Microsoft Defends Lack of Multitasking
It seems that Apple is not the only company that is planning to don the cape of being stubborn. According to recent reports, it seems that Microsoft is wholly under the impression that users do not want multitasking features on their mobile phones.
According to Greg Sullivan, the senior product manager for Microsoft, the presence of multitasking will greatly reduce phone performance. He believes that above all else, users want smoothness and speed on their handsets –at the cost of multitasking.
What Greg, and many others at Microsoft fail to realize however, is that multitasking and handset slowdowns, are actually issues that Apple has already been through. The first Apple iPhone OS came out lacking these very same features, and in the past couple of years, users had continuously asked for these to be implemented. In time, Apple saw that the functions are truly needed and decided to put them in.
Microsoft should already know better. That was the truth for Apple before, and that is how it will be –there is not point not adding in multitasking features.
Even if it means that the handset would slow down when running multiple apps; that is a decision that Microsoft has to give to the users, not decide on their own. Users who are specific about having the best and fastest device performance would naturally not make use of the feature. But the rest of the smart phone community would not mind the occasional slowdown, would certainly appreciate having multitasking.
Cut and paste is a more nonsensical issue. Microsoft should know better than any other developer how important the function can be, but they still decided to do without it. While the selective text selection feature will be useful (for addresses, contact numbers, emails), it will not be able to copy shopping lists, product names and other important bits of information.
Windows Phone 7: Needs Apps to be Balanced
There is plenty of talk and promotion about how the new Windows Phone 7 mobile platform looks and works. And frankly, the new OS really is quite impressive.
Microsoft has been able to outdo themselves in the design and the execution of the WP7 handset. The OS itself is far from final, it s comprehensive, smooth and well made. The visual quality of the animations and transitions creates a new look and feel for the Microsoft mobile platform.
There is currently plenty of talk and discussion about existing features such as the Bing search engine, Zune, Silverlight, MSN Player, the Xbox Live Games services and more. However, as many might notice, these are all Microsoft made features. While the device does support integrated social networking, it still lacks a strong library of apps that users can rely on.
Of course, it would be pretty demanding to expect that WP7 apps are already available, but the fact is, Microsoft needs to attract a significant number of developers for their OS.
According to some, having apps to choose from is one of the key reasons why they aimed for a smart phone in the first place. Many other people who are not interested in apps would rarely go for smart phones at all. Of course, the WP7 OS has its own merits, but lacking a decent app library would be very disappointing.
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, is confident that the Windows Phone 7 OS is going to attract both users and developers. Despite the initial reactions from developers that the system is hard to develop for (especially since the cross platform programming can be quite a daunting task), it seems that WP7 users will have new games and apps to look forward to when the system is finally launched this coming September or October and with promising handsets like the HTC Gold expected to be running Windows Phone 7, things are looking up for Microsoft fans.
New Samsung Handsets Bring Back Windows Mobile
If you think that the mobile phone industry has no love for Windows Mobile, think again. Despite the many complaints of users regarding the layout of the OS (which made it restricted to using resistive touch screens as the buttons could only be reach by a stylus), and the fact that it lacked many of the media and social networking features that people have come to expect of smart phones, the WinMo OS still provided plenty of useful and practical business solutions that made it a second choice of many businesses (the first choice being RIM’s BlackBerry smart phones).
With the launch of Windows Phone 7 coming by the last quarter of the year. It is expected that the casual and general smart phone market will finally get a Microsoft mobile platform that caters to their needs and wants. The highly dynamic user interface, social networking and gaming features of WP7 all scream general user fulfillment. At the same time, many experts have agreed that WP7’s weakest factor is Microsoft’s main feature: business functions.
This is why it was not surprising for many when Microsoft announced that they would continue to develop and support the Windows Mobile series even after WP7 launches –this OS keeps their hold of the business market.
Samsung has just announced the Omnia Pro 4 and the Omnia Pro 5, and despite earlier rumors that these devices might be new WP7 handsets, Samsung has made the official statement that the devices would be running WinMo 6.5.
Both handsets are traditional business models –candy bar phones with physical QWERTY keyboards. It may seem cramped for some, but anyone who has been using BlackBerry and Palm smart phones would instantly feel at home.
The Omnia Pro 5 is slightly smaller and slimmer than the Omnia Pro 4 –at the cost of some specs, both devices share very similar software features as the devices use the same OS and comes with MS Office Mobile 2010 and the Office Communicator for Mobile.
Developer’s Perspective: Windows Phone 7 in Action
If there is something that is rather scary about the new Microsoft mobile platform, it is the fact that the OS seems to be following the footsteps of the Apple iPhone too closely. Microsoft has already announced that they will be screening and on occasion, rejecting submitted applications. And while they will be giving developers the full details on why an app has not been accepted (as well as provide insight on what can be changed or improved), the fact of the matter is that the whole setup feels a little too similar to Apple’s less than happy developer community.
Not that everything is bad; Microsoft has been generous enough to give away free LG Panthers packed with the developer version of WP7 to many developers. This is not giving developers a chance to see their apps running on the phone itself –the best way to check software. Aside from a few quirks during the boot-up sequence of the device, it is expected that the retail version will behave much like the test unit.
One rather discouraging update was the fact that a special version of the Zune software is needed in order to sync the phone to a computer. It pretty much seems like the old iTunes deal going on for the iPhone and the iPod, but we are hoping that this restriction will no longer apply when the device is ready for retail.
Speaking of the LG Panther, this impressive touch screen smart phone comes with a WVGA capacitive touch screen display, a 5 mega pixel camera and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. We have yet to learn what the CPU speed is, though it is expected that it is running on a Qualcomm chip. The LG Panther stands out from the other upcoming WP7 devices not only for being the first, but also because it is the only device (so far) that comes with a physical slide out QWERTY keyboard.
Microsoft Launches Kin Handsets
If waiting for the Windows Phone 7 launch is taking a toll on your patience meter, you might want to try out a couple of interesting new smart phones from Microsoft.
The Kin 1 and Kin 2 smart phones use a very simplified version of the upcoming WP7 OS with features that focus entirely on social networking. The home screen is a well layout view of the latest Facebook/MySpace/Wonderwall updates for your account. The set up for logging in is easy and you can enjoy real time live updates. The controls are touch based so expect to be fiddling around with this phone within minutes of turning it on.
Both devices use a combination of a touch screen display and a full QWERTY keyboard to make typing and messaging a whole lot easier. The Kin 1 is called the Turtle as the shape of the phone looks a lot like a small turtle shell. The Kin 2 is called Pure and it resembles a more traditional touch screen smart phone with slide out keyboard.
Of course, these two devices are hardly anything compared to the any amazing features of the upcoming WP7 handset, but they certainly give a pretty cool preview of what Microsoft has in store. For those on a budget and do not need the entire extra features of WP7, the Kin 1 and 2 are excellent alternatives. Vodafone UK will be launching both devices pretty soon.
Speaking of WP7, the wait for the launch of the device is still ongoing and according to a recent interview with Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel, Sony Ericsson will be among the roster of companies that will be launching a WP7 device later this year.
For more details and info about the specs of the new Microsoft handsets and a video tour of the features, head straight to the GSM Arena.
Future Forecast: What WP7 will be Offering
Microsoft’s new mobile platform will prove to be one of the most important operating systems to be launched. And while we can all agree that the user interface is truly innovative, the system will shine not for its new features, but for being the OS that brings together all the important components that makes the smart phone a device we simply can no longer do without.
Judging from the recently released developer tools for WP7, the system will support XNA Games Studio and Visual Studio. This means that we will be seeing apps that will be compatible with both computers and the Xbox 360 –made possible with the shared code of Visual Studio. A demo was shown where a game being played on a phone was continued in the Xbox 360, this means that specific game instances can be saved and transferred as well.
Silverlight support is also present in WP7; this web based framework is a great way for developers to create impressive graphics and user interface themes on the system without requiring too much from the hardware.
The use of live feeds from Microsoft services such as MS Location and MS Notifications will turn any device into a resource and news hub. Users can easily click the running news bar in order to expand the content and read the details.
Of course, having set hardware sets help too. Minimum hardware requirements set by Microsoft places CPUs to be running on par with ARM v7 Cortex or Scorpion processors. The screen would need to be capacitive (and at least WVGA) and the phone would have to support 3G, WiFi and other connectivity options (it may even be 4G compatible).
For more information, details and a comprehensive look at the latest updates and features of Windows Phone 7, go to Softpedia.
Windows Phone 7 gets Marketplace, New Device and More
It is already a given that the new WP7 mobile platform will be one of the most important operating systems to ever launch.
Microsoft has been behind the pack in terms of popularity due to its Windows Mobile operating system. While the OS is currently second to Palm in terms of success among business clients, Microsoft’s hold of the general market is weak with the stylus based controls and badly designed user interfaces.
Now, MS is taking a new direction with Windows Phone 7 series. This platform is not an update to the older system but an entirely new OS. It features stylized menus, customizable tiles and a wide range of features that will rival that of the iPhone OS and the Google Android.
WP7 is technically closer to the iPhone OS with its definitive hardware requirements as opposed to the open source Android. This however gives Microsoft the advantage of being able to set a bar for all developed applications as well as the hardware to be used on the phone.
The new Windows Marketplace has been confirmed to be ready for the WP7 launch. Since the new OS will not be compatible with old apps, there is a separate category for apps developed for WP7. Just this week, the developer tools for WP7 have been released. Expect to see plenty of new apps and games getting developed from now until the time that WP7 launches.
Speaking of launches, it looks like the LG Panther might not be the only Windows Phone handset popping up early. News about a new Samsung made device have been confirmed and the new type-1 chassis phone will be showing off the super AMOLED capacitive touch screen that we first saw on the Wave Bada.
Read more news updates and details on the upcoming WP7 OS at Softpedia.
WP7 to Get Hardware Requirements
“Minimum hardware requirements” is something you would expect from PC software. But considering the performance requirements of today’s modern mobile platforms, it is not surprising that the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series mobile platform would need a very specific minimum to perform optimally.
The demonstration given by Steve Ballmer and his team at the Mobile World Congress showed an operating system that was far from finished, but already needed some heavy duty hardware. The level of intricacy and volume of dynamic elements and animations present has shown that the device would have to be using a 1GHz Snapdragon processor to keep up with all the details.
It is not surprising; Microsoft has gone all out on this one in order to reinvent the mobile industry. They did say that “the phone is not a PC” which explains the completely new approach into delivering a user interface that we have never seen before. Even the tiles system is very impressive –we do not even miss widgets because of it.
Aside from the processing power, it is commonly known that the UI will need a big display screen. Current estimates place it at a 3.6 inch capacitive WVGA display, though it would be so much more fitting for an AMOLED screen to be used for this OS.
In terms of form, the most generally accepted look would be the touch screen format which we often see in screenshot of the user interface. The type 2 is also interesting thanks to its slide out QWERTY keyboard. The type 3 on the other hand does not seem to fit the plans since the Treo-form is not fitting for the user interface of Window Phone 7 series.
Get to know more about the WP7 hardware requirements, chassis types and other interesting info go to GSM Arena.
Three Chassis, One Mobile Platform
It is still a long way before we actually see the Windows Phone 7 series in an actual mobile phone and yet, news about the device is already getting plenty of circulation.
At the same time that the OS was showed off at the Mobile World Congress, it has been announced that the platform relies heavily on Qualcomm architecture. With the many animations and dynamic elements seen in WP7, it is quite likely that it will need a high speed processor like the Snapdragon –it may even be using the new dual core version of the CPU.
Recent reports have shown that Asus and Microsoft are currently working together in order to create the first Microsoft branded smart phone that uses the new WP7 operating system. No word yet on what the actual specs for the device will be, but we are expecting the phone to be made available sometime later this year (around October). In any case, Microsoft has promised that the device will be out by the holidays.
Now, according to a recent podcast from ZDnet, the new platform will be using three different chassis types.
The first chassis is called the type-1 and it uses a traditional touch screen smart phone layout. It’s the same look we have seen with the many WP7 user interface screenshots. While no word confirms that the phone in the image will be exactly how the new device will look, at least it gives us a pretty good idea of what to expect.
The other two chassis types remain to seen in images. The type 2 is a touch screen with slide out keyboard (which reminds us of the Motorola Milestone); the type 3 on the other hand is reported to be a candy bar phone format.
Get to know more about the WP7 chassis types at Stuff TV.