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Windows Phone 7 Series: An Overview
Yes, it is a dreadfully confusing name for a mobile operating system. The world agrees on that. What seems to be an issue of contention though is what these devices will look and feel like.
Firstly, here is the WP7S promo video from Microsoft :
Why This?
What we can see here is based on the Zune OS. Although not many people will know that because not many people own, or have even seen (myself included) a Microsoft Zune.
Microsoft haemorrhaged cash into developing the Zune to compete with Apple’s iPod and their maiden voyage was a brown (yes – brown, way to score an own goal guys) 40GB model, which was packed full of less than wonderful DRM. This meant that the Zune just wouldn’t play ball with the vast majority of your media collection, be it legal or not. Despite promising that Zune would sync with iTunes, reality proved the device had flaky iTunes support at best.
Anyway, one failing aside leads us to the next – Windows Mobile.
For me personally, I find WM 6.x to be dreadful – ‘it just stinks’. I have seen many a poor consumer be sucked into the so-called iPhone alternative only to be dismayed by the clunky, slow glitchy interface and abysmal app store. At last count there was a paltry 1,200 apps. Compare this to Apples 160,000 or Androids 20,000. Anyone who has attempted to wrap their head around developing for WM6.x will see why – it’s a horrific quagmire of flaky, ‘dot netty’ and downright depressing development tools.
So Microsoft needs something new for mobile phones; and they need to start from scratch.
What Exactly Is It?
Well we only know so much. It certainly looks like the first mobile OS that can challenge the almighty iPhone in terms of slick smooth transitions, however this doesn’t necessarily mean it can challenge in terms of usability. History tells us usability is a whole different ball game. However the ‘brag factor’ is definitely important and WP7S certainly seems to tick this box.
There is a lot of mention of Sliverlight being banded about, this is Microsoft’s sparsely adopted answer to Adobe Flash and allows developers to create flash-like applications using .NET languages like C#. Whether or not the OS’ interface is purely Silverlight is unknown at this point, but it certainly seems that Silverlight will play a big part in app development for this platform.
This is a good thing for Microsoft as one thing they don’t do well is making development environments for slick interfaces (Xbox 360 notwithstanding).The thought of trying to reproduce an interface like that in the promo video using a minced down version of the Windows GDI makes me physically shudder. Silverlight could actually go a long way to solve this.
What Will it Look Like?
This is where Microsoft are actually beginning to act sensibly. The days of Microsoft selling their mobile OS to anybody, for any device to do whatever the heck they like are gone - and good riddance. Too many WM6.x devices have been butchered by device manufacturers and mobile carriers in a futile attempt to make their product stand out or function anything like a modern Smartphone. Microsoft have set out strict rules for the three form factors that any manufacturer wishing to bear the new OS must adhere to:
-Large touch screen
-Expect to see tweaked versions of the HTC HD2 here
-Minimum 4-point multi touch capable
-Slide-out keyboard
-Apparently Ballmer refuses to admit this is unnecessary and many manufacturers still build phones in this form factor.
-Candy-Bar
-Stuff like Samsung slide phones and more traditional layouts.
First in the internal requirements is speed, only systems with at least 1ghz ARM chips such as the snapdragon and a dedicated GPU need apply. Next is interface – 4 point capacitive touch screen is a must and a ‘Bing’ button is also mandatory. Also, screens must be of high quality and must sport a high resolution. Required Accessory features are GPS, 5MP camera, accelerometer and oddly enough an FM radio.
First Impressions
I certainly welcome this OS. I think it’s high time somebody pushed a realistic alternative to the iPhone into the limelight. Many speculated Android would fill this position, but because of Google’s reluctance to enforce anything on users or makers of Android devices it just doesn’t carry the cleanness that an iPhone competing device needs. Microsoft could very well have the next generation of smart phone here. Lets just hope developers like ourselves aren’t banging our heads off walls to make software for it.
Waracle create software applications for the web and mobile. With a dedicated team of highly skilled developers, Waracle are committed to the creation of high quality mobile applications for iPhone, Google Android and Windows Mobile. If you would like to develop a mobile application to enhance your brand, engage users or drive revenue, please contact Waracle directly today on (01382) 529528
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