Brandon Watson gets takers for his Internet Celeb Android swap-away

July 26, 2011 | By Surur

Brandon Watson is challenging internet celebs like Molly Wood from CNET’s popular Buzz Out Loud podcast and Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, both unhappy with their Android phones, to try out a Windows Phone 7 Mango handset.

With $1000 for charity on the line, it seems both have agreed to step up to the challenge. Hopefully like with Gabe from Penny Arcade we will hear of more converts to the good cause soon.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged mango, windows phone 7.5

http://twitter.com/winningguy Nelson Ocampo

I love how Brandon Watson is so proactive and going after these influential people and making them an offer they can’t refuse.

My only concern is… isn’t there a built-in incentive to say that they don’t like it? I mean… what if they like it but don’t want to be responsible for the charity not getting $1000?

rsgx

I’m sure that if they did like it, and asked him to donate anyway, he’d likely oblige.

http://twitter.com/winningguy Nelson Ocampo

That’s what I figure will happen too.

Zulu

Good on him! I think they’ll find that WP7 is going to rock their world. Certainly been very happy with mine since day 1. I love my Omnia 7, it’s the best phone i’ve ever owned.
Anonymous

He should donate the money no matter what.
Anonymous

Wait – So people are almost penalized if they like WP7? I’d feel guilted almost to say I don’t like it to be able to give 1000$ to charity.

http://www.twitter.com/wixostrix WixosTrix

He’s probably going to donate it regardless.

Anonymous

My thoughts exactly
http://www.twitter.com/wixostrix WixosTrix

I was watching the live stream of todays episode and was throwing some WP7 love in there (along with some other people). I’m glad she’s giving it a shot. I love the show =)
Anonymous

The bottom line is WP7 (with Mango) is gonna be taken to task on a public platform. Even if there is pressure to swing one way or the other, people with a large blog base will be voicing their opinion on the device. I believe there is no way other than customization and a few key apps that WP7 (with Mango) could not impress. WP7 just does so many things right that Android gets wrong.

Slam dunk for WP7 (with Mango)!
Don

The best thing is if they both like it and start using Windows Phone and then both of them and Brandon each donate $1000 to charity. This wayeverybody win. After all they are celebs and have enough money to do it.
http://twitter.com/SilverRubicon SilverRubicon

I assume they’ll give her a non mango phone so she can enjoy the true WP7 experience of waiting for updates?

Anonymous

That was just mean…LOL!

http://twitter.com/waleonishmail Thegreattaurus

sick burn

http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Selman/215900876 Brian Selman

LMAO!!!!
Anonymous

I too have been very upset by Microsoft’s update strategy thus far. I truly believe they have learned from their mistakes, and have been working to correct them. You have to understand this completely:

1. Microsoft has never provided updates directly to end-users with previous Windows Mobile versions. This is new to them.

2. The amount of time it has taken Microsoft to release a dramatically new mobile platform is no small feat.

3. There is plenty of blaim to go around with the NoDo fiasco. OEM’s and Carriers are just as much to blaim.

This is a good strategy that Brandon Watson and Microsoft are taking. I really want Windows Phone to succeed. Without a blockbuster comercial campaign, this is a good alternative IMO.

Also, you offer no value to the overall discussion. Now where is that can of TrollBuster 5000…. Ah, here it is!

http://jalf.dk/ jalf

No, what *you* have to understand completely is this:

When you are selling a product, there are no excus s. You either deliver, or you don’t.
Why should the end-user care that this is “new to them”? If anything, that sounds like a reason *not* to buy the phone. “The guys making it are new to the business of making phones that work”. They are, and should be, held to the exact same standards as Apple, Nokia and anyone else who makes hardware and/or software for phones. You deliver, or you don’t.

Why should the end-user be more forgiving of Microsoft, just because “it’s a new platform”?

Why should the end-user care who *else* is to blame? The thing is a Microsoft brand. The buck stops at the top. If Microsoft was unable to get its suppliers and carriers to deliver, then Microsoft has failed. Perhaps AT&T, Samsung and all the others *also* failed, but that doesn’t excuse Microsoft. They built a platform which allowed those companies to hold end-users hostage for months.

I, too, hope they’ve got those update issues sorted out, but unlike you, I choose to stick with what we know. What we know is that the last time they tried to deliver updates, they failed. If they succeed next time, that’s awesome, but I certainly don’t “truly believe” that it’ll go smoothly next time. Not until I see it happen.

http://chmun77.myopenid.com/ Waki

Nice…. Bring in the popcorn! We shall see the results.
Anonymous

they should have said like if you like it, we will donate 1250 and if you dont 1000. i dont want her to say “i didn’t like it” just for the donation -_-
But anyway if i make the challenge and i liked it, i would still ask him to donate, and then i would put some money of my pocket to the donation.
anyway i just hope she will like it and they can donate the money! that would be cool and a happy ending. lol

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1300735256 Andrew Bares

If they did what you said, that would be a bribe. They didn’t want to bribe people to use WP7, hence why they said they would donate money if you say you DON’T like it.

Anonymous

well, some people like me would say “i didn’t like it” just for the charity thats my point. how can i say i liked something knowing it could be used for charity? better say “i didn’t like it” and they will donate money. and then i would get a windows phone/i would keep using it. well thats what i would do and alot would do, since some people wouldn’t care for example what Molly likes or not, some dont even know about her, so it wouldn’t mind if she would say she didn’t like windows phone. even thought she would say that for just being a good person and dont stop $1000 from being donated to people who need it. but thats just me thinking too much about it! sensitiveness suck i know … and maybe brandon will give 5000 just because she liked it and he didn’t want to say it. but since he didn’t say anything about what hapenned if these people like windows phone, i would lie if i liked the phone

Anonymous

Almost all large corporations have a corporate social responsibility program that is budgeted for charity and the such. So whether the celebs like it or not, some charity is bound to move ahead.

The real incentive, i believe, is in setting a precedent not to reward them for finding the product good, but ensuring that they get a compensation of sorts for taking the trouble. If Brandon were to offer you the same deal, no one will stop you from just saying you don’t like it. But the unspoken expectation is to get some feedback if the deal is on… these are important people and if they accept it, their fan base will expect some feedback. They’ll need to use it.

If they like it, good. They just found a product that solves their problem and the CSR still goes on in the background albeit without the celebs name attached to the charity. If they don’t like it, at least their time is not wasted and they get compensation in terms of recognition and a targeted charity that is valued by the celeb. Hence the ‘nothing to lose’ quoted by brandon

From Brandon’s pov, however, its not necessarily a win-win. Because if the celebs find it bad, 2 things could happen:
a. Celeb said so for the sake of charity – highly unlikely and no benefit gained from the deal
b. Celeb throws out all the quirks and problems he/she encountered thus tarnishing the product as a whole
That is a LOT at stake because it won’t help an already uphill battle in a competitive market. Brandon is gambling big OR he’s just that confident. Either way, I applaud his courage and I truly think its a risk worth taking.

Anonymous

Very intelligent bet, Brandon.
Hey, I may chip in my money for Molly’s charity if she doesn’t like Windows Phone 7. But I have a good feeling that she does and will switch from Android to Windows Phone 7.
http://twitter.com/DHRYDER305 Junior

i hope they dont send them HTC Surrounds.Mines being sent in again. 2 times in 5 months.
Anonymous

Shame there aren’t Mango apps on the marketplace yet. Just having a dev do the “Upgrade my app to 7.1″ in visual studio makes the app run a lot better in Mango (real multitasking)… NODO apps don’t show off the tombstoning in Mango well.
http://twitter.com/Summerclaw Hansel

Who is Brandon? Who is mollywood?

Anyway, excellent idea.
Anonymous

when can the community officially welcome another member?
WindowsPhone4Eva

What needs to happen is that everytime either one of them voices any frustration, tons of WP7 supporters should reply with help or workarond. This should be end-users and not MS employees. The users on the other platform would go overrboard to do this. There needs to be strong support from the WP7 community.
http://twitter.com/UberMageGame UberMage

Seems they should have done this AFTER the updates. Oh well.

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