Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft may be late to the game with a consumer-savvy phone OS, but Windows Phone 7 is aiming to do right a lot of what Google is doing wrong. Based on what I saw during a visit to Microsoft’s headquarters two weeks ago, the Windows Phone 7 team may be on the right track to pose a serious threat to Google.

The crucial part of Microsoft’s new phone strategy is the quality control it imposes onto its hardware partners. Rather than code an operating system and allow manufacturers to do whatever they want with it — like Google is doing with Android — Microsoft is requiring hardware partners to meet a rigid criteria in order to run Windows Phone 7.

Each device must feature three standard hardware buttons, for example, and before they can ship with Windows Phone 7, they have to pass a series of tests directed by Microsoft. (As I mentioned in a feature story about Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has created new lab facilities containing robots and automated programs to test each handset to ensure that features work properly and consistently across multiple devices.)

The effort to control quality and consistency may be just what Microsoft needs to regain some ground in the phone battle. In the wake of the iPhone revolution, Windows Mobile saw a serious decline in market share; the computer-ey, feature-loaded interface just didn’t cut it anymore. Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s complete do-over on a mobile operating system, with a slick new tile-based UI. The first Windows Phone 7 handsets are due in stores November.

With brand new test facilities, Microsoft is taking on the duty of ensuring that touchscreens and sensors are calibrated properly, for example, and each hardware model undergoes software stress tests to catch bugs and system errors (see picture above). The end result should be getting very close to the same OS on smartphones made by different manufacturers. That in turn could mitigate the issue of fragmentation for third-party developers: They can effectively code the same app for a large party of devices without much tweaking.

By contrast, Google doesn’t subject manufacturers to similar testing criteria. And we’re seeing the consequences: Some touchscreens work better than others, some apps don’t work on one version of Android while they do on another, and some manufacturers are even cramming bloatware onto Android devices.

Most importantly, a consistent user experience will help customers understand what they’re getting when they’re shopping for a Windows phone.

The OS is going to be the same with identical features on every handset, so as a consumer, your decision-making will boil down to the hardware’s look, weight and size. Compare that to the experience of buying an Android phone, which could be running a different version depending on the handset you buy: Donut, Eclair, Froyo, blueberry pie, Neapolitan or whatever Google chooses to call it eventually. You won’t have to ask yourself, “Am I going to get X on this phone or do I have to get another one?” because they’re all running the same OS with a few variations in hardware.

The inevitable question that arises is what Windows Phone 7 means as a competitor to iOS. It’s tough to say.

I haven’t spent quite enough time with a final version of a Windows Phone 7 device yet. Still, I think the Phone 7 user interface is refreshingly different compared to the siloed-app experience of iOS. But Apple is so far ahead in terms of cultivating a rich mobile ecosystem that I don’t think Steve Jobs needs to be sweating just yet.

Google, though, needs to get Android’s story together, because the fickle platform gets more confusing and convoluted every day, and it could have the same destiny as Windows Mobile.

Brian X. Chen is author of an upcoming book about the always-connected mobile future titled Always On, due for publication in spring 2011. To keep up with his coverage on Wired.com, follow @bxchen or @gadgetlab.

Photo: Mike Kane/Wired.com

If you want to hop on the Windows Phone 7 bandwagon, you won’t lack for handset choices, promises Microsoft. As part of its launch of the Windows Phone 7 operating system, Microsoft has partnered with most of the major telecom carriers and handset makers to create new phones for the OS.

So far, nine phones running Windows Phone 7 OS have been announced. These include the HTC Surround, Samsung Focus, LG Quantum, HTC HD7, Dell Venue Pro, LG Optimus 7, HTC Mozard, Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC Trophy.

One thing remains common across all these devices. They all include a 1-GHz processor, 256 MB of RAM with a minimum of 4 GB flash memory, a capacitive touchscreen and five sensors: assisted GPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity and light sensors.

That’s by design, says Microsoft, because it wanted to give users an OS experience that would be similar, no matter which phone they bought.

Gadget Lab writer Tim Carmody got a quick hands-on with some of these devices, and he says Windows Phone 7 devices are “probably somewhere in between the iPhone and Android in terms of customization possibility.”

In the U.S., AT&T and T-Mobile have said they will offer Windows Phone 7 devices in time for the holiday season. Verizon Wireless, probably burned by its experiment with the Microsoft Kin phones, is missing from the list for now but Microsoft says Verizon will introduce Phone 7 devices soon.

So far, only AT&T has announced pricing for its Phone 7 handsets–they will cost $200 with a two-year contract on AT&T.

Read on to see the list of phones that will be offered by each carrier worldwide. Check out our handy comparison chart to see the key features of each phone.

In North America:

• AT&T: HTC Surround, Samsung Focus and LG Quantum.
• T-Mobile USA: HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro.
• Telus: HTC Surround and LG Optimus 7.
• América Móvil: LG Optimus 7.

In Europe:

• O2: HTC HD7.
• Orange: HTC Mozart and Samsung Omnia 7.
• SFR: HTC Trophy and Samsung Omnia 7.
• Movistar: LG Optimus 7, Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC HD7.
• Deutsche Telekom: HTC Mozart and Samsung Omnia 7.
• Vodafone: HTC Trophy and LG Optimus 7.

In Asia Pacific:

• SingTel: HTC HD 7 and LG Optimus 7.
• Telstra: HTC Mozart and LG Optimus 7.
• Vodafone: HTC Trophy.

Windows Phone 7 Handsets:

Photo by Mike Kane/Wired.com

Running through some of Windows Phone 7‘s first games and apps, it’s hard not to be impressed. Twitter looks and feels fantastic, and you have to check out this ridiculous 3D tower defense game, Bye Bye Brain. Update: More apps! More »

With thousands of developers churning out thousands of apps, we’ve no doubt exploring the Marketplace is going to be a full-time job for at least a day or two after you nab your Windows Phone 7 device this fall — but with all the hullabaloo today, we thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight a few that Microsoft and its partners have been talking about recently. Dig in!

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup

Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NEW YORK — Microsoft on Monday unveiled details on the first phones running its brand new Windows Phone 7 operating system, the software giant’s answer to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile platforms.

The phone will be available on AT&T (who co-hosted the event) and T-Mobile networks stateside beginning Nov. 8, with handsets from HTC, LG, Dell and Samsung.

“We have a beautiful lineup in this first wave of Windows Phone 7 handsets,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience — one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a ‘glance and go’ format.”

Windows Phone 7 is a complete overhaul of Windows Mobile, which with Nokia, Blackberry and Palm had dominated smartphones before Apple and Google entered the market beginning just three years ago. Windows Mobile currently has just 5 percent of the global smartphone market, down from 9 percent only a year ago, according to Gartner Research. Worldwide, Android has already shot up to 17 percent, Apple to 14 percent, with Nokia/Symbian and RIM/BlackBerry leading with 41 and 18 percent respectively.

From the user’s point of view, the most significant innovation of Windows Phone 7 will probably be the UI design, organized around what Microsoft calls “Hubs.” Instead of a flat screen offering a grid of applications, services will be grouped in tiles according to the tasks they perform. For example, “Music” might include an onboard Zune-like media player, but also streaming services like Slacker Radio. Each hub prioritizes recent or favorite files or apps and will be able to integrate with social, sharing and streaming services in the cloud.

The primary hubs for Phone 7 will be People (with integrated contacts, phone and text messaging, and social networking), Pictures (including photos on phone, but also on Windows Live, Office (OneNote, Word and Excel Documents, SharePoint), Music/Video (Microsoft’s Zune and subscription service ZunePass, iHeartRadio, and Slacker Radio), Games (multiplayer gaming with Xbox Live).

Many of these services will be built in to the OS or pre-packaged by the hardware manufacturers, but third-party applications will be also be available for distribution through Microsoft’s app store. These applications will be able to use WP7’s built-in location and communication services.

“Thousands of applications are being developed right now,” said Microsoft developer Joe Belfiore. “Our goal is to work with our partners so their apps have elegant coexistence with what’s already on the device.” Belfiore demonstrated apps from eBay, IMDB, AT&T’s UVerse Mobile, but did not announce the number of apps available at launch or details about an app marketplace.

Microsoft is also trying a new approach to smartphone hardware. While Apple and Blackberry have designed devices tightly built around their own software, and Android has generally allowed hardware OEMs to put the OS on whatever device they wish, Microsoft has taken a hybrid approach, specifying standards for their hardware partners to meet in order to carry Windows Phone 7. These include three specific buttons – a menu/home button with a Windows logo, a back button, and search, plus other processor and screen resolution requirements.

The initial group of WP7 phones on AT&T are the HTC Surround, the LG Quantum, and the Samsung Focus. All three feature a 1-GHz processor, Wi-Fi, a 5-MP camera with 720-MP video, and each will cost $199.99 with a new contract. The HTC Surround is game- and media-focused, with a 3.5-inch screen, 16-GB storage, two Dolby Surround speakers and a kickstand to prop the device up on a flat surface. Samsung’s Focus offers the most screen real estate, with a 4-inch 800×480 Super AMOLED WVGA touchscreen, but only 8 GB of storage. The LG Quantum is optimized for text entry, with a 3.5-inch screen, 16 GB of storage and a slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard.

Like Apple and Android (and Microsoft’s desktop software long before that), Microsoft has also designed Windows Phone 7 to complement other devices and services in the Windows ecosystem. It offers cloud syncing from the phone to the desktop through WindowsPhone.com, tight integration with Windows Live’s cloud-based office, storage, contacts/calendar, e-mail/instant messaging, file-sharing and media-management services, and gaming downloads and social networking through Xbox Live.

The most thorough integration, though, may be with Bing, Microsoft’s search engine. Every WP7 phone will have a search button that will connect with Bing to search web results, maps, directions, media or shopping. Bing’s search results will in turn be closely tied to the sharing and communication services on the devices. The mobile front-end client for Bing was smooth and versatile, but some may note that Microsoft did not show or announce the possibility of using another search backend as the default.

The other major worry about WP7 was the lack of copy and paste at launch, which Belfiore confirmed. However, he promised that a free update adding copy and paste would be pushed to all WP7 devices in early 2011.

The two major emphases I see in Windows Phone 7 are the integrated social networking and cloud services and the push towards casual gaming. EA’s The Sims 3 for Windows Mobile is a terrific example of the confluence of those two. Just as with the Xbox and Kinect, the development of Xbox Live for mobile has taken strong cues in look and feel from both Nintendo’s Wii and the success of iOS in casual gaming for all ages. There’s very little here that’s directed for the Xbox 360’s hard-core gamers, but there’s plenty here for people who love to play games and share media with their friends.

Microsoft’s hope is that these features will differentiate Windows Phone 7 devices from the rest of the market. Users already engaged with Microsoft devices and software, from the Windows 7 desktop OS and MS Office to the Xbox or Zune, will benefit the most from their integration on the smartphone. Others may find Phone 7’s interface and its reorganization of applications and services more intuitive or appealing.

It’s a beautiful interface, competitively priced and extremely well-integrated with Microsoft’s other core products. The irony is that two of these core products – Office and the Xbox – have been largely separate until now. Users may just have a difficult time deciding whether it’s a phone for business or pleasure – or whether Microsoft can succeed in trying to do both at the same time on one device.

Photo: Tim Carmody/ Wired.com