Author Archive: Gareth

MWC: Microsoft Announces Windows Phone 7 Series, Comes with Zune

Microsoft today finally revealed its latest mobile OS, Windows Phone 7 Series. Yes its quite a mouthful but represents a complete overhaul of its mobile OS and the last chance it has to revitalize its WinMo platform before its left behind by the likes of iPhone and Android.

It is very different from what came before and different from any of the other UI out in the market today, has a new version of Microsoft IE for Mobile, 4-point multitouch and pinch to zoom, so far so good. The home screen has been completely reworked, as has the whole OS and starts with a set of tiles that are active and allow you pull together all your information, contacts and content through a series of panoramic hubs called ‘People, Pictures, Games, Media, Office and of course Marketplace for apps. You can get an idea of how you might scroll through these hubs from the pictures below.

Of most interest to some will be the integration with Xbox and the Zune like interface for media. Every 7 Series phone will be a Zune, its not exactly clear yet how 7 Series interacts with Xbox Live but those that have played with the ZuneHD will feel at home and interface has been quite a success for Microsoft, so its good to see it implemented here.

Business users are not left out, integration with Office and Exchange has always been WinMo’s strong point and 7 Series should be no different.

Unfortunately you wont be able to use your old application’s as its not backwards compatible with WinMo 6 and Flash is unconfirmed, as is multitasking. Suggestions are that it will pause applications when not used directly, which could cause problems for some. More on this soon hopefully.

There will be a single Windows Phone identity regardless of carrier or device brand. Microsoft have dictated what type hardware 7 Series can run on, which includes capacitive screens and multitouch, so expect a powerful hardware and a robust experience. Those new phones will likely look similar at first, featuring a high res touchscreen, cameras, three front-facing buttons (back, start, and perhaps not shockingly, a Bing key), and little else but expect to this expand to more innovative devices in 2011.

Carrier partnerships are far and wide, including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, while hardware partners include Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm to name a few.

To show off the OS, Microsoft have thoughtfully provided a nice video;

Lots more information to come in the days and weeks ahead, but expect to see handsets with the new OS in Q3 2010 with rumored handsets from Acer and LG in September 2010. We hope to see some hands on time with development devices later today as MWC rolls on.

Windows Phone 7 Series Features Video

The new Windows Phone 7 Series user interface features a new holistic design system that brings together form and function based on key principles.

Check out the video below:-

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Series

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 15, 2010 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the next generation of Windows^® Phones, Windows Phone 7 Series. With this new platform, Microsoft offers a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications. For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7 Series. Partners have already started building phones; customers will be able to purchase the first phones in stores by holiday 2010.

“Today, I’m proud to introduce Windows Phone 7 Series, the next generation of Windows Phones,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “In a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences.”

Designed for Life in Motion

With Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft takes a fundamentally different approach to phone software. Smart design begins with a new, holistic design system that informs every aspect of the phone, from its visually appealing layout and motion to its function and hardware integration. On the Start screen, dynamically updated “live tiles” show users real-time content directly, breaking the mold of static icons that serve as an intermediate step on the way to an application. Create a tile of a friend, and the user gains a readable, up-to-date view of a friend’s latest pictures and posts, just by glancing at Start.

Every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for Bing, providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone, while a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant Web or local results, depending on the type of query.

Windows Phone 7 Series creates an unrivaled set of integrated experiences on a phone through Windows Phone hubs. Hubs bring together related content from the Web, applications and services into a single view to simplify common tasks. Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:

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People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.

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Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.

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Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.

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Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content.

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Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.

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Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.

Availability

Partners from around the world have committed to include Windows Phone 7 Series in their portfolio plans. They include 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. The first phones will be available by holiday 2010. Customers who would like to receive additional information about Windows Phone 7 Series and be notified when it is available can register at http://www.windowsphone7series.com.

To watch the full replay of Steve Ballmer’s press conference at Mobile World Congress, and to experience Windows Phone 7 Series through an online product demo, readers can visithttp://www.microsoft.com/news/windowsphone.

MWC: Acer P400 Windows Phone

Hot on the heels of the P300 comes its stylish brother, the Acer P400. Lacking the qwerty keyboard of the P300 but making up for that in what Acer describes as a ‘smooth’ device.

Also equipped with Windows Mobile 6.5.3, the P400 is endowed with Mail, Microsoft Exchange Server Support and Microsoft Office Mobile applications. Sporting the latest Qualcomm 7227 processor running at 600 MHz keeps Bing and Internet 6 mobile on its toes.

Screen-wise, the neoTouch P400 has a 3.2" high-definition (HVGA) touchscreen and there’s a 3.2mp camera for those all important images.

Storage is provided by the micro-SD hub, with Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth connectivity and a 3.5mm headphone jack tick the right boxes.

UK release date is expected in May, with pricing to be announced.

MWC: Acer Debuts neoTouch P300

Acer has announced the arrival of the neoTouch P300 smartphone, which packs Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and a Qwerty keyboard.

The P300 is touted as being ‘stylish’ with the ability to combine both your personal and business life in one handset. Acer assures us that the P300 has a strong emphasis on ‘efficiency, reliability and security’.

A Qualcomm 7227 processor running at 600 MHz is inside the device and web search comes in the form of Bing. For those who aren’t that pleased with touchscreen QWERTY, you’ll be pleases to know that the device has real QWERTY keyboard for you to type out all of your missives on. Flash is here as is Windows Media Player 10 support for those who want to have a little downtime. Mail, Microsoft Exchange Server Support and Microsoft Office Mobile applications for those who really need to read that email.

Screen-wise, the neoTouch P300 has a 3.2" high-definition (HVGA) touchscreen and there’s a 3.2mp camera for images and video.

Couple this with a micro-SD hub, Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack and the P300 seems to tick most boxes.

UK release date is expected in May, with pricing to be announced.

Via

JoikuSpot launched for the Nokia N900

Joikusoft has launched the popular JoikuSpot app for the Nokia N900 in beta to enable users to turn their Maemo 5-powered device into a hotspot. As you may know, JoikuSpot uses 3G connection to act like wifi hotspot, so you and your friends can connect multiple devices ie laptops to the net and is a welcome addition to the Maemo app list.

Some words from the press release:

JoikuSpot is world’s most used and popular solution for on-demand mobile WiFi internet and mobile 3G HotSpotting. During 2009, more than 5 million mobile internet experiences were made via JoikuSpotting, and the overall JoikuSpot user base grew to over 500.000 actual JoikuSpotters. Altogether this resulted into more than 100 Million Megabytes of mobile data consumption across more than 200 countries and 750 operator networks worldwide. Average global JoikuSpot internet consumption grew from 8 Mb to 22 Mb per JoikuSpot internet session, which speaks to the improvement in 3G operator network qualities in 2009.

JoikuSpot Linux Edition launches today as FREE Beta and you can grab it from Joiku’s website.

Via

MWC: Acer outs Liquid e Android handset

Acer has announced the latest handset from its Liquid range of Android phones – the Acer Liquid e.

The Acer Liquid e is an update of the company’s Liquid S100 handset and uses the latest Android 2.1 OS.

Essentially this means it has a chip in it which isn’t going to wheeze and splutter every time you ask the phone to do two things at once. This chip is a graphically aware Qualcomm 8250 Snapdragon processor, which pumps out info at 768 MHz.

Liquid Es are good

The screen on board is a 2.5-inch WVGA LCD, there’s a 5MP camera, video recording and GPS as well.

Media capacity comes in the form of a micro-SD slot (up to 32GB) and there’s also a 3.5mm jack so your everyday headphones can be used with it. As it packs Android 2.1, you will be given the use of five home screens, quick contacts and double tap zooming, no word on multitouch yet.

Release date, price or carriers not yet known. Stay tuned.

Via

MWC: Toshiba TG02 Windows phone Announced

Toshiba has announced the TG02 handset, a capacitive touchscreen Windows Phone using the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform and sporting a 1GHz processor.

The Toshiba TG02 is an update to the original TG01 which had a woeful 3D UI and a resistive screen, this update brings a much needed 4.1-inch capacitive WVGA touchscreen and a newly retooled 3D menu.

Toshiba believes that a newly designed ‘3D’ menu system on the handset will boost the phone’s popularity billing the phone as an ‘ideal device for users who demand high-quality entertainment on the go’.

Enhances user experience

"Based on the very latest Windows Mobile 6.5 platform, the TG02 enhances the user experience with its quick and easy operation," says Tosh’s release

"An internal 1GHz processor also makes the TG02 an ideal device for internet browsing, enabling users to quickly access and load websites or stream content."

There is no UK release date given for the TG02 yet or a price for the British market.

Via

MWC: Toshiba K01 with OLED Announced

Toshiba has announced the K01 mobile phone sporting a full slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 4.1 inch OLED capacitive screen.

The phone – which was announced alongside the Toshiba TG02 – brings the ever-popular QWERTY keyboard but it is the device’s screen which will garner the most attention.

"The K01 also offers Toshiba’s first-ever Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) capacitive 10.4cm (4.1 inch) widescreen – providing bright colour, contrast, lower power consumption and faster response times than ever before," said Toshiba.

A sliver under 1.3cm

The K01 is 12.9mm thick – with the keyboard obviously boosting the size somewhat , running Windows Mobile 6.5 with a 1GHz processor, up to 32GB storage (through a MicroSDHC slot) and the company’s new user interface which it hopes will "let users quickly browse to their favourite features, saving time and making the mobile experience more enjoyable."

There is no UK release date or price available as yet for the Toshiba K01, but the moment that we find them out we will, of course, let you know.

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Maemo and Moblin Merge to become ‘MeeGo’!

Nokia and Intel today announced the merging of two Linux based mobile OS’s to become a powerful, open source platform called MeeGo that will create a "software platform that will support multiple hardware architectures across the broadest range of device segments, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, Smartbooks, Smartphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems."

Based on QT, it will be open sourced and open to all OEM’s to build devices around. Current Maemo and Moblin applications will be forward compatible and there will be some kind of app store.

You can check out the website for more. MeeGo.com