WinMo Wrap: Or Maybe WinPho?

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The week marches on and today being Saturday means it is time to recap the recent happenings in the world of Windows Mobile. The public unveiling of the next generation smartphone OS from Microsoft occurred this week. Windows Phone 7 Series was officially launched at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, and the first demonstration of the new platform dazzled the receptive audience. Microsoft is still not divulging detail about the new OS, but promises more as the year progresses.

Here’s what we know for sure about Windows Phone 7. The new interface is based on the ZuneHD interface, augmented with “live tiles” that are widgets sitting on the screen. These tiles tap into the user’s social networks, providing live updates from the uer’s contacts. The OS is very people-centric, with live views into contact’s interactions with Facebook, Twitter and other communication methods. The screens of tiles are organized into six “hubs”, that gather the tiles into task oriented groups. These hubs are People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace and Office.

The Music + Video hub will present a new experience on the Windows Phone 7 devices, with both the Zune and xbox live products integrated into the smartphone. Microsoft did not provide details on exactly how this integration will take place, but the Zune Desktop will be the method for connecting the Windows Phone 7 to the computer. It looks to work like the iTunes/ iPhone integration on the Apple side.

More details about the new OS has been promised at the Microsoft MIX developer’s conference coming soon. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the hardware requirements that will be in place for Windows Phone 7, and perhaps how the OS can be customized by developers, OEMs and carriers. The first new phones running Windows Phone 7 Series will not appear until the holiday season this year, so there is plenty of time for details to emerge.

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