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发帖数: 20761 | 1 Windows Phone just died
Have you got a Windows Phone? You won't for much longer.
That's not to say you're suddenly going to be one victim in a mass mugging,
but that your phone is about to change massively.
You see, Microsoft just killed Windows Phone. Gone. No more. It's an ex-
operating system. It won't happen now, nor in the next 6 months, but the
countdown has begun on any handset called a Windows Phone.
But in that vacuum Microsoft is sticking Windows 10. The same one on PC, 2-
in-1 devices or tablets is coming to your phone, and that's going to bring
with it a whole host of new features to play with.
Windows 10
The problem Microsoft has had for so long is it hasn't been able to properly
marry up the stuff it does on your desktop with that in your phone. Sure,
it had some cloud stuff, but the phone and desktop were still merely awkward
cousins.
With so many companies working to streamline services together (something
Microsoft has always tried to do better than anyone else with its myriad
arms) it seemed odd that you had to jump through hoops to get something on
your phone when it was so easy to access on a PC.
The new version of Windows Phone will just be Windows 10. Well, it'll be a
Windows 10 phone, but that's as far as the distinction will go.
The big difference you'll notice won't be visual (yes, background images
will bleed through the tiles on the home screen, but that's not a massive
departure) but cooperative: if you own a Windows PC, your phone will feel a
very familiar place (and vice versa).
Microsoft is betting hard that if it gets the 'big' Windows right, selling
the smaller version won't be so tricky.
Settings menus will be similar - dragging down and getting more settings to
alter, for instance, will appear in both places - and apps will work
universally. Outlook will look the same on both devices, although perhaps a
little smaller on phones. The Office Ribbon will come to play in the Word
app on your handset, with PowerPoint looking as powerfully on point from a
wireless beamed presentation on your phone.
This is Microsoft's new vision: encouraging users to buy into its new
ecosystem and then keep flipping between devices without noticing anything
being lost.
Haven't we seen this before?
The problem is that, purely from a phone buyer's perspective, that's not
really a reason to choose a smartphone from Microsoft over one from Apple or
HTC. The new tricks are nice, and things like better voice dictation and
keyboard upgrades are cool, but it doesn't suddenly have a much better app
catalogue, which is the BIG thing Microsoft needs to fix.
And while I keep hearing that apps made for Windows 10 will work on the
phone version, Microsoft has yet to properly confirm that. It hasn't made
the bold, sweeping gesture on stage to say 'every developer that makes
something for the desktop will have also made something for a phone', which
is what would really make developers sit up and take notice.
Windows 10
Perhaps that's unfair - as Desire Athow, editor of TechRadar Pro, says: 'It
would be prejudicial for them to make that statement at the moment',
especially as there's still a long, long road to walk down before Windows 10
makes it out into the hands of the everyday consumer.
But there's very little here that makes me believe that Microsoft has just
given Windows Phone (sorry, Windows 10… for phones) the shot in the arm it
needed to start being a real consideration against the drives of Android and
iPhones being sucked up.
Windows 10 is going to be an excellent mobile OS, in much the same way that
Windows Phone 8.1 was really starting to hit its stride. The interface is
fun and clean, the functionality strong, and the hardware on offer… not
terrible.
But it was clouded by reams of settings, too few apps and underpowered
hardware compared to the rest of the market. Windows 10 fixes that to quite
a large degree, but it still doesn't push the brand ahead of the market.
Perhaps if Cortana can really be shown as superior to the might of Google
Now - quickly becoming scarily unerring in working out speech and intention
- Microsoft will have a chance to push its mobile message back into the
market.
Windows Phone is dead. Windows 10 is here to take its place by being better,
faster and more intuitive than ever before… but that's not going to
convince most to switch still. |
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