Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft is keen on unveiling the meat of its developer story around Windows Phone 7 Series at MIX10 in less than two weeks, but with GDC coming up next week, they’re figuring that now is a good time to start dropping hints — they’ll want to be capturing the collective imagination of the gaming industry, after all, what with that Xbox Live integration they’ve got going on. To that end, Charlie Kindel of WinPho’s developer experience team has outed a few key items at a reception in San Francisco this evening.

The major points are that Silverlight, XNA, and .NET will figure prominently into the developer story — not a surprise considering that Microsoft is heavily invested in both, gaming is central to the Windows Phone 7 Series story, XNA is a big deal on Zune HD already, and this all lines up with what we’d heard in the past. In fact, Kindel boldly proclaims that “If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you’re gonna be really happy.” On the flipside, it’s a bit ironic considering that Silverlight spends much of its existence going head-to-head with Flash, and all indications are that we won’t see Flash support on 7 at initial availability (though it’s sounding like a lock post-launch).

One final note at today’s event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won’t be compatible. Though that’s likely to be a pain for existing owners with specialized apps who are looking to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Windows Phone 7 Series itself is a very different beast than the operating system it replaces — it feels different, seeks a different demographic, and symbolically represents a very important clean-slate departure for a company that had lost its way in the mobile space. The bright side for the 6.5 faithful, we suppose, is that Kindel closes by saying that they “will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come” — a message Microsoft has been echoing recently.

We expect to hear much, much more on this at MIX — and we might hear a few more tidbits at GDC as well — but in the meantime, there’s a developer Q&A going down on Twitter around 9:00PM ET (check the #wp7dev tag) where we could get some details. Stay tuned.

Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know that it ain’t always practical or desirable to put money down on a phone every time a new OS or interface comes out — so what is a gadget hound to do when they realize their hardware won’t be supported by Windows Phone 7 Series? Well, if you’re anything like these enterprising individuals you roll your own. Both Jaxbot and LeSScro, members of the XDA Developers forum, have skins in the works that mimic the new OS on WinMo devices with varying degrees of success. The work of the former is still pretty slow and buggy but it does offer some functionality — including info on live tiles and the ability to see upcoming appointments on your lock screen. The latter theme, on the other hand, sports time, date, and notifications on the lock screen, profile settings, transitional animations, a handful of hubs (including games, media, and Office), and an apps launcher. Check out the source links for more info — but not before checking out the demo videos after the break.

[Thanks, Geever]

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series themes for WinMo abound in dev forums

Windows Phone 7 Series themes for WinMo abound in dev forums originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Truly our craziest show yet. In case you didn’t tune into the livestream of The Engadget Show on Saturday (and if you somehow didn’t hear about the news), then you’re in for a real treat. The crew gets especially wild on this episode while talking Hulu and plans for world domination with Boxee’s Avner Ronen, revealing the first partner handset for Windows Phone 7 Series with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, and playing around with the Dell Mini 5, as well as the forthcoming Engadget app for Android. Oh, and there’s also a fascinating short piece on chiptune music and visuals and the folks who make the magic happen. If you do one thing today, make it The Engadget Show. You won’t be sorry. The full video is available to stream after the break, or you can download it below.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel
Special guests: Avner Ronen and Aaron Woodman
Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm
Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger
Edited by: Michael Slavens
Music by: Nullsleep
Visuals by: Paris and Outpt
Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec

Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 006 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 006 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted)

Subscribe to the Show:

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[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Continue reading The Engadget Show – 006: Avner Ronen, the first Windows Phone 7 Series device, Dell Mini 5, and more!

The Engadget Show – 006: Avner Ronen, the first Windows Phone 7 Series device, Dell Mini 5, and more! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can’t wait for another Engadget Show to roll around? Well you’re in luck, friend. It’s happening tomorrow at 5:00pm ET. We’ll be doing giveaways at the show taping only, so brave the weather and join us in person for a chance to win great prizes!

Josh will be sitting down with Avner Ronen of Boxee to discuss the upcoming (and hotly anticipated) Boxee Box, as well as his strategy for taking on Big Television and their army of Jeff Zuckers.

Microsoft will also be on hand to demo Windows Phone 7 Series and the company’s own Aaron Woodman will be sharing stories about the major changes Redmond has made to the Windows mobile OS. Also expect an out-of-this-world performance from Nullsleep complete with stunning visuals from Outpt and Paris, as well as some other big surprises…

As you may have heard, livestreaming is back by popular demand, and we’re rolling out some cool new features! You will now be able to tweet your comments directly to the livestream! During the show, just include the hashtag “#engadgetshow” and look for your tweet to show up on the ticker at the bottom of the stream. One thing to note, The Engadget Show is a family program, so any single instance of swearing or trolling will force us to turn off the ticker… and it won’t come back on. So, keep it clean and have fun!

The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are — as always — free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served… so get there early! Here’s all the info you need:

• There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
• The event is all ages
• Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM
• You cannot collect tickets for friends or family — anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket
• Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we’re full, we’re full
• The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break)
• The show length is around an hour

If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com.

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Update: As you guys may have noticed, New York and the surrounding areas got hit with a little snow. Never fear, because we’re still doing the show, but we’re going to make it easier for everyone to come out and enjoy it. If you want to see the taping today, don’t worry about showing up at 2PM or standing in line — if you come anytime before 4:30PM you will definitely get a seat! We don’t want anyone standing around in the snow, and it’s likely that not everyone who was going to come will be able to make it, so we should be able to accommodate everyone that does show up.

Continue reading The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow… snow or shine! (plus livestreaming!)

The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow… snow or shine! (plus livestreaming!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, keep your socks on here, this is as noncommittal a statement as Redmond can make on the matter, but when asked directly about the likelihood and possibility of Windows Mobile 6.5 phones being transitioned to the new hotness that is Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft’s Alex Reeve had this to say:

It’s early days yet, and that’s really for our hardware partners to think about.

As the Director of the company’s UK Mobile Business Group, he’s well positioned to know what’s going to happen after said early days, and it’s encouraging to hear that at least Microsoft won’t be putting up any barriers to that HD2 upgrade we’re all dreaming about. After all, the Chassis 1 specs we keep hearing about tend to sound an awful lot like HTC’s 1GHz Snapdragon-powered bad self, so let’s keep our fingers crossed and our minds open.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 upgrades will be possible, up to OEMs to make them happen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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