Microsoft Exec: 6.9 million iPhone 3Gs? Pfft, so what?
In the past few days, the Internet has been set ablaze by news of the iPhone’s success, AT&T’s suffering profits because of it, and all the Apple gloaters doin’ they thang. Well, in other news, a particular executive over at Microsoft is taking a cue from Steve Ballmer and is acting all unimpressed after having had a bottle full of Haterade. Robbie Bach, who runs the Entertainment & Devices division of MS, which includes all WinMo devices, says that this sort of thing was to be expected. “Apple had a big launch of a new product, and they launched at scale in a lot of new countries with a lot of new [wireless] operators. This quarter, RIMM is having its big launch, and at some point we’ll have our big launch. We’ll have to see where things normalize,” says Bach. That statement is more or less true, but way to steal Apple’s thunder and be a buzzkill, Robbie! Again, like Ballmer, Bach says that the iPhone is great and all, but WinMo is on far more devices and far more diverse and apparently people prefer having an army of mundane options over one revolutionary device (yeah, we said that, bring it on). Will Apple continue its momentum? What Bach is forgetting is this success hit not just at any time, but during major global economic problems. People are bitchin’ about gas prices but are still buying the iPhone in droves. Think about it. How many people have you seen who couldn’t afford a ham sandwich rockin’ iPhone 3Gs? Exactly.
Tags: Apple, AT&T, iPhone, iphone 3g, microsoft, RIM, RIMM, Robbie Bach, steve ballmer, steve jobs, Windows Mobile, WinMo
Would you like some water with those sour grapes Robbie?
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Have agree with some parts of the statement. WinMo IS on far more devices with far more versatility than the iPhone. Is WinMo better? If you are power user who wants to make the most out of one device then yes, WinMo offers a lot more than the iPhone. If you are an average use who just goes for easy use and a few functions, the iPhone could be for you. If you want the best of both worlds get an Android powered phone! If you want it to be flashy as well wait a few months till HTC brings out some nicer looking handsets, better than the G1
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Hands down, the #1 selling factor of any phone is how cool and flashy it is at the moment. Of the damn near two mill that bought a G1 over the past few days maybe 500thou give a damn that it’s running android. I could care less about copy and paste, but I’m surprised that 5million ppl so willingly gave up their ability to MMS and then another 7mil? Why are RAZRs still hot? It’s still a fly looking device. People love fly, flashy shit.
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WinMo has far more versatility? I’d rather carry a device that does the important things very well than one that does more things, but poorly. My wife’s company issued her a WM phone and I can’t believe how behind the curve it is. Apple, Blackberry, and now Google have completely leapfrogged Microsoft in a very short amount of time.
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I have a Dash running WinMo for me and the wife. I *tried* standardizing on the MS platform, but it’s just not working out and the biggest crash and burn is on the mobile device.
They give you word and excel READER and no notepad or anything to take friggin notes on.
What really sucks eggs is Windows Live Mobile - it can’t even have multiple email accts displayed.
The web browser is syrup-in-january slow and I’m just sick of rebooting the damn thing.
My older 8700g Blackberry that work gave me is rock solid. Only gripe is web browsing isnt very “pretty” but the newer devices have enhancements to solve that.
I’m getting BOLD’s for me and the wife as soon as they come out.
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Obviously you’re not done fapping to the iPhone or Apple as a whole, eh Boy Genius?
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Bart: …”that does the important things well?” Oh, you must mean at how well it sends MMS. Oh wait…. Point is that the iPhone is a nice toy, but when you are ready to step up to an enterprise level phone for a real power user that can do pretty much anything you can think of, you get a WinMo phone. End of discussion.
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If I were the head of a department with a platform as shitty as WinMo, I’d be trying to play down the competition too.
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WinMo doesn’t have much to offer out of the box, but you can get many more useful apps installed with no restriction. I mean who is Apple to tell me what I can and can not install on a device that I bought!? If I want “dangerous” apps, it should be my damn right to put them on my property the iPhone that I bought and own! Killswitch and network dependency is just wrong. I work abroad every now and then and if I have a device that I use daily for business and for personal use I don’t wanna spend tonnes of money on roaming. If I’m in a different country for a while I just buy a prepayed card and stick it in my phone. I can never do that with an iPhone (unless I have it jailbroken). Any other phone can be unlocked legally, but the iPhone. WTF!?
I believe that this fact and the utter incompatibility will be the iPhones downfall. GO ANDROID! Let the portable world of devices be free finally!
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@Skyfalcon… if you didn’t have MobileOffice on your WinMo device, then I would blame your carrier or phone manufacturer, not Microsoft. I’ve had 2 HTC WinMo devices from T-mobile and both came w/ full office suite, not just viewers/readers. MobileExcel has saved my butt on several occasions at work!
WinMo’s failing is it’s stability and ill communication (email, etc. I mean)
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Anyone who says a WM device is less versatile than an iphone obviously has NO CLUE what they are talking about. Its still surprising to see so many people worshipping the iphone just because of its interface, but when it comes to providing the same functionality of a WM phone they start making excuses that they dont need this or that feature. Seems the same old pattern of following what everyone else does rather than making an informed decision yourself is still in place.
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Apple, RIMM, Windows Mobile…bunch of bitches! These little homies are big in the ghetto mobile world that is North America. On the a global scale, Symbian still pwns them big time with almost 40% marketshare.
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@Witty - BG did not write this, read the article again.
WM is good for what it is, it has a lot of versatility in an ugly wrapper. I do think that its been lagging recently though. Think MS has been so worried about Vista that they failed to see that WM needs an update.
If they do not they could slip into the Palm OS situation.
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I agree, I recently switch from a WM device to a iPhone. I’m missing some of the versatility of my 8525. I like being able to put thing where I want to put them and load what I want to load on the phone. The iTunes sync is horrible, IMO. But the iPhone screen size and good apps makes it appealing. If HTC ever reconsiders, and bring some type of HTC HD to the states, I’m switching back.
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The “important features” are those that make people buy the product for themselves, not the ones that YOU think a phone should have. This is why the iPhone has been very successful, even without copy-and-paste and MMS messaging. You message board ‘tards just aren’t too swift. . .it really doesn’t matter what YOU say, it matters what the market says. And this last quarter, the market said “iPhone.”
Now, will RIM sales jump when the Bold and Storm are released? Sure. But not much, because those phones will cannibalize other RIM devices, and at $299, the Bold isn’t exactly a steal. So, we will just have to see how next quarter goes, assuming RIM can actually get the Storm released.
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Marc you were just asking for it with that statement full of bravado, huh. If the revolution you are referring to is interface then by all means the iPhone has it. Mundane is definitely a stupid word to use, however, for any Windows Mobile phone. The Touch Diamond, Pro, Xperia, Omnia are all far from mundane and we we are talking about features you know damn well the iPhone doesn’t have SHIT…and i do mean SHIT on Windows Mobile phones. F outta here with all this talk about Microsoft trying to steal Apple’s thunder. The guy was telling the truth and if you want to speak on the recession no one ever really took it serious or knew how dire it was until the collapse of Wall St. less than a month ago so people having iPhones have nothing to do with the fact that we’re in a recession. You can’t fault the man with a better mobile platform for telling the truth. By the way the iPhone is locked down I’d even say the Android OS is better than it, along with Symbian and Blackberry. It has the best interface though and you can keep that for all I care because that phone can’t do shit for me and anyone else who knows what the purpose of a phone is. Making calls (without it being dropped), using the internet (with actual 3G speeds not like the fake ones in the iPhone commercials), having the ability to change up your phone’s interface and look with skins, apps and mods free of restrictions, mobile Office suites, copy and paste, MMS, Video capturing. It’s not even an argument to be had and anyone who disagrees has no brain cells to fully understand the discussion going on here.
And let’s not forget the ability to choose multiple phone designs with the same platform, IE Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android. Notice how everyone has this format except for Apple. Doesn’t that tell you something? Same goes for the PCs, one manufacturer, one look…and they wonder whey they still have less than 10 percent market share. The only arena this works is in the mp3 market and that is because everyone manufactures their own mp3s in house. At the end of the day the iPhone and the iPhone 3G basically looks the same…the features are the same…even the call quality and internet access speeds are the same because apparently 3G doesn’t mean nothing on AT&Ts network, might as well pay for Edge. The success of the phone is because of the brand marketing, the UI and fanboy frenzy…nothing else. So don’t kill the messenger for telling the truth.
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@ Perspective so the same argument can be had that Windows PCs are better than Macs simply because the market share for Windows PCs are greater, correct? Ok Thanks for that oh so smart accessment of reality. We already knew Windows was better than Macs but thanks for that brilliant accessment you just made. I didn’t know Palin visited BGR.
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@likeabite What distinguishes a fanatic, opinionated WinMo fan from an iPhone fan?
“The success of the phone is because of the brand marketing, the UI and fanboy frenzy…nothing else.”
Hahaha. How about the 200 million apps sold of the 5500 apps available? How many apps are available for WinMo? And what about Android? Yeah, thought so.
A lot of you iPhone haters haven’t had much experience with the iPhone or the slew of third party apps it carries which give it a hell of a lot more dynamics and capabilities than any WinMo phone. STRICTLY BY COMPARISON, WinMo is MUNDANE. That was the perfect word for it, both functionality and interface… wasn’t talking about the HTC or SE phones that it’s on.
@Közjegyző “If I want “dangerous” apps, it should be my damn right to put them on my property the iPhone that I bought and own!”
Right, your kind is likely the same that would cry out on the message boards, “Boo hoo, this app keeps crashing and it froze my phone. Apple sucks!” Haven’t used the iPhone, have you? There are dozens of apps that mirror each other or each other’s function. If Apple pulls a doc reader app for security issues, guess what? There are probably 50 other apps there that do the same thing.
Power users, blah, blah, blah…. name one thing Windows Mobile, NOT THE DEVICE ITSELF, can do that the iPhone can’t with its array of apps.
Bottom line of this post: That Microsoft exec was feeling bitter envy.
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WinMo 6.1 is decent as long as you don’t have to every click the start menu. Having your shortcuts on the home screen is where it’s at. Makes me wonder why the hell it took so long to put everything on the home screen. I guess because it took that long for Apple to develop a phone GUI and let everyone take cues from it.
That being said every single WinMo device that can upgrade to 6.1 is actually easier to use and looks a hell of a lot better. It’s a good move for MS, hopefully they keep modifying WinMO to SIMPLIFY it.
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@ Marc…I’m not a fanatic WinMo fan…just a realist. I’ve had as much experience with the iPhone as anyone else…I just know it’s limitations. First of all the fact that there are 200 million apps downloaded on the iPhone doesn’t mean anything because they are all contained in the app store. Now we all know tha WinMo downloads far exceed 200mil…probably close to 500mil total but since there is no one specific app store there’s no way to keep track. WinMo has been around way longer so it’s a safe bet that its apps have been downloaded a lot more than that of the iphones. I’m pretty sure even Fandango alone has more WinMo app downloads than the iPhone app store. If Windows releases its App store along with WinMo 7 then you can make a case as to how important these sales are as I’m sure people with countless Windows Mobile devices will have a one-stop shop area. And while we’re on the topic of apps what’s the purporse of being able to download an app if you can’t run it in the background? I’m sure you’ll have an argument for that as well but whatever you say is useless if you can’t download an app and have it as a background process while doing other things. It defeats the purpose of even having an app store. In the end you, as a fanboy, is proving my point that you’re not being realistic with what the iPhone is capable of. I’ve used both devices and functionality and versatility wise, Windows Mobile trumps the iPhone in all dimensions except for user friendliness due to its simple and flashy UI.
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@dtest54 - shut the hell up yeah?
It’s the entire BGR staff that’s partial to anything with an Apple logo, and BG is their fearless (shameless???) leader.
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I’d say 65% of the apps in the App store is useless.
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I’m amused by all noise and fury.
WinMo is comparatively mundane. WinMo is more customizable.
If you’re a power user that likes to customize, you go with WinMo. The iPhone has a massively superior UI and is a much more integrated experience. It’s also more closed.
There are tradeoffs to both.
The only reason I can’t get behind Apple more is precisely because of the rabid iFanbois.
But keep it up. I’m sure one side will convince the other someday.
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@ Marc
First of all I’m not a WinMo fanboy, I’m just stating facts that Apple lovers seem to forget. I don’t approve how MS conducts business, because of them forcing a bug filled system upon us. However Apple is just the same with a one huge difference: an awesome marketing team.
“your kind is likely the same that would cry out on the message boards, “Boo hoo, this app keeps crashing and it froze my phone. Apple sucks!” Haven’t used the iPhone, have you?”
Sorry man I’m not one of those people. It would be stupid to blame the device or the OS manufacturer for an app crash that a third party app dose! My point here that you have missed and turned around in true fanatic fashion is that Apple restricts my rights as the devices owner to put any damn app on MY phone that I wish! And that is just not right by any means. I would call BS if this was the case with WinMo or Android, but it’s not. Google has a killswitch too but it ONLY applies to the apps that you’ve bought through them, and they told us outright that they have it.
The thing is, I buy an iPhone with whatever plan, I pay a bunch of $ for it over whatever period, finally the device is mine. Now when I OWN a device, I shouldn’t have to get Apples approval to be able to put ANY app on it that I choose.
And of course I can not use MY OWN device, that I have payed for over the years (not only for the device but also for the service), with any other carrier but with the one I bought it from. This doesn’t fly in Europe, where I live thank god.
It’s like if you’d have to get your cable companys approval to watch dvds on your television set. And when you move to an other city or country your TV set is useless unless you pay horrible amounts of money just to have your original cable companys service transferred to your new location.
Sorry again, I have used an iPhone, and I did like the UI. It’s great, but everything else was there long before the iPhone came along.
“There are dozens of apps that mirror each other or each other’s function. If Apple pulls a doc reader app for security issues, guess what? There are probably 50 other apps there that do the same thing.”
That’s great, but if an app mimics the behavior of an Apple app, they pull is without question. Even if the app is better than Apples own. No wonder the developers are enraged and switching over to Android.
I have an s60 device and honestly it kicks iPhone ass application wise. And not to argue but there are more WinMo and Symbian apps out there than iPhone OS apps.
Power users, blah, blah, blah…. name one thing Windows Mobile, NOT THE DEVICE ITSELF, can do that the iPhone can’t with its array of apps.
I can name several:
MMS (I don’t use it much but some people do) video recording (I use it a lot)
copy-paste (I use it all the time)
real push e-mail (I would be dead without it)
background processes (I have two apps running in the background by default on my device)
So that’s five
At the end of the day it will be ANDROID VS. SYMBIAN! Apple and MS will realize that there is no place for not open sourced OSs in todays world. An a fun thing to consider, that this will backlash to the home computer market as well (just one example: Chrome)
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Re-read my post again. I asked why Windows Mobile can do that the iPhone can’t. We’re talking about the operating system here, not the device capabilities.
Posted from BGR Mobile on iPhone from: Los Angeles CA, 90042
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