Official XDA WP7 APP Released!!!!!11

So I was on XDA this morning cruising the Android forums and noticed a global announcement that XDA’s got an official front-end kind of app through the Windows app store barriers. It struck me as interesting firstly because why am I seeing this in an Android forum, secondly because I thought Windows Phone 7 was heavily locked down to prevent XDA-esque activities so why would Microsoft want to encourage these antics any further with such an app spreading around on their own system.

Next thing I know, I was taking a tour through my Google Reader and came across one of Paul Thurrott’s blogs about a stern warning issued by Eric Hautala of the Windows Phone posse that if you use that homebrew (XDA-esque) NoDo update hack or any other such workarounds you may void your warranty, block yourself out of subsequent updates, screw up your phone somehow or even brick it altogether so just sit tight and wait it out.

And then I thought again about that XDA app his people approved. And that’s funny to me. Contradictory, you know?

This too is funny to me: He also threw into his “strong” warning about homebrew updating software which from what I’ve heard is glitch-free, a by-the-way troubleshooting tip for those of you who had a particular problem, 8007054B4 specifically, with some official pre-update update his people issued in February. Eric, if you want people to cut down on this behavior, and speeding things up on your end with these double updates is not an option, either change your mind or go on Bing Images and type in volleyball.

Here’s a quotation you might appreciate of our very own Jim Szymanski, kind of apropos and intriguing as it was from five months ago: “After setting up my Zune ID I was able to check for phone updates (there were none).” Keep on checkin’ Jimmy!

Here’s WPCentral forum member Subarunut reflecting on the updating system he was promised in an effort to convert an Android user to Microsoft: “The thing about Android is there is no guarantee that you will get updates, it is up to the oem AND carrier to let the updates through. I really think that there will be some great improvements coming in the first update [NoDo], and it is only Microsoft that has control of the updates.”

Oh, here’s Jim again, following up four months later in March: “Time to go check again for an HTC or Windows (carrier) update.” Hang in there Jimbo! Keep F5ing this page big guy.

Not funny to you? Sorry — I guess it’s an inside joke to 99.45% of all smartphone owners…

Seems to me if you want to be able to update or switch to whatever you want and whenever you want (and without even having to install Zune or iTunes to tether up for each update), no carrier interference and fancy XDA footwork just to unlock the bootloader (can you even do that yet with WP7 yet?), the closest thing you’ll get to that is Google’s Nexus series. Correct me if I’m wrong, by all means, but that’s something I don’t think you can do. Spin all you want but that is a valid statement. And a sweet-ass phone, believe-you-me, and coming soon in CDMA/WiMAX and (ugh) AT&T flavors.

As for you early NoDo updaters spooked by this stern warning, my guess is, worst case, you may have locked yourself out of automatic updates and will end up having to do what you just did in the event of a future update or pre update, which you probably would do anyway so no big whoop. And you know, the more of his stuff I read, his apologies in particular, the more I like this Eric Hautala fellow who’s really keeping himself busy and I truly sympathize for what I suspect are high stress levels from which he’s been suffering for some time. Chin up cowboy.

Oh shit almost forgot, got sidetracked: here’s that WP7 XDA app (here’s a direct-from-phone Zune link).

Doug Simmons