Zune HD - Marketplace at 23:17

I've just been watching the video demo of the new MS Zune HD.
The first thing to notice is simply how beautiful that OLED capacitive touch screen really is.
Next up is just how fluid the transition and scrolling is.
But most importantly of all is the fact that it hass the Marketplace application.

It was bound to happen considering that this has to be an iPod Touch Killer and without Marketplace that just couldnt happen.
This also gives more clues to when we will see WM6.5 phones hitting the stores.
We know that the HD will be released on Sept 5th and there is no way that MS would release the HD with access to Marketplace before WM6.5 Phones.

Windows Mobile 7 - A Work in Progress at 23:01

The UX Evangelist has been reading reumes this week and has happened upon Kim Sealls'.
From reading this he has decerned two pieces of information regarding Windows Mobile 7.
The 1st is that the UI is not yet ready and the 2nd is that it is being built on Silverlight.

According to freelance UI/UX designer Kim Sealls, the Windows Mobile 7 UI is still a work in progress. Her resume lists her as presently working for the Windows Mobile UX team creating, "designs for Windows Mobile 7 controls (UI still in progress)," and creating, "XAML layouts for controls and dialogs (Silverlight created in Expression Blend)." It sounds like things are right on course for the Windows Mobile 7 UI to be as drastic of a change as has been speculated, but what I'm wondering is if the UI will resemble anything close to the mock-ups we've seen time-and-time again.

First Windows Mobile 7 Phone goes to - LG ? at 18:39

If your an LG fan as well as a Windows Mobile fan, then your in luck
- and in more ways than one.

Firstly LG have agreed to work with Windows Mobile as their main OS and are planning to release 50! Windows Mobile phones by the end of 2012.

But a piece of news leaked from AT&T suggests that this has paid dividends for LG, in a shot which would suggest that LG will be releasing the first Windows Mobile 7 device.

The LG Monaco/Pico will be a 3.2" WVGA device with a 5 Megapixel camera and the anticipated Snap Dragon chip.
Oh yeah, and it will be running Windows Mobile 7!

AT&T have previously stated that it will be released in September, but as we're only expecting 6.5 by then, we should be waiting until at least early 2010 for this and the following Windows Mobile 7 devices.

You can read more on this over at Engadget Mobile.

Windows Mobile 7 Concept at 18:21

This one is definitely a concept shot, rather than a leaked screenshot, but I couldn’t resist posting this.

If this is even Windows Mobile 8 or 9, I’d be extremely happy. This has to be the best looking concept I have ever seen (even better the Nokia  eco sensor concept).

This is part of a new leaked WinMo7 roadmap over on UX Evangelist.

Marketplace Prohibited List Explained at 11:32

From WMExperts.com

When Microsoft first released the list of what'll get an app blocked from Windows Marketplace for Mobile, some of the reasons weren't entirely clear. Now, we're happy to say, a number of them have been answered.

Microsoft's Loke Uei spoke on the Winmo World podcast (which features the guys from wmpoweruser, Unwired View and pda.pl) and cleared up some of our questions.

• No VOIP apps using a carrier's data. (WiFi is just fine. But no Skype over 3G. Sorry, folks. Saw that one coming.) [The Carriers have made this stipulation]
• No apps with an OTA download of over 10MB. (That's for the initial app download. So, no 800MB Myst games. Once the app's on your phone, it can suck in as much data as you want. Er, so long as it's not VOIP.)
• No apps that change the default browser, search client, or media player on the device. (Admittedly, they need to define this a little better, but they're working on it, and apps like Opera, Skyfire, Kinoma and the like should be OK.) [It may be interpreted as 'Do not modify IE6's code]

There's also a lot of talk about fragmenting the Windows Mobile application ecosystem with these rules, which will keep a number of apps out of the Marketplace. Our take on that:

The Windows Mobile application ecosystem already is fragmented. Yes, there are software houses that sell their apps under one roof, and there are sites such as Handango (and the WMExperts Software Store) that sell a number of apps. But it's safe to say Microsoft will be bring a weight and legitimacy to to the process that has been lacking for the average consumer.

The Marketplace should help bring the ecosystem together. Will it reach the level of integration of Apple's App Store? Certainly not at first. And maybe not ever. (And that's not necessarily a bad thing.) But suffice to say the Marketplace is still one of the larger developements for Windows Mobile to come out of the past couple of years.

source: www.wmexperts.com

ZuneHD on Windows Embedded CE 7.0 at 11:22

zunehd2TeamXbox.com is claiming to have been sitting on some inside information for the last few months, with more details on the ZuneHD, described by them as a “digital entertainment handheld.”

Code-name xYz to symbolize its position between Xbox and Zune, the device is said to offer both gaming and media playback, as well as Internet-related services, all in a portable format. Apparently the device will be devoid of any business application or user interface (UI) that resembles a smartphone, featuring instead the NXE user interface.

“Although the Microsoft handheld is definitely a converged device, this is not a Zune Phone.” The source added: “Microsoft won’t compete with its Windows Mobile customers.”

The “xYz” is supposed to have a large WVGA touchscreen display and “hardware features not found on any handheld on the market.”

The device will integrate closely with Microsoft’s other services.

“This is a Live Anywhere device” “There will be a single online marketplace; the lines between the Zune, Xbox Live and Sky marketplaces will blur when the handheld launches.”

This will allow a user to buy a song, a movie or a TV show on your Xbox, play the content later on the handheld or the other way around or play an Xbox Live Arcade game either on your Xbox or in this handheld, based on your Gamertag. The device will also offer many Live Search services, such as Maps, News, Traffic and Video.

This suggests that the ZuneHD will run on the Windows Embedded CE 7.0 (Chelan).
This is not to say it will be using Windows Mobile 7 to run, simply the same foundation.
What this does mean is that features and applications which will be created for the ZuneHD should be compatible with Windows Mobile 7.

Windows Mobile 6.5 - When? at 10:26

We've been hearing a lot from Microsoft's Senior Project Manager Loke Uei Tan recently regarding Windows Mobile 6.5 and today he is defending Windows Mobile 6.5.

There has been a lot of criticism for 6.5 recently, mainly around how few upgrades it brings over 6.1.
But Loke is having none of it.
He wants people to see just how much has been achieved in the very short time that the project has been given.

"The reason why we couldn't complete the interface on Windows Mobile 6.5 is because of time. We only spend what, eight months, nine months, to build 6.5 from ground up and it's actually an amazing engineering feat. But, in order to do that, we had to do some prioritization and we had to cut certain features. Eventually, we will make sure that the UI capabilities are carried out throughout the whole platform."

In this 12 min video Dale Coffing and Chris DeHerrera also stand by Windows Mobile 6.5 demonstrating the UI improvements.
[remember it is only the UI which people are complaining about]

The WM Dev Team on Twitter have posted the following recently :

"For the record, Windows Mobile 6.5 is DONE... complete... looks really good IOHO and every bit functional. ping us if u want to know more."
"New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre"

If 6.5 and the Marketplace are ready are we going to hear about the pre-installed first devices and upgrades in June???

Microsoft Official Facebook App - Officially Updated at 09:48

Microsoft's recently released Facebook App now has an update for those who were struggling to install it.
Windows Mobile's Joshua Partlow has this to say:

We’ve heard some users have been having problems with installation and a new copy of the app has been posted. This version should help anyone that was getting the “cannot install due to insufficient privileges” error and it should also help with some hanging errors.

The lastest install .cab can be downloaded direct from here.

Source

Microsoft Official Facebook App at 09:45

New from Windows Mobile: a Facebook application for your phone! Download the new Facebook application for Windows Mobile and:

• Send messages to any of the people in your Friends list.
• Take pictures and videos on your phone, then upload them right to Facebook.
• Send messages or call people in your Friends list.
• Manage your profile and post anytime, anywhere.

Keep up with the latest news and posts with Facebook on your phone. Now your status updates can be up-to-the moment accounts of what you’re doing. Photos and videos are about as close to live-action as you can get. Show your friends what you’re up to, while you’re out and about.

Connecting and sharing on Facebook just got a lot livelier!

Source and download location

Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard? at 14:16

This little piece of information from the Marketplace Application Standard Guidelines skipped past me:

"It is highly recommended that applications should have the ability to run on two or more Windows Mobile 6.5 device platforms, for example, multiple Standard and/or Professional devices. Writing to multiple Windows Mobile devices helps extend the market opportunity for developers and gives end-users greater choice when making purchase decisions concerning both applications and Windows Mobile devices. This requirement is waived for ruggedized devices, which also referred to as Vertical market devices."

It would suggest that we can expect Standard versions of Windows Mobile 6.5.
Although, we are yet to see any evidence of a Standard ROM.

HTC have just released the Snap, yet we haven't heard anything regarding an update for this device - as we have with the Diamond 2 and Touch Pro 2.
This may simply mean that Microsoft don't have a Standard version ready for testing, rather than a lack in intent to produce one.


With Windows 7 already rapidly in progress and the price of touch screens falling, it may be make more sense for both MS and the Phone makers to drop the non touch screen versions.