PPCGeeks and MobileTechWorld received some info on the initial details of Windows Mobile 7. Both news blogs say that Windows Mobile 7 will be introduced at MWC 2010 on February 15th in Barcelona. The official unveiling will reportedly focus primarily on the UI, and phone features will not be unveiled as of yet. Here’s a snapshot of what has been revealed of this exciting new mobile OS:
- WM7 will have a user interface derived from codename “METRO” and will be similar to the Zune HD
- The traditional Home Screen will get a whole new look and will not support custom interfaces like Sense and TouchFLO
- No Flash support as time constraints prevented its inclusion
- Will include Silverlight 3.0 with some aspects of SL 4.0 and mobile-specific features
- Applications will be installed through the Windows Mobile Marketplace only, manual installation from a storage card will not be allowed
- Say no to multitasking and yes to push notifications which may be provided by a Microsoft hosted push notifications environment
- Windows Mobile Marketplace will include a “Try before you Buy” feature and offer API support
- No .NET Compact Framework backwards compatibility so all those old apps will not work, but a portion of the data and business logic .NET CF may be ported at some point
- Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality and is currently faster / better than the iPhone 3G
- MS is actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists (seriously?)
- Full Zune and Xbox 360 Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
- No more active sync or Windows Mobile Device center. Zune software will handle all syncing
- Full support for social networking
- Devices are expected to ship by September 2010
All these details are consistent the rumored Zune phone, though it is not clear whether the Zune Phone represents the next generation of Windows Mobile, or is a completely separate entity. If this information is accurate, then there are a lot of changes in store for phone makers and software developers who are tied to the Windows Mobile platform. (www.windowsmobile.com)
