Microsoft has been losing ground in the smartphone market for some time. Faced with game-changing advancements from Apple and Google in the last two years, the software giant has needed to do something entirely different with their mobile OS to become competitive again.
To that end, today Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7 Series, a redesign and rebranding of Windows Mobile.
The Windows Mobile 7 UI has been radically altered throughout the OS. The new interface is Zune inspired and filled with high-contrast, customizable tiles (seen left) that slide and move around the screen. The tiles can represent alerts (new email, text messages), applications, feeds from social networks, contacts, etc.
There are no more tiny drop-down menus that are frustratingly difficult to tap. Everything has been enlarged for easy finger selection.
Multi-touch is now part of the OS out of the box, offering better views and control of maps, photos, web pages, etc. The web browser has been replaced with a new, IE-based application, and includes a new font-rendering technology known as “pixel positioning”.
Hubs is a new feature of the OS designed to “integrate experiences.” What does that mean? Well, it’s basically a way to aggregate data for mobile display and utility. The “People” Hub, for example, displays contacts, contacts information and social networking updates. The “Pictures” Hub brings recently synced photos, new photos your contacts have uploaded to photo sharing or networking sites, and the ability to upload new photos taken on the handset, all in one place. The Office Hub gives you access to documents stored on the device and in the cloud.
Media playback has also been redesigned with a clear Zune-esque look and feel. Pandora Internet Radio integration is also included. New Windows Phones will apparently sync with a PC via the Zune software.
And what about the hardware? Microsoft has introduced a new set of hardware requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series handsets, including minimum screen sizes and resolutions, CPU performance, and memory. Windows Phone 7 hardware will include three main hardware button controls (seen above ). Following its established partner model, Series 7 Windows Phones will be available from several manufacturers with a range of form factors. Smartphones running the new OS will be released by HTC, LG, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony Ericsson and Dell (yep, Dell), and the four major U.S. wireless carriers are also onboard.
Smartphones running Windows Mobile 7 – Windows Phone 7 Series – will be available at the end of the year, Q4 2010.
Learn more at the Pocket PC Central Windows Mobile 7 Brief, or view a demo at http://www.windowsphone7series.com/