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Windows Phone 7 Series Announced at Mobile World Congress Today

Kyle — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:48:12 +0000

Earlier today Microsoft unveiled its latest creation, Windows Phone 7 Series. It is just a newer version of Windows Mobile that has been built from scratch. This was smart on Microsoft’s part because the only way they could ever catch up would be to forget backwards compatibility and just move forward. This could very well be what they have done since there is no word on whether or not any current programs will be compatible with 7 Series.

Microsoft also realized that resistive technology is a way of the past, and not only made it capacitive touch capable, but all devices are required to have capacitive touch support. There are also some more unreleased minimum specs that are required for all phone manufacturers that wish to have this OS on their smartphones. They also noted that physical keyboards are also permitted to use with the software.

The User Interface is largely inspired by Zune HD with large fonts and simple but stunning buttons. Unlike most touchscreen phones these days, the homescreen isn’t just a grid of tiny app icons, but it has a two column tile system. The tiles are very large to make it easier to tap. These tiles are also animated with live information from the cloud, as well as other notifications.

On that note, Microsoft is bragging about being extremely connected with social networks. They only seem to support Facebook and Windows Live natively though. Apparently other social networks like Twitter and Flickr are available through Windows Live, but I am not too sure how well that will work out.

For years there have been rumors about Xbox Live integration with Windows Mobile. Today that is finally confirmed! Unfortunately there is no working example of it. Joe Belfiore explains the future features though, “I want to show you how this looks and works on a real phone. So you’ve got your avatar here, spotlight updates, and recent achievements. There are requests — you can see someone is nudging Anna to come and game with them.” On top of that some games will be able to earn you Achievement Points.

Xbox integration was not the only other Microsoft product added to the operating system. Zune, Microsoft’s semi-successful portable media player, is available in all of its glory. This full featured media player is simple and sexy. The operating system will also be compatible with the Zune Pass, which is the envy of iPod owners. For $15 a month users can listen to and download unlimited songs from the Zune Marketplace. This gives owners millions of songs available on their phone via the built in marketplace.

Of course there are tons and tons more features to this operating system including Microsoft Office, third party apps, and GPS. The OS won’t launch until this holiday season though. Windows Phone 7 Series will likely become obsolete by then considering all the new highly anticipated and rumored phones like the iPhone 4G. As a Microsoft fanboy, I can not wait to try out this on the latest hardware later this year.

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There are way too many cell phone operating systems on the market today

Kyle — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:32:59 +0000

There are three operating systems on computers that deserve any recognition. Microsoft’s Windows is the most popular by far. Microsoft focuses solely on software and lets other manufacturers worry about the hardware. Apple’s Mac OSX is a proprietary operating system installed exclusively on their hardware. Linux is a free alternative that can be installed on any machine.

It seems inevitable that the same thing will happen with cellular devices. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile is bought by companies who manufacture the hardware for the phones. Apple’s iPhone OS is exclusively used on their iPhone and iPod touches. Google’s Android is the free, open source alternative for cell phone manufacturers, much like Linux is on computers.

Worldwide Smartphone OS Marketshare as of Q2 2009

What about all the other cell phone operating systems? Most cell phones have custom OS’s. This is a waste of time for all of the companies. They should be focused on the hardware and the software companies should focus on the software. This has worked out well in the PC world. The exception of course is Apple, since they are extremely good at doing both.

Blackberry, Palm’s webOS, and Symbian are a few of the many other popular operating systems. I feel that the only way cell phones will reach their full potential is if most cell phones are compatible with each other. This means they need the same OS. Windows had many, many programs that can be installed because it is a common medium. Cell phones have at least six operating systems for developers to develop on.

Truly it does not matter which operating systems actually come out the victor. The important thing is that two or three will consolidate power and provide a default medium for applications to be developed on.

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HTC Leo – The First Capacitive Windows Mobile Device?

Kyle — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:36:52 +0000

You might have wondered before why there has never been a Windows Mobile cell phone with a capacitive touch screen. This question has definitely puzzled me. Some research has shown two explanations. One is that Windows Mobile users actually want to use a stylus instead of a capacitive screen which works great with just a finger. The second is that Windows Mobile does not ship with capacitive capabilities. Companies could develop the capability but none have, at least until now.

There have been plenty of rumors going around about the HTC Leo. Specs for the HTC Leo have been leaked and they are outstanding! The display is huge at 4.3″ with a 480×800 resolution. Also it packs a beefy 512MB ROM and 320MB RAM. If that isn’t jaw dropping enough for you, then don’t worry, the best has yet to come. HTC Leo has a 1GHz processor! Talk about processing power!

Possible HTC Leo Render

Of course the faster the processor, the faster the battery drains. Most smart phones these days use around a 1400mAh battery and people complain about the low battery lives of those phones. According to the leaked specs, the HTC Leo will only come with a 1230mAh battery. This wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it weren’t for the 1GHz processor. Let’s just hope that this part of the specs is incorrect.

HTC Leo will also have the updated TouchFLO UI, codenamed Manila 2.6. Both the new UI and the HTC Leo are rumored to release later this year.

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HTC TouchFLO 3D 2.6 For Windows Mobile

Kyle — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:29:00 +0000

HTC’s TouchFLO 3D is getting updated soon. The new updates to this Windows Mobile user interface are both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. It includes HTC Sense’s clock with the weather integrated in, home screen shortcuts, and many other things. Continue for the video.

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HTC Ozone For Verizon Wireless

Kyle — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:35:31 +0000

HTC is launching a cheap Windows Mobile based cell phone for Verizon. The phone will only cost you $49.99 on contract and after all the rebate jazz. The phone will be launching July 13th but you can get it online June 29th. If you are in the market for a inexpensive QWERTY Windows Mobile device then I’m sure this will work just fine.

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