HTC has a history customizing other’s mobile OSes. It designed custom layers on its Windows Mobile phones, it created the Sense UI for its Android devices, but with Windows Phone 7 Microsoft no longer allows manufacturers to build custom skins upon its yet-to-be-released WP7 OS. If this preview above it real (it looks very genuine), HTC has found a way to deliver an unique feeling that will distinguish them from other WP7 manufacturers.
I have to admit, this looks very nice…
WMPoweruser.com noticed something very interesting on Microsoft’s job board. You’ll never guess what…
A job posting! Oh, that was your guess…
Well, Microsoft’s job postings have led to numerous rumours in the past. Some of them turned out to be the truth, others were miss-interpreted. This time the Softies’ Entertainment and Devices Division needs a Hardware Engineer to build “the next generation of portable entertainment and communication devices”.
Now this could be anything, right? Of course that could, but now add that the team that’s recruiting is stating that they were behind the creation of the Zune HD.
The job posting is filed under the product ‘Windows Phone’, this makes things more complicated. It gives us three options:
As a side-note, I’ll add that ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley — who’s mostly well informed — recently said she had gotten a tip about a Zune HD successor. According to her, Microsoft is considering to make one last Zune device before turning it into a service on multiple platforms. It could become a phone-less Windows Phone 7 device, much like the iPod touch is to the iPhone.
Yes, you’re hearing it right. In the future you’ll be able to play from your Windows Phone 7 phone with your buddies who’re playing on a console (Xbox) through Xbox Live. However, this isn’t a day-one feature, but is planned for future Windows Phone versions. Click on the source link to read the full article.
If we have to believe the Bluetooth SIG (the Bluetooth Special Interest Group| Wikipedia) LG’s C900 Windows Phone 7 handset would launch around September 28th. This is of course doesn’t quite inconsistent with what Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner said before. Of course plans could always have changed or Turner might have made a mistake. However September still looks very early and it was recently rumoured that Microsoft won’t accept third party apps in its Marketplace before October.
But as Engadget points out: “The Bluetooth SIG has a long history of promoting its members’ “special interests” by leaking valuable tidbits about their handsets before they’re announced.” Phone Arena even knows that this lines up with AT&T’s marketing material. It’s interesting that AT&T — as the iPhone carrier in the USA — includes Windows Phone 7 in its line-up.
The LG phone in question is a QWERTY slider and the Bluetooth SIG make notion of a C900N, C900k, and C900B version. The LG C900 would be sold in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
It’s called the HTC Shubert and it’s rumoured to be the one of the flagship HTC smartphones that will run Microsoft’s yet-to-release mobile OS Windows Phone 7. The Shubert (most likely named after the famous Austrian composer) is packed in a very attractive unibody aluminium case. As of the specs, we can only make wild guesses for the moment.
Paul Smith made an interesting comparison on his blog. He compared the new iOS 4 (formerly known as iPhone OS) with the not yet released Windows Phone 7 and his conclusion was clear: “iPhone 4 can’t keep up, looks dated compared to WP7″. He did his comparison by looking at the Associated Press app on both platforms. The developer(s) of both versions designed each app to fit the look of the two OS’s. The look and feel of Windows Phone 7 was obviously superior, making — as Smith noted — the iPhone UI look outdated. To read the full interview, click on the source link underneath.
If you however decide not to read the article, make sure you watch this video of the gorgeous Associated Press app UI:
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 really can’t get enough about Microsoft’s latest mobile OS, here are two very extensive guides covering Windows Phone 7 Series.
Gizmodo:
Engadget:
Bonus: Gizmodo: Windows Phone 7 Interface: Microsoft Has Out-Appled Apple
