Appearance:
Microsoft has stood out as a laggard when it comes to Smartphones. There are about 42.7 million Smartphone users in the United States alone (Paul). Smartphones offer our generation endless possibilities at their fingertips, with computer capabilities in one single technology. Apple’s iPhone and the Blackberry have been big players in the Smartphone market. When Microsoft launched the Windows Mobile 6.5 users were disappointed with the “clunky design” and consumers claimed it was not designed with ease of use in mind, but now, everything that users disliked about Windows Mobile 6.5 has disappeared with the new Windows Mobile 7. Even though the new Series 7 phone will not be released until the end of the year, Microsoft is attempting to regain to mobile market by offering an interface that combines applications and media. Topolsky states, “If they can deliver on the promises of 7 Series, this could change the current landscape of the Smartphone market.”
Windows Phone 7 Appearance
The physical appearance of the phone has completely changed, especially since touch screen functionality has become a necessity. The desktop scroll bar, that was previously viewed as a negative feature, has been replaced with a smooth-scrolling grid. The complaints of the Windows 6.5 not being finger friendly is also out the door. The new phone has a refreshing feel, emails, text messages are displayed neatly with each panel rotating from side-to-side as opposed to the iPhone’s up-and-down motion. There is also a 5 megapixel camera with a flash.
The tile function screen replaces the icon display that Apple iPhone is known for. This function alone makes the phone physically appealing and users will know what is going on without having to open any applications. The start screen’s tiles represent either contacts or links to their applications. Each icon is displayed in a pattern of 4x4, which differentiates it from other phones. The sliding physical keyboard also makes the phone easy to type emails and messages.
All Windows phone devices will work the same with the exception of customizing colors and the layout. All of the Series 7 phones must have the same three physical buttons: Home, Search, and Back. The overall feel is clutter free, unlike the other Smartphones in the market. There aren’t any 3D drop-downs or shaded backgrounds; the feel of the phone is clutter free.
Windows Phone 7 at Mix Conference 2010
Key Features:
The Series 7 phone is focused on users who have a deep interest in social networking with Web based email. Microsoft is even thinking outside the box by expanding to the gaming marketing. The new Xbox LIVE feature would allow for millions of users. The Windows Phone 7 experience is integrated with its products including Xbox. Microsoft will also allow users to access the new version of Microsoft Office for mobile devices; this includes OneNote and SharePoint Workspaces.
Every phone will have a Bing Search and a Bing Start button. Applications for Windows Phone 7 will take advantage of some of the same frameworks that iPhone Apps can, including an accelerometer for motion control, location-based services, multitouch, camera and microphone, and push notification. Also, similarly to the iPhone, Windows 7 will allow for third party applications to run one at a time, the twist would be that Microsoft will offer a push notification which sends a message to the mobile application instead of running the application and calling for updates.
Hubs are the clearinghouses for the phone's core functionality, broken down by genre -- it's a unique (and rather intuitive) concept unlike anything we've seen on other mobile platforms. Third-party developers will be able to tap into these hubs to enhance them.
People hub: Pulls in contacts from Gmail, Exchange, Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live and others, aggregating contact information, status updates, and contact images into a single view (or views, really).
Pictures hub: An aggregate of your locally stored photos, cloud-based Facebook, Windows Live, or other connected picture galleries, and feeds of your contacts' recently updated images.
Games hub: Integrates with Xbox Live, including the housing of a miniature version of your avatar (in 3D and everything), Xbox LIVE games and achievements, Spotlight feeds, and the ability to browse gamer profiles.
Music + Video hub: It's a Zune HD in your phone. Seriously, it's exactly like the Zune HD experience. You're able to utilize Zune Pass here too, including the ability to browse and download new music over WiFi and 3G. Video is a go too, and we assume that means rentals as well as purchases.
Marketplace hub: Microsoft is deeply rethinking its Marketplace strategy for Windows Phone 7 Series right down to the name -- it's now officially "Windows Phone Marketplace," a minor tweak from the Windows Marketplace for Mobile moniker they'd used before. The revised Marketplace will be much more than an app store -- instead, it'll be billed as a one-stop shop for a variety of content from apps and Xbox games to music, and carriers will also have the ability to customize it by adding their own highlighted content.
Office hub: Microsoft's bread and butter, but so far we've just seen the hub itself -- none of its deeper functionality like document editing. There's an emphasis on OneNote and SharePoint Workspace that should be pretty interesting.
Pictures hub: An aggregate of your locally stored photos, cloud-based Facebook, Windows Live, or other connected picture galleries, and feeds of your contacts' recently updated images. Games hub: Integrates with Xbox Live, including the housing of a miniature version of your avatar (in 3D and everything), Xbox LIVE games and achievements, Spotlight feeds, and the ability to browse gamer profiles.
The Email application will be Outlook and the browser will be Internet Explorer. Windows 7 phones will also have Bing maps which allows for street view maps along with a 3D view and directions to help you get to your destination. The libraries will allow make it easier to search and organize documents, pictures, and music. The Media Player 12 plays popular audio such as 3GP, AAC , and AVCHD.
References:
ArsTechnica, "Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 7 Series hotness", Feb 2010, http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/02/microsoft-unveils-windows-phone-7-series.ars
PCWorld, "Windows Phone 7 Series: Everything you need to know", Mar 16, 2010, http://www.pcworld.com/article/191631/windows_phone_7_series_everything_you_need_to_know.html
Gizmodo, "Windows Phone 7 Series: Everything is different now", Feb 2010, http://gizmodo.com/5471805/windows-phone-7-series-everything-is-different-now
Microsoft Watch, "Windows 7 - Microsoft Exec Offers First Look At Windows Phone 7 Series Device", Mar 1, 2010, http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/windows_7/microsoft_exec_offers_first_look_at_windows_phone_7_series_device.html
TheNextWeb.com, "7 Reasons Why The Windows 7 Phone is THE iPhone Killer", Mar 16, 2010, http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/03/16/7-reasons-windows-7-phone-iphone-killer/#
YouTube, "Windows Phone 7 Features", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IOTrqlz4jo&feature=player_embedded
Wired.com, "Microsoft Tells Windows Phone 7's App Story", Mar 15, 2010, http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/windows-phone-7-apps/
