allaboutsymbian
February 16th, 2010, 22:50
Each week Ross Rubin (http://www.engadget.com/bloggers/ross-rubin) contributes Switched On (http://www.engadget.com/tag/switchedon), a column about consumer technology.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/02/02-16-10wp7so.jpg
How many apps does it take to screw in a light bulb? That was the question facing Microsoft as rival mobile operating systems backed by Apple and Google added tens of thousands of applications giving users stylus-free access to a wide range of capabilities. For a company whose co-founder trumpeted the notion of information at your fingertips, it was a bitter position. The light bulb wasn't screwed, but Microsoft looked as though it was.
Finally, though, the light bulb has turned on, and it has lit a path in the opposite direction from the guiding user interface philosophy that characterized Windows Mobile, née Windows CE, since it powered devices known as Pocket PCs. With its miniature Start menu, menu bars and icons, Windows Mobile had been designed to present a familiar interface to those used to using Windows 95. In this case, however, familiarity bred contempt. As Microsoft's Joe Belfiore repeated several times during his introduction of the new Windows Phone 7 OS, "the phone is not a PC."Continue reading Switched On: Making it different versus making a difference (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/)
Switched On: Making it different versus making a difference (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/) originally appeared on Engadget (http://www.engadget.com) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/) | | Email this (http://www.engadget.com/forward/19360769/) | Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/#comments)
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http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/02/02-16-10wp7so.jpg
How many apps does it take to screw in a light bulb? That was the question facing Microsoft as rival mobile operating systems backed by Apple and Google added tens of thousands of applications giving users stylus-free access to a wide range of capabilities. For a company whose co-founder trumpeted the notion of information at your fingertips, it was a bitter position. The light bulb wasn't screwed, but Microsoft looked as though it was.
Finally, though, the light bulb has turned on, and it has lit a path in the opposite direction from the guiding user interface philosophy that characterized Windows Mobile, née Windows CE, since it powered devices known as Pocket PCs. With its miniature Start menu, menu bars and icons, Windows Mobile had been designed to present a familiar interface to those used to using Windows 95. In this case, however, familiarity bred contempt. As Microsoft's Joe Belfiore repeated several times during his introduction of the new Windows Phone 7 OS, "the phone is not a PC."Continue reading Switched On: Making it different versus making a difference (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/)
Switched On: Making it different versus making a difference (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/) originally appeared on Engadget (http://www.engadget.com) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/) | | Email this (http://www.engadget.com/forward/19360769/) | Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/#comments)
More... (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/switched-on-making-it-different-versus-making-a-difference/)