Posts tagged microsoft
MS: Windows Phone 7 Series presentations at Game Developers Conference
Feb 23rd
Looks like Microsoft’s finally going to take Xbox Live mobile integration seriously with Windows Phone 7 Series. The upcoming MIX 2010 conference will focus on general app development for the company’s brand-new mobile OS, but interestingly, Microsoft’s plans for the Game Developers Conference (GDC) indicate that the company will be making several mobile-oriented presentations there too. What’s interesting is that GDC will actually precede MIX, so we might find out about WP7 development before MIX itself, and the WP7 presentations are scheduled to take up more than a quarter of Microsoft’s time at GDC.
More details after the break.
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HTC HD2 spotted running Windows Phone 7 Series, TomTom Navigator
Feb 16th
Looks like the HTC HD2 will support Windows Phone 7 Series after all. HTC’s flagship Windows Mobile phone meets all the hardware requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series (1 GHz Snapdragon CPU, capacitive multitouch screen, etc.) except the buttons (WP7 requires back, start, search, and camera keys– the HD2 is missing a search and camera key). WinMo.nl came across an HD2 running a test version of 7 Series and reports that it was very snappy- much faster than the phone is under Windows Mobile 6.5. The Zune media app apparently wasn’t working, but, interestingly, the phone seems to be running TomTom’s Navigator GPS software (see the icon in the start screen).
Update: We’re not so sure on this one. Some of the text labels are different from what we saw at the MWC unveiling, and Microsoft seemed to indicate that background wallpapers, as seen here, would probably not be allowed.
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Feb 15th
Microsoft just wrapped up its Windows Phone 7 Series launch at MWC in Barcelona- here are some videos of the interface:
Update: MSDN Channel9 just posted a 22-minute, more in-depth walkthrough, below.
More below. More >
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Windows Phone 7 Series Unveiled
Feb 15th
Here are some photos of Windows Phone 7 Series interface – the Start screen and various “Hubs”:
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Adobe: No Flash in Windows Mobile 7 at launch
Feb 14th
Earlier today, Adobe released a statement about Flash support in Microsoft’s as-yet-unannounced Windows Mobile 7:
Microsoft and Adobe are working closely together. While the newest version of Windows Phone won’t support Flash at initial availability, both companies are working to include a browser plug-in for the full Flash player in future versions of Windows Phone. More details will be shared at Microsoft MIX next month.
Microsoft has not yet announced Windows Mobile 7– that will likely happen tomorrow morning (February 15), so Adobe’s letting the cat out of the hat a bit early. More info at Phonescoop here.
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“Windows Phone 7 Series” Revealed
Feb 13th
Through some Photoshop manipulation, Engadget found that the banners being set up outside Microsoft’s presentation space at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona say “Windows Phone 7 Series,” presumably referring to the upcoming OS’ consumer and professional releases. Full image below, and more info to come.
Steve Ballmer to Unveil Windows Mobile 7 at MWC, February 15
Feb 12th
It’s all set, folks– Microsoft has officially confirmed that CEO Steve Ballmer will be unveiling Windows Mobile 7 this coming Monday morning at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The event starts on Monday, February 15 at 3 pm CET, which corresponds to:
03:00AM – Hawaii
06:00AM – Pacific
07:00AM – Mountain
08:00AM – Central
09:00AM – Eastern
02:00PM – London
03:00PM – Paris
11:00PM – Tokyo
Microsoft will have a live video feed of the event HERE. More details below.
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Microsoft employees: Windows 8 “mind-blowing,” “completely different”
Feb 10th
Over the last two weeks, a couple of Microsoft employees have written quite excitedly about Windows 8. On January 31, a post went up on the MSDN blog, entitled “What’s in store for the next Windows?” The post has since been taken down, but we accessed a Google-cached version and have posted the text below. It doesn’t reveal a whole lot about the OS (which the post refers to as “Windows.next”) but talks quite excitedly about Windows team head Steve Sinofsky’s ability to bring together all the Windows groups towards a common goal. More info below.
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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