Posts tagged microsoft
Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools Finalized on September 16th, App Submissions Begin in Early October
Aug 23rd
Just over six months after the introduction of Microsoft’s Window Phone 7 mobile phone operating system, the Windows Phone Developer Blog has announced that the gold release of the Windows Phone Developer Tools will be available on September 16th. Along with that news, we have also been informed that application submissions to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace will begin sometime in early October. There still isn’t a set hardware launch date, at least nothing more than the “ready for the holidays” line that we have seen before, but with the Marketplace ramping up in early October we’re going to set our sights on a late October or November launch date.
[Via Windows Phone Developer Blog]
Hands-On With Windows Phone 7!
Aug 12th
Today is a pretty special day at TCG. We have been given the chance to look at Windows Phone 7 running on a few pre-production hardware models. The phone that I am using at the moment is a pre-production Samsung phone running on Rogers, but there are a couple floating around. Throughout the day we will be updating with relevant information, and if you have any questions, please let us know!
From my first impression with the device, the home screen “tiles” work extremely smoothly and the device, even on pre-production. The typography really does add to the experience, and because the tiles are dynamic, the whole thing takes on a very organic feel. Because you will end up interacting with tiles more often than the “app drawer,” the stilted, iOS-like reliance on switching between apps to get anything done, is greatly reduced, though not to the extent of Android.
One thing I love about Android, and will hopefully translate well to the Windows Phone 7 series, is a drop-down notification system, combined with live information on the tiles, eliminating the need to go into an app to receive the info. As it stands, it’s very slick.
Obviously the speed and stability of the hardware and software right now is not final code, but it’s a great start. Stay tuned for more information throughout the day!
Windows Phone 7: Coffee and Code
Aug 12th
There has been much talk of Apple and Blackberry of recent, but what about Microsoft and their re-invigorated OS now known as Windows Phone 7?
Other than the odd device pop-up, the actual performance and usability have been shrouded in secrecy, with only potential launch dates being announced to the public.
If you are a die-hard Windows fan boy, have interest in getting a hands-on approach to the new Windows Phone 7 series powered devices, and live in the Toronto area, I have some good news for you.
Today, Aug 12, 2010, from 12pm - 8pm, 3 Microsoft product evangelists will be on location at Starbucks, 4 King West (corner of Yonge St and King St) with 3 devices running Windows Phone 7 series, ready to load up your application and let you test it out.
TheCellularGuru.com will be on location blogging live, moderating your questions using the twitter hash-tag #WP7CC, and finding out everything you our readers want to know about this up-coming OS.
So come by, say hi, and see what Microsoft has been cooking up!
Follow me on twitterNo, Windows Phone 7 won’t tear you away from your smartphone, unless it’s an Android
Jul 15th
Ok, so the poll results aren’t exactly going to turn a lot of heads here. I mean, most people haven’t even seen a Windows Phone 7 device in person, and to truly appreciate a new phone platform it needs to be used. Couple that with the fact that Windows Mobile has left a legacy of green ooze on Microsoft’s lap, it’s going to be hard to rebound quickly. I’m impressed that 14% of people are even willing to give the platform a try.
Personally, I think Android users are going to be the ones most likely to switch over. Their allegiances aren’t as strong, the Koolaid not as potent as with iPhone. And BlackBerry users are always going to be BlackBerry users. CrackBerry is the strongest narcotic known to man.
But things change. Come October, or November, or whenever, Windows Phone 7 might blow everyone away with the most robust and usable 1.0 software ever released on a mobile platform. People may say, “Wow! Look at the potential for this thing! I must be an early adopter.” What’s more likely is that most early adopters will breach the Zune/Xbox/Office integration, its potential app marketplace, and all other areas in which it can improve. The Metro interface looks sexy, its consistent UI deployment unbeatable.
All that’s left, really, is the hardware. We know that LG and HTC will be diving head first into manufacturing. We know that, at minimum, the hardware will be as or more powerful than current high-end Android devices. That’s important, as a minimum 4″ screen is going to need some robust hardware. If the internet experience is as good as they claim, and if multimedia support is there, I don’t see why WP7 will be any less desirable than Android or iPhone. But we’ve seen a pretty good platform in WebOS go down the toilet due to lack of hardware/carrier support. Microsoft can’t and won’t let that happen.
Microsoft’s Todd Brix Admits to Providing Financial Incentives and Free Hardware to Windows Phone 7 Developers
Jul 14th
In an interview with BusinessWeek, Microsoft’s Senior Director Todd Brix confirmed recent suspicions that Microsoft has been providing free hardware as well as financial incentives to entice developers to the Windows Phone 7 platform. Financial incentives include cash for their commitment to the platform as well as a little assurance that if things go south, their time won’t have been completely wasted.
“We are investing a lot to attract developers big and small to Windows Phone 7 to let them understand what the opportunity is and provide as many resources as we can to help them be successful on our platform. We’re open for business and we want to work with them.”
- Todd Brix
Microsoft has a massive mountain to climb to push a brand new platform like Windows Phone 7 into a market where developers are primarily finding success in the iOS or Android platforms. It is going to take a lot of work on Microsoft’s part to gain momentum and developer support for a new OS that won’t have a defined user-base until months after the launch has occurred. For developers it’s hard to know whether their developmental work will pay off and whether or not WP7 will mature enough to become a lucrative platform to develop for.
What Microsoft is doing to entice developers certainly isn’t wrong, nor is it necessarily a bad sign for the future of Windows Phone 7. They are simply giving devs the tools they need to make their work successful, while throwing a little cash at developers to relieve some of the insecurity involved with developing for a brand new platform. At this point, Microsoft needs to be doing all they can to stack the Windows Marketplace’s roster because when compared to the iPhone’s massive selection and Android’s quickly growing market, they are going to need all the help they can get.
[Via BusinessWeek]
Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two Social Phones Ousted
Apr 12th
Microsoft, failing not to be outshined by Apple time and time again, has released information about their new social phones, the Kin One and Kin Two.
Kin One seems to be an ugly, portrait-slider clamshell design with a low-res screen. It will likely be marketed to teenagers looking for basic social functionality without an expensive data plan. Verizon seems to be the partner carrier for these phones, and may release a special social plan for them to keep costs down.
Kin One specs are as follows:
- Form factor: Vertical slide, QWERTY
- Display: 2.6″ TFT, QVGA (320 x 240), capacitive touch screen
- Camera: 5.0MP CMOS anti-shake, autofocus, dual LED flash
- Speakers: Mono
- Memory: 256MB DDR RAM, 4GB storage
- Battery: 1240 mAh
- Connectivity: EV-DO Rev A, Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, Hi-speed
USB, 802.11b/g - Other: Assisted GPS, FM radio, accelerometer
The Kin Two seems to be a bit more of a smart phone and as such, will likely appeal to the iPhone-centred market (though by the time it is out, Apple will have released their new iPhone, and the chase will continue). Specs are as follows:
- Form Factor: Vertical slide, QWERTY
- Display: 3.4″ TFT, QVGA (480 x 320), capacitive touch screen
- Camera: 8.0MP HDR CMOS from Omnivision with anti-shake,
autofocus, Lumi LED flash - Speakers: Mono
- Memory: 256MB DDR RAM, 8GB storage
- Battery: 1390 mAh
- Connectivity: EV-DO Rev A, Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, Hi-speed
USB, 802.11b/g - Other: Assisted GPS, FM radio, accelerometer
Stay tuned for more info as it arrives.
Windows Phone 7 Re-Brands Itself….Again
Apr 5th
What was once “Windows Mobile” then “Windows Phone 7 Series”, is now settled at “Windows Phone 7″ for the newly reinvigorated OS (that has still yet to officially launch). No word yet on the effect this re-branding will have, if any, on their ongoing marketing strategy and eventual rollout of the platform. But with all the hype around Android and iPad, and to a lesser extent, Blackberry, right now, I’m not sure many will actually notice the change. But I’m glad Microsoft has decided to go with a name that’s not only easy to remember, but easier to market.
Does this name change make you want to try the new OS out even more? Leave a comment letting us know.
[Via WMExperts, originally via Twitter]
Follow me on twitterWindows Phone 7 Series GDC Wrap Up.
Mar 18th
As promised Microsoft pumped out a good deal of new information regarding their upcoming mobile platform Windows Phone 7 Series. Much of the news that dropped was merely confirmation of features that we had expected would be present in the OS. Things like accelerometer support and 3D gaming were expectations for the platform and Microsoft has confirmed their role in WP7S. With these features WP7S phones should be able to compete with the 3D gaming being supported by the iPhone, Android, and more recently the WebOS.
Though Microsoft has many powerful features lined up for WP7S, they are still leaving out a few seemingly obvious features. Microsoft has confirmed that they will not be including copy and paste in the WP7S, at least not initially. I think that it’s fair to expect it in a software update at some point. Multitasking is another feature that takes on a similar approach to what Apple did with the iPhone in that it won’t be present on non-native applications. Things like the browser and the Zune app will of course run in the background while 3rd party applications will enter a paused state when exited. Upon re-entering the application it should resume fairly seamlessly. Sure it’s not perfect, but it should allow devices to run smoother and manage memory more effectively. Microsoft claims to be working at making multitasking more intuitive with certain tasks gaining the ability to do it. I’m guessing this would apply to streaming radio apps like Pandora in that they wouldn’t have to stop just because the user wants to check their email or answer a text message.
Microsoft does have some compelling services incorporated into WP7S namely, Xbox Live and Zune integration. At GDC Microsoft showed a demo of a game playing on the Xbox 360 paused, and then resumed on the Windows Phone handset. Achievements and gamer profiles of course transfer over to the mobile experience as well. Zune integration would include access to Zune Pass subscriptions and the Zune community with all its’ social features and play tracking.
Microsoft is also pushing to make development easy for the platform by extending Silverlight and XNA as tools for application development. Developers should be familiar with these tools already as they are popular for building PC and Xbox applications.
We still have a long six months until the purported launch of Windows Phone 7 Series and there will likely be a lot of changes to come. Stay tuned for all the news to come, and drop us a comment telling us what you think of Windows Phone 7 Series.
RIM FTW! (And The Robot Revolution)
Mar 11th
According to comScore MobiLens research, which covered mobile handset usage between October 2009 and January 2010, RIM owns the smartphone market, with 43% market share, up 1.7% from three months earlier. RIM was the only company to gain significantly in total handset numbers, too, up 1.4% to 7.8% share, and that is overall phone numbers, not just smartphones.
The real news, however, was Android, which gained 4.3% to own 7.1% market share. This likely came from the strong debut of the Verizon Motorola Droid, as well as multiple Motoblur Android phones from Motorola, Samsung and HTC.
Android and RIM seem to be taking OS share away from two floundering smartphone companies, Palm and Microsoft. Palm was down 2.1% and MSFT down 4% to sit at 5.7 and 15.7% share respectively.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering how many handsets are arriving on the market with Android, in some form or another. There has even been talk that the wide disparity of Android OS numbers debuting on devices, from 1.5 to 2.1, is going to fragment the market too much, to the point where Google will lose “control” over its own monster. At this point, the fragmentation has only led to customer frustration, as developers are releasing applications that can only run on the newest OS version, 2.0+, which is only available on a select few phones, including Google’s own Nexus One.
There is no doubt, though, that in the immediate future, Android will gain against Microsoft and RIM, and is even taking some share away from Apple’s iPhone, whose numbers have remained steady at 25.1% share, still astronomical numbers from a single device OS.
Are you looking to purchase an Android phone? Let us know in the comments!
First hands-on with Windows Phone 7 Series
Mar 1st
Remember some time ago in the not so distant past we spoke of the impending launch of Windows Phone 7 Series? How it could just be the be all end all of the Windows Phone 7 OS and would drop close to the end of 2010? Well, guess what, in true Engadget fashion they brought Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman on their “Engadget Show” and he decided to do a bit of teasing.
The above picture is the a Windows Phone 7 Series production prototype, the first ever shown to the world, but thats not all he did. He also also went on to describe what we can expect from the device in a sense of look and feel.
Here’s what he had to say:
it’s just a hair thicker than an iPhone or Nexus One, there are dedicated hardware camera, volume, and power buttons in addition to the back, home, and search buttons dictated by Windows Phone 7 Series, and we noticed a five megapixel camera with a flash on the back, along with a headphone jack
What do you think? Does this spark some interest to find out what Microsoft has in store? Or lost all love for the Windows Mobile platform? Leave us a comment!
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