According to reports, the number of mobile phones running the Windows Phone 7 operating system already out and in the hands of developers, testers and analysts are around 8000 in number; that is a very big volume when you are talking about a handset that has not yet even been released.
But Microsoft is quite focused on the new OS and for several good reasons too.
Most importantly, Microsoft wants the mobile platform to gain a positive reputation. It is already an established fact that the older Windows Mobile platform was anything but well loved, and hence, it is important for consumers to be able to be able to associate something new with the Microsoft brand. Given that Apple already has the advantage with the popularity of their Apple name and the iPhone and iBrand in general, Microsoft will need to bring their game to a whole new level.
Another thing that Microsoft needs is support from developers. And developers will only be supportive if developing for the system is not going to be difficult in terms of resources. By literally handing out phones to developers, one major logistical concern is easily taken care of, and bringing the user experience to a more personal level is certain to get developers to make apps that are suited to the operating system.
App support is going to be important to the success of Microsoft’s new handset, but with the currently announced game lineup for WP7 lacking any great titles, it will be important for Microsoft to bring something new to the table.
In the meanwhile, Google’s Android OS is also starting to gain more ground in the mobile phone industry. In fact, it has surpassed the iOS in number of users (or market share) and according to the reports, will eventually be able to take the number one spot from the Symbian OS, used on most Nokia phones.
Posts Tagged ‘Windows-Mobile’
How Microsoft Missed Out on a Whole Generation
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Smart phone owners are certainly unhappy about the Windows Mobile operating system. HTC managed to make it big with the HD2 (though the HD Mini was not as successful), but aside from that, it is rare that a WinMo device would ever be a favorite for smart phone owners as the resistive touch screen based user interface was easily made obsolete with the arrival of capacitive touch screens with multitouch and gestures.
Of course, that alone was not the reason why the general market is not too keen on Microsoft’s mobile platform, the issue is based mostly on the fact that the OS itself was never designed for everyday use. Microsoft’s hold on the mobile phone industry was based on the business market. They held a position that was practically second to RIM. With the general users, Microsoft had no fans.
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, is quite accepting of this situation. In fact, he even stated that Microsoft missed out on a whole generation of smart phone users. While rival operating systems such as Nokia’s Symbian, Apple iOS and the Google Android slowly grew and expanded their user base, Microsoft was still lagging far behind the race
With Windows Phone 7 however, Microsoft is planning to take a stronger position in the industry. The new OS is dynamic, stylish and geared towards general users. Most of the interface features fully animated tiles and integrated social networking function.
Social networking and media functions are such a big deal for the new OS that most of the features basically revolve about how you can interact with friends and family. Bringing up the maps will let you instant find the closest addresses of your friends. The Xbox Live Games allows users to invite and join games that other people are playing. The whole tiles system can be filled up with specific friends on Facebook or other networked services. Expect to see WP7 in action sometime around October this year.
Understanding Mobile Platforms
Friday, June 25th, 2010
It is a commonly accepted fact that operating systems are part of what makes or breaks a smart phone, and more often than not, gear heads would put aside the hardware issues as long as they get the right operating system.
This is because a good operating system will have an average phone performing well. Whereas a badly designed OS would make even a high powered handset seem clumsy and jerky to use. Take the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, this smart phone has plenty of good hardware features, but the Windows Mobile operating system tends to slow it down a lot, and the fact that it relies on a resistive touch screen display means that it requires a stylus to be operated properly.
At the same time, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini is a very mid range smart phone in terms of today’s hardware standards, but the Android 1.6 Donut OS 
makes it a very well rounded device. Speaking of the Android OS, the HTC Desire and the Dell Streak push the limits in terms of both hardware with their high speed 1GHz CPUs and software (with the newer Android 2.1 Éclair).
Some manufacturers rely heavily on proprietary operating systems. Take the Palm WebOS, RIM BlackBerry OS and the Apple iPhone OS. Since the devices that make use of these platforms are specifically designed to maximize the capabilities of the OS, the user experience is not only uniform, but the all of a phone’s features are also fully utilized.
This is why it is important for buyers to know what kind of operating systems they want before they decide to purchase a mobile phone. Even if the hardware seems like a good fit, if the OS is not compatible with a user’s needs then choosing a different device would be the wiser option.
Microsoft’s Kin TV Ad: A Little Too Much
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Okay, we are already pretty used to all the vague and busy TV commercials associated with modern technology –especially those aimed at the young and hip crowds who according to some stereotyping advertising directors, are nothing more than people who would want to do nothing else other than spending every single day partying.
Anyway, there is no doubt that with the release of the Microsoft Kin smart phones, they are trying to tap into that young and hip party going crowd, though with the imagery on their latest advert, it seems that they might just have stepped across some line somewhere. To stop being so vague about it, there is one brief scene in the ad that shows a man sticking the Kin up his shirt, taking a photo of his nipple and sending it to a female recipient.
The idea was already gaudy in the first place, but the ad actually shows the photo of the man’s nipple, which is absolutely not good to look at –not when you are trying to promote a mobile phone. Anyway, there is nothing outright revolting or even offensive about the advertisement, but it does promote some subtle form of sexting which is known to be a major problem for young phone users these days.
Despite the advertisement, the Microsoft Kin smart phones are actually pretty good devices. The touch screen displays are responsive and sending messages, files and other data to contacts is quite easy as users can simply drag anything to the contact boxes on the home page. The device can instantly connect to a user’s Facebook, Twitter and Wonderwall account in order to keep updated with all the latest news and posts. Both kin smart phones are expected to be available in the UK shortly.
See and read more about the new Microsoft Kin ad at Pocket Lint.
In Development Rumors: HTC’s Proprietary OS
Monday, April 19th, 2010
HTC has been in the mobile industry for a very long time and they have gone a long way from their early days in the development of Pocket PC technology. Many tech geeks may still remember the early Windows Pocket devices that were made by HTC several years ago.
In many ways, the success of HTC has been linked heavily to their close ties with both Microsoft and Google. While the Taiwan based manufacturer had originally been a key partner for Microsoft, it was not until HTC signed up as part of the open handset alliance did the fledgling company made its mark as a major player in the mobile phone industry.
Now, rumors are stating that HTC might actually be working on having an operating system of their own –a major advantage for Apple and BlackBerry that has allowed the two companies to provide a fully controlled user experience that is hard to match for their competitors (BlackBerry may not be dominant in the general industry, but they certainly have the top spot among the business class markets).
With competition against Apple hitting an all new level with the recent news about the patent infringement lawsuits, it could very well be within HTC’s advantage to finally have their own OS.
Still, many doubt that HTC would be coming up with a new mobile platform. With the company’s strong ties to the Android OS, it is unlikely that even Google would allow the loss of a major partner. Even Microsoft has plenty to lose if HTC becomes a development competitor. With the HTC HD2 being the most in-demand WinMo 6.5 phone ever released, the Taiwanese company is still the best manufacturer of handset that use Microsoft’s OS.
Read more about the reports about HTC working on its own mobile platform at Mobile Choice UK.
Future Forecast: Microsoft’s Mobile Platforms
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
The world of mobile phones as we know is about to change. We already know that the Apple iPhone 4G will be coming soon and manufacturers such as HTC and Motorola are cranking out one Android device after the other (when they are not allegedly working on Google branded devices). The Symbian OS recently got turned into an open source platform, making it a serious contender in the mobile industry with Symbian 3 (Symbian cubed?) coming in the not so distant future.
So what about Microsoft?
For many years, their Windows Mobile operating system has been at both the forefront and distant back of the smart phone trends. They were first to vault from the Pocket PC industry into mobile phones, but they also quickly got pushed back by business giant BlackBerry. Right now, WinMo is the second most used business oriented platform; for the casual user, WinMo is hardly a viable choice. High end WinMo phones such as the HTC HD2 only get by thanks to the HTC Sense user interface, and even the HD2 is struggling.
During the Mobile World Congress, all this slowly began to change. Steve Ballmer took the stage and presented the Windows Phone 7 series. It’s the next installment of Microsoft’s mobile platform, but instead of being an upgrade, it is an entirely new system. The new stylized menus, tiles and additional features such as Zune, Bing and Xbox Live Games are not only promising, they are game-changing.
Now, MS stands with two powerful platforms; the old WinMo 6.5 series (which was renamed to Windows Mobile Classic) and the newer Phone 7 Series. With older WinMo phones not being compatible with WP7 the decision to continue the development of version 6.X is certainly a great move.
Read more about Windows Mobile 6.X and Windows Phone 7 at Softpedia.
More Details About Windows Mobile 7 Revealed
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
As the days to the Mobile World Conference this February draw closer, more and more details about Microsoft’s new mobile operating system is being announced. While many are not expecting the tech giant to say a word about this much delayed OS in MWC, the amount of info and news regarding the OS is showing that the system might be closer to completion than originally thought.
Recent reports show that Windows Mobile 7 will have two types; a business edition with stripped down features and added new capabilities for office users and a more general public friendly version called the media version. It has been said that the media version will come with HD capability and integrated social networking applications. The new OS is said to be using an interface very much like the Zune.
Xbox Live Games, recently unveiled, will be making its debut on WinMo 7 as well. It has yet to be seen if it will later be retro fitted to work with older Windows Mobile versions. Speaking of compatibility, a big hurdle awaits users of WinMo 7 as the new system will no longer support any application made for older 6.X versions of Windows Mobile. This will definitely leave a lot of older WinMo users discouraged from upgrading to the new OS.
With the general stats on the OS already out, it is no surprise that there are already two confirmed WinMo devices that will launch by this coming autumn. First in line is the HTC Obsession, a big upgrade over the three leaked HTC WinMo phones last year (Photon, Trophy and Tera), the Obsession will have a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and possibly, HD video.
Another confirmed WinMo 7 phone is the LG Apollo which will come with the recently announced dual core Snapdragon running at 1.3 GHz and a 10 mega pixel camera with full HD video recording capability.
Windows Mobile 6.6 Coming, Still no Version 7
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Microsoft has been dangling version 7 right in front of everyone in the mobile phone community for the longest time. But with the nearly impossible to use WinMo 6.5 and the ever constant delays, MS cannot possibly expect that they can still get people excited.
Anyway, the new WinMo 6.6 is coming instead of a full version 7. Despite the fact that a lot of people have already expressed disappointment with most incarnations of version 6, the series is still alive until now. Whether we see MS announcing the device this coming February at the mobile world congress remains to be seen but we are expecting the company to deliver more evasive answers when the topic of WinMo 7 is brought up.
Anyway, 6.5 just got updated to 6.5.3 recently and it will now support finger input a little better. Despite the slight adjustment, it still will not save the OS. Should 6.6 be a full capacitive touch-screen conversion of the OS, then MS might be on to something.
Right now, the only devices using WinMo 6.5 worth having are those from HTC. The HTC HD2 uses its own Sense user interface to enable users to access all the features of Windows Mobile without having to use WinMo itself. The same goes for three more upcoming HTC devices, the Trophy, Photon and Tera. The three new phones will use the HTC TouchFlo interface instead of Sense.
Other WinMo phones are not doing well. Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X2 just got booted out of Vodafone’s 2010 line up. The device was supposed to be launched last December but got delayed to January. Vodafone has since then deemed the device’s issues too hard to deal with. The HD2 also got taken out of Vodafone’s direct sales list; they now offer the device exclusively to business class buyers.
Windows Mobile 7 Has Zune Integration
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Windows Mobile 7, the new upcoming version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, has had a lot of speculation regarding what features it will have when it comes to the market, some of which have already been officially confirmed, and others which are still up in the air.
One of the rumours proven to be true has been that of the integration of Zune, which was officially confirmed by Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer said recently that the new version of the Windows mobile operating system would have Zune. Although we are sure that many of you had an inkling that this would be on the cards, we figure you are probably just as pleased as we are to hear it confirmed by an official source. Although we will have to wait and see exactly what Zune integration will mean, and how far it will go, it is still very exciting – even if we will still have to wait for almost 12 months for the new operating system to arrive.
Until then we should say that Steve Ballmer does not seem discouraged by Windows Mobile 6.5, which was received quite badly on the whole – in fact the company seems to be motivated by the shortcomings of the operating system to work even harder and make the Windows Mobile 7 OS far more competitive and attractive to users.
When discussing Windows Mobile 6.5 Ballmer has been quoted as saying; “I think Windows Mobile 6.5 enables a new generation of exciting Windows phones. That’s what I believe. Reviews aside, that’s what I believe.”
We will leave you to contemplate Zune’s integration with Windows 7, and to consider this almost haunting quote from Ballmer when asked about the future of operating system; “Will there be a next release? Sure. And a release after that? Sure. And a release after that? Sure. There will always be new releases.”
Let’s just hope there is never another Windows Mobile 6.5.
Windows Mobile Users Get More
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Following the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, users are now sitting back with their mobile phones, ready to discover all the good stuff that Microsoft has implanted into their handsets. Of course, there are many services the company plans to launch for Windows Mobile phones, so just as many are trying to pass the time until the next one comes along.
There are plenty of details floating around about what Windows Mobile includes, or can be adjusted to include, online. One such item is Internet Explorer For Mobile, a neat little web browser that seems to fare better than the PC version, Bing for mobile, encouraging users to search with the company’s search engine rather than Google, Microsoft Office Mobile, which we think is one of the neatest features yet, and of course Windows Live – which is available in almost every language. Luckily any additional software you want on your Windows Mobile phone can now be purchased from the Windows Mobile Marketplace from your handset, but will soon allow you to buy directly from your home PC.
There’s more to it than just that though – even though there are a number of great deals for users of Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system available out there, there is also the current wonders of combining web services with Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint, along with the GPS capabilities on your mobile phone, to make it a must have device while you are on the road.
Because Windows mobile phones rely heavily on search engines for internet navigation, Microsoft is also planning an update to Bing for Mobile in the coming weeks.
While we are impressed, I can tell you that my mobile web browser still has its homepage set as Google. Sorry, Bing.