New Windows Phone 7 ads feature ‘real time trials’ against rival devices

By Tom Warren, on 22nd Feb 11 9:09 pm with 37 Comments

Microsoft is set to unleash a number of new Windows Phone 7 adverts on the Internet soon.

The commercials are similar to the software giant’s “laptop hunter” set of adverts that aired during the Vista days of 2009. The new commercials, named “real time trials”, are a set of Internet flash commercials that pit Windows Phones against rival devices. Advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky was commissioned in December to create the commercials specifically for use in web advertising. The commercials are set to make their way to a number of high profile Internet sites in the coming months.

WinRumors has obtained draft copies of the commercials (see video below). Microsoft shows off its Windows Phone devices in a number of different scenarios including checking Xbox achievements, getting directions home and telling colleagues you’re late. The videos are currently a place holder where Microsoft plans to fill in the “your phone” parts with rival devices. Previous Windows Phone commercials have been light-hearted and these are no different. Tasks are completed by users and then they humorously make use of their free time as the commercial waits for the rival device to catch up.

Keep an eye-out for these commercials on the web soon, they clearly show that Microsoft is prepared to fight for marketshare and mindshare aggressively by pointing out its competitors flaws. Good on them.

  • Anonymous

    Nice. A bit more direct while still not picking out a specific phone. A step in the right direction.

  • GP007

    I like these, good stuff IMO. Showing off features etc. Just think when mango hits later this year they can really ramp up the marketing to higher levels once bigger features like multitasking etc come on.

  • thed

    They should’ve run these ads starting at launch. The early ads were nice but they didn’t actually show you how the phone could save you time. This is much better.

    • Carlos

      Well, the parachuters ad kinda did… :)

    • Anonymous

      Too bad you then give all that time back when an update bricks your phone. How much time does the exchange take?

    • http://markk-b.sitesled.com Mark Kéy-Balchin

      You mean a bricked phone caused by a bug in a very particular version of the [i]manufacturer’s firmware[/i] (no shipping) which stops the firmware from downloading an update to run, of which the only recourse is to flash the firmware?

      This could have (and does) happened to any mobile phone OS.

    • esdoow

      Not as much time as it takes to get a bricked iPhone replaced. With a Windows phone you can just walk up to the counter and get support from the first available associate. When I had to have my iPhone replaced (six times in three years) they made me schedule a damn appointment like they couldn’t be bothered with walk-ins. I’m sorry, but good support works around my schedule, not the other way around.

    • Anonymous

      Too bad you then give all that time back when an update bricks your phone. How much time does the exchange take?

  • Pedromorgan

    sounds good. but in the UK I have yet to see a single WP7 advert of any kind.

    Great software, but has the marketing separtment taken a holiday?

    Peter

    • Anonymous

      Pedromorgan, then you don’t watch TV. The advert where the guy drops his phone in the urinal has been on hundreds of times!

    • Anonymous

      It’s been on TV, it’s been on at the cinema, you just need to get out a bit more.

  • http://twitter.com/jgmis Joshua Greene

    I could have sworn that I had seen something like this before already out on the web…

  • Anonymous

    Haha *My Phone*

    • Retuutuio

      Haha! Theycan just try making jokes, even their jokes smells rotten and destryed by viruses even before anyone consider them funny. They can not even touch Apple and iPhone, it’s an institution not a joke like WP7 and filthy MS. WP7 is just an underdeveloped baby who will never grow up. Live with that MS fanboys.And why is it not selling well? You can fool people for some time, but sooner or later everybody will realize what you’re doing and that’s exactly what’s happening to MS.

  • John2

    most platforms have share on facebook in camera app!

    android also has shortcuts for navigation to destinations which can be placed on a homescreen.

    who cares about xbox?

    how long to turn bluetooth on in wp7?
    a second on android.

    • Anonymous

      The whole point is to show how quick it is compared to other phones. The face book and camera thing is to show how quick it is, not that other phones don’t have it. I use a WP7 device and I can say that the way they set certain things up makes for quicker access, thus the whole “glance and go” thing.

    • Anonymous

      They were comparing the speed of getting those things done, but you knew that didn’t you? As for bluetooth, well I’ve only had to turn it on once and it magically stays on, doesn’t Android do that too?

    • john3

      yes they are comparing the speed but the share on facebook feature is implemented in the same way on most platforms.
      1. take a picture 2. at the picture preview press the share button (bottom left on android 2.2) 3. press facebook
      how can wp7 do it faster?!

    • Anonymous

      Well it doesn’t upload the photo faster, but taking the photo is most certainly faster which is the step you are conveniently ignoring.

      Android/iPhone/Windows Mobile etc:
      1. Unlock phone.
      2. Find camera app
      3. Launch camera app
      4. Aim and press on-screen button (or hardware button if you’re lucky)
      5. Upload to Facebook

      WP7:
      1. Press hardware camera button.
      2. Aim and press camera button a bit harder.
      3. Upload to Facebook.

    • TriAxis

      You don’t need to turn Bluetooth on and off on WP7 because it has proper power mangement. Same thing with WiFi, I leave both turned on 24 hours a day and still get 2 days on a charge with heavy use.

    • esdoow

      Absolutely! They should do a reverse time trial with battery life. I get two days easy out of my Focus. I used to have to plug my iPhone in right when I got home from work.

  • Anonymous

    I like all my phones, but Windows Phone 7 is easily the fastest, and when they fix the marketplace bug will easily be the most “crash resistant”. I also showed someone today the boot in 18 seconds (my Blackberry takes minutes, and my 3GS iPhone used to take 2-3 minutes). I hope they put effort into WP7, has great potential.

    • Not Disclosed

      WinMo7 boots faster, but the iPhone beats the pants off of it for responsivity of applications and websites. I wait and wait for stuff to load, and sometimes it’s so slow I give up. That should be priority one to fix.

    • Anonymous

      Your experience does not tally with us here. Might be worth getting a replacement, as browsing is super fast, as are apps, only app “re-loading” is not a brisk as it should be, which is being resolved in the first “proper” patch. (ie not this pre patch). That and the marketplace bug are the 2 obvious ones. Other than that, its a pretty sweet rev 1.0 release.

  • http://twitter.com/listaculous List Aggregate

    Seems to be missing “Run Sunspider” – side note: has anyone benchmarked Javascript on WP7 ?

  • Craigsorglist

    I have a few challenges for WP7. Ok first one copy and paste. Ready set go.
    Ok another free turn by turn navigation. Ready set go.
    Ok again hotspot. Ready go.
    Ok let’s see here how about setting up a bus route to get home. Ready go.
    Oh and here’s a topper. Let’s try and upload that video you just shot with your phone up to YouTube or anywhere for that matter. Ready go.
    Ok now let’s watch some YouTube videos on a good YouTube app. Ready go.
    WP7 is so far behind its a waste of money. Pairing with a horrible company like Nokia is completely stupid.

    • Carl

      Copy and paste? Soon.
      Free turn by turn nav? Check. Try downloading A-to-B in the Marketplace.
      Hotspot? Okay, you got us there.
      Bus routes? Plenty of apps in the store, I used one during a recent trip to San Francisco.
      Video to YouTube? Who uses YouTube anymore? Video to Facebook? Check.
      Get some of your facts straight before complaining about something you don’t even own.

    • Yuioiopo

      Oh now I get it…whole fucking Engadget comunity is Microsoft powered. That’s why all those stupid anti-Android and anti-iPhone comments. Shitty MS will never stop producing brainless ads like this one. The truth is, keep trying MS, you’ll always be way behind in cell phone industry. Pairing with shitty Nokia, a way to go – yuhu! Brainless dynosaurus, nothing else. Oh yeah, almost forgot… they forgot to include one thing in this ad. How fast is to pick up a virus or trojan horse on WP7. No other phone can compete with this shit LOL.

    • Leon1188sg

      Hey Craigsorglist just shut the hell up!

    • I see through BS

      I have a challege for you.
      Actually try a WP7. Ready go.
      Get your facts straight. Ready GO
      Move out of your parents basement. Ready set go!

    • Anonymous

      Yeah, he should try WP7. DOn’t worry about calling ahead. . .there are PLENTY available.

  • http://about.me/mackenziepricee mackenziepricee

    Hope these ads make it to TV then. They seem really good.

  • Facepalm
  • http://twitter.com/tylermason74 Tyler L Mason

    Love the ads but is Verizon only going to get one wp7 phone or what any of them with a front cam

    • Slarkins64

      I agree. I like the 7 pro. The keyboard is great but I want a front facing camera! Make it make it make it! Qwerty 4″ screen with dual cameras!

  • Frustrated WinMo7 User

    I use WinMo7 phone for work (Focus), and iPhone 4 for personal use.

    To activate the phone, you have to press the button on the upper middle right side. It’s not easy to find, and you have to regrip the phone to actually use it. Try it. You’ll see what I mean.

    The “back” button is nice, but it’s not illuminated or a hard button, so it’s impossible to find in the dark.

    The WinMo7 phone is sluggish on all applications. The screen updates aren’t snappy, and anything that comes from the network is slow. Even on WiFi, it’s still slow. I don’t know why, maybe it’s related to Silverlight???

    The phone doesn’t have Google maps, which is by far my most used and loved application. The silly slow zoom on the native map application is a waste of my time. Also, it switches to satellite view automatically when you zoom in, and there is no way to turn it off. I don’t EVER want to see satellite view unless I explicitly ask for it.

    The Facebook application is missing features that are present on the iPhone, like adding a caption for a picture. Location information is slow to come online, and often inaccurate. Location sucks the battery really fast too.

    The calendar application has the information packed too tight. It’s almost impossible to click on a phone number of address for a telcon, or to access driving directions for a meeting. Also, it kicks you out of the calendar application, and it’s not easy to get back to the application to see the telcon access code.

    Uninstalling an application is far from intuitive. Why is the application store called “Marketplace”? It’s in the wrong part of the alphabet. I always have trouble finding it.

    If you have any more than a few applications that you use often, the 2 wide x forever deep application home screen is a PITA to use. Why are the application icons so big? For those that know what they want to do, they could be smaller, and with more showing. Hopefully, there is an update for this to add a few choices on how the home screen looks.

    One of the most annoying things is that the battery meter, and signal strength meters are “disappeared” after a while, and you have to touch the top of the display to see them. That kind of defeats the purpose of having status indicators when you autohide them. It may have been excusable if the space were reclaimed to do something useful, but it isn’t. Kind of a bummer when your phone is at 10% battery and you don’t even know it. So you surf to some website instead of heading to the nearest wall outlet to charge your phone. Also, the battery charging status isn’t clear. It’s hard to know how much you have to wait, or what % charged the phone is.

    They text keyboard keys are difficult to press correctly. They seem too skinny, and the vertical gap between rows is too narrow.

    Mail sync with Exchange, and/or Yahoo takes forever. It takes so long that it’s a huge waste of time to press the sync button. The only real option is to read mail as it’s updated automatically. That would be fine, except the iPhone (and event the WinMo6 Blackjack II I switched from) were MUCH faster, and once you can check your email quickly, you don’t really want to go back to the offline model.

    The WinMo7 phone IS better than other phones in a few ways, and it isn’t “terrible”, but in actual use it’s frustrating to use.

    • Kon

      I have a focus and I am not sure where most of your “issues” are coming from.

      I have no problem with he unlock button, i have no problem finding the back button (bottom left corner of the phone… how hard is that?)

      I actually like the calendar app format, and you can always use the back button to go “back” to the calendar…

      Mail sync is plenty fast, I often get the mail on my phone before my desktop clients update.

      Uninstalling an app is very simple, and more intuitive than going through menus. And it’s called the “Marketplace” because a marketplace is a place where money is exchanged for good, such as apps, music, or videos…

      I will agree with you on the facebook features, and app processing. Most of this is from the development style that is being attempted where the data gets loaded from the source during launch which causes slowness. But this is a 3 month old OS and already has a few planned and announced updates.