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Windows Phone 7 Unlikely for Sony Ericsson

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Although Sony Ericsson France CEO Pierre Perron says that his company is still discussing the potential for an XPERIA-branded Windows Phone 7 device with Microsoft, it seems that such a move may be unlikely. Given the fact that Microsoft imposes restrictions on the OS, and would not allow manufacturers like Sony Ericsson nor carriers to tweak or alter its Live Tiles user interface, known as the Metro UI, on Windows Phone 7 devices, Sony Ericsson fears that such a move will make their phones commodities that compete on price rather than on a differentiated user experience.

While Microsoft allows manufacturers to add in a Live Tile to enhance the Windows Phone 7 experience and offer differentiation that way, the company does not allow manufacturers to replace the Live Tile UI with their own, unlike Android, and that may present itself as a problem for Sony Ericsson to adopt Windows Phone 7. Perron tells Telecom Paper, “With Windows 7 we run the risk of standardising our smartphones. We would be obliged to compete only on design on price, which we want to avoid.”

The company had created a pretty compelling user interface with its Android devices. With the XPERIA X10, the company’s fluid UI and customized apps have been praised by many reviewers. It seems that Sony Ericsson does not want to lose that ability to create differentiated products in the marketplace, and a Windows Phone 7-powered XPERIA handset may be unlikely until Microsoft relaxes its restrictions on customizations.

Conversely, on the other perspective, Microsoft argues that a standardized UI will make it not only easier to deliver timely OS updates to users, but also creates a better overall user experience as users will recognize the OS no matter what device they’re on.

Regarding tablets, Perron says that Sony Ericsson has no tablet plans right now.

Via: WMPU

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. GoodThings2Life

    11/19/2010 at 11:13 pm

    “Hey, is that an iPhone?” “Umm, no, it’s a ….” Similar conversations happened all the time before Android started becoming popular. Now the conversation has shifted to a more sensible “what kind of smartphone do you have?” The responses are now, “Oh, I have a … which is really cool, because …”

    If Sony-Ericsson wants to compete, it SHOULD be based on the device and cost rather than which device had to go to extremes to customize it because they didn’t think the OS UI was good enough.

    If anything, Windows Phone 7 is the first mobile OS that LOOKS and behaves different. That SHOULD be their focus. Or stick with Android devices, but let’s face it… who buys an Android that device that wasn’t created by HTC, Motorola, or Samsung?

  2. Omoronovo

    11/20/2010 at 7:35 pm

    I knew this would happen, and god damn am I glad that Microsoft is sticking to its guns on this one. The reason I’ve waited so long for WP7 devices is because of this – I knew that when I purchased my phone, I would not have to spend days trying to get rid of “value add” crap that usually accompanies handsets. My last phone was a Sony Ericsson, and I can safely say that I will never buy another.

    The reason I have avoided Android devices is because of this too – as an open platform, manufacturers (and carriers) are free to modify the UI in any way they wish. This gives them an opportunity to add branding to their devices, but it just causes problems – updates have to be tailored to devices, causing delays and sometimes incompatibilities with handsets already released. There are no uarantees that newer versions of Android will work on current Android phones, supported or otherwise. With WP7, we can at least be guaranteed that any bug fixes, performance and feature enhancements will be available for all handsets that currently run WP7.

    The other choices I had were iOS/iPhone and Blackberry, but I haven’t seen a compelling Blackberry handset in a long time, and I refuse to be locked to only apple hardware and pulled into the perpetual upgrade cycle that accompanies iPhones. That, and the severe lack of carrier competition making price plans exorbitant.

    Anyway, I digress. Go Microsoft, show em where its at.

  3. ChrisRS

    11/22/2010 at 4:11 pm

    It is fine with me if Sony does not want to compete in a market where they are limited to distiguishing their product only by quality and price.

  4. Cell phone tracker

    12/24/2010 at 3:03 pm

    Sony Ericcson said sometime ago that they will make Windows phone 7 cell phone in the near future, I have been wondering how would they miss this chance. SE is not having a good time anyway.

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