HTC Windows Mobile 7 phones in ‘09? Sure, but they’ll have a netbook too
There’s news today of an HTC executive saying the company will have Windows Mobile 7 devices in the first quarter of 2009. That may or may not be true, but assuming that it is, my guess is that among the first devices from HTC will be a Windows Mobile 7 netbook. The momentum is growing for low-priced, small laptop form-factor devices so you can bet HTC won’t be waiting two to three years to jump on this market. We can debate the success of the HTC Shift, their entry into the UMPC market, but here’s what I’m thinking. If you call the Shift a failure, it’s not due mainly to the form factor; it’s likely due to the comparably lower resolution screen coupled with the pairing of Vista with the Intel A1xx CPU.
So what if you took the Shift form factor with a few tweaks and popped in a decent CPU with Windows Mobile 7? Granted, you won’t have x86 program compatibility, but based on rumors that WinMo 7 will be robust enough for a Mobile Internet Device or Netbook to combat mobile Linux distros. There’s a ton of third-party applications out there for Windows Mobile… anyone else thinking along the same lines as me? Would you be interested in a small notebook form factor with Windows Mobile 7? I’m expecting to see such a device at CES 2009.
The Shift has the worst keyboard I’ve ever encountered. Have you ever fondled it? It makes the EeePC keyboard seem roomy!
Question is: If HTC and the others jump in with these silly WinMob-based netbooks, what happens to the Redfly, eh?
And they really should stay OUT of netbooks with WinMob. Do you really think such a non-standard niche OS has a chance in terms of features against XP? And they simply won’t be able to compete against the EeePC, et al, on price, either.
“Would you be interested in a small notebook form factor with Windows Mobile 7?”
NO
I would agree that the keyboard isn’t the best. Yes, I’ve used it.
“So what if you took the Shift form factor with a few tweaks and popped in a decent CPU with Windows Mobile 7?”
One of the items I’d tweak was the keyboard, making it more usable. As far as XP, at some point it goes away. Windows Mobile doesn’t and I thought I read that over 20m Windows Mobile phones were sold or planned to be sold this year. (I could be wrong, and I’m sure someone will correct me, so thanks in advance if you do!)
MIDs, UMPCs, and Netbooks would be more of a niche than Windows Mobile devices at this point. I think some folks would argue against you on the WinMo being a non-standard, niche OS…
I still expect Windows Mobile 7 to compete against Linux in this space as XP fades away. Pure educated guess on my part though. My point here is that HTC has what it takes to make this a reality and gets them in a hot market that they aren’t in right now.
I’m not interested in any of these deveices unless they give me full Windows compatibility. The only benefit you’d get from Windows Mobile is instant on. Windows Mobile is good on Pocket PCs but it’s not powerful enough to warrant lugging around anything heavier.
My first instinct would be to say I wouldn’t be interested, but that’s based on WM6. Will have to wait and see what WM7 really brings to the table.
I love my WM based phone, and will probably get a WM7 phone when they come out. I just don’t know if I would need another device with WM on it when I could do most anything with my phone.
It’s this just Windows CE all over again?
I remember the Hp Jornadaes and NEC Mobileproes. Great idea, but too pricey at the time. I bought a used Mobile Pro 790 and used it for along time and it worked well. Instant on and all day battery. But I was unwilling to buy until I could get one for under 200 dollars.
Keep these “WinMo Netbooks” under 300 bucks and I might just have to get one. I’m gonna keep an open mind.
Doesn’t the HTC Advantage already have what you’re talking about?
Windows Mobile is instant on? My dash takes at least a minute. My Dell 410 boots faster and TC1100 boots in about the same time.
Well if theres something like the xperia screen res/size etc ill be finally ditching my vaio ux, i personally think from the screenshots ive seen of win mo 7 that for users like me (need internet web browsing, type the odd 1 page letter, music player, casual entertainment etc) its going to be perfect, i own a vaio ux1xn and a htc diamond atm, the sony x1 near as dam it will be perfect for me but i think the x1s successor (meaning same style with win mo 7) will make me say goodbye to the UMPC/OQO/UX standard for good. I personally think deesktop tower PCs are short lived, most people will just have a large 15-17″ laptop as a primary desktop computer and a mobile device the size of the htc touch pro/X1 or The Shift.
sorry the last word meant to be advantage lol!
I think a Windows Mobile 7 device could compete admirably against the new netbook type devices. No one is buying the Asus Eee for a full desktop experience anyway.
There are enough 3rd party apps for Windows Mobile that a good device, priced relatively inexpensively, could be just the sort of “internet, e-mail and entertainment mostly” device that could compete.
Plus, many of these same 3rd party apps are pretty robust in their own way (spb catalogue, PhatNotes, etc.) while others offer full desktop sync.
i would definately get one. my htc advantage is great, but a bit larger widescreen, a decent keyboard, opera and a thin notebook design would be great.. battery life would be a big seller here.. screw 2 hours, a decent sized battery would go a long way on a device like this. sd card for media expansion, as they are pretty cheap now.
~heath
I am writing this in Opera Mini on an XV6700 hacked w/ WM 6.1 ROM from the PPCGeeks kitchen. I’ve been increasingly surprised at the usability of this 2 year old hardware as the software gets more and more capable. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to get my hands on an XV6800 or even an Advantage, but this platform does me just fine for what I need: light spreadsheet use along with internet access and communications.
I spend 90% of my time on the road as a long haul driver. I’ve been through 3 laptops so far for various reasons (hard drive, lcd shocks. etc.) – and this phone has outlasted them all. Why? I’m no expert, but solid state devices seem to tough without trying to be. With the move toward storage in “the cloud” – whatever that may be – devices like mine are becoming less hampered by limited flash storage, and with WM ever so slowly slogging after the Iphone, I believe this platform will only get more and more powerful.
I have yet to take a good look at WM 7, but for devices like the one mentioned in the post to be on par with the UMPC, Pocket IE has to join the big boys – full Ajaxy goodness and complete flash support (unfortunately). Once we jump that hurdle, those devices like the Advantage may have a decent shot on features. And with laptops not having a long life expectancy in my world, I may be one of those guys who drop $800 on a “phone,” giving that solid state devices are much more tolerant of vibration. But the features have to be there. I can’t justify spending that amount of money on a device whose sole feature is that it displays spreadsheets marginally better than the one I already have.
Mmm !
The success of Linux on Asus EEE is his capacity to be switched for Windows XP !
I think the major “failure” of the Shift was the $1500 price tag in a product almost a year late from initial delivery. They had to throw Vista on it because of its lateness.
Price it to $750 or so with XP Media on it from the factory then you might have had something.
To first answer to a few comments here:
HTC Shift keyboard: The keyboard on the HTC Shift (roughly 7″ wide) is certainly not as good for touch typing as a ~16″ wide standard PC keyboard. But it is the best keyboard I have yet encountered on a UMPC. If you want to compare it to the Eee PC or other netbooks – they also are all at least 1″ wider.
“Instant On”: Most WinMo devices are instant on because they actually are never really off – they are always on standby unless they run out of battery power. And I agree with Cody B, there are WinMo devices (badly constructed?)that need more time to wake up from standby than a Vista Laptop needs to boot.
Shift price tag: Obviously, everybody (including myself) would want to pay less for their devices. But if you look at the components in the HTC Shift and take into consideration that it is not necessarily targeted at a mass market where a margin of $20 or less per device justifies a manufacturer’s efforts for development and production. If you compare the price of the Shift to high end smartphones (like e.g. the Nokia N95, Blackberrys or actually the HTC Advantage) when they first hit the market, it is certainly in the right ballpark. Oh, and don’t forget that you are looking at the price in a currency that has lost (almost) half of its value over the last 1 to 2 years, which also explains why imported devices that are not using many components from the US look so expensive to you. Get used to it – while many companies exporting to the US are currently still compensating for the “worthless” currency they are getting by taking a hit on their profitability, most will not be able to do that forever.
Now, to answer the question in the article:
Would I potentially replace my current mobile device (yepp, the HTC Shift) with a WM7 device?
Actually, yes, I would at least consider it (for the end of 2009 or early 2010). If I look at what I use my UMPC for (mostly email and web browsing) and how I do that (email happens almost exclusively in “liberated” SnapVue aka WM6), a WM7 that offers enough functionality could be even better than the current combination of WM6 and Vista.
What would WM7 and the device have to support to be “eligible”:
- The form factor actually should be (almost) identical to the HTC Shift – a 7″ slider
- Supported native screen resolution at minimum 1024×600
- Built-in HSDPA (actually, by 2009/2010 HSUPA) modem
- Built-in GPS with “free” basic navigation software (see Nokia GPS phones)
- In 2009 (or rather 2010) it should also have a 64GB SSD drive (option) that is not too expensive
- 2GB RAM
- A fast processor
- The target price for such a device should be significantly below €1000 for high-end specs and below €500 if it should run on something comparable to a midrange Atom processor, 1GB RAM and a “small” 16GB SSD or a HD
- WM7 would have to provide a much better, touch optimized, UI compared to the current WM6.1
- WM7 would have to include (or at least support) a browser that delivers the same functionality as current IE7, FF3, Opera, etc. for Vista or Linux
- WM7 would have to include (or at least support) a media player that can measure up to players currently available for Vista or Linux (the WM6 media player is a horrible example of how not to do it – especially regarding playlist support)
- WM7 would have to allow running an office suite that can really handle documents, spreadsheets, etc. including basic edits without screwing up the files
To summarize, WM7 would have to be very close to a full PC OS. From what I have seen and heard so far, it actually could be on the right way.