I was one of the early adopters of Windows Phone 7 and championed Microsoft’s new operating system to anyone I knew for its fluid performance and innovative interface. Little did I know that my newly purchased Nokia Lumia 800 would soon be obsolete when Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8.I strongly believe Microsoft made a very poor choice not to support Windows Phone 7.5 devices and I have written the following post on why I think Microsoft should bring Windows Phone 8 to all Windows Phone devices. I have also suggested some features which should be made available to WP7 users.
Windows Phone 7.5 users were offered a Windows Phone 7.8 update instead of WP8 which brings the WP8 Start Screen, 10 new theme colors and the Bing wallpaper of the day for your lockscreen. Nokia users were even promised a few new value added apps, but these don’t really enhance the operating system which is still behind Android and iOS.
- Microsoft campaigned heavily for WP7 sales – Microsoft had several campaigns for Windows Phone 7 stating that other operating systems were beta tests for the true mobile OS, Windows Phone. I understand that it was just marketing, but you deceived both users and developers into making apps for the platform.
- - Microsoft and Nokia were deceiving about WP7 – Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop went on to say how Windows Phones don’t need multi core processors because of the superiority of the underlying OS. However Microsoft enthusiast Paul Thurrott claimed that WP7 devices weren't powerful enough to run WP8. So which statement should we really believe. It is now clear than Microsoft partners and carriers knew that WP7 devices would eventually be replaced by WP8. There was even an instance when a Nokia Care employee stated that the Nokia Lumia 900 will be updated to Apollo, which was the codename for WP8.
- - Nokia sent developers free WP7 devices which are now of no use. Does Microsoft and Nokia expect developers to purchase new WP8 hardware just because a new platform has been released. Not all developers can afford purchasing new hardware to support their apps. App revenue on WP isn't as good as on iOS or Android, so why would developers spend money on new WP hardware?
- - Ignoring early adopters – Microsoft apparently built WP8 from ground up, and it would take some investment to port the operating system to WP7, which Paul Thurrott claims they wouldn’t be willing to do. Why would you risk a new platform on totally new customers, when you can satisfy 20 million existing customers who in turn would introduce Windows Phone 8 to their family and friends. By leaving WP7.5 customers stuck on a dead platform, you are essentially giving them the opportunity to choose alternates instead.
- - Windows Phone 7.8 is a poor excuse for an update, the only (truly) new feature it brings is the resizable tiles. The other new features are not even worth mentioning.
- - No new apps for WP7 – No developer would both investing in developing their app for two small Microsoft platforms, when they could be making money on iOS or Android. Microsoft may push developers to port their apps to Windows Phone 8, by giving them various incentives but I don’t see them being able to do the same for WP7.
- - Paying twice for the same app – If you purchase Angry Birds Star Wars or Android Birds Space on WP7 you will have to pay for them again on WP8. Microsoft may argue that WP7 apps work on WP8, but the WP7 version of both these titles don’t have XBox Live integration. XBox Live integration is probably one of the biggest selling points for the WP platform, so there is no good reason for users to want to pay twice for the same app.
- - Microsoft has released Windows 8 and hopes that all customers will switch to the new platform. Windows 8 is a radical change for users and its always great to have an accompanying device. Microsoft has released a new syncing tool on Windows 8 for new Windows Phone 8 devices. This tool unfortunately doesn’t support WP7 and users will have to rely on the discontinued Zune desktop client instead.
- - Xbox Music and Xbox Video are available through Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices, but Microsoft will not be bringing it to WP7 devices. Why would you release more WP7 hardware if you don’t plan to bring standard features on the platform.
- - OTA updates have been available on Android since the very beginning and the Apple iPhone 3GS which has been around for several years, is still able to receive OTA updates. Was Nokia being dishonest when they claimed that WP was superior to other mobile operating systems? It still relies on the discontinued Zune client.
- - Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 switches off the Wi-Fi connection when screen is locked. Microsoft claims this was a move to save battery life. However they have now introduced a fix for WP8 which allows the Wi-Fi to stay connected, while WP7.8 doesn’t seem to bring this option. Apps cant give notifications when they are offline. Why would Microsoft expect users to keep their data connections running instead?
- - Another new feature on Windows Phone 8 is the Microsoft Wallet. The Wallet allows you to store credit cards and coupons on your WP8 device and uses NFC to make payments. NFC is still not a widely used standard in the U.S. but the Wallet has other great features like the ability to pay for apps. Since you can add Microsoft Points and Paypal to your wallet, this gives you several other methods of paying for apps. Why cant you bring an NFC free version of the wallet to WP7? This is a feature not available to iOS and Android users and is a great selling point for Windows Phones.
- - Another really annoying feature on WP devices is that your fingers can accidently touch the capacitive buttons which will direct you to the search or Start Screen. If you are playing an app you will have to load it once again and wait for the app to resume. Microsoft has fixed this with Windows Phone 8 by introducing fast app resume. but WP7 users are still stuck with slow app loading.
- - Even though Microsoft is now pushing Windows Phone 8, their partners are continuing to release WP7 hardware. How does Microsoft hope to sell hardware that lacks some basic features which users could find in Android alternates? Unless Microsoft brings WP8 to older devices we don’t see any possibility of WP7 continuing to exist as an option for users looking to purchase low priced WP hardware.
As a tech enthusiast and a huge Nokia fan, I feel badly cheated by Microsoft and Nokia with the path they have chosen. I don’t think Windows Phone 7.8 is a proper update for your users and I believe you know that porting Windows Phone 8 for lower end hardware is the right thing to do. Microsoft is cheating both its customers and Nokia as a partner by opting to parallely develop WP7.8 and WP8 and I hope they can blame this on the lack of time and eventually bring a universal solution for their current users.
The public isn't incapable of understanding that certain features cannot be brought to older hardware. But anyone who owns a WP7.5 device will feel nothing but remorse for purchasing a WP7.5 device which would remain without any new features while Microsoft rubs a newer better platform in their faces.
As a tech blogger I would never recommend readers to purchase a WP7.5 or WP7.8 device and I am sure that others in this industry wouldn’t do so either. We hope that Microsoft does what's right and works on bringing Windows Phone 8 to devices like the Nokia Lumia 900, Nokia Lumia 800, Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 610 and the Nokia Lumia 510.