Windows Phone 7 may be Microsoft’s vision of the future of smartphone operating systems… but it’s certainly looking more and more like a device that’s stuck in 2007. We already knew Windows Phone 7 would ship without copy and paste functionality and with limited multitasking support. Now it looks like the WP7 web browser won’t support HTML5 or Adobe Flash when the operating system launches in a few months.
To be fair, Microsoft says Adobe Flash support is in the works, once a suitable mobile version of Flash Player is available. As for HTML5, a Microsoft official reportedly told a group in Germany that there are “no concrete plans for HTML5 support.”
I also picked up the iSpot to compare it with the Virgin Pay-as-you-go mifi on my iPad. In the Dallas area, I’m getting a consistent 600K down with 3G, where the iSpot is giving me close to 2.5K just as you have seen. For $5/month more, I’m getting unlimited data and much better speeds. Awesome.
There’s a problem, however. My iPhone 3GS on iOS 4.0.1 connects and then gets the redirect to the “unsupported device” webpage. So, this implies that their MAC tables are not very accurate. Actually, I know they aren’t because my unibody MBP (last gen) connects fine in Windows and OS X. So, my question is, do you have any ideas about what to do with the MAC on an iPhone to move it into the right range?
Thanks for your review – nice job!
I think you meant to comment on the iSpot post… but Clear has released some new firmware which should resolve your issue:
https://www.clear.com/support/download
Windows 7 phone: No copy/paste, limited multitasking, no HTML5, no Flash.
Good grief, what’s the point? Bare the utility of two tin cans connected with a string.
File under: Doomed to fail
Do any phones currently have HTML 5 or Flash? I thought that only Android had a beta for Froyo that wasn’t very good. I was also under the impression that the iphone doesn’t do multi-tasking either. in other words, is this really that different from everything else out there? I ask because I don’t know and was considering a W7 phone when it comes out. The Zune pass sounds cool, but I need to do some more research into that.
@Hogues
Apple iOS and Google Android both support HTML5. Flash Player for Android actually works pretty well if you have a fast enough device. It can slow down page loads if you leave it on all the time, since it will try to load Flash-based ads and other content on web sites. But there’s an on-demand mode that lets you turn Flash on just when you need it to play a game or watch a video.
As for multitasking, Android and Windows Mobile do it quite nicely, and the latest version of iOS for the iPhone 4, iPod touch 3G and iPhone 3GS supports limited multitasking — allowing certain features to run in the background. For instance, you can stream Pandora radio in the background while reading a web site in the foreground, or receive incoming Skype calls while using a different app. Windows Phone 7 won’t be able to do those things — at least not at launch.
Thanks, Brad. Shows you what I know, lol. I guess I’ll wait for the os to mature a bit before I pick it up.
I am fed up with the windows phone!! I should have got an Android. Windows mobile wont support flash player! I am limited to only watching YouTube videos! I cant wait to get a different phone. Microsoft keeps promising it will get better, but WHEN?