Windows Mobile 7 Details Leaked?
Posted by Chris Leckness on 01/6/08 in Windows Mobile 7
I can’t comment on the validity of the article, but it does in deed look nice.
Windows Mobile 7 will dramatically change the way we use mobile devices. It will emphasize the use of touch on the device, as well as motion gestures created by using the device. It is, absolutely, Microsoft’s effort to beat back the iPhone, and the iPhone is referenced several times in the document.
Windows Mobile 7 will use touch gestures, similar to how the iPhone does. You will be able to flick through lists, pan, swipe sideway, draw on the screen. A lot of emphasis has been put on making navigation easier and doing away with scrollbars, including a new scroll handle that allows for multiple ways of finding items extremely fast.
Windows Mobile 7 will use motion gestures, something the iPhone does not. It will not use an intricate and complicated series of gyroscopes and accelerometers. Instead, it will use the camera on the phone to detect motions and create appropriate actions. You will be able to shake, twist and otherwise manipulate the phone and get things done. The phone will be able to perform actions when placed face down on a surface, and it will know when it is in your pocket or bag.
Windows Mobile 7 will have an exciting locking screen, that will allow you to play around with it, draw on it, shake it and completely otherwise mess with it.
Windows Mobile 7 will have dramatically improved visuals, different from the iPhone and much more similar to the dark and futuristic visuals of Windows Vista. It will feature graphical transitions, subtle effects, and other things to make it more interesting to look at. This is not detailed in the document, but featured in the multitude of screenshots.
Windows Mobile 7 is designed to use the finger, not the stylus, though many devices will be required to include a stylus. It is designed to be easy to use with the hand, including one-handed, and to be fun to use and easy to understand. It is designed to be used on devices with no buttons, few buttons, lots of buttons, full keyboards, and devices without touch screens.
Windows Mobile 7 is clearly designed for better media playback, with screenshots indicating a much-improved Media Player and photo gallery application. There is talk in the document of a games mode. Mobile Internet Explorer runs full-screen web pages in a minimalistic interface, and has “tabbed” browsing, except you can switch tabs by shaking the phone.
The keyboard has been improved, but plans for a full touch keyboard, a la the iPhone, have been shelved until a future version of Windows Mobile.
Below are my detailed notes. Some of it is raw, some of it is very detailed. It is accompanied by screenshots direct from the document which show off other features planned for Windows Mobile 7.
Read the entire article in more depth at InsideMicrosoft
Driven by the iPhone?
In the last few months, many have shared their displeasure with the Windows Mobile OS. It looks too old, it’s too hard to use, it’s not an iPhone… I have sat back and read all these gripes with a smile. Does everyone really think Microsoft is sitting back twiddling their thumbs. I can’t say for sure, but I doubt it highly. Do you think that the info presented in this post on InsideMicrosoft is driven by the iPhone? Maybe, but I don’t think it’s all driven by competition. These folks at Microsoft are at work right now on stuff we won’t see for 2 years. I don’t think these rumored Windows Mobile 7 developments are a hurried "oh my, look what Apple did" thrown together job.
Anyhow, if you want some nice looking screenshots and a great write up on this rumored OS to come, head over to InsideMicrosoft.
Written by Chris Leckness · Filed Under Windows Mobile 7
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Let me understand this, WM6 Smartphone still does not offer cut and paste, twelve years after it’s original (1996 WinCE 1.0) release date, yet wm7 is going offer all this revolutionary stuff? Right, and I’ve got a nice bridge in Brooklyn for you to buy too………