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Windows Phone 7 to hit the ground running with employee giveaway

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Yep, Microsoft is giving away employees to launch Windows Phone 7. Wait, that can’t be right. Oh no, they’re giving every employee a Windows Phone 7 phone, so the platform has a strong running start at launch.

Retweeted by Mary Jo Foley, the news mirrors previous employee giveaways by Apple and Google of their respective phones. But while Apple only needed to clear around 20k units and the scope of Google’s giveaway was undetermined, Microsoft has about 90,000 hungry mouths to feed, which likely makes it bigger than both those other giveaways combined. Very generous move by Microsoft, but truthfully, Windows Phone 7 is running so behind at this point, a grand gesture like this may be absolutely necessary for their first impact.

I can’t help but notice how Kin could have benefited from something like this. It’s also been cited on a few occasions that the Tablet PC suffered because Microsoft employees did not use Tablet PCs. It seems Microsoft has learned a lesson from those mistakes, and I commend them for that. Thus far, I am pleasantly surprised by how well Microsoft seems to be managing the business and marketing side of WP7, giving the attractive technological side a fighting chance to prove itself.

Via Engadget

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. GTaylor

    07/21/2010 at 6:49 pm

    My guess is that Microsoft has been holding back in lots of ways while the other guys launch stuff that is flashy but not substantive outside of the hype. A launch like this does indicate big things to come.

  2. James

    07/21/2010 at 10:55 pm

    Windows Phone 7 Team is hiring like crazy – I invite everyone to check out our current Job openings – https://bit.ly/divBjt

  3. David Howard

    07/22/2010 at 6:38 am

    James – I am concerned that the Windows Phone 7 team is hiring a lot of developers about 4 months before launch. We all know the best way to slow down a project and reduce quality is to add to a team near the end of the application development cycle. Maybe some of the Kin developers can help out? They don’t seem to have anything to do.

    I am not at all confident that Windows Phone is going anywhere. I have had numerous Windows CE PDAs going back to Win CE 2.11, and three Windows Mobile Phones in the last 5 years or so. I am not going to a Windows 7 phone. You are going way backwards with it. No cut and paste? No multi-task? No Native apps? Probably so few approved apps it makes no sense. If I want an iPhone, I’ll just get that, and get 150k+ apps, cut and paste and multi-tasking in IOS4. Plus compatibility with my iPad for some apps, experience, etc.

    The whole mobility approach at Microsoft is a disaster in my opinion. I have had 5 tablet PCs going back years, I love the small mobile form factor. I also have an iPad, and Microsoft is getting its clock cleaned in this area. HP is going with a different OS, Lenovo just announced an Android based slate, etc. When I was at the Microsoft partner conference the only slates I saw that were iPad like were unknown Chinese companies; and they were behind glass where we could not touch them. You had a substantial lead in the space and lost all of it so quick it makes my head spin.

    And to add insult to injury, I bought a Mac because I liked the iPad so much; there just seems like there is more useful stuff going on in the Apple or Google space these days.

    Although I would also say that my Fujitsu T2010 tablet with Windows 7 and Office 2010 and Firefox is the best device I have ever had.

    Sorry for being so blunt, but somebody needs to say it.

    Microsoft Mobility…RIP.

    • Sumocat

      07/22/2010 at 7:09 am

      David: Regarding the hiring, I think everyone – Apple, Google, RIM – should still be in expansion mode, and yes, the Kin team was moved to Windows Phone development. I get where you’re coming from on their deficits, and I’ve stated repeatedly they are really far behind in this race, but I think there’s still time for more competition, especially since they are pushing a unique interface. The tiles may not be to everyone’s liking, but I think it affords them an opportunity to draw a following.

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