Hasta La Gadget!

A new video from Engadget briefly shows off the first prototype Windows Phone 7 Series device from LG. The device is a QWERTY slider with Windows-Phone-7-Series-dictated Back, Windows, and Search buttons below its touch screen.

No firm specs were gleaned from model, but it did have a 5-megapixel camera and dedicated buttons for camera, volume, and power on the sides. Windows Phone 7 Series is slated for “holiday season 2010,” but we’re sure to see plenty more Windows Phone prototypes and models before that time.

Even the newest and fastest Windows phones won’t be upgradable to Microsoft’s next-generation mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 Series, when it lands later this year.

Natasha Kwan, general manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business in the Asia-Pacific region, told APC Mag that current phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 OS will receive incremental upgrades, but they can’t be upgraded to Windows Phone 7 Series because they don’t meet the hardware criteria that Microsoft has mandated for phones running the new OS.

That will inevitably lead to some buyers’ remorse for current Windows Mobile users, such as those who just bought the brand new HTC HD2. The HD2 meets most of the hardware criteria that Microsoft is mandating for Windows 7 Series phones: It includes a 1-GHz Qualcomm processor, a high-res capacitive touch display, a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.5-mm headphone jack. However, the phone is being ruled out because it has five buttons rather than the three buttons mandated for all Windows Phone 7 Series devices.

Microsoft last month introduced Windows Phone 7 Series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. To address the issue of fragmentation — a complex hardware ecosystem that requires developers to code several versions of one app to sell on one platform for different types of phones — Microsoft is working more closely with manufacturing partners in the design process of their hardware. Microsoft has been vague about exactly what the required specifications would be for Windows 7 Series phones.

Later, Microsoft Australia developer evangelist said in a podcast that Microsoft has drawn up three “chassis” for standard specifications that three different types of Windows Phone 7 Series will have to meet. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley explained that Chassi 1 will be for “big touchscreen phones,” Chassi 2 will be for handsets with sliding keyboards and Chassis 3 will be for candybar-style phones.

Long story short, the bad news is current Windows Mobile users won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 Series. The good news is it appears Windows phone developers will be able to code apps for three different types of phones — as opposed to making apps for all sorts of different handsets from various manufacturers, like they had to do with Windows Mobile 6.5. Ideally, the new implementation of three standard chassis should spell out to easier development, and thus more Windows Phone 7 Series apps for users.

Microsoft will be disclosing full details on development tools for Windows Phone 7 Series at its MIX developer conference this month.

See Also:

• Microsoft Blends Zune Media, Xbox Live Into New Phone OS
• Microsoft’s Challenge With Windows Phone 7 Is Wooing Developers …
• Hands-On With Windows Phone 7 Series
• No Flash On Windows Mobile 7

Image courtesy of Microsoft

It would seem like we’ve recalled our editor from Shenzhen a little prematurely. The land of Yao has gone and answered all the iPad’s critics in resounding style: TESO’s 10-inch clone tablet features a full-blown Windows 7 install (check), 1024×600 capacitive touchscreen display (check), HDMI output (check), a 1.66GHz Atom N450 (vroom vroom!), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, GPS, 3G, and a 3,000mAh battery. Yep, it’s a netbook sans the keyboard, and it might weigh 1.2kg while stretching to a portly 2cm thickness, but are you really gonna let a few well-rounded edges get in the way of experiencing a grown-up desktop OS on that tablet you so desperately need? Couple more pics await after the break.

Update: 9to5Mac has alerted us to the fact that this clone seems to be sporting the same front plate as the one purported to belong to the iPad in the days before its release. Good to know all the engineering that went into inflating the iPhone’s bezel up to 10 inches didn’t go to waste.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Cloned in China  |  midbbs.cn  | Email this | Comments

Speaking on The Engadget Show today, Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman didn’t commit to supporting Mac OS with Windows Phone 7 Series, but he certainly didn’t close the door on the idea either. There are apparently “internal discussions” going on as to whether support will move beyond Windows proper, but one thing’s for sure: seeing how WP7S uses the Zune client, there could be implications beyond phones alone if Redmond breaks down and loops Cupertino into the party. Saying that it partly comes down to a trade-off for time to market, Woodman concluded with a big, fat “maybe” — but if they decide to make it happen, we’re pretty sure they’d be pleasantly surprised at just how far and wide the love really goes.

Mac support for Windows Phone 7 Series: ‘maybe’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It’s been a rough year for Microsoft in mobile. Despite the launch of impressive products such as the HTC HD2, the company has faced some harsh criticism: “except for gaming, it’s ‘game over’ for Microsoft in the consumer market” was just one of the choicer comments from the past year. Personally, I’d disagree, and I’d actually argue that Windows Mobile 6.5 is underrated in the mobile arena — almost as much as Android is overrated. But no matter. Whether last year’s mobile platforms are good enough or not is irrelevant; no platform from 2009 is good enough for 2010 and beyond, and every mobile platform will need to evolve this year. Last week in Barcelona, we saw the first part of Microsoft’s revamped mobile strategy, and while there are many questions that will need to be answered, there’s a lot to like about what we saw.

First, it’s important to look at the velocity of the mobile space. The tech industry is largely governed by Moore’s Law, which predicts a doubling of semi-conductor density roughly every eighteen months, but the mobile space is moving at a rate of change that’s closer to every eighteen minutes. What happened yesterday simply doesn’t matter nearly as much as it once might have. Just look at two of the hottest companies in mobile, Apple and Google. Just a few years ago, neither would have been part of the conversation, much less at the center of it.

Continue reading Entelligence: Windows Phone 7 Series

Entelligence: Windows Phone 7 Series originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments