Windows Phone 7 Series is a different beast altogether
Microsoft seems to be on a role for the past year with products and services that have left no stone unturned. Windows 7 has already been deemed as the best operating system there ever was, and now with Windows Phone 7 Series Microsoft is almost unstoppable. Windows Phone 7 Series is designed with a completely new perspective that will lend a fresh breath of air into the smartphone arena. The operating system for Windows Phone 7, OS 7.0 is written from scratch to bind together the hardware capabilities with the seamless functionality.
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# A whole new perspective and vision
Instead of becoming just another player in the smartphone market,Microsoft wanted to implement their own vision to what a cellphone should be. And Windows Mobile 7 Series is the result of that very niche approach. Everything is centered on the data specific interaction as opposed to the general app oriented functional approach. What this means is that the information itself becomes the interface, thereby giving a completely new meaning to the term smartphone.
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# User Interface like none other
In Windows Phone 7 Series the information is organized into sections called hubs (described as app that makes sense of your apps), inter-weaved into a panoramic stream of information based on user’s area of interests. Bound together by the minimalistic interface and animations these hubs have been structured into panoramic view, stitching the groups of information as columns in a landscape screen. Microsoft has created the Windows Phone 7 Series interface in such a way that you can jump from one application to the other without even realizing subconsciously that the switch has been made, presenting the hubs in a very simple and logical way. More emphasis has been paid on finger-based touchscreen input, core social networking integration and support with major services.
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# iPhone supremacy days might soon be over
When iPhone was first launched three years ago, it took the smartphone market by the storm, with an all new approach to the cellphone domineer. Windows Phone 7 is at the same juncture with Microsoft looking to take the competition to the Apple’s wonder phone. If we go by what has been revealed of Windows Phone 7 Series then it beats the iPhone all ends up. Function and app oriented approach of iPhone renders it a bit restricted when it comes to extending the user-interface experience. The hardware specifications, crispness of the user-interface, seamless functionality and a completely new data centric user interaction will surely give iPhone and other competing devices a serious run for their money.
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# Apps and hubs galore
Microsoft has stated that they have revealed just the tip of the iceberg as far as the apps go, and with the freedom given to create apps using the Silverlight platform for app developers the possibilities are virtually endless. Thus far, there are the following applications that can better explain how Windows Phone 7 will provide for that niche functionality.
1) Picture hub:
It will be the aggregate of your stored photos and pictures, cloud-based Facebook, Windows Live, feed of your contact’s updated images and other connected picture galleries.
2) Gaming hub:
Powered by a thumping OS Windows Phone 7 is the undisputed king of high quality gaming on a smartphone. Integrated with Xbox LIVE, Windows Phone 7 Series will provide an immersive gaming experience for its users.
3) People hub:
This application will prioritize the view of your most frequently contacted people based on the contact information assimilated from your social-networking hub and Windows LIVE aggregator.
4) Music & Video hub:
Emulating the Zune’s HD experience, this hub will give the user ability to browse and download new music over WiFi and 3G.
5) Office hub:
This hub will provide all the office suite application on demand, along with the ability to modify these applications the way you want. More emphasis is on OneNote and SharePoint Workspace, which seems pretty upbeat.
6) Marketplace hub:
Last but by no means the least, the marketplace hub will be your one stop shop for all the third party apps and the in-house developed Microsoft apps.
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# Windows Phone 7 series Factfile
1) The Good:
• Developers can start making their apps at developer.windowsphone.com
• Silverlight platform for developing apps can create ones that are more soficticated.
• Capacitive multitouch with atleast 4 points of touch and in its own class accelerometer sensor
• Large VGA screen with single aspect ratio
• Live titles on the start screen that are updated dynamically
• Core functionality applications
• Bing search and Bing Maps integration
• Unmatched gaming capabilities for a smartphone via Xbox LIVE integration
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2) The Bad:
• Lack of flash support
• The whole new UI may put off some users in the beginning
• No Mac Develoment support for apps
• Lack of support for Windows Mobile 6.x apps
• The Push Notification Service sounds very similar to iPhone’s service
• “Windows Phone 7 Series” the name itself sound lame and a bit confusing
• Just like the iPhone it doesn’t support full multi-tasking
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3) The Bottomline:
When the Windows Phone 7 Series will be officially launched in the latter half of this year, you can be sure of the fact that it is going to be three way battle between Apple, Google and Microsoft. And by what we have seen of Windows Phone 7 Series thus far, things look to be heavily weighed in Microsoft’s corner.
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# The Buzz
Joshua Topolsky over at Engadget says says:
This isn't a coat of paint or a touch up -- this is a full-scale nuclear assault on everything you knew about Windows on phones. Basically, every interface paradigm you've seen in earlier versions is obliterated here, and the design has been utterly decimated (in a very, very good way).
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Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo says:
I'm sorry, Cupertino, but Microsoft has nailed it. Windows Phone 7 feels like an iPhone from the future. The UI has the simplicity and elegance of Apple's industrial design, while the iPhone's UI still feels like a colorized Palm Pilot.
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Engadget:
Microsoft just planted a massive flag in the ground with the debut of Windows Phone 7 Series. The company's new mobile operating system is a radical and potent departure from the past, and there's a lot to take in.
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Ian Paul over at Computer World says:
The latest version of Microsoft's mobile platform promises to deliver a radical shift, with a new focus on features like social networking, the Web, and gaming.
