So much so that my entire immediate household that can use phones – Wifey and #1 Son* – are happy converts. More than that, all my siblings and their families also use the device. That sphere of happiness has also radiated out to in-laws, their families, and friends.
Importantly, they are happy with the device, even the few of them that moved over from Blackberries. My greatest conversion stories have come from users in West Africa, where Windows Phone has displaced their Blackberries, someone telling me that the difference was like going from a black-and-white CRT TV to an LED flat-panel TV.**
In all, a kumbaya type of thing.
However, this has only been for personal use.
Businesswise, I have been somewhat reticent to recommend it wholesale.
Until now.
For us, only my top staff and I have Windows Phones. I have not propagated it to all employees here in the US who still bet by with their HTC HD2 Windows Mobile devices. Nor have I asked specified it as replacements for staff phones by staff in the other countries my affiliated and associated companies operate in.
Why?
I have been concerned about the incredible amount of unnecessary information required by Windows Phone apps to run.
For example, at this very moment, I have 8 apps that require updating on my primary Windows Phone, a Sprint HTC Arrive – an extremely fugly phone, but the only Windows Phone Sprint offers: Xbox Live Sudoku, Pictures Lab, Xbox Live Minesweeper, Xbox Live Breeze, Microsoft Translator, KJV Bible, HeyWire, and TextMe.
Now, let me list the information they individually require, and which I must agree to before downloading (sometimes) and while in use:
- Xbox Live Sudoku: owner identity, music and video library, phone identity, data services
- Pictures Lab: camera, music and video library, phone identity, data services, movement and directional sensor, compass
- Xbox Live Minesweeper: Xbox Live, owner identity, music and video library, phone identity, data services
- Xbox Live Breeze: Xbox LIVE, owner identity, music and video library, phone identity, data services, movement and directional sensor
- Microsoft Translator: data services
- KJV Bible: data services
- HeyWire: contacts, owner identity, music and video library, phone identity, data services, push notification service
- TextMe: contacts, owner identity, music and video library, phone identity, data services, movement and directional sensor, push notification service, camera
Taking it to extremes, an app I was interested in, but ultimately decided NOT to purchase, is Flashlight-X Pro. It requires access to the following to run: camera, owner identity, music and video library, data services, microphone.
- Owner identity.
- Music and video library.
- Data services.
- Microphone.
A flashlight app.
A freakin’ flashlight app, for goodness sakes!!!
As a result, I decided to stay away until I got better answers.
Over time, I asked questions of several of the Windows Phone/Mobile Devices MVPs, many of whom I follow on Twitter here.
Overall, it seemed that my concerns were overblown.
I also had the opportunity to ask a Windows Phone developer, Scott Hanselman, a few questions about the platform and privacy a few weeks ago.
Why is so much information required?
Scott Hanselman: It's not. The developer has a manifest file that includes these by default. They need to remove the ones that they don't need, that's all. This sounds like the developer just didn't think.
<Capabilities>
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_GAMERSERVICES" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_IDENTITY_DEVICE" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_IDENTITY_USER" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_LOCATION" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_MEDIALIB" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_MICROPHONE" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_NETWORKING" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_PHONEDIALER" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_PUSH_NOTIFICATION" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_SENSORS" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_WEBBROWSERCOMPONENT" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_ISV_CAMERA" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_CONTACTS" />
<Capability Name="ID_CAP_APPOINTMENTS" />
</Capabilities>
Is this overreach by ISVs?
Scott Hanselman: Looks like a simple mistake.
Shouldn’t the Windows Phone Marketplace require actual humans to determine if the required operational information is relevant to the apps operation?
Scott Hanselman: That's a good question. I think they did it because folks get tired of the iPhone. constantly asking, so the WP7 asks once.
In all, it seems that my concerns may have been overblown.
Basically, if apps have been nefariously stealing user information willy-nilly, people would have raised a stink by now. Which has not happened.
However, the news that the forthcoming WOA would only allow Metro apps, and such has me concerned all over again, and hoping that Microsoft tightens the data collection policies of WOA apps, even if it (Microsoft) has to hire a full-time serf or serfs to manually police the app submissions.
Moving Logikworx to Windows Phone
This past Friday, I made the decision to move all our staff to Windows Phone.
Now comes the hard part: picking a mobile telco for the devices.
I had thought that we would be moving all users off the AT&T network where we have been out of contract since late 2010 to the T-Mobile network, because of the latter telco’s unlimited data plans coupled with their Nokia Windows Phone offerings.
However, I personally, and MedikLabs, were booted off*** the T-Mobile network in December and November respectively for “excessive roaming”. This despite the fact that a) both accounts were started with T-Mobile having full knowledge of where the accounts’ locations were, and b) all smartphones associated with the accounts, a total of six of eight total phones, had ‘unlimited everything’ data plans.
I subsequently selected Sprint.
The Sprint network here is has been reliable, fast – faster than the network we roamed on while using T-Mobile, and dependable.
Still, Sprint has just one Windows Phone on offer. Moreover, they seem to be straddling the fence as far as Windows Phone is concerned. Additionally, my staff is California, where they will not have to roam anywhere.
Which makes T-Mobile attractive once again, especially for unlimited data plans. Mix in the forthcoming Nokia Lumia 900 LTE devices, and I see them getting this supply win, despite their ejecting me from their network.
In all, Windows Phone is still a winner.
* Mostly all #1 Son does with it is play the Xbox Live Games. Despite our numbers and that of his favorite cousins pinned to the home screen, he doesn’t use the phone functionalities. The closest analogue to how he uses it is as an amped-up iPad Touch.
** I believe that emerging markets may be one of the best bets for Microsoft and Nokia to seed Windows Phone 7 and cement the product in the minds of consumers there forever. Displacing the suddenly maladroit RIM and Blackberry should not be difficult, and marketing costs would be miniscule compared to doing the same in developed countries.
*** The images below are some of the snail mail letters we received kicking us off the T-Mobile ranch.
Thanks to Scott Hanselman for his input.
