New pictures and videos from Microsoft Courier emerge
Korneel De Feyter on March 5th 2010, 22:35
Engadget has some new pictures and videos of the Microsoft Courier. The Courier is a pen-based dual-screen tablet and e-book reader that could be a big competitor for the not-yet released Apple iPad — although we have to note the first videos and pictures showed up long before we even saw a glimpse of the iPad.
Under the hood is the Courier based upon the same mobile OS as Windows Phone 7 Series and the Zune HD, namely Windows CE 6. The graphics would be provided by the succeeder of the nVidia Tegra chip that is used in the current generation Zune HDs.
The Courier has in my opinion a very attractive interface which is based around drawing, sketching and writing. Of course is handwriting recognition one of the capabilities of this modern agenda. In the age of social networking is sharing a must, so the courier would make it possible to share notes easily with friends or colleagues. Furthermore this device would have a camera built-in and a 3.5 mm mini-jack to plug in your headphone for media playback.
Beside being a notebook and a 21 century journal, the Courier would also be Microsoft’s e-reader device. It would be packed with an ecosystem around reading and buying books.
The price is still unsure, as well as the launch date. All Engadget was told about the release date was “Q3 / Q4″. Make sure you watch the videos of the interface below.
Zune finally launched its facebook app.
Karel on March 2nd 2010, 15:42More than six months ago, microsoft’s zune team announced that they would make a twitter and facebook app, and with the twitter app being released three monts ago, it is finally time for the facebook app. And now it is available.
First Prototype of Windows Phone 7 device shown at Engadget Show
Korneel De Feyter on February 28th 2010, 13:13
Had a busy week: Things you might have missed
Korneel De Feyter on February 26th 2010, 17:17I had an unusual busy week, so I’m making a round up about the news you and I might have missed past week.
Gizmodo: “Windows Phone 7 and the End of Hardware Choice”
Korneel De Feyter on February 23rd 2010, 17:53
At HelloFromEurope.com we want to give you the best stories about Zune, Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft in general. Whether it’s ours or not. We want to share with you the good articles we read about these topics and that’s why you’ll see more external posts in the future. If we believe that a certain article or opinion could be interesting for you, we’ll share it with you.
Windows Phone 7 is a new beginning for Microsoft, and at the same time, an ending. The epoch of the “slap our software on any old hardware” open platform is dead.
There’s a spectrum of hardware and software integration. At one end, you have the likes of Apple, RIM and Nintendo who create software and design the hardware that it runs on. It’s controlled and tightly integrated top-to-bottom. At the other end, you have the classic Microsoft model—they just create the software, and a hardware company like Dell or HTC or Joe’s Mom buys a license to install it on their machine, which they sell to you. (FWIW, Microsoft would argue they’re in the middle, with open source, that is, “unstructured openness,” down on the other, wild ‘n’ crazy end.) In the center, you have a mix—there’s still a split between software and hardware, but one side dictates more stringently what’s required of the other side, or they work more closely together, so it’s sorta integrated, but sorta not.
If you can’t get enough: two ultimate guides to Windows Phone 7 Series
Korneel De Feyter on February 18th 2010, 14:31If you really can’t get enough about Microsoft’s latest mobile OS, here are two very extensive guides covering Windows Phone 7 Series.
Gizmodo:
Windows Phone 7 Series: Everything Is Different Now
Engadget:
Windows Phone 7 Series: everything you ever wanted to know
Bonus: Gizmodo: Windows Phone 7 Interface: Microsoft Has Out-Appled Apple
Zune music & video services to be available outside the US
Korneel De Feyter on February 16th 2010, 16:19
It was only recently that the Zune PC Software became available in German and Italian, although the Software wasn’t promoted on the German, nor on the Italian version of Zune.net. This was a strange fact, so it looked like there was something else, something we didn’t know about back then…
Mary-Jo Foley — a Microsoft expert at ZDnet — interviewed Casey McGee, Microsoft Senior Marketing Manager, about the new Windows Phone 7 Series and asked him if Microsoft would make the Zune music/video service available outside the U.S. His answer was clear:
It will be available in all countries where Windows 7 Phones will ship.
Microsoft is not yet disclosing that list adds Foley.
My guess? It will include all these countries.
Windows Phone 7 Series Marketplace images
Korneel De Feyter on February 16th 2010, 15:36
Microsoft showed all the major hubs that are present in the Windows Phone 7 Series OS, but it apparently forgot to show pictures of its Marketplace hub. Well, here you have them. The first picture shows us the main screen in the marketplace hub. Here you can choose between some sections of the marketplace, including: applications, games, music and podcasts. Gizmodo points out that the first two words Contoso and Fabrikam are place holders for Microsoft. It are two fictional company names they often use. It might be for the mobile operator app stores.
The first thing you’ll see when you open up the Marketplace is featured content. It’s — in this case — an application, but it could probably be music, podcast or a game as well.
If you dig deeper, to the application section, again some featured app would show up along with a list of other featured applications, new ones, a list of the most popular ones and subcategories.
Forget about the Zune Phone, all you want is a Windows Phone
Korneel De Feyter on February 15th 2010, 19:10
Microsoft presented his Windows Phone 7 Series today at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona and one thing I can tell you: it’s amazing.
When you watch videos about the Windows Phone 7 Series experience you’ll immediately see that the UI (User Interface) has a lot in common with the Zune HD, but is also very different.
The Windows Phone UI goes much deeper than the Zune HD’s. I was already amazed by the UI of the Zune HD, but this design takes mobile Operation Systems to a whole new level. You wanted a Zune Phone, well here, you got it. Not as a hardware device, but as a piece of software. This video makes me want to bury my old Nokia 3220 – which still works great after 5 years – and buy a Windows Phone right away.
The Windows Phone 7 Series will feature Zune and Xbox Live integration. So you’ll be able to get the best mobile video and music experience along with games on-the-go from Xbox LIVE, this means your phone will automatically be a “Xbox portable”.
According to Microsoft’s press release partners are already building phones for the new mobile OS and consumers would be able to buy a Windows Phone from Holidays 2010. Mobile operators AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, and manufacturers Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm Inc are working on future Windows Phone 7 phones.
Microsoft tried to make a phone-experience that worked the way people want, they did that even from the hardware. Every Windows Phone will feature three buttons on the front: a back button, a home/windows button and a search button. Something else that’ll be on every Windows Phone is a capacitive touch screen (finger friendly) that enables multi-touch.
The great UI experience is brought to us by what Microsoft calls Windows Phone hubs.
This is what Microsoft says about them in their press release: