Microsoft schnaaied Nokia
Just two months after the US launch of Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone 7 device, Microsoft announced that the next version of its mobile operating system (OS) would not run on devices available right now.
In South Africa the situation is even worse for Nokia with the Lumia 900 getting a launch date the day before Microsoft confirmed what had been feared: Windows Phone 8 was for new hardware only.
Windows Phone 8 is set for release “this fall” (which is American for somewhere from September to November 2012) and will be launching on HTC, Huawei, Nokia, and Samsung devices across 180 countries.
For those who have been paying attention, you may have already picked up where Nokia, or at least its customers, were schnaaied:
- January 2012: Nokia Lumia 900 announced at CES where it won Cnet’s Best of Show award.
- January-March 2012: Speculation abounds on Lumia 900 launch dates.
- April 2012: Nokia Lumia 900 launches in the US, Vodacom tells MyBroadband they won’t be bringing in the device.
- 19 June 2012: Microsoft SA, MTN, and Nokia SA announce with big fanfare that the Lumia 900 will be launching locally on 28 June 2012.
- 20 June 2012: Microsoft announces that Windows Phone 7 won’t be upgradable to Windows Phone 8.
It should be pointed out that Windows Phone devices aren’t the only ones being left behind as the version number increments.
BlackBerry OS 6 devices such as the BlackBerry Torch 9800 weren’t upgradeable to version 7 of the OS. The devices were announced globally and released in SA about a year apart, but it still stung if you were stuck on a contract and unable to upgrade.
Some devices using Google’s Android mobile OS have similar issues with upgradability, though this is typically up to manufacturers and not Google.
One prominent example was HTC announcing that its Desire handset would not be getting an upgrade to Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”. The HTC Desire had been out for 8 months when Google released Gingerbread.
Windows Phone 8
What are Windows Phone 7 users missing out on?
Part of the problem with Microsoft’s recent announcement around Windows Phone 8, however, is that it isn’t clear what exactly Windows Phone 7 users will be missing out on.
Making official what was already an open secret, Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7.8 as the upgrade path to existing “Mango” users.
The upgrade is set to be available around the same time as Windows Phone 8 is launched and will bring the new start screen and other “core customer experiences” to WP7.
Does this mean that features such as Skype will finally work properly? Will Samsung users get the benefit of integrated Nokia Maps? Why were Microsoft unwilling to commit to what they will and will not include in Windows Phone 7.8?
This uncertainty, similar to that surrounding the BlackBerry 10 platform, casts a shadow over the whole ecosystem.
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