“Microsoft has posted its first teaser video advertisement for the upcoming Windows Phone 7,” Josh Ong reports for AppleInsider. “The one-minute ad, posted on the official Windows Phone UK YouTube channel, was created for a Secret Cinema showing of ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ and spoofs the iconic mirage scene from the film.”
Ong reports, “Microsoft is expected to spend over $500 million on marketing [Windows Phone 7] at launch.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Way too little, way too late. Where’s cut, copy, and paste? Where’s the multitasking? Where’s the compass API? Where’s the VPN support? Where’s the unified inbox for email? Where’s the HTML5 support? What is this, 2007?
Android Microsoft. Never do with one button that which you can do with four three.™
Stupid looking trailer.
As the ad suggests, Windows Phone 7 will be nothing but a mirage… with a really awkward name.
Windows Foam?
If I’m ever stuck out in the desert..that’s not the phone I want
So slow and boring
The poor, red-headed step-child version of Apple’s iconic ‘1984’ commercial about 35 years too late.
And considering that it’s only 3 months away, there are no details.
No originality. Oooppss…it is MS afterall.
Oh, so Pathetic.
Hey Microsoft, how about fixing the problems with windows 7 OS on computers before moving the problem child to phones? Crappy software makes for crappy hardware………. Oh, and the commercial…….. not even CLOSE to stirring up any excitement. Except for us iPhone owners who need a laugh!!!!!
Ok, this is marketing for very old people that watched Lawrence of Arabia or for an Arabian market share. Wasn’t the turd brown Zune marketed to the off road bikealists? Did they not learn anything?
They need younger people to pick which marketing strategy to use, not old duffers like Ballmer and me.
Reminds me of the opening scene from Star Trek V
See, our phones are better. Ours is at 7 while yours is at 4. :sticksouttoungue:
Is the ad talking about a new phone or a Jihad?
I thought I saw a Windows Phone 7 but it was just a mirage. I think it’s a safe ad for MS because you can’t tell if it’s for real or not.
30 seconds of incoherent shimmering on the horizon, 5 seconds of screenshot, 0 seconds of UI interaction. Yep – this is from Redmond.
Ever get the feeling the ad budgets at M$ are inspired by the plot of Brewster’s Millions?
LOL!! The revolution already HAPPENED! DUH!!
Chimerical BS.
Did they film that in the back lot of Joe’s Junkyard? What is with the tire tracks, trash, and even a tire in the “sand”? That is one of the worst settings for such an ad that could be imagined. Oh, wait, it does probably fit well and mirror the product itself. Never mind.
Wow, the production quality of that was fairly crappy. Even for M¢.
Actually, if you take a look at the UI, it’s original (not a copy), fresh and pretty cool. They’ll sell a bunch of these, no doubt. And if they make it easy to program with, you can guarantee that there are a league of developers who would love to program against it.
I wouldn’t knock it quite yet.
I love the big blue squares in the UI. Very 1960’s style. LOL
Ha ha ha ha! That’s hilarious! As in, what a joke.
Wow, David Lean and Stanley Kubrick’s family should sue them. That was not an homage but a ripoff. Plus, is Microsoft saying that an Arab Revolution is coming?!? A Holy War?!? A Jihad?!?
They should just go back to Zuneville.
It’s ironic that MDN is bringing up the same deficiencies that the iPhone sported for so long. And iPhone multitasking isn’t on par with what is found on Android or even Windows Mobile.
LOL.. um okay Microsoft. Revolution? hahahahaha
Who else here thinks that MS’s advertising people are purposefully sabotaging their ads?
@EVO_FTW: I love the iPhone and think the Android ecosystem is ripe for a pummeling once the iPhone is available on multiple US carriers. But I do have to agree that it is humorous to read MDN’s questions and answer “no” to nearly each for the iPhone prior to July of this year.
That being said, the iPhone, and Android for that matter, do support each of those out of the box now. Microsoft will have a tough time competing against platforms that are so fundamentally superior in terms of feature sets.
Still, the demos I’ve seen of the UI are intriguing. Not many bells and whistles, but very straightforward and intuitive. And all the stuff you care about is easily visible from the home screen. They are at least starting from a decent slate. It will be interesting to see how well it catches on, and where they take it from here…
How interesting that they would present the new phone as a mirage. Are they hinting that it’s vaporware? Could it be that the commercial provide an easy out for M/$ in that if the thing completely sucks, they could say that it never really existed?
Meh, it likely will suck so it’s a good thing that it’s only a mirage.
Typical Microsoft, you have to get at least halfway through the commercial before you have the faintest clue of what is going on…..
Is this a joke? SERIOUSLY?
Hey cool cats; I hear the “social” is this-a-way!
Hut, hut, hut! Nothing is written with Windows 7.
It is written.
I’ll admit I haven’t used a Windows Phone in person, but based on the video clips I’ve seen, the UI looks horrible — just plain poorly designed. THe “tile” system is weird on a few levels. First off, the tiles are of different sizes — normal width and double width. This makes for a weird, uneven visual appearance, right off the bat. Secondly, the tiles themselves take up a gigantic amount of screen real estate, relative to the information they reveal. On a small screen such as that found on a smartphone, program icons or folders should be of a modest size, to maximize the user’s ability to see a lot of info simultaneously, without having to scroll left or right or up/down. Apple got it right (unsurprisingly) with the iOS. Microsoft (unsurprisingly) appears to have gotten it wrong, once again. FOr a company with such unlimited resources, it’s amazing how inept MS is when it comes to creating a decent UI.
Yawn — is Microsoft utterly incapable of creating compelling video content and ads?
Watching the “Lost” title logo rotate and come into focus is infinitely more interesting than this “teaser.”
The only Microsoft ads I’ve seen that showed creativity was the print campaign for “Where do you want to go today” that ran in magazines, showing photographs of people in certain settings, with pencil drawings in white to show the reality of some future setting they aspired to, or envisioned for themselves.
This teaser looks like some creative bigwig at MS or its ad agency just rented “Mad Max” or “The Book of Eli,” and said, “Hey, I’ve got an awesome idea — we’ll open with a shot of open desert, and we’ll have the phone zoom in towards the viewer, with a cloud of dust behind it!”
SCary to think these people are earning gigantic, six-figure salaries, most likely.
@Dick Nickson
“The only Microsoft ads I’ve seen that showed creativity was the print campaign for “Where do you want to go today” that ran in magazines, showing photographs of people in certain settings, with pencil drawings in white to show the reality of some future setting they aspired to, or envisioned for themselves.”
Yes, but unfortunately their own OS prevented that from ever happening.
Yeah, because when I think of Microsoft I think of… revolution.
Considering all the PC guys were knocking Apple SO HARD for lacking cut and past, multitasking, etc. a few years back, all features which Windows 7 Mobile Phone 7 (or whatever) lacks, I think we should return the favor and make their lives hell for a while.
Having said that, Windows 7 is an okay OS. My second notebook (after my MacBook Pro of course) is an Acer ultraportable running Windows 7 Ultimate and I’ve never had any problems with it.
Gotta be fair.
Do they really need the long accent mark over the “u” in “Revolution”? How else would you pronounce it?
Revolution?? Welcome back to 2007! Thank you M$ for the time travel… but you’re too late ~
How cute. Microsoft actually thinks people will be excited about their phone.
——RM
Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Gotta love the “Islamic” themed music…… I’m sure this phone will be the bomb!!!
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Bring back the Kin.
@misterME: Your making too much reasonable sense in your comments back to me. You cannot be so open-minded in the tech world.
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Seriously though, I love both the iOS design and Android. I own the EVO (obviously) and an iPod Touch, iPad, and Macbook Pro. I’ve used WinMo devices, and still own the Touch Pro2. However, video aside, the different things I’ve seen on WP7 look very intriguing, and might put Microsoft back into the competition. I hope it does. Companies need competition. If they had none, and this includes Apple, they would eventually begin to cease or slow down their innovation. Plus consumers need choice. The iPhone on a provider other than AT&T would be a good start for choice.
Windows Phone 7 being successful will help Apple more than hurt it. Customers who buy iPhone will still buy an iPhone, just as they buy iPhone now with all the Android phone options out there. But even a somewhat successful Windows Phone 7 platform will give hardware makers who don’t develop their own OS a viable option other than Android. So any market share that Windows Phone 7 gains will mostly be at the expense of Android, because Android and Windows Phone 7 serve the same “customers” (mobile phone makers other than Apple, RIM, and Nokia).
So I personally look forward to Windows Phone 7 being released, and hope it’s not a complete Kin-like disaster for Microsoft.
@ken1w I follow a lot of forums and tech information, and I can tell you that I’ve read of people who have actually switched from iPhone to Android, especially with the newer and more powerful devices out there. I’m not a fanboy of any particular technology, although I do lean towards the Apple side since I think they make quality devices overall. Every technology vendor loses customers, for whatever reason.
An amorphous, looming dark force comes at us out of the Islamic deserts of the Middle East, proclaiming a revolution. Who thought this was a good idea? How many customers can enthusiasticallyindentify with this? Apple ads may be innovative and clever, but they usually employ fundamental advertising elements: product as hero, unique selling proposition, product demonstration, consumer benefit, and positive reinforcement of target market lifestyles. Once again, Microsoft blows it.
This is a bad idea. Islamic revolution? Who approves of this junk?
The way to tease a Windows 7 phone is to call it – preferably while on the playground, – a Zune phone.
@ EVO_FTW
As I said in my post, most customers who buy iPhones despite the fact that there are dozens of Android choices are not going to buy a Windows Phone 7 phone. There is basically only one iPhone at any given time (two if you count the $99 “last year’s” model) and Apple is selling them as fast as they are produced.
In stark contrast, there are many Android phones from many manufacturers at any given time. Windows Phone 7 will give those other phone manufacturers (who are not RIM or Nokia) another viable option for OS – it better be at least “viable.” So there will be even more non-iPhone choices (and confusion) out there.
That’s my point. An iPhone is an iPhone and you know what you’re getting. I’m not saying iPhone users never switch to Android. I’m saying more current and potential Android users are likely to give Windows Phone 7 a shot. And that will only help Apple. (So I hope Windows Phone 7 is not a total disaster, like Kin.)
So I browse over to the win7phone site. Xbox live games coming to the platform… ok so they are appealing to their installed base, 12-24 year olds who sit in basements all summer long playing Halo. Great. What is the first “video game title” they are rolling out: Bejeweled! Unbelievable. This is what they are leading with ?!?! a browser/PalmPilot app from 2004! (and I do mean leading.)
Not only has the ship left port with MS standing on the dock, the Twinkies in Ballmers’s luggage have coded out. (yes, they do not last forever)
@ken1w Reread your post I commented on. You did not say “most” customers who buy the iPhone but rather “Customers who buy iPhone will still buy an iPhone, just as they buy iPhone now with all the Android phone options out there”. The last being a direct cut-and-paste from your post, is what I had issue with. I’m not trying to be nit-picky, but I’m not a fan of extremists on side side of the tech aisle, and comments like that, whether intentional or unintentional, further damage the image of people who enjoy Apple products. I enjoy my Apple products, but I still believe Apple has lots of room to improve, as does Google, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Sony, Nintendo…..
We needs the success of Windows phone to counter Android… Ahem… Google Linux.
I think that we need the success of Windows phone to counter Android. Ahem… Google Linux.
@ EVO_FTW
It still does not change the point of my original and subsequent post. The introduction of Windows Phone 7 into the mobile phone market will help Apple more than hurt Apple. Customers who give Windows Phone 7 a shot are much more likely to be current and potential Android users, not iPhone users.
Windows Phone 7 — the Jihadists’ choice in smartphones…
Actually this phone multitasks as well as iOS 4. It’s not ‘true’ multitasking rather it preserves background services of open but sidlined apps in memory. As for copy, paste.. I’ll give that about four months to make it’s debut. I think it will be a modest success for Microsoft but it will eat into RIMs dominance of the enterprise sector.