Windows Phone 7

[Preston786]

Sigh i don't know what microsoft waiting on....

Windows Mobile 7 Delayed Until 2011?

Daniel Ionescu

Jan 12, 2010 10:04 am

Google's Android mobile operating system is stealing the spotlight from Windows Mobile 7, so much so that reports say Microsoft's latest OS is delayed (again) due to Google's success.

Windows Mobile 7 was expected to arrive this year, bringing a considerable bunch of improvements. But a new BSN report say the O will be delayed until 2011 because manufacturers are still in love with Google's free-to-license OS.

Google's gamble with Android seems to be paying off: this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, which is usually a beacon of what's coming up in tech in the year ahead, we saw smartbooks, tablets, and mobile phones running Google's OS. Meanwhile, we saw little to no mention of Windows Mobile 7 at the show.

Steve Ballmer's keynote at CES, which was highlighted by the announcement of the Windows 7-powered Hewlett Packard tablet, didn't include any mention of Windows Mobile 7; only the current version (6.5), available on a few phones already, was discussed. Microsoft is expected to offer some details on the upcoming mobile OS at next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but that's not a given.

The problem with Windows Mobile 7 is that it is starting to lose buzz among consumers. Despite several mobile phones introduced at CES, Google's Android platform flagship device, the Nexus One, got the most attention. The runner up in the consumer spotlight race was Palm, with its new Pre Plus and Pixi Plus models.

When Windows Mobile 7 was delayed from 2009 to 2010, Microsoft's excuse was that it was working on major changes. If Windows Mobile 7 makes a no-show next month, the Redmond Company risks alienating users and partner manufacturers as well. However, there is no official word from Microsoft on yet another delay for the mobile OS.



PCWorld Original Article

[Spazosaurus]

Wow. I really hope this is not true. I was waiting on 7 to make a decision as to which platform I am going with for my next phone.

As much as I dislike it, I may have to go Android for my net phone. I fedup wait.

[Preston786]

yea cap by the time Microsoft decide to release win-mo 7 android would've really developed and the only major thing holding it back is the lack of apps...... which getting rectified everyday now as more apps are being developed and released

[Preston786]

Windows Mobile 7 to Get Two Versions, Report Says

Ian Paul

Jan 19, 2010 12:00 pm

An intriguing new rumor suggests that Windows Mobile 7 may come in two different flavors: a business version and a media version. The mobile OS may come with a variety of different features including an impressive mobile version of Office, online collaboration, high-definition video, Xbox Live, and streaming TV, according to WM Experts, a Windows Mobile news site.

WM Experts is prefacing its report with a hearty disclaimer, noting that its information comes from anonymous sources, and has not been confirmed by Microsoft. So we can't know for sure that it's true. But it certainly is interesting.

According to the report, the new versions of Windows Mobile 7 may be released at different times, with the media version coming later, and Microsoft may show off parts of Windows Mobile 7 next month in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress. However, Microsoft has said it will not be discussing Windows Mobile 7 in Barcelona, according to Beta News. Earlier reports have suggested that Microsoft would announce another minor update to Windows Mobile instead, called Windows Mobile 6.6.

Just Seven

One of the more confusing aspects of WM Experts' report is the suggestion that Microsoft may drop the moniker Windows Mobile, and simply call the next major iteration of its mobile operating system Seven. That would seem a strange choice, but perhaps Microsoft is trying to line up the PC version of Windows 7 and Windows Mobile 7 into one brand.

Business Edition

Windows Mobile 7's business edition will reportedly be a basic version of the mobile operating system largely centered around Microsoft Office. There will supposedly be some impressive features including live document collaboration from your mobile device, and the ability to take a photo and automatically embed it into a document you're working on. The business edition will also be able to deal with some forms of multimedia, such as video, but not to the extent the media version will.

Media Edition

This is supposedly the full-featured version of Seven that will include great features like high-definition video capability, a Zune-like music player, Facebook and Twitter integration from the WinMo homepage, as well as Microsoft staples like Silverlight and Mediaroom. It's worth noting that at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft announced Mediaroom 2.0 that has as a part of its roadmap the ability to offer live TV streaming to your mobile device.

The report from WM Experts also dredges up the rumor that Xbox Live is coming to Windows Mobile devices. Late last year, Microsoft posted several job postings that suggested the company was actively working on bringing Xbox gaming to the Windows Mobile platform. Seven's media edition is reportedly a work in progress, and may not be ready until early 2011.

It's anyone's guess at this point what Microsoft will introduce at next month's MWC, but let's hope we at least get a peak at some of the rumored features for the media version of Seven.

PCWorld Link

[Spazosaurus]

If they can do it for desktops, why not mobile platforms as well.

One of those versions *Could* possibly even find themselves on lower powered netbooks (MID's).

Less powerful phones could get an edtion that's easier on the hardware, hopefully without sacrificing too much in terms of features.

Who say me 2's coming with winmo?

Sounds like a great idea on paper. Now to wait to see how it pans out.

[Preston786]

very true....... it might also see winmo7 on touch tablets as well
10 Devices that Could Put an Apple Tablet in the Shade
number 4 looks particularly good nice idea from lenovo

[Preston786]

for more photos and video check source link @ end of post

Forget everything you know about Windows Mobile. Seriously, throw the whole OS concept in a garbage bin or incinerator or something. Microsoft has done what would have been unthinkable for the company just a few years ago: started from scratch. At least, that's how things look (and feel) with Windows Phone 7 Series. This really is a completely new OS -- and not just Microsoft's new OS, it's a new smartphone OS, like webOS new, like iPhone OS new. You haven't used an interface like this before (well, okay, if you've used a Zune HD then you've kind of used an interface like this). Still, 7 Series goes wider and deeper than the Zune by a longshot, and it's got some pretty intense ideas about how you're supposed to be interacting with a mobile device. We had a chance to go hands-on with the dev phone before today's announcement, and hear from some of the people behind the devices, and here's our takeaway. (And don't worry, we've got loads of pictures and video coming, so keep checking this post for the freshest updates).

First the look and feel. The phones are really secondary here, and we want to focus on the interface. The design and layout of 7 Series' UI (internally called Metro) is really quite original, utilizing what one of the designers (Albert Shum, formerly of Nike) calls an "authentically digital" and "chromeless" experience. What does that mean? Well we can tell you what it doesn't mean -- no shaded icons, no faux 3D or drop shadows, no busy backgrounds (no backgrounds at all), and very little visual flair besides clean typography and transition animations. The whole look is strangely reminiscent of a terminal display (maybe Microsoft is recalling its DOS roots here) -- almost Tron-like in its primary color simplicity. To us, it's rather exciting. This OS looks nothing like anything else on the market, and we think that's to its advantage. Admittedly, we could stand for a little more information available within single views, and we have yet to see how the phone will handle things like notifications, but the design of the interface is definitely in a class of its own. Here's a few takeaways on what it's like to use (and some video)...


Windows Phone 7 Series first look

Video:
Windows Phone 7 Series UI walkthrough


Start screen: the Start experience is completely revamped, now focusing on sets of tiles which represent links to applications or contacts. It's a completely contextual experience which can be customized both by users and carriers, and allows people to "promote" items higher up in the list. To the right of this screen is a long, vertical list of all your apps for quick jumps. It will take some time getting used to this layout; one or two tiles per line, and that long list which goes up and down rather than left and right, but honestly -- this does have some advantages. Things seems less out of reach in this configuration, and Microsoft swears that they'll be working closely with developers to build widgets that make use of the concept.


General phone navigation: If you've used the Zune HD, you know what this is like. Lots of bold text on the device, lists with text cut off on the sides of the phone, and additional screens to the left and right driven by arrows pointing you in either direction. For the most part this works, though in instances like email, it feels like there's a bit of wasted space. Everything else is super stripped down -- the calendar app looks like vector line art (and weirdly one of our favorite parts of the phone), the browser seems to be using the bare minimum to show its content (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and the phone application is essentially monochromatic. On the other hand, you've got a beautiful and robust photo app (with pinch to zoom, as in the browser), and the Zune end of things is perfectly integrated... but what did you expect? Oh, and never mind that this is the first time Microsoft is bringing Zune to the rest of the world.

The sheer minimalism of the interface is striking, and we're really impressed by how many risks Microsoft is taking here. It's hard to believe that just a year ago this company was showing off WM 6.5, which now looks ages behind what they've turned around with today. We're not sure if someone was just let off the leash or if we're seeing a newer, smarter, more agile Microsoft, but the 7 Series concept definitely shows that this company is learning from its mistakes.


It's not a flawless experience. There are still some points that need polishing, and we saw our share of missed touches and weird behavior, but in comparison to another new OS we just saw (Bada), there's not even a competition. The browser also still needs a bit of work -- page rendering isn't as snappy as we would have liked to see, though it does seem to be true to page layout, which is a great step in the right direction. It's clear that the team we met here in Barcelona is still hard at work on refining and perfecting the work they've started. And honestly, for the first time in a long time, we're excited about Microsoft in the mobile space. If they can deliver on the promises of 7 Series, this could change the current landscape of the smartphone market... but that's a lot to deliver on. Hold tight, because things are really starting to get interesting.

Source

[TriniXaeno]

very interesting read, +1 to you sir.

[Spazosaurus]

I'm interested to see how this develops. This could just be the thing to restore confidence in the windows mobile computing space.
Of course its going to take another year or so for it to pick up steam.

[Preston786]

very interesting read, +1 to you sir.

thnx

I'm interested to see how this develops. This could just be the thing to restore confidence in the windows mobile computing space.
Of course its going to take another year or so for it to pick up steam.

me too but for a preview it looks very promising cant wait for it to go mainstream

[Arcmanov]

Oh how I wish Nokia would consider marrying some of their top-end smartphones with this OS.  I would so buy one of those phones in a heartbeat.

Can you imagine a new HTC or a Nokia E71/N900 with this OS?

WIN!!!

[Spazosaurus]

HTC done have a killer phone for this os in the HD2.

Couple that OS with that epic hardware and you get win squared.

Then again, the OS still could potentially suck in a very retarded way and just turn out to be another 6.5.

This rounds, though, my inner optimist is winning against the pessimist.

[Preston786]

^^^ yessssssssssssssssssss @ arc and capt
but i must admit i do like tht maemo and firefox mobile but................
ill still hang on to my HTC
and as capt said the optimist in me wants to believe wm7 will kick a$$ it certainly looks so 

[MessiaaH]

Ill let the gathered information speak for itself.

!

Upcoming Phones & Specs:

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&id1=2333&id2=2388&id3=2332&id4=2193&id5=2264&id6=2191&id7=1854

Interview with MS , hard questions posed and addressed.

http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=windows+phone+7&invocationType=wl-gadget

And this is for d haters our there :

http://windowsphonethoughts.com/news/show/99008/haters-why-some-want-windows-phone-to-fail.html

[Philosophical45]

when you see a phone boasting DDR Ram and 1.3GHZ cpu's, you know you have one bad ass phone... The sad thing is I'm sure the IPhone fan boys going to find something to nitpick about.

[MessiaaH]

Iphone fanboys explained:

Not Safe For Work, NSFW:

Includes some fowl language, not sure if im allowed to post this, so admins warn appropriately.

[Arcmanov]

This is all great stuff, but I have some lingering concerns:

Battery-life...its great that Windows Phone 7 is that versatile, but since I switched to using smartphones,
the biggest 'con' for me with ALL of em is battery life.  I consider myself a 'power-user' when it comes to
usage...in that I use my phone to browse, send/receive mail, music, video, gaming, taking pics.  In short,
like an electronic swiss-army knife.  It would be a shame that all that functionality is crippled by poor battery life.


Apps...I know its Microsoft...and I know the pedigree of Windows 7 and its usability, but a smartphone
is fully defined by its suite of available apps.  It goes without saying that Apple (love em or hate em) has this area locked down,
(even as I consider the iPhone itself to be technically inferior  in many respects) and that is what keeps people
coming back like sheep whenever they release a new one.  The main concern here is how will Phone 7 apps be delivered,
and will M$ keep the platform 'open' enough to allow app developers to really harness the full potential of the OS, rather than
close them out, and only allow 'certain' apps (read: pay-for) to dominate, and stifle creativity.  This is why I'm having so much fun
my Nokia N900.  Kudos to Nokia for making the Maemo 5 OS so open-source.  I really hope M$ follows in their stead in this regard.
(...but who am I kidding?  :/ )


Did i say battery-life? 

Price...is this OS only going to come on 600-700 dollar (US) devices that only CEOs and other execs
can afford?  Or can we expect the average price of a WP7 device to be in the more respectable 300-400 dollar range.  I know it
won't be a problem for some of us, but if M$ wants this thing to succeed, they had better be VERY competitive with the price,
and they BETTER make sure that the phones are not locked exclusively to one carrier...which leads to my next concern...


Unlockability...of course, I won't be using this with a US carrier.  Just good ol TSTT (it bess? )
Will I be able to use it with any carrier worldwide out of the box?  Or will I have to go through a tedious and dangerous unlocking
procedure, which could probably brick the device?  I've never had to unlock any phone I've used in the past, and I'm not so eager to start now.

..added to the above...is the fact that TSTT's services are not ready for this type of device as yet.  The world has since moved on with 3G,
and now 4G, and yet we still have to 'make do' with an often unreliable, and slow GPRS/EDGE service.  A lot of the WP7 features will be
heavily network-centric, so having some of your 'bess' apps be crippled by inferior bandwidth is just, well, disappointing at best.



...and personally...I'm still not ready for a touch-screen only device.  I need an actual, physical keyboard.
I guess Nokia kinda have me spoiled like that.   

That said though...if what I see here with the Dell Lightning is the final version, then thats the one I'll be going for.

[Saxito Pau]

Ya know this is the first time I seen Arc do a truly technical review since I know him, and i like it!!

Just a thought... and I agree with him

Nokia E71 or N97 ftw, oui


EDIT: I recently read this article on said phone OS, which says it's a "disaster":

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/windows-phone-7-dont-bother-disaster-211


Main points:

No caveats now: Windows Phone 7 is a waste of time and money. It's a platform that no carrier, device maker, developer, or user should bother with. Microsoft should kill it before it ships and admit that it's out of the mobile game for good. It is supposed to ship around Christmas 2010, but anyone who gets one will prefer a lump of coal. I really mean that.

The bottom line is this: Windows Phone 7 is a pale imitation of the 2007-era iPhone.

The developers at Mobile Beat quickly recognized the labor-intensity of this UI method and one asked the Microsoft rep if anyone had bothered to test it with users. The answer was essentially "no" -- a scary thought indeed.

Inexcusably old technology limits Windows Phone 7
But under the hood, Windows Phone 7 gets worse. The core problem is its backward set of technologies, which will fundamentally limit IT, developers, and users alike. Here are some of the more egregious examples of Windows Phone 7's time warp:

    * Its browser is Internet Explorer 7, with some IE8 capabilities added -- that means it does not support HTML5, as the iPhone, Android, WebOS, and Nokia Symbian all do. Didn't anyone on the Windows Phone 7 team know about IE9 and its embrace of HTML5? Why isn't Windows Phone 7 using IE9?

    * It does not support multitasking except for Microsoft's own first-party apps, meaning the browser, email client, SMS client, and other such preinstalled applications. When you switch applications, they shut down -- just like the iPhone did until iOS 4 was released this spring. Android and WebOS, of course, supported multitasking more than a year ago, and Google and Palm mercilessly attacked Apple for not supporting it as well. Yet Microsoft didn't build multitasking into Windows Phone 7 at the outset?

    * This lack of multitasking also means there's no such concept as interapplication communication for third-party apps, not even for a primitive work-around such as the iPhone OS 3.2's "Open In" feature. Thus, apps can't work together à la in WebOS -- even though the UI that Microsoft has shown off seemed designed to do just that. The only thing that Windows Phone 7 will do is let third-party apps call first-party apps, so clicking a URL in a text message will launch the first-party IE browser to show the URL. Of course, doing so closes the app that had the text link in it. (First-party apps can call other first-party apps, and these would all continue to run in parallel.)

    * It doesn't support copy and paste. Here again Apple was a much-criticized laggard, supporting the capability only in summer 2009. Microsoft says it didn't have time to get this feature in for the first release (!) but will have it in a future version. Too bad there's not likely to be a future for it. And how could Microsoft not have copy and paste working in Windows Phone 7? After all, it had copy and paste in Windows Mobile 6.1.

I'm still shocked that Microsoft isn't showing any smarts or competitiveness behind its mobile OS. When the iPhone first came out, a wait-and-see attitude made sense. But more than three years later, it's crystal-clear that the iPhone is no fluke and that it has in fact redefined the mobile market. During this sea change, what has Microsoft done? It wasted a couple years screwing around with Windows Mobile 6.5. When everyone ignored that faux effort, Microsoft made a lot of noise around Windows Phone 7 yet also diverted resources to an array of mobile OSes  -- seemingly as insurance policies against Windows Phone 7's failure. Windows Phone 7 should have been Microsoft's "man on the moon" project, but now it's clear that the Windows Phone 7 was Redmond's equivalent of the bungled Hurricane Katrina response effort.

Seems like Windows Phone 7 = EPIC FAIL

[MessiaaH]

Battery: My HTC HD2 has a 1GHz cpu vs my old HD1 525Mhz, and d HD2 battery lasts longer dan d HD1, snapdragon is a very very efficient platorm, and my phone outlasts iphones easily in batt life. not sure comapred to nokia doh.

I use my HD2 as such: Exchange Push, Gmail IMAP with 30minute download interval, 1hr music per day, serveral calls ALL day, ocasional live messenger use, and d flashlight app now and den, to view tight corners in servers.

The hd2 has never died on me, and always lasts me till in d night, and if i forget to charge, it will last me till about 1-2pm the following day. Pretty dam impress if u ask me, for a 1ghz phone. Snapdragon FTW!


Apps:

Microsoft has announced they are givin a free winodws 7 phoen to every microsoft employee, 90,000+ if dey get the devices at 400$ ah piece, it wil cost them like 38 mil. Anyway, analyst say its a move by microsfot to leverage the programing power, of the massive company. A memo was distributed wihtin microsfot saying, in return for the free phone, they would like ppl to develop apps in their free time. Also:

Win7 runs on Silverlight and XNA. any silverlight developer, can program for win7 easy, (that wud be me), and xna is d xbox live platform, and dey intend to bring d xbox live library across to win7, that alone is epic win as far as game apps. And programing silverlight apps easy. (for a programmer anwyays).

Also, microsoft has made all required visual stuio tools etc, aviable free, and are currently shippin prototype devices to developers, for live testin of their apps.

All in all, time will tell for this app concenr.


Price:

I paid less for my HD2 than my HD1, 725 vs 750. In any event, i expect d high end devices to be around that price. but microsoft did promise, lesser speced windows 7 phone devices. so u can expect 500$ price range deviecs from dat. again, time will tell.


Unlock:

This would depend on the hardware manufacturere as microsfot has no direct input in d sale of devices weather locked or unlocked. So expect d usual slew of unlocked phones, from respective manufacturers. HTC for instnace, sells the HD1 and HD2 fully unlocked.

HD2 is full of EPIC win, and so will the 1.3GHz HTC Mondrain.
HTC has also formed a formal pathernship with sony to produce the new lcds in their upcoming phones to directly compete with Iphone 4's retina, aparantly samsung getin on stingy with dey Super AMOLED, and keepin it for their high end devices only. supply to htc is grim, so htc jump ship, and partner with sony.

[Arcmanov]

Well...its not really a 'review' eh Sax...just some issues I have with WP7 and the upcoming devices' hardware in particular.


...and EGAD @ those price numbers MessiaaH throwing around.  Regardless of how good the phones themselves turn out to be,
most people are going to balk at paying $500 US for a WP7 phone, and may just end up looking at an Android phone instead, and those
phones cost between 150-250 US, when purchased with a service plan.  M$ will have to do a LOT better than 500 US.