9 ms·

No Windows 8 Update for Existing WP7 Users

30 points by cygwin98 14y ago

gouranga 14y ago
Well that's sabotaged Nokia and WP7.5 nicely. No one is going to buy a current handset with that on the way. Way to go microsoft! I genuinely think someone has a 90ft long crack pipe over at Redmond. They've made so many bad decisions lately its scary.
- cygwin98 14y ago
  Absolutely! I was thinking of buying a Lumia 710 recently after owning an iPhone and an android for the past few years. Glad I didn't pull the trigger.
  - gouranga 14y ago
    Seriously don't buy one. I've literally just sold mine and went back to a basic phone as the battery life was crap, the mic doesn't work properly.
  - barista 14y ago
    Here: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/?shape=smp http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/?shape=smp Go to tmobile website and find the phones that are rated as the best by users and choose the top ones instead of taking the recommendation from a stranger on the internet
    - gouranga 14y ago
      I'd ignore that entirely as well - if it's a network they are biased instantly. How to pick a phone: 1. Write down what you NEED, not want. 2. Find a phone that does it on gsmarena.com which has LONG term reviews and doesn't try and sell phones to you. 3. Buy it off ebay second hand unlocked therefore saving on the instant purchase depreciation. If you're lucky like me, I bought a Nokia 3310 a couple of years ago new in box as a backup for 10GBP. I'm now using that as my full time phone. Buy 2 or 3 for that price TBH. 4. Get a cheap PAYG deal. In the UK, you can get a T-Mobile deal for 26GBP/month that gives you pretty much unlimited everything. Anything else is just retarded if you ask me.
      - barista 14y ago
        Works probably for you but unfortunately that's not how millions of buyers get theirs.
      - jaybill 14y ago
        I was with you right up until you called everyone who doesn't do it your way a retard.
    - ZeroGravitas 14y ago
      Note that the ranking is busted, so it puts e.g. a refurbished Blackberry with a single 5 star review above a popular phone that might average out to 4.99 over hundreds of reviews.
  - jsz0 14y ago
    Same here. I was planning to buy a 710 just to keep up with WP. Seems pointless now.
- barista 14y ago
  It still is getting an update with most new features with WP7.8.
  - gouranga 14y ago
    Apart from WP8 apps won't run on it, which most will evolve into and it won't do native C/C++. Instant market fragmentation.
    - barista 14y ago
      Only the apps that use native C/C++. The rest should still run fine.
mrspandex 14y ago
It's important to note that apps will work on both platforms according to this article. This sounds like a pretty minor issue to me if I need a new device for some of the newer features, many of which require new hardware anyway (SD card, NFC).
- cygwin98 14y ago
  There's an update to this article about a few minutes ago: Update: Microsoft has clarified, and appliations built for WP8 will not run on WP7.5/7.8 (native C/C++ appliations), we're asking for more details. That would bother me if those new apps can't be run on WP7.
  - barista 14y ago
    Only the new apps that use features (e.g. native support) not available on older phones will not work on older phones. Is that not how iOS and android upgrade too?
    - onetwothreefour 14y ago
      No, that's not how iOS or Android upgrades work because those companies specced out their platforms before launching them to market. You can't just "add native support" after the fact. That's a major addition which should have been there from day one.
  - mtgx 14y ago
    So basically anyone who is writing an app for WP8 will have to start with a market share of 0% and 0 units in the market.
    - barista 14y ago
      Nope. They start with market share of all installed windows phone. Plus they have all the windows desktop/tablet users who could use their app as well.
mullingitover 14y ago
Windows Phone 7, or as I like to call it now, the Osborne I.
- vibrunazo 14y ago
  For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect
barista 14y ago
There probably should be an article like this every time a new version of android is released. :)
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  I think there are . . .
- noarchy 14y ago
  There are, but maybe they aren't always posted here :) With Android the situation, as always, depends on which device you happen to own, in which case you may or may not get the update. Of course there's always rooting and ROMing, but that's not going to apply to most users.
runjake 14y ago
WP8 release is Fall 2012. OEMs won't begin to have WP8 hardware on carrier shelves until end of 2012* at the earliest. Microsoft just killed Windows Phone for at least the next 6 months. I wish Microsoft would see the damage they do when they inappropriately pre-announcing products. * Mango had a similar release scheme last year.
- rys 14y ago
  With iOS 6 announced and Jelly Bean just around the corner, Microsoft can't really afford to just sit there poker faced until it's done. It's a wise tactic, to maintain interest when it's clear their competitors are moving forwards.
  - mc32 14y ago
    Not only that, but end users probably appreciate knowing that anything they bought today would have limited future support --this alternative is better than pulling the rug from under them come 4-5months. That is to say, it hurts MS and partners initially but benefits customers short-term and long-term. What they could announce is some kind of voucher for future phones if they buy now --giving customers a kind of indemnification against obsolescence. Not saying they will, but they could.
    - runjake 14y ago
      So what do you think customers are going to do? They're going to buy an iPhone or an Android device, instead.
      - mc32 14y ago
        It's likely preferable to having their (customers') money but engendering lots of ill-will a few months down the road. I have an iphone 4. With this announcement, I'm willing to wait a few months before buying a WP8 device.
  - falling 14y ago
    > Jelly Bean just around the corner Is it? It’s a real question. Currently ICS is installed on < 10% of the devices in circulation, but (I hope) it’s safe to assume OEMs and carriers are working on new devices based on the new operating system and will eventually stop to ship new devices with Gingerbread. If next week Google releases JB, I don’t think they are going to scramble to change their plans to merge the new version, they will probably just wait until they’re done with that and then eventually upgrade, possibly delaying JB even more than ICS already is. I have been wondering what Google plans to do to improve the situation. I guess next week I’ll know the answer.
antidaily 14y ago
This has to be a first for Microsoft. I know my first instinct is to say, "how crappy of them?" But they should have done this with Windows 10 years ago.
- protomyth 14y ago
  Then no company would have bought anything beyond Windows XP (released 11 years ago) or Windows 2000 Server.
- huggyface 14y ago
  But they should have done this with Windows 10 years ago. The humorous part to this is that WP8 adopts a kernel that is the offspring of Windows NT's circa 1993 (19 years ago if you're keeping track). Windows CE was essentially the "reboot".
thought_alarm 14y ago
So WP7 in WinCE-based, and WP8 is WinNT-based like the rest of Windows 8. Can't say I didn't see that coming. WP7 always seemed like a bit of a dead-end platform because of it. At least WP8 will have a compatibility layer for running legacy WP7 apps. But if you're a developer do you continue to target the legacy .NET Compact Framework for WP7, or do you target the new SDK that will run on exactly zero of the Windows Phones devices in circulation today, but will run on Windows 8 Metro tablets and desktops? This is not Microsoft's finest hour, to be sure.
- wvenable 14y ago
  How different is it to target WP7 vs. Win8 when it comes to .NET/WPF/Metro? I'm sure a few developers around here have started playing with Win8 and have done some phone development. I would think that it wouldn't be a radical change.
zmonkeyz 14y ago
Not a big deal. I'm tired of the HD7 as it is.
jinushaun 14y ago
The big story is not the new start screen or even WP8. It's whether WP7.x users can download and install new apps. Can a non-native C# app that does not use any WP8 hardware features compiled for WP8 run on WP7.8? MS needs to clarify. If not, MS just screwed all their existing WP7 users and have effectively killed off all new sales of WP7 devices. Developers will continue to develop WP7 apps and any benefits to switching to WP8 for development are moot. More alarmingly, if they did this for WM6.5 and WP7 within such a short time frame, how can any customer feel safe in buying a WP8 device? What happens when WP9 gets released? Why would anyone buy a WP now? My iPhone 3GS may not support FaceTime, Siri or Notification Center, but at least I can download new iOS 5 apps from the App Store.

30 points by cygwin98 14y ago

Well that's sabotaged Nokia and WP7.5 nicely. No one is going to buy a current handset with that on the way. Way to go microsoft! I genuinely think someone has a 90ft long crack pipe over at Redmond. They've made so many bad decisions lately its scary.

cygwin98 14y ago
Absolutely! I was thinking of buying a Lumia 710 recently after owning an iPhone and an android for the past few years. Glad I didn't pull the trigger.
- gouranga 14y ago
  Seriously don't buy one. I've literally just sold mine and went back to a basic phone as the battery life was crap, the mic doesn't work properly.
- barista 14y ago
  Here: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/?shape=smp http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/?shape=smp Go to tmobile website and find the phones that are rated as the best by users and choose the top ones instead of taking the recommendation from a stranger on the internet
  - gouranga 14y ago
    I'd ignore that entirely as well - if it's a network they are biased instantly. How to pick a phone: 1. Write down what you NEED, not want. 2. Find a phone that does it on gsmarena.com which has LONG term reviews and doesn't try and sell phones to you. 3. Buy it off ebay second hand unlocked therefore saving on the instant purchase depreciation. If you're lucky like me, I bought a Nokia 3310 a couple of years ago new in box as a backup for 10GBP. I'm now using that as my full time phone. Buy 2 or 3 for that price TBH. 4. Get a cheap PAYG deal. In the UK, you can get a T-Mobile deal for 26GBP/month that gives you pretty much unlimited everything. Anything else is just retarded if you ask me.
    - barista 14y ago
      Works probably for you but unfortunately that's not how millions of buyers get theirs.
    - jaybill 14y ago
      I was with you right up until you called everyone who doesn't do it your way a retard.
  - ZeroGravitas 14y ago
    Note that the ranking is busted, so it puts e.g. a refurbished Blackberry with a single 5 star review above a popular phone that might average out to 4.99 over hundreds of reviews.
- jsz0 14y ago
  Same here. I was planning to buy a 710 just to keep up with WP. Seems pointless now.
barista 14y ago
It still is getting an update with most new features with WP7.8.
- gouranga 14y ago
  Apart from WP8 apps won't run on it, which most will evolve into and it won't do native C/C++. Instant market fragmentation.
  - barista 14y ago
    Only the apps that use native C/C++. The rest should still run fine.

mrspandex 14y ago

It's important to note that apps will work on both platforms according to this article. This sounds like a pretty minor issue to me if I need a new device for some of the newer features, many of which require new hardware anyway (SD card, NFC).

cygwin98 14y ago
There's an update to this article about a few minutes ago: Update: Microsoft has clarified, and appliations built for WP8 will not run on WP7.5/7.8 (native C/C++ appliations), we're asking for more details. That would bother me if those new apps can't be run on WP7.
- barista 14y ago
  Only the new apps that use features (e.g. native support) not available on older phones will not work on older phones. Is that not how iOS and android upgrade too?
  - onetwothreefour 14y ago
    No, that's not how iOS or Android upgrades work because those companies specced out their platforms before launching them to market. You can't just "add native support" after the fact. That's a major addition which should have been there from day one.
- mtgx 14y ago
  So basically anyone who is writing an app for WP8 will have to start with a market share of 0% and 0 units in the market.
  - barista 14y ago
    Nope. They start with market share of all installed windows phone. Plus they have all the windows desktop/tablet users who could use their app as well.

mullingitover 14y ago

Windows Phone 7, or as I like to call it now, the Osborne I.

vibrunazo 14y ago
For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

barista 14y ago

There probably should be an article like this every time a new version of android is released. :)

jamesaguilar 14y ago
I think there are . . .
noarchy 14y ago
There are, but maybe they aren't always posted here :) With Android the situation, as always, depends on which device you happen to own, in which case you may or may not get the update. Of course there's always rooting and ROMing, but that's not going to apply to most users.

runjake 14y ago

WP8 release is Fall 2012. OEMs won't begin to have WP8 hardware on carrier shelves until end of 2012* at the earliest. Microsoft just killed Windows Phone for at least the next 6 months. I wish Microsoft would see the damage they do when they inappropriately pre-announcing products. * Mango had a similar release scheme last year.

rys 14y ago
With iOS 6 announced and Jelly Bean just around the corner, Microsoft can't really afford to just sit there poker faced until it's done. It's a wise tactic, to maintain interest when it's clear their competitors are moving forwards.
- mc32 14y ago
  Not only that, but end users probably appreciate knowing that anything they bought today would have limited future support --this alternative is better than pulling the rug from under them come 4-5months. That is to say, it hurts MS and partners initially but benefits customers short-term and long-term. What they could announce is some kind of voucher for future phones if they buy now --giving customers a kind of indemnification against obsolescence. Not saying they will, but they could.
  - runjake 14y ago
    So what do you think customers are going to do? They're going to buy an iPhone or an Android device, instead.
    - mc32 14y ago
      It's likely preferable to having their (customers') money but engendering lots of ill-will a few months down the road. I have an iphone 4. With this announcement, I'm willing to wait a few months before buying a WP8 device.
- falling 14y ago
  > Jelly Bean just around the corner Is it? It’s a real question. Currently ICS is installed on < 10% of the devices in circulation, but (I hope) it’s safe to assume OEMs and carriers are working on new devices based on the new operating system and will eventually stop to ship new devices with Gingerbread. If next week Google releases JB, I don’t think they are going to scramble to change their plans to merge the new version, they will probably just wait until they’re done with that and then eventually upgrade, possibly delaying JB even more than ICS already is. I have been wondering what Google plans to do to improve the situation. I guess next week I’ll know the answer.

antidaily 14y ago

This has to be a first for Microsoft. I know my first instinct is to say, "how crappy of them?" But they should have done this with Windows 10 years ago.

protomyth 14y ago
Then no company would have bought anything beyond Windows XP (released 11 years ago) or Windows 2000 Server.
huggyface 14y ago
But they should have done this with Windows 10 years ago. The humorous part to this is that WP8 adopts a kernel that is the offspring of Windows NT's circa 1993 (19 years ago if you're keeping track). Windows CE was essentially the "reboot".

thought_alarm 14y ago

So WP7 in WinCE-based, and WP8 is WinNT-based like the rest of Windows 8. Can't say I didn't see that coming. WP7 always seemed like a bit of a dead-end platform because of it. At least WP8 will have a compatibility layer for running legacy WP7 apps. But if you're a developer do you continue to target the legacy .NET Compact Framework for WP7, or do you target the new SDK that will run on exactly zero of the Windows Phones devices in circulation today, but will run on Windows 8 Metro tablets and desktops? This is not Microsoft's finest hour, to be sure.

wvenable 14y ago
How different is it to target WP7 vs. Win8 when it comes to .NET/WPF/Metro? I'm sure a few developers around here have started playing with Win8 and have done some phone development. I would think that it wouldn't be a radical change.

zmonkeyz 14y ago

Not a big deal. I'm tired of the HD7 as it is.

jinushaun 14y ago

The big story is not the new start screen or even WP8. It's whether WP7.x users can download and install new apps. Can a non-native C# app that does not use any WP8 hardware features compiled for WP8 run on WP7.8? MS needs to clarify. If not, MS just screwed all their existing WP7 users and have effectively killed off all new sales of WP7 devices. Developers will continue to develop WP7 apps and any benefits to switching to WP8 for development are moot. More alarmingly, if they did this for WM6.5 and WP7 within such a short time frame, how can any customer feel safe in buying a WP8 device? What happens when WP9 gets released? Why would anyone buy a WP now? My iPhone 3GS may not support FaceTime, Siri or Notification Center, but at least I can download new iOS 5 apps from the App Store.