Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, iPhone
WinMo mag suspends publication; will publish iPhone Life
In a rather surprising move, the publishers of the top Windows Mobile monthly magazine, Smartphone & Pocket PC, have announced that they're suspending publication. What's even more interesting is that they will be publishing a quarterly iPhone-oriented magazine titled Smartphone magazine's iPhone Life. Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine publisher Hal Goldstein noted in a blog entry that the reason isn't that sales of Windows Mobile devices are plummeting -- on the contrary, almost 20 million Windows Mobile devices were sold during the last Microsoft fiscal year. It's just that advertising support from Windows Mobile manufacturers, cellular carriers, and developers has dropped significantly.
It appears that they are expecting big things from the iPhone market and advertisers, as they will be publishing the quarterly iPhone mag in paper and online versions. My personal speculation is that they realize that with all the venture capital going into iPhone development, there will be a lot of developers who will want to buy ad space to flaunt their products.
Do you think this move is indicative of a larger trend that may spell doom for Windows Mobile? Voice your opinion in the comments!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian said 3:18PM on 8-26-2008
Hilarious! Down with bloatware... I mean Windows Mobile.
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Joseph said 3:28PM on 8-26-2008
I don't see this as a "dooms day" for Windows Mobile smartphones. I can't deny, I own a HTC Touch running Windows Mobile respectively. But I think we'll see a trend of more people switching over to Apple products, due to all the hype surrounding them.
I find that there is more and more discussion about Apple and their related products, including the iPod lines and Macs. I believe that the time will come when Microsoft remains as a sole software distributor such as their Microsoft Office line. I feel that they are going towards a more "we like Mac" and not so much a competitor. I see in the near future a company developing products for cross-platforms, including their personal Windows OS and Mac OS X, and quite possibly - iPhone OS.
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Otsego_Undead said 3:30PM on 8-26-2008
"Do you think this move is indicative of a larger trend that may spell doom for Windows Mobile?"
One can only hope. I for one welcome our Android overlords.
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Shunnabunich said 5:52PM on 8-26-2008
On the contrary, I think Doom would be a complete pain to try to play on Windows Mobile.
tony said 3:36PM on 8-26-2008
I doubt the iPhone will ever overtake the installed base of WinMo. At least I hope it won't. I like being an elitist fanboy.
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HZC said 3:49PM on 8-26-2008
I think that Windows Mobile will have to evolve or it will continue to lose market share to iPhone. Like Windows, it won't just go away tomorrow, but people want innovation and ease of use. Microsoft has to really revamp themselves, change the way they think and show some more innovation.
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Joduba said 4:22PM on 8-26-2008
The problem in the market, is that there is an exciting mobile operating system (iPhone/iTouch) that does incredible things with their sensors, core animations, and more...
And then... there are phones that pretend to open "word documents" and something else..
I hope Android will add some competition to this market, that in my point of view is a new market, what has been done since now is "smartphones" (to keep the naming convention) and now is mobile communication operating systems & devices.
Will take note for our publication ;-)
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Izzy said 4:09PM on 8-26-2008
Being an iPhone owner and a former WinMo owner I don't believe that this is anything more than them taking a big risk based on the popularity of a single phone from a single manufacturer.
I wish them luck. But they may not need it. There was/is little WinMo development compared to what the iPhone has been seeing in the last year. However WinMo will continue to sell phones as long as MS pumps money into it. If Android proves popular, then that with the iPhone will have a bigger affect.
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Rubbinz said 4:36PM on 8-26-2008
Like most other rags, they'll go where the money is. But people have to ask, what is their experience with the Mac/iPhone OS? Since their employees were all writing on the WinMo platform what kind of expertise do they have to just drop it and write about the iPhone? Do they just plan to write fluff, rumors and PR?
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WiiTodd said 4:59PM on 8-26-2008
I have a subscription to that... I was sad I wasted my money... since I replaced my WinMo i760 with an iPhone.
Sweet.
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A-Train said 6:47PM on 8-26-2008
Well I would certainly hope this new magazine has their circulation audited by BPA Worldwide (www.bpaww.com) so as to verify that they are in fact reaching the people they claim.
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Virtuous said 7:07PM on 8-26-2008
WinMo users either can't or don't buy applications for their phones. I bet most companies only allow their IT departments to install apps on company smartphones. Most iPhones are owned by individuals that have the freedom to buy apps if they so choose. iPhone users familar with the iTunes Store can buy apps from the same place they buy music, movies, audio books and TV shows from.
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Stephen said 10:47PM on 8-26-2008
"WinMo users either can't or don't buy applications for their phones."
Say again? Windows Mobile devices aren't just corporate tools, y'know. Many consumers have them and download and install applications as they please; yes, even trial versions - something you don't see too much of in the App Store in iTunes.
mare said 10:39PM on 8-26-2008
I'm wondering if Apple will send them a cease and desist notice. I know they did this with several iPod magazines and websites that had the word iPod in it that is a legal trade mark of Apple.
I don't think the word iPhone can be used by anyone (except Cisco).
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Josh B said 1:54AM on 8-27-2008
You did just spell doom for Windows Mobile. I don't think you need to ask us. But if you did ask me, which you did, I would say Windows Mobile was doomed from the beginning. Everything runs like a Windows Computer and we know how nicely that preformed without real competition. Now that Apple is back in the mainstream, Microsoft has to pull out all the stops to amass any leftover hype that Apple hasn't already created (or anybody else for that matter). The real problem is that Microsoft has lacked any ingenuity in the past.. oh, I don't know,.. forever, and all their products are just waiting for someone else to come in and either make the same product, except for cheep, (OpenOffice is Free) or just better in any and/or all ways (iPhone 3G). Apple just knew what customers want, because they are their own customers and Windows is built on systems built by other companies like Intel, and Microsoft is basically a customer to them, not themselves, like Apple. It's what made me move to Apple over 2 years ago and now is better then ever to be Apple Friendly. Live on and fare well. Please give feedback on if you agree with me. Thanks and any extra thoughts on this would be great.
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dennitzio said 12:38AM on 8-27-2008
As a regular Windows Mobile (5 & 6) user I feel absolutely no pain in the idea of it having a slow, quiet death. It's a lot prettier than Palm, but otherwise... Ugh. I have to reboot my BlackJack at least 3-4 times a week, and this is the third one I've had (for various reasons). Maybe the non-smartphone version is better, but I can say I'll never buy one of those touchscreen versions no matter what the phone looks like.
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Joel said 1:35PM on 8-27-2008
I can see the carriers not cooperating. There would be compeeting interest. American carriers would stand to loose if they provided their customers with references to other companies from which they could purchase the services that they offer.
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