From the "not news" department: Microsoft Netherlands says Windows 8 will be out by 2012. Well, right. Well, Microsoft previously said they would ship new versions of Windows every three years, starting with Windows 7. Which came out in 2009. And 2009 + 3 is ... ? Hold the presses, people!
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Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says that "Apple Can Hurt Us More Than Microsoft." Heads up, sir. Both companies are already kicking your a#$, Microsoft in the console business and Apple in the portable gaming business. Enjoy the number two spot for a while.
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Curious there are no stories about holding any one model of Windows Phone and it causes the antenna to stop working. None. Curious. It's hard not to imagine certain reviewers tried everything to make it happen, too. You know they did.
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And the best keeps getting better: Amazon announces that it will soon implement "lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users." Additionally, the company will be "making Kindle newspapers and magazines readable on our free Kindle apps, so you can always read Kindle periodicals even if you don't have your Kindle with you or don't yet own a Kindle." Yay!
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Not all Apple-centric reviewers are immediately dismissive of Windows Phone, which is refreshing. Indeed, it's pretty clear that Andy Ihnatko gets it, which says a lot about the guy's credibility: "With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has created the first really fresh and successful approach to a mobile platform since the iPhone. They’re competing with iOS and Android the same way Apple chose to compete with Blackberry, PalmOS and Windows Mobile in January of 2007: by not competing at all. They didn’t build a knockoff: they built something new." Exactly right. Thank you for looking at the product honestly.
That said, a few corrections. Most are not deadly.
"It's not a multitasking operating system." Actually, yes it is. Yes, most third party apps can't take advantage of that just yet. But most Windows Phone apps at least elegantly handle app switching and pick up right where they left off. This is, in short, a meaningless bit of pedantry that's sort of cheap (and typical) to bring up out of context. As far as users are concerned, the thing the things that matter all at once.
"There’s no cutting and pasting of text." True enough. But where's the mention of Microsoft's promise to deliver that feature by early 2011? Or any comment about the real-world need of this feature, and how often he really needs it, say, on his iPhone?
"Getting your personal data onto a Windows 7 Phone is damned-near impossible" ... from the PC only. Earlier in the review, he praises Windows Phone for being different. Part of being different is breaking with the past. It's time to stop using Outlook as the hub of your data. Windows Phone is a cloud phone. Not a 1990's PDA.
"If you’re in the market today for a new smartphone, no, I don’t think Windows Phone 7 handsets would be among your top-tier choice." I couldn't disagree more. :) Overall, a nice review, with lots of kind words ... and then a weird, bone to Apple right at the end. Ah well.
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And speaking of the Kindle (above), Amazon continues playing it cute by announcing another successful sales milestone without actually saying what it is.
The new generation Kindle devices are the fastest-selling Kindles of all time and the bestselling products on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Today, Amazon.com announced that sales of the new generation Kindle devices since their introduction have already surpassed total Kindle device sales from October through December 2009.
"It's still October and we've already sold more Kindle devices since launch than we did during the entire fourth quarter of last year,"said Steve Kessel, Senior Vice President, Amazon Kindle.
Neat. And how many Kindles is that exactly?