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Windows Mobile 7 Rumors: Zune-like UI, No Multi-tasking?
Feb 7th
We received an email with some information that some other sites have posted as well. This information is a mixture of things that make sense (Silverlight integration) and others that would be surprising (like the removal of multitasking from Windows Mobile), so take it with a bucket of salt:
Sphere: Related Content· WP7 will be announced at MWC, and there will be a demo, but this will be just the UX
· MIX will have specific developement focus sessions on WP7
· WP7 supports both Sliverlight (out of browser) and XNA
· Silverlight is version 3.0, with elements of 4.0 plus mobile specific features such as sensors etc
· XNA apps can be developed using XNA GameStudio 3.1
· SL apps developed using Expression Blend 3.x and VS2010
· MS will release a mobile version of VS / Expression which will be free, and VS2010 / Expression Pro will have a free add-on
· WP7 will have an equivalent of .NET CF embedded into SL, but no SQL.
· WP7 will have isolated storage which is accessible using LINQ
· The UX of WP7 is based upon a theme called “METRO” and is similar to Zune HD, but with a completely new “Start” screen.
· No multi-tasking (applications will pause when in the background, however they will support notifications using the MS Push Notifications environment)
· No .NET CF backwards compatibility, however a proportion of the data and business logic in .NET CF could be ported
· MS were confident to have devices ready for Sep 2010
· No MS manufactured device, however much tighter control of manufactring process, so as an example each device has a 3D processing chipset, and MS provide all of the device drivers. So no platform builder. This enables OTA updates and simplified model for ODM’s
· Marketplace will support buy and try before you buy, as well as an API
· ODM / OEM will not be able to modify the “Start” screen, so no more HTC Sense / TouchFlo etc.
· MS are actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists
· Browsing experience is currently faster / better than iPhone 3G, and they are aiming towards 3GS.
· Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality
· No in browser Flash or SL
· WP7 has full integration with XBOX Live, and ability to purchase games
· WP7 will use the Zune software for music, videos, photos sync
· WP7 only supports app installation through service based delivery i.e. marketplace, so no side-loading
· MS will provide a hosted push notifications environment
Windows Mobile 7: What we know so far
Feb 2nd
Microsoft CFO Peter Klein has said that the company is working “heads down” on its new Windows Mobile 7 OS and confirmed that the company will “have much more to say” about it at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 15-18 (video at Fox Business- scroll to 4:07). Here’s a round-up of what we know so far:
A DigiTimes source reported that WM7 will be released to phone manufacturers in September 2010, confirming an earlier leak from LG. So phones running WM7 should hit store shelves by the end of 2010. WM7 focuses on improving the user interface, browsing, and multimedia experience. Zune, Xbox Live, and Silverlight integration are in the cards, but interestingly, the source claims that the 2010 launch will only be for English and “common European languages,” with Asian language support coming in 2011. More >
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Analysis: Apple iPad – Revolution or Flash in the Pan?
Jan 28th
Yesterday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the company’s highly-anticipated new iPad tablet. How’d it turn out? Well, it’s a good example of “what you see is what you get”– it looks like a giant iPod Touch, and that’s basically what it is. Given the tremendous hype surrounding the tablet, the iPad will probably sell well at launch, but for a number of reasons (detailed below), it’s unlikely to cause any radical shifts in the mobile electronics arena. More >
Google “no longer willing” to censor Chinese search results, may exit China
Jan 13th
A few hours ago, Google made a startling announcement that the company has decided to stop filtering search results on Google.cn. Google indicated, through a post on the official Google blog by David Drummond, the firm’s chief legal officer, that the shift came after it discovered a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” on its servers that aimed to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
While the carefully-worded post did not directly accuse the Chinese government of orchestrating the attacks, Google said that particularly in light of the country’s attempts over the last year to “further limit free speech on the web,” it would “review the feasibility of our business operations in China.” Drummond wrote that over the next few weeks, the company will discuss with the Chinese government how it “could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all” but recognizes that it may have to shut down Google.cn.
Google’s seemingly bold step has garnered praise from numerous policy groups, though Google’s precise motivations are still somewhat indeterminate. Some believe the firm may have been willing to censor search results as long as it thought the Chinese market could provide growth in advertising revenues, and that this could be motivated by a business decision to close Google.cn. Or maybe Google is actually trying to live up to its ideal of “doing no evil.”
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Video: Nexus One vs. HTC HD2 – Web Browsing
Jan 12th
Pocketnow has posted a web browsing comparison between HTC’s two most powerful smartphones, the Android-powered Nexus One and the Windows Mobile-powered HD2. Both run on Qualcomm’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and provide fast rendering, but the Nexus One was generally a few seconds faster all around. The Nexus One’s AMOLED display stood out with high contrast and vibrant colors, though the HD2′s screen is larger (4.3″ vs. 3.7″). The HD2 has some advantages, with much easier page zooming through multi-touch support (which the Nexus One oddly lacks, even though its hardware physically supports it) and Opera Mobile’s ability to reshape content to fit the screen.
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Google hits Nexus One with its own $350 early termination fee, on top of T-Mobile’s
Jan 12th
Looks like the Unhappy Nexus One owners club is about to expand. Turns out that Google is applying its own $350 early termination fee to its latest Android-powered phone, in addition to T-Mobile’s own ETF (which can be up to $200). Worse yet, since Google collects your credit card information upon purchase, the ETF is automatically charged to your card.
So if you decide to cancel after the two-week trial period but before 120 days have passed, you could be hit with a $550 bill. T-Mobile’s ETF makes sense, as it subsidizes the phone’s up-front cost when you buy it on contract, but why does Google have its own “Equipment Recovery Fee”? So much for making smartphone purchases simpler, Google. More details below.
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CES Highlight: Projected Interfaces
Jan 12th
One of the more interesting things to emerge from CES this year was a new generation of projected interface devices. In the past, we’ve seen small contraptions that project a keyboard onto any flat surface, but now a company called evoMouse has taken the technology several steps ahead. The new evoMouse Pet projects a virtual multi-touch touchpad onto any surface, allowing you to move the cursor, pinch to zoom, scroll, and more. The evoMouse Cube adds on a projected keyboard as well. Both devices are quite compact, connect via Bluetooth, and should work with Windows XP/Vista/7 PCs and Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, or Symbian-powered smartphones. More pictures at Pocket-lint. No word on pricing yet.
A UK firm, Light Blue Optics, took the concept even further with its Light Touch, demoing a larger device that projects a 10″ WVGA resolution touchscreen onto any surface. The screen, which connects by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, uses infrared touch sensing and and will support multi-touch with a software update. It comes with 2GB of on-board storage, a microSD slot for expansion, and a battery lasting 2 hours.
First Photos of T-Mobile USA’s HTC HD2
Jan 12th
Here are the first photos of T-Mobile’s upcoming exclusive (in the U.S.) Windows Mobile smartphone, the HTC HD2. Luckily, there don’t seem to be any major cosmetic changes from the international version besides the small T-Mobile logo at the top.
Too Little, Too Late: Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 finally coming to the U.S.
Jan 11th
Looks like Sony Ericsson’s much-delayed Xperia X2 smartphone might actually come to the U.S. after all, as the X2a model featuring AT&T 3G bands. The Windows Mobile 6.5-powered curve-slider is a follow-up to the earlier, HTC-built X1. While the X2 boasts a marginally larger screen (3.2 vs. 3.0″), it still uses the same antiquated 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200 processor and doesn’t offer anything particularly different as compared to the HTC Touch Pro 2 (which has a much larger, tilting screen), for example.
The X2a will probably arrive in a few months’ time, and likely at an extremely high price (as with the X1a, which sold for $800). We’re not quite sure what Sony Ericsson’s thinking here– by the time this launches, it won’t be even remotely competitive with other high-end smartphones, from the HTC HD2 (which will have launched in the U.S. by then), to the iPhone 3GS, Motorola Droid, Palm Pre, etc. Nonetheless, if you’re curious, there’s more info up at SonyStyle.
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MS: Windows Mobile 7 not just evolutionary, to “set the bar forward”
Jan 9th
Some more interesting tidbits on Windows Mobile 7 from Robbie Bach (head of the Microsoft division in charge of Xbox, Zune, and Windows Mobile) at CES yesterday (transcribed here, see the full webcast here):
I think the number one thing we have to do on Windows Mobile going forward is about the experience people have with phones. I don’t think we have a business model problem per-say, I don’t think we have to outstanding challenge outside of the fact that our experience is very skewed towards business users as is not as modern as it needs to be and doesn’t feel straightforward.
So the challenge for us as we come in to 2010, we are going to have new things that we will talk about at Mobile World Congress [...] The first bar people should look at will “Wow the are doing a great job with the product!” and when you look at the product; and I’m quite confident. I have the luxury of having seen it and play with it a little bit. People are going to see something that’s differentiated and something that sets the bar forward. Not in an evolutionary way compared to where we are today but something that feels, look, act and performs completely different.
In the interest of competition, let’s hope Microsoft finally understands what it needs to do to turn Windows Mobile from a stodgy, outdated business OS into a consumer-oriented platform ready to directly take on Android, WebOS, and the iPhone.
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