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Due to either my role on the marketing team or my brief stint as a wannabe mommy blogger, Brian and Michael invited me to post occasionally. (Ok, so probably only 10 people ever read my blog, they were all related to me, and neither of them were Brian or Michael. But I do work full-time at Microsoft and have two toddlers at home). And recently we’ve seen a lot of interest in our phone from women – especially moms. Not just because the Windows Phone UI looks kind of “pretty” (although we do get that a lot), but because the phone can help you save time and stay organized—a top priority for busy moms, dads, or anybody trying to balance multiple priorities.
Just this weekend, People.com posted an article Windows Phone 7: A Smart Cell Phone for Busy Parents and we recently hooked up with Harris Interactive on a survey to see just how far people would go to reclaim a few precious minutes.
We found that 90% of moms say they would be happier if they could get just ten minutes back each day. And most would give up sex, alcohol, TV or chocolate to get that extra time. Combine that with the fact that 70% of moms say that keeping track of schedules and to do lists is one of their biggest time hits and coming up with smarter ways to use a smartphone starts to make a lot of sense.
So with that in mind here are some ways I use my phone to keep myself a little more sane:
@katyasher Nice work. I can't wait for Mango.
Enjoy Windows Phone 7!
-e
Glad to see the national press jumping on board, but there is still a long way to go. I went into a Verizon store today to buy a WP7 for my father. The sales rep said "windows phone is and always has been very hard to use and it was my lucky day because they didn't have any in stock so I counldn't make a mistake even if I wanted to". I asked if he'd looked at the new windows phone and he said "no his boss said it wasn't worth the time it's the same old windows" then tried to sell me a driod. Sad!!!! People need to touch and feel WP7 it is the best.
I'm a dad. I was a stay-at-home dad... which is exactly the same as a housewife, depending on how sexist or hypocritical you are. Some moms think a stay-at-home dad is a lazy, unemployed man. Now I'm a single dad. A full-time single dad (another uncommon thing).
Anyway, I used to own a Samsung Focus, but I had to sell it during a bad financial period in our lives, and now I'm sharing a family plan with my parents on Verizon. I'd love to have the HTC Trophy, but I'm not eligible for an upgrade until 2012 and there's no way I can spend $500 or whatever it is to buy it at full retail.
But I DO remember some apps that might be relevant to mention here:
PaperDoll: I have a 5 year old daughter. She really liked the game. It was a bit limited as far as outfits, but this was back in January.
Location Marker: We moved from NY to Berkeley, CA only three years ago. We're still exploring and trying to find cool and fun spots either to hang out or get lunch (if we can afford it). Location Marker lets you quickly keep track of places you've been. It came in handy when we found a fun little playground, a nice spot in Golden Gate Park, and this affordable, cute gelato place.
Alas, my smartphone days are over for now. But I'm always checking for sweepstakes and I'll be trying to save some cash to get myself the Trophy on Verizon. It's on my Father's Day gift list, but the chances of a 5 year old kid buying a $500 phone are quite slim.
I'm very impressed with the operating system and I am very excited about the Mango update. Great work, Windows Phone team!
@graf - if this is true, that guy needs to be reported - fanboys should not be selling phones...
@ Krush You:
Unfortunately lots of them work in retail. Neutrality is rare in sales, even more so if a commission is involved.
This is nice...I wonder how many of them were interviewed prior to all the still unresolved update issues now 8 months into this thing?!?
@graf72, @krush. I agree - they should be reported. But I can report a fairly similar incident at AT&T. It seems like the cell phone companies have mostly fanboys on the sales floor, and they don't seem to be representing all the devices fairly.
I know this much: The only thing holding WP7 back is Microsoft's reputation. I'm a former employee and still a fairly big fan - but I know that people are still associating Microsoft with bad design. But here's the good: There isn't a single person at work or in my family or friend circle who isn't very impressed and intrigued by my WP7 phone (Samsung Focus). It's easy to demo, and easy for them to grasp. And it's extremely easy to demonstrate features (as Katya mentioned in her post with regards to using your Start page as a Post It board to-do list) that people with iPhones clearly envy!
This phone is going to be a success, and the fanboys will eventually turn...
Hell yeah,the sales rep really hate WP,I've witnessed it many retail outlets in Calgary,Edmonton and Montreal,the only place I found a sales rep who really gave a boost to WP was at a wireless wave store in Lethbridge
I'm willing to volunteer 4hrs/week as from the fall to market WP as a Microsoft rep at various retail outlets.
hey MS should pay me to talk about their phones, since I'm already doing it all the time for free (you're welcome, MS). I convinced my girlfriend to get a WP7 just by demo-ing a few things and letting her use it, and I've been showing it off everywhere I go. My girlfriend basically said I need to become a sales rep for these phones because I can convince most anyone that their phone is good, but mine is great. Unfortunately, there's little to no excitement around here for the phones, my friends work at Verizon and said there's been little buzz about the phone and no one has come in to buy one, and at AT&T where I have a contract, they said they've sold only a few phones, and of course all those sales reps are in love with the iPhone, so it's an uphill battle...so MS, throw me some money and assistance and I can correct this! ;-) . But whenever I show off my HTC Surround, people are always ridiculously impressed and tell me that I'm more knowledgeable than any of the sales reps at their various stores. And @nealpat I understand that, Ihave to explain to people all the time that we're not dealing with the same kinda stuff as Windows Vista or WM6.5 here, that it's something new and different.(But seriously, MS, I just graduated, how's about a job????)
Just for kicks I thought I try another verizon store and the result was very similar. I was told the WP7 was very buggy and not much had changed and that it's just the old OS with a new face. MS something needs to be done. How many phones can you sell if your customers have to beg just to look at the phone?
For me, the primary way in which I stay organised is using the Outlook tasks. Hmm, now how do I sync that with my WP7? OK, how about Outlook sticky notes? Oh dear....
@CtrlAltDel That's what OneNote is for.
I saw this article on my FB page and I thought I'd share my own salesperson story from yesterday.
Bell (Canada) has a deal doing where they have 2 models phones where you can get a free phone(LG Optimus Quantum or Generic_Android_1) with a 1 year commitment. I'd been lusting after a WP7 device since Feb 2010 but couldn't justify the 3 year term and upfront cost of 200$ for a device.
Walk into the Bell store and tell them what I want. The sales rep then start putting WP7 down with blatant lies. \
"There won't be updates on the phone, just security fixes, only newer phones get updates"
"Most people that get Windows Phones come back frustrated"
She's pulling out all these WM6 horror stories as if they applied to WP7 and at the same time pushing the android, since it's "The one she knows".
So we do the transaction and I get the phone and she asks if I want her to set it up for me. I'm like No but actually let me give you a run through of the device as I've gotten a change to spend time with one in the past.
I pop in the SIM, turn on the phone and 15 seconds later we're going through the default prompts. It gets to the point where I havta put in my live id.
I authenticate and the phone gets to work. She couldn't believe it when my info started to automatically fill up everything on the phone from my people hub to e-mail to Xbox Live.
It was obvious that she had never even SEEN WP7 in action, let alone set one up. Microsoft - You guys seriously need to do something to get these sales people on your side and giving your phones a fair share.
The one thing she mentionned is that she enjoyed dealing with someone that had done the research. Most people want in there and buy whatever these sales people pitch,.. And they're giving you a bad name..
Add something to Hotmail Calender - Bang!! - It is in the Windows 7 Phone..... Hard Reset the Phone, sign in - Bang! It is back in the Windows 7 Phone..... Love IT !!!!!
gays I am vy much confused tat"WILL MANGO WORKS ON OLDER WINDOW PHONE 7 DEVICE LIKE HTC HD7,FOCUS etc"that is which i have now...i am vy much crazy abt MONGO plz say anyone