Summary: Another Microsoft proponent (the current Microsoft-Watch editor) joins the band which predicts doom for Microsoft's next attempt at phones, which are not even out yet

"Even Microsoft-watch.com doesn't seem excited by Windows Mobile 7," says Tim, the editor of OpenBytes who links to this post from Microsoft Nick, a big booster of the company. He reckons that Vista Phone 7 is "D.O.A." (dead on arrival).

Microsoft didn't bother to send me one of the Windows Phone 7 prototypes they've been circulating to media over the past week--which is okay, because I had my hands full reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S--but I'm hoping they'll see the light over the next couple of days, if only so I can jump into the review fray.

A lot of those reviews seem very polite. There's some praise for the Windows Phone 7 operating system, which attempts to aggregate Web content and applications into subject-specific Hubs, as opposed to arranging individual Apps on a grid-like home screen. And then there's Galen Gruman, who basically went nuclear.

We wrote about Gruman's review a day ago. OpenBytes calls it "The fall of the Redmond Empire" and makes the following observation:

There is plenty more material showing what I think is the gradual loosing of control of “territories”, one only has to look at any tech forum or blog post where people post about alternatives. Even two years ago, the site Microsoft-watch was renowned as a meeting place for Linux users (in fact I met many online friends there who I am still in contact with.)

It seems like many Linux users are now buyers of Android phones. Google activates over a million such phones per week. As for Apple, it is still fighting against its own customers, but they sometimes find their way around artificial limitations:

How a 15-yo Kid Tricked Apple With a Disguised iPhone Tethering App

[...]

Inside, the app contained hidden code that made it a full tethering application—a program that allows you to use your iPhone as a 3G modem. Using this ability you can surf the web from your computer, using the iPhone as a bridge to the internet. You can do this using your iPhone's preferences too, but that way you will have to pay the additional $20 per month that AT&T wants you to pay for this kind of service. That is $20 extra on top of whatever you are paying for your iPhone data plan. With Handy Light, the tethering service was completely free.

That's one of the things which are totally wrong with Apple; they deliberately limit the capabilities of their products and block customers. What kind of customer would tolerate this kind of treatment? Apple is having a 'Novell moment'. ⬆