Actually, the correct answer is that Windows Phone 7 is the Zune HD OS (which was not Windows Mobile) reworked to act as a smart phone OS. This is the biggest problem that Microsoft has with Windows Phone 7. They gave up all of apps made for Windows Mobile phones and worst of all they seem to have forgotten some of the lessons they learned with the Windows Mobile line.

Actually, Windows Phone 7 has nothing to do with Windows Mobile 6.x.

The Windows Mobile OS line ended with WM6.5.

Windows Phone 7 is pretty much the Zune HD OS with the ability to make calls.

Umh, actually if Dalvik is derivative of anything then it would be be j2se, since both Dalvik and j2se have functionality that j2me lacks...what this is really like is if Microsoft claimed that noone else could write a BASIC interpreter...which actually happened to some extent in the 1980s.

What I remember reading is that Dalvik was actually heavily based on GCJ which is open source.

They have done "tiered pricing" in the past, and it never sticks. The reason being that not everyone will switch to tiered pricing and when everyone finds a company that has "unlimited" access, people will switch overnight. I'm not saying they won't try it, but the outcome is already determined.

One reason the 75Gb per month for "business" won't work is because businesses can still buy a T1 or higher that is unlimited for just about the same price as they are paying for cable or DSL.

Hulu uses Flash and does not apply DRM to any of their streams. Netflix had to add DRM to stream to the desktop, so they had to go with Silverlight...so, it's the MPAA that you have to thank for that. On the other hand, embeded systems like Roku, XBox, and most likely PS3 and Wii are able to receive the stream without the DRM, so there might be hope yet.

The reason this application has not been circumvented yet is because there has been no public release as of yet. Once the "bad guys" have the application to test against, they will find a way around it.

RIM is struggling because it filled a niche created by the failings of Windows Mobile (poor battery life and a bad user interface).

RIM fixed this by creating phones with acceptable battery life, a decent email app, and a streamlined OS.

This no longer sets the company apart from their current competitors (Android and iOS). Both Android and iOS devices have good battery life, decent email, and well thought out UIs.

If I were RIM, I would begin work on a line of Android phones. But, they have proven that they are going to do what so many once great companies have done (clutch to a failing OS until their last breath). (see Palm)

I hate to say it, because it's also a scam, but this won't matter if you buy an ADP plan that includes spills/immersion (SquareTrade sells them for all kinds of phones).

It doesn't matter who you buy it from though, if they know all you have to do to force them to fix it is to pay a $50 deductible, they are less likely to claim mishandling.

It's not fair, but they know if you don't have that insurance, you have no choice but to buy a new phone.

First, I'm not streaming *FROM* my phone. I'm streaming *TO* my phone and it only takes about 128k to stream good quality audio to a mobile device.

It may be a few more years before everyone is doing it, but it makes more sense to stream the data to mobile devices rather than having to carry around gigabytes of data.

I no longer *need* my iPod or any MP3 player. I use an application called Orb that streams all of the media on my Windows desktop to my Cell Phone or any web browser. I don't have to worry about syncing my iPod to download media or running out of space on my iPod. As long as it's on my PC, I can stream it to my phone. Orb is free, but it uses the bandwidth of your home PC to stream out the media...which is fine for music and live TV or video on the cell phone. But the lower video quality is noticeable when you stream it to a desktop. I expect this to change as residential upload speeds will eventually go up.

I'm not exactly a fan of AT&T/Cingular. I actually have service with Alltel (soon to be Verizon), but this is the same standard "deal" that everyone gives for buying a phone with a contract.

Looking at the new iPhone, the $200 price is actually cheaper than the 2 year contract price for the HTC Touch from Alltel/Verizon, which seems fair.

If you knew you would want a new phone in a year, then you should have paid the "1 year contract" price (or at least they used to offer that option).

At any rate, the price you paid for the phone was subsidized by your signing of the 2 year contract and you shouldn't expect another subsidized phone until your current contract runs out.