Microsoft Bringing Windows 8 to Phones?
Move over Windows Phone 7.
Just a couple of months back, Microsoft released Windows Phone 7.5, also known as Mango. However, it seems Windows Phone 7 may not be the whole story when it comes to Microsoft's cell phone strategy. According to statements made by Microsoft co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, the company may bring Windows 8 to cell phones.
"We've got broad initiatives driving Windows down to the phone with Windows 8," Business Insider cites Steve Ballmer as saying at a recent shareholder meeting.
However, Microsoft has since released an official transcript that claims Ballmer's words have been somewhat skewed by the media. Redmond says Ballmer never said Windows 8 was coming to the phone, just that the company was driving Windows down to the phone.
"We've got broad Windows initiatives driving Windows down to the phone," the transcript reads. "With Windows 8, you'll see incredible new form factors powered by Windows from tablets, small, large, pens, smaller, bigger, room-sized displays."
From what we've seen so far, Windows 8 certainly has a very Windows Phone feel to it, especially when you look at the Metro UI next to Windows Phone 7's live tiles interface. To that end, it would make sense and Ballmer's comments aren't very surprising. And, even going by Redmond's official transcript, Microsoft clearly plans to put Windows 8 on a whole host of new form-factors, so phones shouldn't be completely out of the question. Have a listen to the audio for yourself and let us know what you think Ballmer meant:
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It would be another great innovation from Microsoft since MS-DOS.
Duh! Very old news...
Come on Microsoft, you have tens of thousands of people working for you, why are you playing catch-up instead of actually trying to be innovative and bring something new and unique to the market? We don't need another smartphone OS, there are already too many. Hello? McFly?? (knocks on Ballmers head)
I think it was kind of assumed (at least for me) W8 would be on phones. WP7 looks almost identical to the W8 screenshots I've seen.
I'm thinking of W8 as a blend of W7 and WP7.
Wasn't the whole POINT of Windows 8 to bring it to Phones and possibly other Microsoft mobile devices?
Hence the really ugly widget-looking interface?
ya, after playing with win8 on my netbook I would love to have it on a phone; even if you had to take away the desktop portion and just have metro for phone devices. It would be one step closer to what I am waiting for!
In the future I want a phone that is just an SSD with a touch screen, and when I hook it up to a PC through thunderbolt or USB3 then have it take over the hardware of the machine. This way I could have all of my programs, and save files in one handy portable device, and be able to use some of them on the portable device. But when I want to do video editing I can just go to the editing computer, plug in, and then let it fly. Then when I go to a client's house for any last words or ideas on a project they can see exactly what I am working with without having to lug a laptop or computer around. Having the same OS on multiple platforms is just one step closer to that goal!
If I can play Skyrim on my phone then I'm sold.
say goodnight apple
We will see...
So far, all I'm seeing is microsoft trying to pull the same "integration" tactics that Apple is doing between the phone, web(cloud), and ur desktop pc....
IF MS can do it better(without the damn near communist restraints on the system like apple does)
Then MS might have a winner if they can convince people to take the plunge that are also willing to forget the previous flops....
Was there ever any doubt? Win8 was designed for Tablet with concessions for desktop. It only seems natural that, with its smaller footprint, it would also be destined for cellphones or other resource poor devices.
It's all about code reusability, and this model has it in spades (and is not unique to MS). MS is trickling down to smaller devices, should we expect an official Android desktop environment?
Duh! Very old news...
This article concerns something that Steve Ballmer said two days ago and an official transcript Microsoft has released since then. I wouldn't call that very old.
That was given anything that runs on ARM and can be run on tablet, can be run on phone. Almost all of the ARM tablets use the same chip as phones...
Well, Win8 works on tablets and phones.
It DOES NOT WORK ON PCs! Normally, I try out new versions of windows in the beta to decide whether or not I want to adopt it. This has helped me avoid Vista, and now it's going to help me avoid Win8. There are some great features in Win8, but the new Start is not one of them. It breaks workflow, it makes everything much harder to get to, it breaks up applications into app versions and full-version, but it's not apparent how to get to either one. It's just terrible.
I guess we'll have to wait for Win9 or even Win10 (or WinX... just wait, you know they'll do it) to fix this conundrum.
The eventual merger of the smartphone and the desktop PC will be a good thing; just make it that the desktop integrates the smartphone, not the other way around.
windows 8 will be great for tablets but is weak on desktop's and laptop's. There is a registry "tweak" that allows you to make it look more like windows 7. Once they add this feature in the finished product it will be a great switch.
OMFG this will fail really badly. Since Microsoft clearly doesn't know what they're doing with phones, they should just get out of there. They hit a gold mine with Windows 7, and they hit a garbage can with Windows 8, at least in terms of regular desktops and laptops without touchscreens (aka 99% of the population). But then again, just like Wall Street, this benefits the 1% (with touchscreens), right?
[citation]According to statements made by Microsoft co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer...[/citation]
Since when is Steve Ballmer a co-founder of Microsoft?
Here's a citation from Wikipedia on the subject:
"Bill Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000 to Steve Ballmer, an old college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft
This article concerns something that Steve Ballmer said two days ago and an official transcript Microsoft has released since then. I wouldn't call that very old.
Actually this article concerns a fact that anyone with half a brain figured out as soon as they saw the first screenshots of windows 8. How long ago did you learn it will run on ARM? If I publish a article saying that water is wet does that make it new news?
so kids if you find your cellphone slow because it has an AMD CPU in it. no worries just wait for windows 8 and then it will be the most perfect phone ever