acquiring AT&T Wireless they shed the name (partially due to contractual obligations with the old AT&T landline company) and rebranded that service as part of Cingular. Then when SBC bought out BellSouth and AT&T, they rebranded that whole thing (wireline included) as AT&T. There are still people who think AT&T bought SBC, that Cingular (rather than its parent company) bought AT&T. It's a mess. While the details of the transactions don't matter to most consumers, it's an example of how rebranding destroys a company's identity, after which there is nothing left to make the Average Joe subconsciously think: "AT&T is my wireless provider, local landline, etc because they've always been and I've dealt with them for years," or for that matter that "Zune is the all-you-can-stream Zune Pass, my portable audio player, and the media player in Windows Phone." The fact of the matter is that Microsoft's brands have an identity crisis and that drives potential customers away. When it comes to Windows Live, MSN, and all the other brands they keep tossing back and forth, tacking on anything that is somehow remotely (no pun intended) connected to "the cloud" (come on, Windows Live Movie Maker? Seriously?). Then you have disasters like the KIN, a decent version 1.0 product restrained by its carrier's expensive data plan and poor marketing. Despite how few people were actually affected by Microsoft's quick obsolescence of the KIN, it has left a bad taste in consumers' mouths which has lingered on since Windows Phone was introduced last year. Ultimately, this strategy has left them with former or otherwise potential customers who can't remember what Microsoft product is what or whether that product will be around in a year or two. And at the end of the day those people will go out and pick up an iPhone or Droid because the marketing sticks and they know the iPhone will still be an iPhone when they wake up tomorrow morning. Microsoft needs to choose a branding strategy and stay with it.

WMPoweruser.com : Thoughts on the Nokia-Microsoft Alliance

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 06:04:16 +0000

http://www.businessinsider.com/android-costs http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/paul-thurrott...

WMPoweruser.com : Thoughts on the Nokia-Microsoft Alliance

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:10:34 +0000

Not only is it cheap, but it is cheaper. We must not forget that patent licensing costs have made it cheaper for OEMs like HTC to license WP7 than to license the patents they need to load Android.

WMPoweruser.com : WebOS vs Windows Phone 7! – Vote now!

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 04:46:36 +0000

We are so close! I need to find all the places I can to vote!

WMPoweruser.com : Camera settings still not retained in Windows Phone 7 update?

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 18:44:01 +0000

Then why do user groups always make such stupid decisions? I just want to set WDR and anti-shake on by default and everything else would be fine. Why would Microsoft include great features like those, but turn them off every time you open the camera? It just doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

WMPoweruser.com : Camera settings still not retained in Windows Phone 7 update?

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 15:23:11 +0000

I agree 100%. Those two settings need to be on by default on the Samsung Focus too. I can deal with the rest of the default settings as they are. My dreams are crushed.

WMPoweruser.com : Samsung Focus registry edit fixes microSD issues, improves performance

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 03:50:51 +0000

I hope this is the same fix that's coming in Microsoft's update that is supposed to include performance improvements. Hopefully, that will be include the speculated Samsung firmware update too.

WMPoweruser.com : If iPhone 4 users on AT&T get unlimited data, Windows Phone 7 users should get the same option

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:34:32 +0000

I agree with the author. I migrated off of a legacy plan and had to trade in unlimited data that was offered by a provider AT&T bought a few years ago for the 2 GB DataPro package, primarily so I could get a Windows Phone. I think AT&T is in for a rude awakening over the next year to year-and-a-half, as they churn away iPhone users. Sadly, even where I live where AT&T's network is far above and beyond Verizon's, I already know AT&T customers who are counting down the days until they can port out. Of course, people will eventually realize the grass really isn't greener on the other side. We've already seen evidence of Verizon getting ready to tighten the belt with the elimination of their capped data packages. Some of those customers will come back in the 30 day window, others may wait out the 2 years and see how things are looking in 2013 with LTE in full-fledged deployment by AT&T and Verizon by that point. In the mean time, I will enjoy the better-than-ever capacity and hopefully the churn will enable and inspire (if not, require) AT&T to bring back more competitive options for mobile data.

WMPoweruser.com : HTC Surround having strange lock screen issue on Windows Phone 7

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:48:08 +0000

I've had the same thing happen to my Focus. Even affects it when I'm holding it in my hand. It's not the problem with the Focus on soft surfaces because it happens on many surfaces and when it happens the volume keys (which should reveal the volume/Zune/ringer toast) also stop functioning.

WMPoweruser.com : iPhone vs. WP7 Update Frequency Explained

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:57:18 +0000

I can see the merits of both Paul Thurrott's original post and this story, as an evaluation of Paul's argument. I have followed Paul Thurrott's coverage of Microsoft for years, and consider him to be one of the most valuable (though sometimes biased) resources the general public has into what is going on at Redmond. That being said, I think he is expressing general concern for the platform's success through his vocal complaints because he is worried Microsoft's direction will fall into another state of distraction and lack of timeliness, as it had from about 2002 to 2006. For years Microsoft let Windows Vista drop features and still ship late. During the same period, Internet Explorer and Windows Mobile languished without significant updates, while Apple (and eventually Google) almost completely usurped the potential smartphone and tablet markets from Microsoft (and RIM) with quick and frequent releases of iOS updates and the iPad itself. The iPad was probably the biggest embarrassment because Microsoft has been pushing tablet computing for nearly ten years and failed. Apple came in with a technologically inferior (though easier to use) product and put Microsoft to shame. Meanwhile, Google is chipping away at Internet Explorer and Firefox. Many Windows Mobile users who aren't interested in Windows Phone 7 have defected to Android. Aside from Office and Windows on traditional PCs, Apple and Google are successfully dismantling the monopolistic empire that ten years ago nobody thought Microsoft would ever lose. There are some good things to be said about that, as Microsoft usually seems to produce the best products when they have to compete. As mentioned before, Windows Vista, IE6, and Windows Mobile were all examples of what happens when there is no competitive threat placed upon Microsoft. I just hope they get their stuff together with Windows Phone 7. This could be a real success if they get caught up to iOS and Android in the next year. Some of these dumb decisions such as the fact that they "have no plans at this time to fully integrate Live SkyDrive with Windows Phone 7" are going to hurt them. They don't need to commit to having the feature out by February or March, but at least tell us it's in the works for sometime in 2011. It's hard enough to get files onto and off of a Windows Phone despite its excellent mobile Office capabilities; but having SkyDrive with Office Web Apps already deployed on the web, all that they need to do now is simply get SkyDrive "mapped" into the Office hub file browser (as it is in the Open/Save dialogs in Office 2010). It's a sad shame that they're so close but not even trying to bridge the gap.