Jul 22
Since last February, Microsoft has been exciting many smart phone users with the promise of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system. The new platform is dynamic, geared towards social networking and has plenty of new features that are bound to make previous critics of the Windows Mobile OS see MS in a brand new light.
However, in these past couple of days, the excitement for the new OS has turned into apprehension as the developer copies have been shipped out and the initial reactions are quite the opposite of what was originally expected.
In terms of looks and feel, the new OS’ user interface is everything that Microsoft originally demonstrated it to be and a little more. Everything runs smoothly –in fact, some could say that it runs better than the demonstration videos. But there are some crucial factors missing.
These factors are multitasking and “cut and paste”. According to Microsoft, users do not need these features and that adding them in will only sacrifice the handset’s performance.
Anyone who was tried out the Apple iPhone would be quick to say rubbish, and they have every right to do so. When the iPhone OS first launched, multitasking and cut-and-paste were two major features that we not included in the operating system. Users had to demand and beg Apple –which eventually relented; cut and paste came out early, while it took over two years to get multitasking as an available feature.
Microsoft needs to learn from Apple –or at least, Apple’s mistakes. There is not point putting the Windows Phone 7 OS through a similar problem, especially that the industry already knows the possible outcome as well as what the market needs.
With the developer copies of Windows Phone 7 already released, expect to know more about this new OS in the coming days.
Jul 14
Without a doubt, the Windows operating system is the single most successful operating system for desktops and netbooks. With this, Microsoft was able to establish the company as the leader in the computer industry. This is probably why it is such a big deal for MS that after they were trying to do the same with the smart phones, they completely failed.
In fact, they were pretty much behind the with the whole smart phone era. And by the time 3G and WiFi became common place –and smart usability moved from the business clients to the general users, the Windows Mobile OS could not keep up with the new dynamic user interfaces and the inclusion of mass market appealing capabilities such as social networking integration, games and media playback.
According to Steve Ballmer, current CEO of Microsoft, they missed out on an entire generation of smart phone users. They did nail a significant portion of the business industry –managing to take second place to BlackBerry (which is the only spot which is ever going to be open as RIM is completely dominating that field), and MS is still enjoying a moderate degree of success in the smart phone industry.
But with the shift of users leaning more and more towards general users, Microsoft has to face the fact that they need to change the OS.
And thus we have the upcoming Windows Phone 7. The new OS is everything that the older mobile platform is not. It is dynamic, hip, stylish, fresh and fun. It takes away the serious air and complicated controls of the WinMo UI and brings in a new multi-touch capable, intuitive touch screen user interface. It also brings in new features such as Bing search, Zune media and Xbox Live Games as well.
May 20
Hotmail’s free email services has managed to stay in the internet long enough to get a major revamp, and this time will it seems like the integration of Bing on mobile phones will also require a good email service client from Microsoft as well. This is why it is important to be able to provide users with a good email, and while Hotmail is very old, MS has re-launched the service not only with an all new look but also new features.
Brandon LeBlanc, a member of the Microsoft Team, has made a blog post describing some of the new features on the new Hotmail service:
“I absolutely love filters. And the new Hotmail brings filters front and center. Previously, I had Hotmail automatically sorting emails into specific folders – such as emails from social networking services like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. However, I’ve since turned off automatic sorting and am now relying solely on the new Hotmail’s Social updates filter.”
Filters are a great addition to any email service, for those of you who have yet to try it out, this is the one function that allows an email user to instantly access specific types of mail. After all, not all content that one deems unimportant will be sent to the spam bin –there are often subscriptions to various mailing lists or forums, as well as corporate emails that often fill up the main inbox. By making use of filters, mail is sorted in an easy to read and access manner.
This has been further improved with the social filters, which not only auto-filters emails sent from sites such as Facebook, but it also categorizes them according to needs. After all, it makes no sense to have a single Facebook filter that gets instantly spammed by Farmville notifications.
Aside from new filters, Hotmail is also introducing a new document reader that will allow users to instantly view attached documents.
Feb 08
Microsoft announced that they will be showing off the new version of Windows Mobile 6 during the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona, Spain. And while this early release has obviously reduced some of the updates, it looks like it is still a significant update in terms of fixing all the interface problems that plagued the older versions. While MS has yet to explain why the original 6.6 designation has been adjusted to 6.5.3, we will get to see the OS in action in an actual device this Feb.
The biggest problem with the WinMo OS before was its reliance on stylus input. There were plenty of buttons and icons that were too small to be pressed with a finger. Anyone who has tried the old Windows Mobile versions would remember the difficulty of using the media player without the aid of a stylus.
Maldives will support multi touch, gestures and all the other finger input commands that WinMo users have been deprived of (unless you count the HTC HD2 with its Sense user interface).
Anyway, the first mobile phone to be featuring the new WinMo OS will be the Sony Ericsson Aspen. This impressive little Greenheart phone is a business edition device that delivers all your work needs, a little fun factor and a lot of earth loving green engineering. It has yet to be determined if the touch screen on the Aspen is a resistive or capacitive screen, but chances are, it will be a capacitive touch screen to highlight the new features of the OS.
The decision from MS and SE to debut the Maldives on an eco friendly phone is a very smart move as it promotes the concept of fully functional green phones.
For more details and info about Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Maldives, go to Tech Radar.
Dec 15
These are certainly not the best of time for Microsoft in the Mobile section of its business. What the company gains in the gaming segment, it appears to be letting go in the mobile section. If report emanating from Strategic News Service News Letter, authored by Mark Anderson is anything to go by.
According to Anderson, “2010 will be The year of operating system wars. Windows 7 flavors, Mac OS, Android, W7, ironically, by failure of imagination and by its PC –centric platform, actively clears space for others to take over the OS via mobile platforms.”
This does not appear to be the first time reports like this will be coming out, as suggestions have been made in the past about the decline the Redmond based company was facing in the mobile field. The market looks like it is swinging towards the Google Android, pushing the OS to the second position, and Symbian retaining its position of leadership.
The problem the Operating System has presently may not be unconnected with the user interface that has generated issues for the company. This is the area Microsoft has to work on, should it want to regain the market. Already, the signal coming out of the company shows that Microsoft is already making serious statement with the WinMo 6.5 platform. This may well mean that the company is gearing up towards competing favorably in the future.
2010 is very much in sight and Microsoft should know that the ever expanding market continues to offer stiff competition that is going to require more than what it has offered with its present platform. The ball appears to be in their court, and it remains to be seen what other measure it hopes to take to regain the confidence it once enjoy in the market. The Android does not however have problem with its market rating.
Dec 04
Microsoft is determined not to lag behind as far as developing a new generation of mobile operating software is concerned, and with the introduction of Google’s Android, the software giant is striving even harder to improve its mobile operating software to be used in many of the major mobile phones released this season, Windows Mobile 7.0. However, Microsoft is not very keen to give out details about the nature of innovations that are expected to be featured in the newer version of the software. Despite the mystery, a few details of the operating system have been revealed through sources like LinkedIn.
Based on the information collected by LinkedIn Profiles, MSFTKitchen has also come up with a chain of information on Windows 7. Despite the fact that LinkedIn is not one of the most credible sources when it comes to gathering information about Windows mobile platforms, nonetheless, it allows public to gather some particulars which are no where else to be found on the web. However, Chicago Tribune editor Stephen Chapman has unraveled some interesting developments regarding Windows Mobile 7 as well.
One of them being that Motorola is developing an RSS application designed for Windows Mobile 7. Despite the rumors that Motorola had scraped the idea of including the latest Windows platform for mobile devices in its future plans, fact of the matter is that it refused to work with iteration 6.5 as Windows latest sensation is just in the wings.
Further details include the use of Silverlight Prototypes and inclusion of Windows Mobile 7 applications which reiterates the system’s support for the technology. Accessibility of IE 7 for WM7, support for touch gesture, SharePoint’s relationship with Windows Mobile 7 and Mobile Entertainment/Zune division from MS developing a game experience for WM7 include other essentials about the latest platform for mobile devices.
Although details are still coming out, so far it can be safely assumed that WM7 is something more than a mere update to its predecessors, in the words of WMPowerusers, this version promises in “addressing most consumer issues such as browsing, gaming and media access”, while the platform is expected to offer a whole new user interface probably based on Silverlights.
Nov 16
Computer giant, Microsoft has proclaimed that it has synergized a number of enhancements for its marketplace for Mobile site. And this is open for use now for those who run WinMo version 6.5 and above.
Following the reports reaching us from the Windows Marketplace developers, the new enhancements have also included,”…adding more advanced anti-piracy protection and an improved developer portal for registered ISVs (Independent Software Vendor), as well as introducing PC based shopping and account management for Windows phone users.”
What this implies is that users of Windows Mobile 6.5 phones will be able to purchase not only through their phones but also with their desktop from now onwards. This is possible if they visit the Windows Marketplace for Mobile Website.
The security addition are “…transparent for customers, developers will now be able to take advantage of these new protection by following the steps outlined in this anti-piracy whitepaper” according to the developers.
Users of Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.0 not need to wait for long as further upgrades will avail them such benefits before long.
Oct 01
Windows Mobile Operating System
Most PC users know Microsoft Windows. It is one of the most commonly used operating systems all over the world. This is why it comes to no surprise that Microsoft also developed Windows Mobile for mobile devices. This started with pocket PCs due to the growing need to access Microsoft Office applications without the need for a laptop or any other device.
Mobile Office
By allowing users to do their work from their mobile device, the presence of mobile offices was cemented by the presence of Windows mobile. This allowed useful desktop publishing software like Word and Excel to be used on mobile devices. Word documents, spreadsheets and even slide show presentations can be made on the go. Versatility and functionality are the two main reasons why mobile offices are indispensable to the modern office worker.
Quick History
Windows mobile has been in use since April 2000. Originally made for pocket PCs, later incarnations of Windows mobile was made for use with mobile phones, smart phones, media players and on board vehicle computers. The first few functions of Windows mobile included basic Microsoft Office programs, a media player and an electronic book reader. Throughout the years the functions of Windows mobile was extended and enhanced further.
Windows Mobile Today
The latest version of Windows Mobile is version 6.5. This current version supports a great majority of online and networking capabilities, GPS functions, and many others. What people are really looking forward to is the upcoming Windows Mobile version 7.
From the rumors and leaks that are spreading, Microsoft’s new OS will be incorporating some high end touch-based features that incorporate dual touch controls. Aside from that, the change of the interface will be enormous as compared to the slight graphical improvements done until now.
Microsoft has already confirmed some of the rumours that are spreading on the internet. With this new operating system, version 7 is bound to change the way Windows Mobile is seen by the public.
