When I read an Inquirer piece about Microsoft launching its own branded phone with a Tegra chipset by Nvidia, it struck me that this would truly be putting lipstick on a pig. The Tegra chipset and the demos shown by Nvidia of it in action are awesome to behold, but running the rather dull Windows Mobile on the graphics-loving Tegra platform just seems like a waste of Tegra’s abilities. I tried to dig into the rumor, but Nvidia referred questions to Microsoft, and a Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on the rumor.
While I’m truly skeptical that Microsoft will produce an actual phone (hasn’t it learned from Zune?), Nvidia has optimized Tegra for the Windows Mobile platform. Tegra’s graphics processing ability could really amp up the user experience on a Windows phone, but it’s also strange to tie Tegra to an OS that seems so visually unstimulating. Although my guess is that Nvidia’s chip could improve the Windows Mobile experience to make it competitive with the iPhone, while Microsoft uses its marketing muscle to push Tegra-powered devices to the masses.
I cannot wait to see Tegra in actual devices, even if they do run Windows. Nvidia spokesman Andrew Humber told me last week I would have to wait until February to see a devices and the GSM World Mobile Congress mid-2009 to learn which handset makers are using the Tegra chipset, a letdown considering personal navigation devices containing Tegra were due to be out in time for the holidays. So yes, this is lipstick on a pig, but who doesn’t want to at least see what that looks like?
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1:43 AM PT
[...] Microsoft denkt über ein eigenes Smartphone nach. (computerwoche.de, gigaom.com) [...]
3:53 PM PT
[...] owned by a temporary Microsoft Munchkin, once again took a shoot at it, saying it would be like “lipstick on a pig.” When I read an Inquirer piece about Microsoft launching its own branded phone with a Tegra chipset [...]
10 comments so far
11:13 AM PT
This is like reviewing a movie without seeing it. Utterly ridiculous.
11:30 AM PT
Wow, so much hate. TouchFlo3D is truly beautiful, and I’m sure to you thats also lipstick on a pig.
If you want to talk about lipstick on a pig, look at the blackberry storm. Have you seen those ugly fonts and menus?
12:34 PM PT
Why does a device running on Tegra have to be a phone? There’s nothing in the Nvidia materials that even mentions phone functionality, so that would have to be added via 3rd party chips. What about a tablet device? Or a portable video player?
As an aside, I imagine that pigs object to being compared to a MS product.
1:03 PM PT
Incredibly sophomoric post.
Nothing personal, just my feedback. I will still visit this site.
5:32 PM PT
Of course WinMo 6.1 isn’t what’ll be shipping next year. We’ve got 6.5 on tap and then the big upgrade following (codename “pink”). And they’ve got the Zune and Danger platforms to leverage. As was said, HTC’s TouchFLO shell *currently* looks and operates great and Sony’s doing well with their Xperia panels. I’d reserve judgment, especially since it’s just a rumor at this point.
9:49 PM PT
Its so stupid you are reviewing a product even before its released. This is insane If you are Microsoft hater go join some club.
7:06 AM PT
Wow, I’m not a Microsoft hater, in fact, I wish I could have Outlook on my Mac rather than Entourage, but I have never really liked the Windows Mobile experience. That being said, Tegra looks so awesome, especially for video playback and on power consumption, that I’m kind of bummed to see it so closely tied to Windows Mobile. It’s like when your best bud marries a girl you don’t really like. It’s disappointing. Maybe it will one day be awesome, but so far, I’m not feeling it.
6:06 PM PT
Who says that MSFT would use Windows 6.1 on this phone? Oh, and what’s wrong with the Zune, exactly? I have an 8GB, latest generation, and I LOVE it.
5:48 AM PT
Hi after reading this post did a bit of research … you linked to
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which linked to — (link)
And then found this
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Which means all this was nothing but a spoof :D ! about adapting your apps
Correct me in case if I am wrong. And if not good research is required before posting !
12:13 AM PT
Perhaps too early to say whether it would be a good device or yet another device. However, The challenge for Microsoft is not that they don’t own the hardware, but the user interface is lacking. Just because Apple owns the hardware does not mean that Microsoft should too. But that is probably the thinking in mother-ship. What Microsoft needs is a marketplace that adds value to the Windows Mobile devices. Another area where Microsoft needs to focus on is how to enable the OEMs to create differentiation and not force them to the plan user interface of Windows Mobile.
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