Hasta La Gadget!

The US Patents and Trademark Office has today made public a Microsoft patent application (serial no. 240,729) related to the graphical user interface found on the hotly anticipated Windows Phone 7 Series mobile OS. Filed in September 2008, this application describes a “contiguous background” that extends beyond the dimensions of the screen (either vertically or horizontally, but not both) with anchored “mixed-media” elements being littered atop it — all of which is to be served on a “media-playing device.” That should sound pretty familiar, given that it’s the central navigational concept of both Windows Phone 7 and the Zune HD, and as such it makes a lot of sense for Microsoft to seek to legally protect its uniqueness. Before you start wondering about potential conflicts with other UIs, take note that this requires a continuous graphical background rather than a tiled or repeating image, plus space-orientating graphical elements, which should make it sufficiently nuanced to avoid any more patently unnecessary squabbles should Microsoft’s claims be validated by the USPTO.

Microsoft seeking patent for Windows Phone 7 Series panoramic GUI originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t look surprised. With the Windows Phone 7 Series dev tools now out in the open the pent up demand for that elusive HD2 upgrade was bound to be a priority for some well-meaning developers, somewhere… namely, Russia. Now we’ve got what looks to be the first screenies of the WP7S OS running on an HD2. Better yet, htcpedia claims that almost everything is working including WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. However, the graphics driver is still showing problems and there is noticeable device lag. Nevertheless, the team is planning a beta release soon. Imagine it, an HD2 WP7S ROM available before Microsoft and its partners can even launch an official device, with its 5 buttons or not — now that would be something. One more grab after the break, the rest at the source below.

Update: Video evidence after the break. For what it’s worth, the folks at XDA also think it’s legit.

Update 2: Yet another video has surfaced… beta please.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading HTC HD2 gets early Windows Phone 7 OS port, could be released before official devices (updated: videos!)

HTC HD2 gets early Windows Phone 7 OS port, could be released before official devices (updated: videos!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

The idea of multitasking on mobile devices has been a hot topic for years. It’s been debated since the early days of smartphones, when devices such as the Treo based on Palm OS could not handle more than one task at a time, while handsets based on the Windows Mobile platform had the capability. The issue reached a crescendo with the release of the iPhone (and more recently with the iPad) and lack of multitasking capability for third party apps. This week it’s come up once again, with news from MIX10 that Microsoft would not support multitasking for third party apps on Windows Phone 7 Series, at least initially.

Continue reading Entelligence: Mobile multitasking is mostly a myth

Entelligence: Mobile multitasking is mostly a myth originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been following the news about Microsoft’s reinvention of its mobile presence, Windows Phone 7 Series, chances are you heard about how the company’s developer-friendly emulator was… modified slightly by Dan Ardelean to expose a series of applications and hubs that you weren’t supposed to see yet. Microsoft was quite gracious about it, indicating it basically expected this would happen and simply reminded everyone that these newly discovered apps are far from complete. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the unlocked version of the OS, and we’ll spell out for you exactly how you can do the same to see it for yourself.

Continue reading Taking the Windows Phone 7 Series emulator for a test drive (video)

Taking the Windows Phone 7 Series emulator for a test drive (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We actually haven’t seen any official shots of the Office apps for Windows Phone 7 Series, but now that Microsoft’s emulator has been hacked and unlocked, we’ve got a glimpse of what creating a Word doc in OneNote looks like — and while there’s a high probability that this a super-early version of the app, it’s still revealing in how drastically minimal it is. Microsoft says most people just want to make minor edits and leave comments to Office docs while on the go, not make large edits with copy and paste, so we’d expect to see track changes in the final version, but something tells us the main interface isn’t going to look tremendously different than this. One more shot and the video with Word after the break — hit the source for the second vid with Excel.

Continue reading Word, Excel and OneNote for Windows Phone 7 Series revealed

Word, Excel and OneNote for Windows Phone 7 Series revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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