Windows Phone classic will stay for a while
Because Windows Phone 7 is not designed to work on small, cheap, non-touchscreen phones.
Windows Mobile 6.x is to be known as "Windows Phone Classic" once its replacement launches, and apparently isn't to be taken out and shot as might have been expected. When Steve Ballmer announced Windows Phone 7 Series, he did emphasise that Redmond wouldn't be pulling the plug on Windows Mobile just yet. Instead, Microsoft …
"isn't to be taken out and shot as might have been expected"
Who expected that ? Not me, because I've been paying attention. It was very clear from the licensing deal that MS did with BSquare back in November 2009 that there would continue to be WinMo 6.x licences and WinCE licences available.
God knows I don't blame you for not reading the comments on your own stories given the current quality of commentard and the fact that we're always so mean to you, but come on guy, GIYF.
"But Windows Mobile, even version 6.5, is aimed at mobile phones"
Not necessarily, no, it is designed for mobile devices with cellular radios, which is not the same thing. It was shoe horned into being a phone OS, a task at which it is notoriously unsuited due to it's PDA focussed heritage.
"A few diehards might prefer the mobile-computing capabilities of Windows Mobile, but they will be a vanishingly-small minority."
Erm, the vast majority of installed winmo images aren't in phones, but in various other handheld devices, bar code readers, stock systems, logistics kit, vehicle tracking, etc, etc. Always have been, always will be. Compared to those, it is the consumer WinMo phone market that is actually "vanishingly small".
Epic Fail, I'm afraid.
Well done for spotting the most ridiculous piece of non-story in the history of forever!
WinMo 6 is going to be around for some time to come in all those supermarket and warehouse barcode scanners and mobile terminals.
I can't see someone in a Barcoded warehouse having to confirm all their latest friend requests on their terminal before getting on with their picking schedule
"It's hard to imagine Microsoft running two application stores, maintaining two developer communities and tolerating the inevitable confusion that keeping Classic going would entail."
Bill Ray,
There is no Confusion in the Classic Community which keeps Microsoft Running. For them is IT a Passion which Grows and Steam Rollers all before them to do their Bidding. It is just that MS prefer not to articulate too well their Global Ambition, although that does rather tend to make them look like Lost Dorks rather than their Ideas Reflecting well upon them as Finely Phormed Binary Pioneers?
This is to be expected when WinPho7 is not backwards compatible with WinMob6. Some manufacturers want to keep using the software they developed for WinMob6, and some users might want to continue using the same applications even if they buy a new phone or PDA.
Making a clean break with WinPho7 and keeping the old around for a while is, IMO, better than making a backwards-compatible OS. MS should really do the same for their desktop/laptop OS, but this is much harder, as there is much more 3rd party software that a new OS will miss out on.
Win7 will present the user with the new OS interface, which is non-custmisable, i.e., no HTC Touch Flo allowed. Whilst this is great for M$, in that all of their Win7 phones will be easily recognizable, increasing the Microsoft branding mindset, this will be bad for, e.g. HTC. I expect the reason 6.x will hang around will be to allow those companies which want their own corporate image on their phones to persist.
Having seen the new Win7 interface, for me, it's too simple. The thing that these days I found most boring on my iPhone is its lack of home screen customisability... hence why I am now drawn to 6.X and Android phones. Having MY phone look only the way M$ wants it to look is very Apple-esque, and dull!
Every smart phone I've used does make clear phone calls. And they were all Windows Mobile (I rather like the current platform, but then I do want a PDA with a phone attached. Really I want a very small netbook with a phone attached).
I am sorry that you can not accept that not everyone wants the same thing from a phone. That some people want shiny extras and you don't must make you life hell. But don't worry "simple" phones are all that rare, just look at Nokias classic range.