During the festivities of this week’s Mobile World Congress, Microsoft took the opportunity to unveil it’s latest offering, the Windows Phone 7 Series. Technophiles may remember how underwhelming Windows Mobile 6.5 was when it was released way back in 2009. After viewing the demo and all available materials, though, its obvious that Microsoft went back and started from scratch this time around.
Microsoft is still keeping things under a pretty tight wrap, but, after reviewing the available sources (There aren’t a lot of credible ones.), scouring the far reaches of the internet for more information, and cross-referencing the data, here’s the low-down on the stuff gadget junkies will want to know about the Windows Phone 7 Series. (Note: There is no gushy praise or unwarranted criticism, here.)
Confirmed Specifications to Date
Expected Release Date: Late 2010
Built-In Bells and Whistles (AKA Hubs):
- People: Provides feeds from social networks, as well as push updates from Facebook and Windows Live. Also able to import Gmail, Exchange, Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live contacts.
- Pictures: Users have the native ability to share photos and videos via integrated social networking (See People Hub). Also, supports syncing of photos and videos between desktop computers, the device and the web.
- Games: Xbox LIVE features, such as game play, spotlight feed, profiles, and statistics.
- Music and Video: Zune-like interface allows for easy access to and synching with PC music and video content. Support is also built-in for access to online music sources and FM radio functionality. Zune Social allows for the easy sharing of recommendations with other users.
- Marketplace: The equivalent of an App Store, Marketplace enables users to search for, download, and install approved applications, games, etc.
- Office: Provides the mobile equivalent of Microsoft Office and associated functionality. Designed to integrate with OneNote and SharePoint workspaces, to enable document review, editing, and sharing. Also includes the Outlook Mobile client, which supports Google Gmail, Exchange, etc.
Early Pro’s:
- Clean, minimalistic design
- Clear display with intuitive User Interface (UI)
- Customizable, tiled icon display (Hubs likely fixed but you can add asditional ones and rearrange them)
- Multi-touch functionality with swipe, pan, pinch and zoom
- Smooth animations with clean type-faces and minimal icon overkill
- Realtime updating of social networking accounts (Indicates when new updates arrive)
- Bing Maps updated dynamically and provide street-views with 3D graphics and directions and traffic updates (via Yelp).
Potential Con’s:
- Support for Adobe Flash and Silverlight is unconfirmed
- User Interface is not replaceable (Read: No additional themes?)
- Not clear how “hackable” it is (We know you’re just curious.)
- Amount of developer community involvement is unknown; Unclear how much or what “Marketplace” will offer
- Pricing and contractual details could increase/decrease consumer interest
Summary:
From the little we’ve seen so far, it looks like Microsoft may have the right idea this time. By starting from scratch, they might help consumers forget about less than stellar offerings like Windows Mobile 6.5 and Vista. There’s nothing that right out of the gate makes us want to ditch our current gadgets, but there is also nothing that makes us cringe either. Will it be an iPhone-Killer, BlackBerry-Killer, or murderer of any other smartphone? No, it probably won’t, but, if Microsoft plays their cards right, the Windows Phone 7 Series might be a respectable addition to the ever-expanding smartphone market. Hopefully, the Microsoft Gods or their OEM partners will bless us with a demo unit, so we can undertake the arduous task of properly testing and reviewing the Windows Series…err..,Windows 7 Phone…err…Windows Phone 7. Well, you know what we mean. As you can tell, we’re just ready to play with the phone, already.
Justin E. Gehrke is the founder and owner of Geek Shui Living. As a right and left-brained geek, he writes Tech articles for MWD and his own site, Geek Shui Living. You can also follow his Tech commentary and random geek ramblings, via Twitter, at @GeekShui
[...] this year, Microsoft announced its plans to release their latest smartphone offering, the Windows 7 Phone Series. Initial reviews of the device show that it will combine the much sought after touch screen [...]