TheWindowsPhone

Microsoft and Sharp to Launch Pink Phones in April?

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:39:08 +0000

Microsoft and Sharp appear set to launch their combined effort at lower-end, teen/20-something targeted phones known as Pink phones, possibly as early as this April.

Gizmodo recently reported that two of these Sharp-made and possibly Microsoft-branded phones, codenamed “Pure” and “Lion”have hit the FCC. Considering the recent re-branding of Windows Mobile 6.5-based Windows Phones to “Windows Phone Classic Edition”, I think it is likely that these will be the first Windows Phone Classic Edition devices we see.

One of Mary Jo’s readers who says he’s looked at the files on these devices says:

“Pure and Lion are the higher end devices for these right now. HVGA display, CE OS6, Silverlight, and Brand new. I am looking at 561 *.dll files that make up the 100MB ROM. A lot of center around Zune in the Registry.

“Looks like Home screen has different feeds,” the reader said. The Pink devices “will be provided with firmware updates OTA (over the air.”

Mary Jo wrote a great piece outlining the pros and cons of Microsoft launching a branded phone of their own – you should check it out.

The Old – uh, I mean “Classic” Windows Mobile

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:08:38 +0000

For those of you unlucky enough to have to buy a Windows Phone between now and Christmas, take heart! You’ll no longer be buying Windows Mobile devices, but rather Windows Phone Classic Edition. According to istartedsomething blogger Long Zheng, these Windows Phone Classic Edition devices will still keep coming as low-end devices for another year or two, well into Windows Phone 7’s run.

Good or bad idea? Considering Microsoft’s push to control the user experience, this seems destined to confuse smartpone newbies, but as long as HTC and Spb are there to provide decent shells… hey, why not! Microsoft has long been known for too many versions of absolutely every product they make, so why should Windows Phones be any different?

[via]

Every .Net developer just became a Windows Phone developer

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:46:50 +0000

In a recent blog post, Mary Jo Foley talks about Microsoft’s plans for Windows Phone developer environments, and concludes that we’re looking at a mix of Silverlight and .Net, with Visual Studio 10 tying it all together.

Mary Jo quotes her anonymous Microsoft insider as saying:

“The dev platform is Silverlight 3, plus elements of 4, using Blend and a Visual Studio add-in. The kicker is that while it is XAML-like, it is not pure XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language). This is actually OK, as it keeps the footprint nice and small.

“In theory you can make an entire app inside of Blend, but I think you will need Visual Studio to hook it all together in C#. In the war vs. Apple for apps, every .NET developer just became a Phone developer.”

This is a clever strategy. I haven’t touched a programming language in ages, and even I can pump something out in Visual Studio. In Microsoft’s race for apps (100K in Apple’s store vs. 1,245 in the Marketplace), this could be a key advantage for Microsoft.

Backwards compatibility

Microsoft has also yet to announce whether Windows Phone 7 Series will support apps written for 6.x. Clearly some UI changes will be necessary, but will the code run? Will there be some kind of compatibility mode? Expect to hear more about this at Mix 10.

Windows Phone 7 Series to Feature 3 Different Chassis Designs?

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:55:56 +0000

Last year some smartphone specs were leaked out of Microsoft that many guessed were Microsoft’s Project Pink Chassis: a.k.a. the magical Zune Phone. Well Mary Jo Foley over at ZDnet seems to think that this Chassis was actually part of an evolving discussion at Microsoft on how to lock down their phone ecosystem so that they had fewer hardware partners that were required to adhere to much stricter specifications.

On a recent “Frankly Speaking” podcast (feb 20) the Microsoft Australia Developer Evangelist hosts Michael Kordahi and Andrew Coates discuss the three different chassis that will be available for Windows Phone 7 Series devices. Chassis 1, which was the one in circulation already, was for big, touchscreen-only devices with 1GHz processors a-la HTC HD2.

Chassis 2 phones will feature hardware keyboads – either Palm Treo-esque or of the sliding QWERTY variety – and touchscreens. Then there was Chassis 3, which they guessed might be candybar form factor.

They suggested that Chassis 1 devices would be the first out of the gates around Christmas, but offered no details on when the Chassis 2 and 3 devices might be available. We’ve already seen a prototype of the LG “Chassis 2” type design, with a sliding QWERY keyboard, so maybe we’ll see more than just Chassis 1 devices at Christmas?

The sheer variety of hardware devices available will certainly be one of the main advantages of Windows Phone 7. By locking in some rigorous hardware requirements for partners and OEM manufacturers Microsoft can ensure a consistent user experience across a broad spectrum of devices.

Goodbye Windows Mobile, Hello Windows Phone 7 Series

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:17:28 +0000

Microsoft officially launched Windows Phone 7 Series (previously referred to as Windows Mobile 7, Windows Phone 7, or even Photon) on Monday, dropping the gauntlet on what will shape up to be a mighty mobile battle come Christmas.

A whole new OS

Windows Phone 7 Series Phones, as the new devices will be officially known (yikes), will be a complete departure from the Windows Mobile devices we are all familiar with and feature a brand-new, possibly revolutionary UI. The Start menu? Gone. Touch elements designed for six-year-old fingers? Gone. In fact, Microsoft’s new OS is aiming to change the mobile phone paradigm by shifting away from an app-centric model to an experience or task-based system that groups your personal data, social networking streams, location-based services, and media sources into what Microsoft calls ‘hubs’ (more later)

Reflecting their determination to re-define the relationship between end-user and their phone, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced at the Barcelona 2010 Mobile World Congress:

“In a crowded market, filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 marks a turning point toward phones that truly relfect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences.”

Joe Belfiore, vice president of Windows Phone, said it was time to stop thinking about mobile phones like PCs:

“A phone is not a PC, it’s a smaller, more intimate device,” he said. “Too many phones are made to look like PCs. We wanted to come up with a user design that was different, that moved beyond the metaphor of the PC.”

Live Tiles

This ain’t your daddy’s Windows Phone. Microsoft has taken advantage of the fact that it is so late with this product to properly think out how people use their mobile devices. They have no doubt heard for years now about how un-finger-friendly Windows Mobile is and how counter-intuitive it can seem compared to its competition. They’ve seen people complain about icon overload and the app-to-app routine on the iPhone (one app for Facebook, one app for twittering, one app for YouTube, etc); The result? Live Tiles.

The new home screen on WP7 devices will consist of several vertically-scrollable live tiles. The main screen shows 5 live tiles: Internet Explorer, Phone, Text, People. Each of these boxes is “live” and auto-updates with real-time information from all of your various info sources. So when your friend updates his Facebook page, that update shows on the Friends tile. If you miss a phone call, the Phone tile updates to show the number of missed calls, and your most recent photos fade in and out in the Pictures tile.

Hubs

Clicking on any of these main live tiles will bring up the corresponding Hub. There are a bunch of default hubs that will ship with WP7: People, Games, Xbox Live, Pictures, Music & Video (with support for more than just Zune accounts), Zune, Office (with support for multiple exchange accounts), and of course the Marketplace. These hubs pull in data from all of your various sources and present it in a task-oriented manner, rather than using a separate app for each service you use.

For example, the above pic shows the People hub. The first screen you will see when you click on the People tile is the ‘Recent’ screen. Scrolling right will give you all of your peeps, scrolling right again will show you the What’s New tab, which lists all of your friends’ most recent social media updates,

Similarly, when you tap on the Music and Video tile, up pops the Zune menu. Scrolling to the right brings up your History, continuing to scroll brings up the “What’s New” tab, and then Apps that are music or video related. Hubs create an easy way to browse all of your data – both on-device and online – by topic or experience. Very cool.

X-Box and Zune Integration

While Microsoft’s mobile lately may have missed the mark, they have had remarkable success with their X-Box and Zune line. The X-Box model has been a decade in the making and Microsoft has earned a very respectable share of a competitive market – something it needs to do with WP7. The Zune HD was released last year to terrific reviews and great critical, if not commercial, success.

Microsoft is finally taking advantage of these successful platforms and fully integrating X-Box Live and Zune with Windows Phone 7 Series devices. Mobile gaming might be limited initially, but expect this to be a major component and battle ground in the coming year or two, and Microsoft (for once) has a clear advantage over rivals like Palm and Apple here.

As for Zune integration, you can almost thank the Zune for the new UI. Internally at Microsoft, the UI for the Zune HD was referred to as Metro; the same name they use to discuss the Windows Phone 7 Series interface. Beyond that, expect to see complete integration with the Zune service and any Zunes you might have lying around.

Manufacturers and Carriers

Just as with Windows Mobile, Microsoft has lined up a top-notch list of manufactures who are eager to start putting out Windows Phone 7 Series devices. The list includes longtime Windows Mobile supporters HTC, LG, Samsung and Toshiba, as well as Garmin-Asus, on-the-fence Sony Ericsson, and even Dell.

Unlike with Windows Mobile, however, and this is absolutely critical, Microsoft has imposed a Chassis requirement for all WP7 devices. This means that all WP7 phones will need have a minimum hardware spec that – so far – includes several mandatory hardware buttons (home, search and back), CPU and screen size/resolution requirements, plus an accelerometer, GPS, camera and other goodies.

This Chassis system should help maintain a good user experience and avoid manufacturers putting out shoddy hardware that gives Windows Phone 7 devices a bad rap.

Carriers will include all of the Big Four US carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon – as well as Deutsche Telekom, Orange, SFR, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telstra, and Vodafone. Rogers and Telus haven’t made any comment yet.

WP7: Do or Die for Microsoft

By most accounts, it’s do or die time for Microsoft. For whatever reason, most likely because they simply underestimated the growth of the smartphone/mobile market, Microsoft hasn’t taken the mobile space very seriously for the past four or five years… despite being one of the first out of the gate.

By the time the first Windows Phone 7 Series device hits the market, we’ll be looking at a new iPhone, a new version of Google’s Android, and an updated webOS from Palm… very serious competition for Windows Phones. If Microsoft blunders, they might just miss the last train out of the desktop station.

Synchronize your Twitter Account with TWP Profile

dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:01:40 +0000

I’ve just installed tweetstream, a cool plugin for BuddyPress that synchronizes your Twitter account with your TheWindowsPhone activity stream. If you’re an industry insider or just tweet a lot about Windows Phones and the mobile space, consider enabling this feature on your profile to keep TWP readers up to date. It will add your tweets to the TWP activity stream, too, exposing your tweets to the whole community!

To synchronize your Twitter account with your TWP Activity stream:

Under the “My Account” menu item on TheWindowsPhone bar at the top of the site, click on “Settings”
Click on “Tweetstream” on the sub-menu
Click on Authorize With Twitter (this takes you to the Twitter website)
Enter your Twitter username and password and click “Allow”
That’s it!

The browser should redirect you back to the Tweetstream settings, where you can configure the following options:

Delete tweet from twitter when deleted in activity.
Always check checkbox “To twitter”
Synchronize tweets to my activity
Import tweets containing @names
Add my profile link after my tweet

There is now an option to filter “good” and “bad” words. In other words, any tweets with “good” words will be posted to your Activity stream, tweets with “bad” words won’t.

I’m using #twpcommunity as a twitter hashtag for all things TheWindowsPhone. Tweet away!

Mac Support for Windows Phone 7 Series: “Maybe”

dave — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:42:15 +0000

Speaking on the Engadget Show, Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman – the guy who brought us the LG Windows Phone 7 Series prototype from my earlier post – also couldn’t commit to supporting the Mac OS. Since the new WP7S devices will use the Zune client, it makes it tricky having to install it on Macs, where iTunes rules the universe. According to Woodman, there are “ongoing discussions” inside of Microsoft about this one.

[via]

HTC HD2 Seen Running Windows Phone 7

dave — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:07:11 +0000

This pic obtained from WinMo.nl shows an HTC HD2 running Windows Phone 7 Series. This is terrific news for a couple reasons.

First, it suggests that HTC may be looking to release a Windows Phone 7 Series update for their more recent devices.

More interestingly, however, is that it seems to show that Windows Phone 7 Series can run on current hardware, making it likely we’ll start to see Windows Phone 7 Series ROMs popping up on the forums!

It will be really interesting to see how Microsoft handles the next 8 months of anticipation – will we see leak after leak of Windows Phone 7? Leaving nothing to surprise us when it officially launches at Christmas? Or will they keep a tight lid on it until the drop date? Beta testers are notoriously unreliable…

[via]

LG Windows Phone 7 Series Prototype: First Windows Phone 7 Device

dave — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:00:08 +0000

During a recent taping of the Engadget Show, Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman pulled out a pre-production prototype of LG’s Windows Phone 7 Series device – the first real Windows Phone 7 device we’ve seen so far!

This nice-looking QWERTY slider is pretty attractive: just a little thicker than an iPhone, it has the mandatory Search, Home and Back buttons plus dedicated camera (appears to be 5mp with flash), volume and power buttons.

Here we go! The slider is my favorite form factor, so I’m excited to see this! Check out some more pics after the jump, the whole slidshow over at Engadget, or watcg this Engadget video:

Sony Ericsson Aspen Announced, Runs WinMo 6.5.3

dave — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:08:39 +0000

Last week Sony Ericsson officially unveiled the new SE Aspen, a front-facing QWERTY touchscreen device that had been seen around as the SE “Faith” in previous posts.

No word on pricing, when, or where we might see this device pop up, only that it will be available in “Iconic Black” or “White Silver”, and that it will be featuring the latest official release of Windows Mobile, version 6.5.3. Here’s the full specs round-up:

Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional.
Tri-band HSPA (850/900/1200) and quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900), which means you can rock this guy on AT&T’s 3G, if you can get ahold of one.
Size: 117×60x12.45mm
Weight: 130 grams.
2.4-inch touchscreen at 240×320 (QVGA)
3.2MP camera with 4x digital zoom.
Bluetooth with A2DP
3.5mm headphone jack
aGPS
MicroUSB for sync and charge.
WiFi
4GB MicroSD card (supports up to 16GB)
SPB Mobile Shell, Traveler and Weather are all built in.
Talk time rate at up to 10 hours/standby time at 450 hours on EDGE.

For a video and the full press release, click after the jump!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0HuwS3UIgQ" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Latest addition to GreenHeart™ portfolio now allows consumers and companies to make a green choice on their Windows Phone

Office at your fingertips with the latest version of Windows Phone

Maximised message experience with QWERTY keyboard and finger friendly touch

Have fun with Media Browser and PlayNow™

February 2, London, UK – Today sees the announcement of Sony Ericsson Aspen™, the business mobile phone with green credentials at its core. The newest edition to the successful Sony Ericsson GreenHeart™ portfolio, Sony Ericsson Aspen™, allows easy multi-tasking combining the touch experience and a real QWERTY keyboard. Organise and adapt panels to change during the day and use Slide View for quick access to common features.

With Sony Ericsson Aspen™, view and edit office files easily and comfortably with one touch operation, or just access the internet in one click. The QWERTY keyboard is made for fast and easy typing. Simple email set up allows for a maximized messaging experience on the go. Secure the phone’s contents through the Microsoft MyPhone service, which remotely erases phone data when the handset is lost or stolen.

“Sony Ericsson Aspen™ is the business phone with a conscience, perfect for any consumer or company who want to make a green choice in their daily work life.” Said Quentin Cordier, Global Marketing Manager, Sony Ericsson. “An affordable GreenHeart™ phone with the latest version of Windows Phone, the Sony Ericsson Aspen™ has a rich user interface and powerful productivity tools. But it’s not all about work, stay in touch with the fun parts of life with Media Browser and PlayNow ™, with simple access to social networks and quick and easy access to media files. Find the fun with a-GPS, Google Maps™ and snap pictures with the 3.2megapixel camera.”

Sony Ericsson Aspen™

Modern office at your fingertips – latest version of Windows Phone
Easy multi-tasking – Sony Ericsson Slide View and customisable panels
Maximised message experience – QWERTY keyboard and finger friendly touch experience
GreenHeart™ – for a greener choice
Stay in touch with the fun parts of life – access fun applications at PlayNow™ such as games and new music
Media browser – access music, photos and videos
Social network tool (Windows Live™ Messenger, Facebook™)
Human curvature design – fits into the palm of the hand

Sony Ericsson Aspen™ supports HSPA 900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA 850/900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

Sony Ericsson Aspen™ will be available in selected markets from Q2 in the colours Iconic Black and White Silver.

Create your own phone booth with optional extra Bluetooth™ Noise Shield Handsfree VH700 and charge your phone the eco-friendly way with the Energy Saving Mini-Charger EP800.

Log on to The Sony Ericsson Product Blog for more information: http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products

Sony Ericsson Aspen™

Camera

3.2 megapixel camera
4x digital zoom
Multishot
Self timer
Smart contrast

Music

Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
Equalizer
Sony Ericsson media player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow™
Stereo speakers
Windows Media® Player Mobile

Web

Bookmarks
Google™ search
Internet Explorer® Mobile
Pan & zoom
Web feeds

Voice

Polyphonic ringtones
Speakerphone
Vibrating alert

Messaging

Email
Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®
Handwriting recognition
Instant messaging
Picture messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Text messaging (SMS)

Design

Auto rotate
Media browser
Picture wallpaper
Full keyboard
Touchscreen
Wallpaper animation
Windows Phone®

Entertainment

3D games
Facebook™
FM radio with RDS
Java™
Skype™
Video streaming
Video viewing
YouTube™

Organiser

Adobe® PDF Reader
Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Flight mode
Microsoft Office® Mobile
Notes
Outlook® Mobile
Phone book
Stopwatch
Tasks

Connectivity

3.5 mm audio jack
A-GPS
Bluetooth™ technology
Google Maps™
Micro USB connector
Modem
Synchronisation
USB mass storage support
USB support
Wi-Fi™

Applications and panels

SPB Mobile Shell 3.0 (Professional)
SPB Mobile Shell 3.0 (Lifestyle)
SEMC Greenheart Panel
Microsoft Today
Facebook™
Panel Manager
SlideView
Google Maps Latitude
Google Mobile Application
Send My Location
Unified Search Application
SPB Traveler and Weather combo
Skype
YouTube™ panel
Communication City/Day
Communication City/Night
CNN
On-The-Road Panel
Windows® Live
Twitter
Gokivo Weather Panel
Eco mate application

GreenHeart™ indentity

GreenHeart™ panel
Power saving mode
Eco mate application
E-manual
Waterborne painting
Recycle materials (Green charger, Green PHF, Green Box.

Screen

65,536 colour TFT
2.4 inches
240 x 320 pixels (QVGA)

Accessories

In-Box:
Sony Ericsson Aspen™
Battery
Green charger
HPM-60J GreenHeart™ Stereo portable handsfree
3.5mm jack
Micro USB cable
E-manual

Optional:
Bluetooth™ Noise Shield Handsfree VH700
Dual connect charger
4GB MicroSD card
Car charger

Facts

Size: 117 x 60 x 12.45 mm
Weight: 130 grams

Memory card support: SanDisk microSD™, up to 16 GB

Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.5.3

Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 10 hours
Standby time: GSM/GPRS: Up to 450hrs

Talk time UMTS: Up to 8 hours
Standby time: UMTS: Up to 600 hrsMusic listening time: Up to 12hrs

Availability and versions

Networks

UMTS HSPA 900/2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

UMTS HSPA 850/900/2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

Available in selected markets in Q2 2010

Colour

Iconic Black
White Silver