Windows 8 coming to smartphones says Microsoft's Steve Ballmer
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While Microsoft has stated its goal is to unify the desktop and mobile platforms, no Microsoft executive has stepped forward to discuss a version of Windows 8 for handsets-until now. And while the version of Windows 8 that will be used on a smartphone will probably be different in many ways than the one on a PC, most likely they will share the NT kernel that is at the heart of Microsoft's desktop OS. The Redmond based firm currently uses the CE kernel for its mobile software.
If smartphones do start running Windows 8, it will be easier to port software-like apps-between Microsoft devices. Earlier this year, Microsoft said it would develop a version of Windows 8 for tablets and that it would not adopt its mobile phone OS to such devices like others have done (iOS, Android). Speculation is that Samsung, HTC and others have been working on tablets that will run on Windows 8. Just the other day, Microsoft detailed a new notification system that will be on Windows 8 along with longer battery life on devices running the software.
source: BusinessInsider
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If at first you don't succeed: HTC Droid Incredible gets another Gingerbread 
RIM invested 1.4 billion into R&D in 2010 
53 Comments
1. remixfa posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:17 7 1
they are being smart.. a lil snippit here, a lil snippit there.. keeps them in the headlines for free.
32. Droid_X_Doug posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:00 2 2
When you have a raging sales success like MS has with WP7, the only thing you can do to stay relevant is to talk up the future. Here is a prediction - 2 years from now when WP8 is doing like 2.0 million activations/quarter (and Android will be doing like 2.0 million activations/day), Steve (if he is still at MS) will be talking up WP9....
The only bigger bozos are the two who have run RIM into the ground.
34. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:29 2 0
I love Android, but the thought that because it is so successful that there is no room for something different to grow is short sighted Doug. I really enjoy the WP performance and the way it is supported, and there is more than enough business for a strong 3rd and fourth OS ecosystem out there.
Here is a prediction: 1 year from now, Windows will be a solid third place (worldwide sales) and WP 8 will launch like gangbusters with a built in advertisement campaign from the still #1 PC software bringing along the OS to new heights. 2 years from now WP will be setting sales records for it's platform and Steve Ballmer still will be whooping it up as top dog.
And Android will still be the #1 OS by far. Beers for everyone.
40. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 17:02 1 0
Hate to break it to ya Doug, but nobody stays on top forever, no matter how strong your personal feelings for them may be right now.
Why mock competitors for trying?
45. Droid_X_Doug posted on 15 Nov 2011, 23:27 0 1
\'Why mock competitors for trying?\'
Um.... Because the only thing keeping MS in the smartphone game is their cash cow from Windows and Office on the desktop? If they didn\'t have that huge cash flow to paper over three failures in a row, they would have gone the way that Palm went.
MS may be a third leg of the smartphone OS marketplace, but that will be more due to the inability of RIM to compete than any market prowess on MS part.
46. Droid_X_Doug posted on 15 Nov 2011, 23:29 0 0
Something about PA posting function that is including extraneous characters if there is a \" or a \'.....
47. Penny posted on 16 Nov 2011, 00:11 1 1
So basically, you're saying:
A.) WP is only alive because MS is successful in other products. Which of course is something we should count against them.
B.) Palm is dead, WP should die too. Good riddance!
C.) Any success attained by WP will be due to failures of other competitors.
And, none of this even explains why one should mock competitors for trying. Instead, you further mocked MS as a competitor. I'm just...not going to try Doug. Enjoy your enthusiasm for technology - as long as it comes from the specific products and companies you support, of course.
2. Sniggly posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:18 9 5
*punches Ballmer in the face* Ah, I feel better now.
7. ilia1986 posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:29 3 1
Better punch TC. He's the inspiration for Ballmer, together with the rotten fruit company.
18. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:16 7 0
lol Ok then I will 1up you both. I will go old school wrestling & I will drop kick him in the face. lol
*Joins Sniggly & biophone* feels better.
31. remixfa posted on 15 Nov 2011, 15:56 2 2
imma jimmy "supafly" snooka right off the top ropes into his face. old school that :)
43. Cinnamon posted on 15 Nov 2011, 21:55 1 0
You killed it D:
53. remixfa posted on 16 Nov 2011, 17:27 0 0
DOH! lol
20. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:25 1 0
Sniggs, bio, Super- you all is a bunch of playground bullies, picking on poor Ballmer. Big, big meanies!!!!
But, so long as you feel better. XD
25. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:42 2 0
I like the WP7 platform, Ballmer just rubs me the wrong way. lol
It be fun though, you know to go super saiyan on Ballmer.
44. biophone posted on 15 Nov 2011, 23:11 1 0
Judging by the picture he is ready for us singly :)
48. Sniggly posted on 16 Nov 2011, 00:22 0 0
Oh, I don't doubt that Ballmer's a scrapper, lol. Just looking at him and his high energy deliveries I bet he could've been a boxer or something.
But you guys are all awesome and funny. Just thought I'd let you all know. :)
3. gallitoking posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:19 3 7
call me crazy but when Bada is beating Microsft.. you need more than Windows 8 on a cell phone.. try raising the "rent".. on the HTC devices... or something...
19. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:23 2 0
galli - U is freaking crazy.
Now that we got that out of the way, Bada is a Samsung plaything only released in certain markets. WP is hitting the world wide market hard, with new handset makers and new markets. Windows will be leaving Bada way behind in just Q4 of this year. RIM should be worried in 2012.
23. gallitoking posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:33 2 1
"Samsung's bada OS continues to sell better than Microsoft's Windows Phone,"...
just sayin.. is on another article...
24. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:37 2 0
Hey, facts is facts and you are right. I am just really, really sure after this quarter WP will be selling at a much better pace in a whole bunch of markets they did not access to while Bada did.
Or else WP will look really, really stupid...
50. remixfa posted on 16 Nov 2011, 07:07 0 0
For once, gallito is right
Bada has more sales that WP7. In america we just dont think about it because its not really availible. But yes, in world wide over all sales, Bada is above WP7. Not by much, but Samsung is beating MS with its feature phone OS.
4. GoodFella posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:19 5 0
Aggressive... I like how Microsoft, even though they are behind, is aggressively pursuing a better and better platform. I know everyone is racing to be the best, but Windows is really in hot pursuit... Now, for some LTE phones...
12. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:38 1 0
What I meant by that, by the way, is not that there is evidence of Windows 8 for smartphones, but that Microsoft is indeed working hard to better their platform, as evidenced by WP 7.5 and Windows 8 for Tablets and PCs.
27. terabyteRouser posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:49 2 0
As a Verizon customer, the only thing I see is the Trophy. As a Verizon customer, it would be silly to lock yourself into a 3G phone for the next 2 years. Lets see some 4G LTE products. Otherwise they are still behind. I believe some market study stated that, no other phone company can stand a chance if they do not offer a 4G phone except Apple. I agree.
29. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 15:37 1 0
Funny enough, I actually am a Verizon customer with the HTC Trophy. Now I will be the first to tell you that the HTC Trophy itself is pretty mediocre hardware, and I was really hoping that Verizon would get other WP7 phones before I upgraded.
I'm also not going to defend getting a 3G phone over a 4G phone, because 4G is obviously better given the choice. However, I didn't consider it to be a deal breaker because I spend most of my time on secure Wi-Fi networks anyway, and I'm sure this would still be the case for many people.
For me, it basically came down to this: get a middle-of-the-road phone with the operating system I wanted, or get a newer LTE phone with the operating system I didn't really want (Samsung Charge with Android). I went with the former (HTC Trophy), and my brother ended up going with the latter (Samsung Charge).
I can tell you right now, that 4 months after we got our phones, I am completely happy with my experience, while my brother has passed his honeymoon phase and is less satisfied with his choice overall. You are right that in the market, 4G LTE adoption will be pretty much necessary to capitalize on market opportunity. But that doesn't mean it is silly to opt for the experience rather than the hardware, when you can't have both.
36. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:33 0 0
You inspire me, Penny, as I may end up at Verizon and pretty much had written off the Trophy due to my dislike of the hardware. I was going to go with the Droid 3 until a WP device came out I was excited about. Maybe I will give the Trophy one more shot...
41. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 17:14 0 0
Don't let me persuade you one way or the other; the point is simply to go with whatever device best satisfies your needs. Don't go for the best hardware if you are not going to enjoy the OS, don't go for the OS if you are dissatisfied with the hardware.
If it helps you any, I could give you a breakdown of the things I like and don't like about the Trophy before you make your decision, although I don't know if there is a way to PM you on PhoneArena.
6. ilia1986 posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:27 3 3
Oh dear God. Now our smartphones will have BSODs, the registry, and what not.
I know what MS is trying to do here: be like Apple. They will have their own store for Metro apps, and then force everyone else to use them, as these Metro apps will be the only apps also capable of running on Win 8 phones.
8. JeffdaBeat posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:30 6 0
I'm actually quite excited to see Windows 8 in action. I was incredibly impressed by Windows Phone 7. It shows that Microsoft understands that they cannot be complacent and that there are companies out there that are strong enough to make Microsoft irrelevant. Sure WP7 didn't do exceptionally well, but Microsoft knows what they did right and wrong with it and can capitalize on it. I know I'm big on iOS, but the only way my OS (and yours) will continue to get better is if we keep having strong competition.
Plus...I dunno...I'm excited to see if they can actually make this one platform actually work.
51. remixfa posted on 16 Nov 2011, 07:08 0 0
i think they can make it work. It works pretty darn good now. the trick is, can they convince people to leave iOS and Android to come over to WP7 in large enough numbers to be relevant.
11. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:35 2 0
I was expecting Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 to be bring the two platforms closer together, but I did not expect them to bridge the gap so quickly. If they can manage to use the same Windows kernel on their smartphone platform, that is a huge step forward in my opinion.
I also agree with Jeff above in that I am happy to see Microsoft not being complacent and instead pushing the pace of development.
13. SemperFiV12 posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:42 2 0
So many haters on so many levels... that's when you know you are doing something right. MSFT just needs to be organized and go forth with their business in a bold and timely - yet error free - manner.
17. Jericho posted on 15 Nov 2011, 13:59 0 0
i agree with jeff about windows phone 7 not the ios part.
22. snowgator posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:33 0 0
This is what Windows needs to offer something that Android and iOS doesn't- access to a ecosystem that is huge and seamless across many devices. Windows Phones will not catch up in a lot of departments with the two top dogs for a while- they have way too large of a head start. But Windows 8 if done well and if you keep legacy support for your just released phones will have a hook to get them in the balpark. You have to get to be a strong #3 before you can challenge for #1, and this should get you to #3.
30. shatou posted on 15 Nov 2011, 15:55 4 0
It's really amazing that Engadget reporting that "Microsoft clarifies that Windows 8 isn't coming to phones"!!
Link:http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/15/microsoft-clarifies-that-windows-8-isnt-coming-to-phones-video/
33. Penny posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:04 3 1
Ah you just shattered my hopes!
Well, even the statement from Microsoft PR in that article isn't conclusive, so there is still hope...
35. pongkie posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:30 1 0
at the other techsite they said that balmer clarifies that windows 8 isn't coming to mobile phones. this is really confusing.
37. rcrider4 posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:46 1 1
Not true. It was misunderstood:http://www.engadget.com/2011/1
1/15/microsoft-clarifies-that-windows-8-isnt-coming-to-phones-video/
38. iamcc posted on 15 Nov 2011, 16:46 1 0
I love the pictures they use on the articles regarding Steve Ballmer, cracks me up!
39. razblack posted on 15 Nov 2011, 17:01 2 0
windows will come out ahead.. as it always has, because you know it will and so do the others.
but balmar.. dude, please step down. can we get someone that is more inspirational and not such a thug-a-lug
49. Jericho posted on 16 Nov 2011, 04:13 0 0
There will be a windows phone 8 and it will sure heat things up.
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