Hasta La Gadget!

In news apt to surprise absolutely no one, HTC CEO Peter Chou told Forbes this week that his company would make a Windows Phone 7 Series handset by the end of the year. For the sake of argument, we suppose there are a couple reasons he wouldn’t want to. Historically, HTC has pledged loyalty to Microsoft time and again, even making the premium HD2 a Windows Mobile exclusive, but conspiracy theorists might suggest Microsoft returned the favor by denying the HD2 entry to Windows Phone 7 Series. Also, HTC has been rocking the bejeezus out of Android as of late — the news that the company’s planning a WP7S phone comes alongside HTC’s claim that the Nexus One was a success. Regardless, we never questioned if HTC would build a WP7S handset, only when; there’s no way they’re going to let a lucrative new smartphone market get mopped up by the likes of Samsung and LG.

Shocker: HTC plans Windows Phone 7 Series device by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Color us resolutely unsurprised at the news that devs are starting to abandon the Windows Mobile platform in favor of, well, longer-lived opportunities. Firefox’s maker, Mozilla, has come out with a statement that it’s ceasing development of its WinMo builds and — perhaps more importantly — it’s also curtailing work on a Windows Phone 7 offering until Microsoft opens its new platform up to native apps. So basically, no Native Development Kit from Microsoft equals no Firefox for Windows Phone from Mozilla. The browser maker does express hope, however, that Microsoft will make it possible to deliver the popular IE alternative in the future, pointing out that the underlying Windows CE 6 architecture suits Firefox well and the company is “well positioned to have an awesome browser on Windows Phone 7.” For now, the focus in Mozilla’s mobile HQ remains on bringing out a great product on the less restrictive Android and MeeGo platforms.

Mozilla halts Firefox development for Windows Mobile, won’t offer it on Windows Phone 7 without NDK originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s MIX 10 Windows Phone app demos were highlighted by a robotic t-shirt cannon entirely controlled by a WP7S app, and the code monkeys behind the project are now back with a full breakdown of how things were achieved — the bot was built on a standard battle-bot chassis, which was then modded with the cannons and an HP Envy laptop for control purposes. Just to drill in the point about how familiar development for the new mobile OS will be, the MS guys point out that outsider assistance on the project was recruited under the pretext that what was being built were “out of the browser” Silverlight apps for the desktop. Very crafty. We’ve got video of the cannon in action waiting after the break, along with an image of the Phone controls.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series T-shirt cannon gets detailed, redefines ‘mobile warfare’

Windows Phone 7 Series T-shirt cannon gets detailed, redefines ‘mobile warfare’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft was kind enough to release the software development kit for Windows Phone 7 Series on Monday, and although there was some fun to be had by scrolling around and exploring, much of the cool stuff the company showed off at MIX last week is not included — or is it? As it turns out it’s in there; only a little help is needed to unlock ’em and then all those magical hubs start them spinning for your enjoyment, including a few things not seen before. Most notable? A comprehensive looking file explorer and even a task manager, something a bit curious given the OS’s effective lack of multi-tasking. The unlock was discovered and initially distributed by engineer Dan Ardelean, but he has since recanted and pulled the required file. Naturally, though, it has been mirrored in numerous places, links to which can be found at the xda-developer forum if you’d like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind that this is a far from final version of the OS, so don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t quite pop like it does when Anna or Luca use it.

Update: A couple videos of the unlocked features have been upped by TechAU.tv, head over to check ’em out..

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Phone 7 Series emulator unlocked, shows a few surprises originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve held no punches in sharing our thoughts on Palm’s recent ad campaigns, but the one spot that was actually not heinous has seemingly served as the basis for one of Microsoft’s first-ever WP7S commercials. Debuting here at the tail-end of MIX, the ad spotlights Anna — a fictitious gal we’ve certainly heard of before — using her new smartphone to share photos with her dear lover Miles. It also features Luca, a kid with an undying love for playing Xbox LIVE titles, who seems to be caught somewhere in between the world of nature and nurture. At any rate, it’s worth your while to give the new Microsoft commercial and the Palm ad which it has oh-so-much in common with right after the break.

Oh, and Palm — we guess “Windows Phone 7 Series was your idea,” right?

Update: Yes, that definitely looks like an HTC HD2 at the 0:43 mark, but you can rest assured WP7S won’t ever come to that gem in native fashion.

[Thanks, Sean]

Continue reading Microsoft takes a note from Palm in new Windows Phone 7 Series ad

Microsoft takes a note from Palm in new Windows Phone 7 Series ad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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