New Footage of Internet Explorer 9 in action

TNW has a video of Internet Explorer 9 SXSW. The footage shows what we glimpsed earlier at MWC. The main change besides the much improved rendering quality is that the address bar is located at the bottom instead of the top. I for one appreciate this, especially when having touch screens as large as the HTC Hd7 and it is of course similar to Maemo and Symbian, but much slicker.

The interface looks as slick as usual but it must be noted though that we can expect other changes since this is an early preview. I hope it isn’t long before we see a multitasking demo with the usual of actual backgrounds not some neon green.

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Windows Phone gripes, thoughts, and suggestions.

2 weeks later these are my gripes, and features I would want added and a wishlist. Please read on to view my longest post yet. 

Nokia getting exclusive WP features only in 2012?

According to smarthouse.com.au, Nokia will be getting ‘exclusive’ Windows Phone Capabilities starting in 2012. These features will be revealed to the world in February of 2012 during MWC.

European Nokia sources, revealed  the OS will include  “several new software upgrades, exclusive functions forNokia phones and software that will not be available for other manufacturers who licence the OS” .

On hearing this, if true, I am happy that Nokia will be getting exclusive, but am also disappointed with the timing. Nokia executives when speaking about Windows Phone, never specified which version, thus we could safely assume it was the next big iteration. When Nokia launches its first WP, it should have this next iteration with the unique capabilities that Nokia will bring. They should not just release a slightly upgraded Windows Phone with ‘mango’ update, that makes Nokia look like any other manufacturer especially when people are doubting the partnership. The 1st NWP device needs to speak for itself, i.e. show the partnership was worth it.

Nokia is going to release a WP with the aim of 2011, but it could be 2012 1st Quarter. Their main priority should not be to get some WP out ASAP, it should be to get a a compelling experience, with the aim of instilling confidence in all the ‘doubters’ by the updates and UI changes specifically for Nokia users to help them transition from Symbian.

Having used 2 WP devices I can attest to it being a beautiful experience, however there are severe, severe limitation. I will have a post coming about the applications I want WP to have coming from Symbian, the features, the changes, and other UI niggles which need to be changed to actually make it a smooth transition.

So stay tuned and hope that when Nokia does release its 1st WP its actually their own ‘exclusive’ version, not the current version. In its current version most Symbian users will be perplexed with many of the gaping holes in the platform that Symbian/Maemo users enjoy every single day.

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Dell Venue Pro Impressions

I received the Dell Venue Pro a few days ago. After using the HD7 I really did not like the hardware, it was too big, flat, easy to drop and felt cheap. In addition I needed a QWERTY keyboard my one criteria, I hate using virtual keyboards they are far too easy to mistype on, impossible to use without looking at the screen, and just a painful experience compared to hardware keyboards.

Nokia India’s VP possible delay to Nokia Windows Phone + Updated WP Version for Nokia Phones

Talking to the Economic Times D Shivakumar India’s VP states that we can expect to see the next windows phone in the next 12 months in addition to other tidbits. The main take away points are:

Windows Marketplace hits 10K Apps

The number in itself it not very impressive, however the rate of growth is . The Marketplace has grown faster than Android and Apple, which is very impressive given its slow adoption.

This number will only get bigger, at a much faster rate as the Nokia partnership bears fruit with handsets on the market, and the full developer community starts developing in full swing.

Good sign for for a platform that many are doubting. Having used WP I can say that I have had no trouble finding any of the applications I used with Symbian (bar a few) or would have wanted from other platforms. Some great applications are the AP app, Netflix, and a whole variety of other games.

Hit the source to check out live graphs displaying the impressive rate of growth over the past 2 weeks and since its release.

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Microsoft Marketplace hits 9K applications, trial apps a major advantage

The Windows Team Blog stated that the Windows Marketplace hit 9000 applications. This is excellent in terms of growth rate and is similar in terms of growth to Android initially. This is further helped by other strategies Microsoft is following to motivate developers such as increasing free application limit from 5 to a 100. The developer tools have been downloaded more than a million times.

Anyway this is helped by the ‘trial use’ feature that the market place offers which is unique to Windows. According to the Windows Blog these applications are downloaded 70 times more. If the application is deigned well, there is a much higher chance of it being converted to a sale.

All in all, from a Nokia user stand point their success now is good news. The growth rate will only increase as they join forces with Nokia, as Nokia developers focus on WP, and local content starts to get written for WP. The Global Publisher Program from Microsoft is already aiming to do that, and as the partnership matures we can expect more unique, rich applications for the 3rd ecosystem.

Hit the break for the full breakup.

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Microsoft to pay $1 Billion to Nokia for WP switch?

Everyone seems to be making a huge deal out of this, personally it is not. $1 Billion between these two industry leaders is a relatively small sum. Moreover, this will be paid over 5 years. Besides providing Nokia further incentive , this was just an ‘initial’ investment in their partnership to move ahead and seal things off.

The bigger picture is that Nokia can actually focus on stellar hardware, and not focus on their weaker software side. All the software features they want will be implemented by Microsoft, even the changes they want to implement (thankfully).

One must not forget the revenue source from advertisements coming Nokia’s way (in the B’s not M’s as Elop says), the larger patent portfolio they have, advertising, access to new markets, and mapping improvements thanks to Microsoft.

People buy Nokia not because of Symbian, but because they have great, durable hardware and are a great company. Putting WP on there which is much more competitive and pleasant to use, with the right push and infusion of software capabilities comparable  to Symbian, a leading third ecosystem is not out of reach.

Source: Bloomberg

Windows Phone 7 not saving Microsoft Market Share

As you can see from the table below gathered by comScore, comparing Microsofts mobile market share between October 2010 to Jan 2011, sees a decline of -1.7%. Despite Microsofts efforts towards Windows Phone 7 and the financial resources they have pumped to ensure its success, customer response seems to be underwhelming.

This could be due to a variety of reasons. When released Windows Phone 7 was unique, but lacked many of the features that more mature OS’s such as Android and iOS had in the US market. Not many new revolutionary Windows phone devices have launched (my T-Mobile store does not even have the HD7 on display any more). Moreover, WP does not support CDMA networks yet which will be fixed by the upcoming NODO update, which means that Verizon/Sprint are a substantial market missed.

In other words, if it were not for the Nokia partnership, Microsoft would not have much share to speak in the US or the world market. This should ensure that Both MSFT and Nokia put in their best efforts to make the partnership succeed going forward to create a viable 3rd ecosystem.

Windows Phone Impression from a Symbian/Maemo User

Coming from a long time Symbian user and Maemo user (N900), having used Nokia for more than a decade their struggle over the past few years in the high end has been interesting.

Nokia has always been the best hardware manufacturer, making stellar cameras, unique designs (N93 and N95) which usually surprised and displayed their innovation.

Their latest announcement last month about their Merger with Microsoft was not a huge surprise given their high end challenges. I blogged about my thoughts here.

Given the announcement, I thought (unlike many other people that incessantly ranted) that I would give Windows Phone 7 a chance. It will not be the same OS that ships with Nokia devices, however, we can assume that what is on the market today will be the skeleton. So I purchased the HTC Hd7.

After using the HTC HD7 for a week I’ve concluded that Windows Phone is an extremely slick experience. Much more than Android, which I believe is nice but is a complete mess in terms of experience on different devices.

The iphone is slick but dumb, Android is quite smart but just messy all over. Symbian is excellent given my familiarity but it has a long way to go before being touch friendly. Nobody comes close to Symbians features.

The things I like about Windows is the cohesive experience, much like the iphone, it is very intuitive and simple to use. But more importantly different is far smarter. The inclusion of live tiles, which show the sms’s, emails, etc. present without intruding is great. The notification system (pops up on top for sms’s) is less intrusive (similar to Android). IOS has no live tiles/widgets, while Android does but having 7 screens is great and all, but it can get things complicated fast. There is a place for something in between.

Windows Phone 7 is a good midway; however, they need to evolve the tiles to show more useful information.  Syncing with all Windows services are a breeze, sharing pictures etc. are done seamlessly. Applications in the marketplace are growing, small in comparison (around 8000), but almost every application I wanted was present bar a few. AP, Flixster, Shazam, Picasa viewer, Twitter, etc. made present, and each of these had a unique slick appearance not just the same version that Android and the iPhone share.

The interface in general is fun to use, with some small enhancements showing that they put some thought into it. For example when you dial voicemail, it automatically keeps the number pad open. During normal calls that is not the case. There are a tonne of other small touches that show they put some thought into it. This showed that what they did, they did well. However, coming from a Symbian/Maemo user there were many things I missed. Setting custom ring tones, being able to transfer contacts via memory card, sending Bluetooth transfers were some of them. The feature that are must haves for me, that are not present, are multi-tasking and full IM integration much like the N900. The latter 2 are deal breakers for me, since switching between applications  is a requirement for all Nokia users, instead of waiting for 5 seconds for a game to load up again, because you hit the windows key again. Regarding IM, having a 3rd party application is always a pain, but having it fully integrated like Maemo 5 seems the best option. Multi-tasking seems to be on the way, which is great. However, I hope it is full multi-tasking with the ability to close applications unlike Android and not just in a frozen state.

Anoer minor annoyance is how WP does not alert you for new email. Does not allow have copy/paste. Both these will be fixed in the Mango update.

Besides these quirks, performance is smoother than the iPhone. The picture viewer is awesome, the phone is blazingly fast and fun to use something Android lacks. You enjoy using the interface, can see the consistency between applications and the UI. I love how holding down the camera button for a few seconds unlocks the phone. In addition, the lock screen displays the missed calls, sms’s, emails etc, AND calendar alerts while displaying a picture of your choice.

The things that Microsoft (and now Nokia) need to ensure they add Ovi Maps, ability to chose the default Nokia ringtone/sms alert tone etc. Currently, the ringtones, sms tones, etc all sound too alike. I understand there is an option to set custom ring tones, but that requires some tinkering.

All in all, over the past 2 weeks I’ve enjoyed this new experience. Web browsing is awesome (better than Android in my opinion), management of tabs is excellent, and the web browser will improve further in a few months. If Nokiasoft make the changes above in terms of software, and add HDMI, USB-OTG, a stellar camera, options for IM from different services, and the option to upload media to different services (e.g. Picasa), then I believe Windows Phone will be a runaway hit.  Nokia fans in growing markets will understand the limitation of Symbian as time passes, as they are exposed to the competitors ecosystems.

This partnership, as in matures, will ensure that they have an option, and it is a very compelling option which in my opinion will create a 3rd, very powerful ecosystem.