Windows Phone
Encyclopedia
Windows Phone is a mobile operating system
developed by Microsoft
, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile
platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise
market. It was launched in Europe, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Mexico, and the EPAL region in the second half of 2010 , and Asia in early 2011. With Windows Phone, Microsoft offers a new user interface with its design language
named Metro, integrates the operating system with third party and other Microsoft services, and controls the hardware it runs on.
update may have begun as early as 2004 under the codename "Photon", but work moved slowly and the project was ultimately cancelled. In 2008, Microsoft reorganized the Windows Mobile group and started work on a new mobile operating system. The product was to be released in 2009 as Windows Phone, but several delays prompted Microsoft to develop Windows Mobile 6.5 as an interim release.
Windows Phone was developed quickly. One result was that Windows Mobile applications do not run on it. Larry Lieberman, senior product manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Developer Experience, told eWeek
: "If we’d had more time and resources, we may have been able to do something in terms of backward compatibility." Lieberman said that Microsoft was attempting to look at the mobile phone market in a new way, with the end user in mind as well as the enterprise network. Terry Myerson, corporate VP of Windows Phone engineering, said, "With the move to capacitive touch screens, away from the stylus, and the moves to some of the hardware choices we made for the Windows Phone 7 experience, we had to break application compatibility with Windows Mobile 6.5."
’s old mobile OS called 'Windows Mobile
'. Before the official announcement of 'Windows Phone 7', Microsoft began to refer to devices running Windows Mobile as “Windows Phones”. Microsoft at first announced its new platform as "Windows Phone 7 Series" which initially came under criticism as being too wordy and difficult to say casually. Responding to this, on April 2, 2010 Microsoft announced that the "Series" would be dropped from the name, leaving the platform named Windows Phone 7. The official statement on the matter was:
Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone on February 15, 2010, at Mobile World Congress
2010 in Barcelona and revealed additional details at MIX 2010 on March 15, 2010. The final SDK
was made available on September 16, 2010.
HP later decided not to build devices for Windows Phone, citing that it wanted to focus on devices for its newly purchased webOS.
Windows Phone supports twenty-five languages and Windows Phone Marketplace allows buying and selling applications in 35 countries and regions.
announced 10 devices operating Windows Phone, made by HTC, Dell
, Samsung
, and LG, with sales beginning on October 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia and November 8, 2010 in the United States. The devices were available on 60 carriers in 30 countries, with additional devices to be launched in 2011.
and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
announced a partnership between their companies in which Windows Phone would become the primary smartphone operating system for Nokia
. The event was largely focused on creating “a new global mobile ecosystem”, suggesting competition with Android and iOS by saying "It is now a three horse race". Integration of Microsoft services with Nokia’s own services were announced; specifically that Bing would power search across Nokia devices, and an integration of Nokia Maps with Bing Maps, as well as Nokia’s Ovi store being integrated with the Windows Phone Marketplace
. The partnership involves "funds changing hands for royalties, marketing and ad-revenue sharing", which Microsoft later announced was, "measured in billions of dollars." The first Nokia Windows phones, the Nokia Lumia 800
and Nokia Lumia 710
, were announced in October 2011 at Nokia World 2011 event.
, and ZTE
, in addition to Nokia, plan to release their first Windows Phones based on the first major upgrade to Windows Phone platform.
, Steve Ballmer
announced a major update to Windows Phone 7 due toward the end of the year, and unveiled features including a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9
that supports the same web standards and graphical capability as the desktop version, Twitter
integration for the People Hub, multi-tasking
of third-party apps, and Windows Live SkyDrive
access.
believes that Apollo actually refers to Windows Phone 8. It is believed the update will add NFC
technology and eventually lead to a convergence of Microsoft's operating systems for PCs, phones, tablets, and video game consoles seeing as the Xbox 360
also uses the Metro interface.
, based upon Microsoft's Windows Phone design system, codenamed Metro
. The home screen, called the "Start screen", is made up of "Live Tiles". Tiles are links to applications, features, functions and individual items (such as contacts, web pages, applications or media items). Users can add, rearrange, or remove Tiles. Tiles are dynamic and update in real time - for example, the tile for an email account would display the number of unread messages or a Tile could display a live update of the weather.
Several features of Windows Phone are organized into "hubs", which combine local and online content via Windows Phone's integration with popular social networks
such as Facebook
, Windows Live
, and Twitter
. For example, the Pictures hub shows photos captured with the device's camera and the user's Facebook photo albums, and the People hub shows contacts aggregated from multiple sources including Windows Live, Facebook, and Gmail
. From the Hub, users can directly comment and 'like' on social network updates. The other built-in hubs are Music and Video (which integrates with Zune
), Games (which integrates with Xbox Live
), Windows Phone Marketplace, and Microsoft Office
.
Windows Phone uses multi-touch
technology. The default Windows Phone user interface has a dark theme that prolongs battery life on OLED screens as fully black pixels don't emit light. The user may choose a light theme instead, and can also choose from several accent colors. User interface elements such as tiles are shown in the user's chosen accent color. Third-party applications
can be automatically themed with these colors.
, which has a dedicated key for inserting emoticons, and features spell checking and word prediction. Users may change a word after it has been typed by tapping the word, which will invoke a list of similar words. Pressing and holding certain keys will reveal similar characters. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode. Phones may also be made with a hardware keyboard for text input.
.
Internet Explorer on Windows Phone allows the user to maintain a list of favorite web pages and tiles linking to web pages on the Start screen. The browser supports up to 6 tabs, which can all load in parallel. Other features include multi-touch gestures, a streamlined UI, smooth zoom in/out animations, the ability to save pictures that are on web pages, share web pages via email, and support for inline search which allows the user to search for a word or phrase in a web page by typing it. Microsoft has announced plans to regularly update the Windows Phone web browser and its layout engine independently from the Windows Phone Update system.
In a demo, Microsoft said that users will be able to stream YouTube
videos from the browser. Clicking on a video from the mobile YouTube website will launch the video in a standalone app and will also add the YouTube video to the Music + Video Hub.
If a contact has information stored on multiple networks, users can link the two separate contact accounts, allowing the information to be viewed and accessed from a single card. As of Windows Phone 7.5, contacts can also be sorted into "Groups". Here, information from each of the contacts is combined into a single page which can be accessed directly from the Hub or pinned to the Start screen.
Email
Windows Phone supports Hotmail
, Exchange
, Yahoo! Mail
, and Gmail
natively and supports many other services via the POP
and IMAP
protocols. For the native account types, contacts and calendars may be synced as well. Users can also search through their email by searching in the subject, body, senders, and receivers. Emails are shown in threading view and multiple email inboxes can be combined or kept separate.
.
The "Music + Videos hub" allows the user to access music, videos, and podcasts stored on the device, and links directly to the Windows Phone Marketplace to buy music, or rent it with the Zune Pass subscription service. When browsing the music by a particular artist, users are able to view artist biographies and photos, provided by the Zune Software. This hub integrates with many apps that provide video and music service, including, but not limited to, iHeartRadio
, Youtube
, and Vevo
. This hub also includes Smart DJ which compiles a playlist of songs stored on the phone similar to the song or artist selected.
The "Pictures hub" displays the user's Facebook
and Windows Live
photo albums, as well as photos taken with the phone's built-in camera. Users can also upload photos to social networks, comment on others photos, and tag photos on social networks directly from the Pictures hub. Multi-touch gestures permit zooming in and out of photos.
Media support
According to Brandon Miniman's test review for pocketnow.com, he stated "if Zune can play it, your Windows Phone 7 device can play it" - this refers to the supported playback of files. The audio file formats, supported, include WAV, MP3, WMA, AMR, AAC/MP4/M4A/M4B
and 3GP/3G2 as standards. The video file formats, supported, include WMV, AVI, MP4/M4V, 3GP/3G2 and MOV (QuickTime) standards. These supported audio and video formats would be dependent on the codecs contained inside them. It has also been previously reported that the DivX
and Xvid
codecs within AVI are also playable on the system. Unlike the previous Windows Mobile operating system, there are currently no third-party applications for handling other video formats. The image file formats that are supported include JPG/JPEG
, PNG, GIF, TIF and Bitmap (BMP).
Microsoft has unveiled more than 50 premium Windows Phone Games titles at Gamescom
that makes use of Xbox Live on mobile. Xbox Live on Windows Phone currently doesn't offer real-time multiplayer games, but will be added in the future. Some key features of Xbox Live on Windows Phone include ability to be signed in simultaneously on the console and phone, send and receive messages between Console and Phone, unlock unique gamer points only available by purchasing the gaming title on the phone, etc.
In other cases, pressing the Search button will allow the user to perform a search of web sites, news, and map locations using the Bing application.
Windows Phone also has a voice recognition function, powered by TellMe
, which allows the user to perform a Bing search, call contacts or launch applications by speaking. This can be activated by pressing and holding the phone's Start button.
Bing is the default search engine
on Windows Phone handsets due to its deep integration of functions into the OS (which also include the utilization of its map service for location-based searches and queries). However, Microsoft has stated that other search engine applications can be used.
Aside from location-based searches, Bing Maps also provide turn-by-turn navigation
service to Windows Phone user and Local Scout shows interest points such as attractions and restaurants in the nearby area.
Bing Audio allows the user to match a song with its name and Bing Vision allows the user to match barcodes and tags with the product online.
. Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, OneNote Mobile, and SharePoint Workspace Mobile allow most Microsoft Office file formats to be viewed and edited directly on a Windows Phone device.
Microsoft Office files from SkyDrive and Office 365, as well as files stored locally on the phone, can be accessed through the Office Hub. Office files are sorted by tiles: Word documents (blue tile), Excel spreadsheets (green tile), PowerPoint presentations (red tile), and OneNote documents (purple tile).
operating system, Microsoft has released Windows Phone Connector which allow Windows Phone devices to sync with iTunes for Mac and iPhoto.
Windows Phone OS doesn't support usual USB sync with Microsoft Outlook
's Contacts, Tasks and Notes as opposed to older versions of Windows Mobile
with Desktop ActiveSync
. Syncing Contacts and Appointments is done via a cloud
-based service (Windows Live
, Google
, or Exchange Server) only. There's no way to sync this personal information directly from a computer to a windows phone and back.
Petition for Microsoft was filled to reinstate USB sync for Outlook.
s or wireless carriers. The software component, called Windows Phone Update, exists both on the phone (for smaller updates, over-the-air) and in the Zune Software for Windows PCs (for larger updates, via USB connection). Users will be notified to attach their phones to a PC if such an update is required. Microsoft has said that in the future, all updates, both large and small will eventually support over-the-air downloads. Charlie Kindel, Program Manager for the developer experience of Windows Phone, confirmed that the update infrastructure system for Windows Phone was available and that Microsoft is "in a position where we have the systems in place to effectively and reliably deliver updates to (Windows Phone) users".
Microsoft plans to regularly ship minor updates that add features throughout the year, and major updates once a year.
7.0.7008 - Improvement for future update
7.0.7390 - Codename "NoDo" with Copy and Paste, fast application startup, and deeper Facebook Integration
7.0.7392 - Revoking of fraudulent certificates
7.0.7403 - Pre-Mango
7.10.7720 - Windows Phone 7.5 Mango available now
7.10.7740 - Fixed email issue in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and voicemail notification issue.
All third-party applications can be updated automatically from the Windows Phone Marketplace
.
, which will bring updating advertising notifications. Mallios said that Windows Phone will be able to "preserve the brand experience by going directly from the web site right to the application", and that Windows Phone "enables advertisers to connect with consumers over time". Mallios continued: "you're now able to push information as an advertiser, and stay in touch with your customer. It's a dynamic relationship that is created and provides for an ongoing dialog with the consumer."
s:
is used to digitally distribute music, video content, podcasts, and third party applications to Windows Phone handsets. The marketplace is accessible using the Zune Software
client or the marketplace hub on devices (though videos are not downloadable through the marketplace hub and must be downloaded and synced through the Zune software). The marketplace is managed by Microsoft
, which includes an approval process.
-free MP3
format from the big four music groups
(EMI
, Warner Music Group
, Sony BMG and Universal Music Group
), as well as smaller music labels. It offers movies from Paramount
, Universal
, Warner Brothers, and other studios and also offer television shows from popular television networks.
Microsoft also offers Zune Pass music subscription service which allows subscribers to download an unlimited number of songs for as long as their subscription is active.
or a WP7 specific version of Silverlight only. For Windows Phone apps to be designed and tested within Visual Studio 2010 or Visual Studio 2010 Express editions, Microsoft offers Windows Phone Developer Tools as an extension. Windows Phone Developer Tools run only on Windows Vista SP2 and later. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported. Microsoft also offers Expression Blend for Windows Phone for free. On November 29, 2009, Microsoft announced the Release to web (RTW) version of its Visual Basic .NET
Developer Tool, to allow development in Visual Basic.
In order to get an application to appear in the Windows Phone Marketplace
, the application must be submitted to Microsoft
for approval. Microsoft has outlined the content that it will not allow in the applications, which includes content it deem “sexually suggestive”.
All Windows Phone devices, at minimum, must include the following:
and Gizmodo
felt were notable omissions in a modern smartphone OS. ZDNet
praised the OS’s virtual keyboard and noted the excellent touch precision as well as powerful auto-correct and revision software. The touch responsiveness of the OS has also been universally praised by all three sites with reviewers noting the smoothness of scrolling and gestures like pinch to zoom in web browsing.
The reception to the “Metro” UI and overall interface of the OS has also been highly praised for its style, with ZDNet noting its originality and fresh clean look. Engadget and ZDNet applauded the integration of Facebook into the People Hub as well as other built in capabilities, such as Windows Live, etc.
, 1.7 million smartphones using a Microsoft mobile OS were sold world wide in the second quarter of 2011, for a 1.6% market share. In the third quarter of 2011, WP7's world wide market share dropped slightly to 1.5%.
Studies carried out by Nielsen Company indicated that in the US, WP7 achieved a smart phone market share of 1% each in the periods March to May, and May to July 2011. For Q3 2011, Nielsen reported a US marketshare of 3% for Microsoft’s mobile platforms, without differentiating between Windows Mobile and WP7.
“The Windows Phone 7 was built around the idea that the end user is king. The design team began by defining and understanding the people who would use this phone. It was convinced that there could be a better user experience for a phone, one that revolves more around who the users are rather than what they do. The Windows Phone 7 lets users quickly get in, get out and back to their lives.”
At the awards ceremony, Windows Phone 7 was given "the noteworthy People’s Choice Award, an award handed to the favorite IDEA 2011 gold award winner."
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
developed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise
Enterprise software
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software , is software used in organizations, such as in a business or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals...
market. It was launched in Europe, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Mexico, and the EPAL region in the second half of 2010 , and Asia in early 2011. With Windows Phone, Microsoft offers a new user interface with its design language
Design language
A design language or design vocabulary is an overarching scheme or style that guides the design of a complement of products or architectural settings...
named Metro, integrates the operating system with third party and other Microsoft services, and controls the hardware it runs on.
Development
Work on a major Windows MobileWindows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
update may have begun as early as 2004 under the codename "Photon", but work moved slowly and the project was ultimately cancelled. In 2008, Microsoft reorganized the Windows Mobile group and started work on a new mobile operating system. The product was to be released in 2009 as Windows Phone, but several delays prompted Microsoft to develop Windows Mobile 6.5 as an interim release.
Windows Phone was developed quickly. One result was that Windows Mobile applications do not run on it. Larry Lieberman, senior product manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Developer Experience, told eWeek
EWeek
eWeek is a weekly computing business magazine published by Ziff Davis Enterprise.The magazine consists of a print publication and web site covering enterprise topics and is targeted at IT professionals rather than hobbyists.-Audience:The eWeek audience is actively involved in buying enterprise...
: "If we’d had more time and resources, we may have been able to do something in terms of backward compatibility." Lieberman said that Microsoft was attempting to look at the mobile phone market in a new way, with the end user in mind as well as the enterprise network. Terry Myerson, corporate VP of Windows Phone engineering, said, "With the move to capacitive touch screens, away from the stylus, and the moves to some of the hardware choices we made for the Windows Phone 7 experience, we had to break application compatibility with Windows Mobile 6.5."
Naming
The name 'Windows Phone' is a rebranding of MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
’s old mobile OS called 'Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
'. Before the official announcement of 'Windows Phone 7', Microsoft began to refer to devices running Windows Mobile as “Windows Phones”. Microsoft at first announced its new platform as "Windows Phone 7 Series" which initially came under criticism as being too wordy and difficult to say casually. Responding to this, on April 2, 2010 Microsoft announced that the "Series" would be dropped from the name, leaving the platform named Windows Phone 7. The official statement on the matter was:
"Customers want a simpler way to say and use the name consistently. The important thing is keeping the focus on the Windows Phone brand, which we introduced in October and will continue investing in through Windows Phone 7 and beyond."
Launch
In February 2010, a Microsoft press release listed the companies that would help make and operate Windows Phone. Many hardware makers were listed in the release.Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone on February 15, 2010, at Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...
2010 in Barcelona and revealed additional details at MIX 2010 on March 15, 2010. The final SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
was made available on September 16, 2010.
HP later decided not to build devices for Windows Phone, citing that it wanted to focus on devices for its newly purchased webOS.
Windows Phone supports twenty-five languages and Windows Phone Marketplace allows buying and selling applications in 35 countries and regions.
Launch partners
On October 11, 2010, Microsoft's CEO Steve BallmerSteve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
announced 10 devices operating Windows Phone, made by HTC, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Samsung
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
, and LG, with sales beginning on October 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia and November 8, 2010 in the United States. The devices were available on 60 carriers in 30 countries, with additional devices to be launched in 2011.
Partnership with Nokia
On 11 February 2011, at a press event in London, Microsoft CEO Steve BallmerSteve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
Stephen Elop
Stephen Elop is the chief executive officer of Nokia Corporation. A Canadian citizen, Elop is the first non-Finn to be named CEO of Nokia. He replaced Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in this position on September 21, 2010.- Career :...
announced a partnership between their companies in which Windows Phone would become the primary smartphone operating system for Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
. The event was largely focused on creating “a new global mobile ecosystem”, suggesting competition with Android and iOS by saying "It is now a three horse race". Integration of Microsoft services with Nokia’s own services were announced; specifically that Bing would power search across Nokia devices, and an integration of Nokia Maps with Bing Maps, as well as Nokia’s Ovi store being integrated with the Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
. The partnership involves "funds changing hands for royalties, marketing and ad-revenue sharing", which Microsoft later announced was, "measured in billions of dollars." The first Nokia Windows phones, the Nokia Lumia 800
Nokia Lumia 800
Nokia Lumia 800 is a Windows Phone OS powered smartphone, first unveiled by the company's CEO Stephen Elop, on 26 October 2011 at the Nokia World 2011 event...
and Nokia Lumia 710
Nokia Lumia 710
Nokia Lumia 710 is a Windows Phone smartphone. Its release is part of a change in company's direction which has resulted in a move around from the Symbian platform towards windows phone for premium devices...
, were announced in October 2011 at Nokia World 2011 event.
Other OEM partners
Microsoft, on May 25, 2011, has announced expansion of partners who plan to release Windows Phone. Acer, FujitsuFujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, and ZTE
ZTE
ZTE Corporation formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, China...
, in addition to Nokia, plan to release their first Windows Phones based on the first major upgrade to Windows Phone platform.
Windows Phone 7.5 - Mango
At the February 2011 Mobile World CongressMobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...
, Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
announced a major update to Windows Phone 7 due toward the end of the year, and unveiled features including a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 9
Windows Internet Explorer 9 is the current version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft. It was released to the public on March 14, 2011 at 21:00 PDT. Internet Explorer 9 supports several CSS 3 properties, embedded ICC v2 or v4 color profiles support via Windows Color System, and...
that supports the same web standards and graphical capability as the desktop version, Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
integration for the People Hub, multi-tasking
Computer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is a method where multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is actively executing instructions for...
of third-party apps, and Windows Live SkyDrive
Windows Live SkyDrive
Windows Live SkyDrive, initially called Windows Live Folders, is a free-of-charge file hosting service that allows users to upload files to a cloud storage and then access them from a Web browser...
access.
Windows Phone Tango
Tango will be a minor update, similar to the "NoDo" update. Apollo will be the next major update.Windows Phone Apollo
Apollo is the codename for next generation of Windows Phone, as confirmed at an MSDN seminar in August 2011. It is expected to launch in mid-2012 and EngadgetEngadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
believes that Apollo actually refers to Windows Phone 8. It is believed the update will add NFC
Near Field Communication
Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...
technology and eventually lead to a convergence of Microsoft's operating systems for PCs, phones, tablets, and video game consoles seeing as the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
also uses the Metro interface.
User interface
Windows Phone features a new user interfaceUser interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, based upon Microsoft's Windows Phone design system, codenamed Metro
Metro Design Language
Metro is an internal code name for a typography-based design language created by Microsoft, originally for use in Windows Phone 7. Early uses of the Metro principles, such as the typography, began as early as Microsoft Encarta 95, and later evolved into products such as Windows Media Center and Zune...
. The home screen, called the "Start screen", is made up of "Live Tiles". Tiles are links to applications, features, functions and individual items (such as contacts, web pages, applications or media items). Users can add, rearrange, or remove Tiles. Tiles are dynamic and update in real time - for example, the tile for an email account would display the number of unread messages or a Tile could display a live update of the weather.
Several features of Windows Phone are organized into "hubs", which combine local and online content via Windows Phone's integration with popular social networks
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
, and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. For example, the Pictures hub shows photos captured with the device's camera and the user's Facebook photo albums, and the People hub shows contacts aggregated from multiple sources including Windows Live, Facebook, and Gmail
Gmail
Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Users may access Gmail as secure webmail, as well via POP3 or IMAP protocols. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though...
. From the Hub, users can directly comment and 'like' on social network updates. The other built-in hubs are Music and Video (which integrates with Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
), Games (which integrates with Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
), Windows Phone Marketplace, and Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office Mobile
Microsoft Office Mobile is an office suite by Microsoft for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile Professional, Classic, and Standard editions. It consists of Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, OneNote Mobile, and Outlook Mobile. It is meant to be compatible with desktop versions of the...
.
Windows Phone uses multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
technology. The default Windows Phone user interface has a dark theme that prolongs battery life on OLED screens as fully black pixels don't emit light. The user may choose a light theme instead, and can also choose from several accent colors. User interface elements such as tiles are shown in the user's chosen accent color. Third-party applications
Third-party software component
In computer programming, a third-party software component is a reusable software component developed to be either freely distributed or sold by an entity other than the original vendor of the development platform...
can be automatically themed with these colors.
Text input
Users input text by using an on-screen virtual keyboardVirtual keyboard
A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows a user to enter characters. A virtual keyboard can usually be operated with multiple input devices, which may include a touchscreen, an actual keyboard and a computer mouse.- Types :...
, which has a dedicated key for inserting emoticons, and features spell checking and word prediction. Users may change a word after it has been typed by tapping the word, which will invoke a list of similar words. Pressing and holding certain keys will reveal similar characters. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode. Phones may also be made with a hardware keyboard for text input.
Messaging
Windows Phone combined messaging through "threads". Threads allow the Windows Phone user to engage with their contacts through Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat as well as traditional text messages. Text message can also be composed through voice recognition. Voice recognition allows speech to be converted to text message and also allows text message to be converted to speech which can be read aloud.Web browser
Windows Phone 7.5 features a version of Internet Explorer Mobile with a rendering engine that is based on Internet Explorer 9Internet Explorer 9
Windows Internet Explorer 9 is the current version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft. It was released to the public on March 14, 2011 at 21:00 PDT. Internet Explorer 9 supports several CSS 3 properties, embedded ICC v2 or v4 color profiles support via Windows Color System, and...
.
Internet Explorer on Windows Phone allows the user to maintain a list of favorite web pages and tiles linking to web pages on the Start screen. The browser supports up to 6 tabs, which can all load in parallel. Other features include multi-touch gestures, a streamlined UI, smooth zoom in/out animations, the ability to save pictures that are on web pages, share web pages via email, and support for inline search which allows the user to search for a word or phrase in a web page by typing it. Microsoft has announced plans to regularly update the Windows Phone web browser and its layout engine independently from the Windows Phone Update system.
In a demo, Microsoft said that users will be able to stream YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos from the browser. Clicking on a video from the mobile YouTube website will launch the video in a standalone app and will also add the YouTube video to the Music + Video Hub.
Contacts
Contacts are organized via the "People hub". Contacts can be manually entered into contacts or imported from Facebook, Windows Live Contacts, Twitter, and LinkedIn. A "What's New" section show news feed and a "Pictures" section show pictures from those social networks made by the contacts. A "Me" section show the phone user's own social networks status and wall, allow the user to update his status, and check-in to Bing and Facebook Places. Contacts can be added to the home screen by pinning them to the start. The contact's "Live Tile" displays his social network status and profile picture on the homescreen and the contact's hub displays his Facebook wall as well as all of the rest of his contact information and information from his other social networks.If a contact has information stored on multiple networks, users can link the two separate contact accounts, allowing the information to be viewed and accessed from a single card. As of Windows Phone 7.5, contacts can also be sorted into "Groups". Here, information from each of the contacts is combined into a single page which can be accessed directly from the Hub or pinned to the Start screen.
Hotmail
Windows Live Hotmail, formerly known as MSN Hotmail and commonly referred to simply as Hotmail, is a free web-based email service operated by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live group. It was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith and launched in July 1996 as "HoTMaiL". It was one of the first...
, Exchange
Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Exchange can refer to:* Microsoft Exchange Server, an email server software product from Microsoft* Microsoft Exchange Client, the former companion client software for Exchange Server that was embedded into some versions of Microsoft Windows...
, Yahoo! Mail
Yahoo! Mail
Yahoo! Mail is a web mail service provided by Yahoo!. It was inaugurated in 1997, and, according to comScore, Yahoo! Mail was the second largest web-based email service with 273.1 million users as of November 2010....
, and Gmail
Gmail
Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Users may access Gmail as secure webmail, as well via POP3 or IMAP protocols. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though...
natively and supports many other services via the POP
Post Office Protocol
In computing, the Post Office Protocol is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection. POP and IMAP are the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval. Virtually all modern...
and IMAP
Internet Message Access Protocol
Internet message access protocol is one of the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval, the other being the Post Office Protocol...
protocols. For the native account types, contacts and calendars may be synced as well. Users can also search through their email by searching in the subject, body, senders, and receivers. Emails are shown in threading view and multiple email inboxes can be combined or kept separate.
Multimedia
Zune for Windows Phone is an built-in application providing entertainment and synchronization capabilities between PC and Windows Phone. The Windows Phone multimedia experience is divided into two distinct hubs, the "Music + Videos" hub and the "Pictures" hub, both of which are similar in appearance and functionality to that of the Zune HDZune HD
The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010...
.
The "Music + Videos hub" allows the user to access music, videos, and podcasts stored on the device, and links directly to the Windows Phone Marketplace to buy music, or rent it with the Zune Pass subscription service. When browsing the music by a particular artist, users are able to view artist biographies and photos, provided by the Zune Software. This hub integrates with many apps that provide video and music service, including, but not limited to, iHeartRadio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
, Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
. This hub also includes Smart DJ which compiles a playlist of songs stored on the phone similar to the song or artist selected.
The "Pictures hub" displays the user's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
photo albums, as well as photos taken with the phone's built-in camera. Users can also upload photos to social networks, comment on others photos, and tag photos on social networks directly from the Pictures hub. Multi-touch gestures permit zooming in and out of photos.
Media support
According to Brandon Miniman's test review for pocketnow.com, he stated "if Zune can play it, your Windows Phone 7 device can play it" - this refers to the supported playback of files. The audio file formats, supported, include WAV, MP3, WMA, AMR, AAC/MP4/M4A/M4B
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
and 3GP/3G2 as standards. The video file formats, supported, include WMV, AVI, MP4/M4V, 3GP/3G2 and MOV (QuickTime) standards. These supported audio and video formats would be dependent on the codecs contained inside them. It has also been previously reported that the DivX
DivX
DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
and Xvid
XviD
Xvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile . It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices.Xvid is a...
codecs within AVI are also playable on the system. Unlike the previous Windows Mobile operating system, there are currently no third-party applications for handling other video formats. The image file formats that are supported include JPG/JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
, PNG, GIF, TIF and Bitmap (BMP).
Games
Xbox Live on Windows Phone provides some Xbox 360 features on Windows Phone devices by displaying the user's avatar in a 3D fashion. Via "Games hub", the users are able to interact with the avatar, view gamerscore and leaderboards, message Xbox Live friends, and Spotlight. Multiplayer (turn-based) gaming with live multiplayer are also released.Microsoft has unveiled more than 50 premium Windows Phone Games titles at Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
that makes use of Xbox Live on mobile. Xbox Live on Windows Phone currently doesn't offer real-time multiplayer games, but will be added in the future. Some key features of Xbox Live on Windows Phone include ability to be signed in simultaneously on the console and phone, send and receive messages between Console and Phone, unlock unique gamer points only available by purchasing the gaming title on the phone, etc.
Search
Microsoft's hardware requirements stipulate that every Windows Phone must have a dedicated Search button on the front of the device that performs different actions. Pressing the search button while an application is open will allow users to search within applications that take advantage of this feature; for example, pressing Search in the People hub will let the users search their contact list for specific people. This has been changed in Windows Phone 7.5 however - as the search button is reserved for Bing - so applications that previously used this feature (such as the Marketplace) now include soft search buttons.In other cases, pressing the Search button will allow the user to perform a search of web sites, news, and map locations using the Bing application.
Windows Phone also has a voice recognition function, powered by TellMe
Tellme Networks
Tellme. Networks, Inc. is a company founded in 1999 by Mike McCue and Angus Davis, based out of Mountain View, California, in the United States, that specializes in telephone-based applications....
, which allows the user to perform a Bing search, call contacts or launch applications by speaking. This can be activated by pressing and holding the phone's Start button.
Bing is the default search engine
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
on Windows Phone handsets due to its deep integration of functions into the OS (which also include the utilization of its map service for location-based searches and queries). However, Microsoft has stated that other search engine applications can be used.
Aside from location-based searches, Bing Maps also provide turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation is a feature of some GPS navigation devices where directions for a selected route are continually presented to the user in the form of spoken and visual instructions. The system keeps the user up-to-date about the best route to the destination, and is often updated according...
service to Windows Phone user and Local Scout shows interest points such as attractions and restaurants in the nearby area.
Bing Audio allows the user to match a song with its name and Bing Vision allows the user to match barcodes and tags with the product online.
Office suite
The "Office hub" organizes all Microsoft Office apps and documents. Microsoft Office Mobile provides interoperability between Windows Phone and the desktop version of Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
. Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, OneNote Mobile, and SharePoint Workspace Mobile allow most Microsoft Office file formats to be viewed and edited directly on a Windows Phone device.
Microsoft Office files from SkyDrive and Office 365, as well as files stored locally on the phone, can be accessed through the Office Hub. Office files are sorted by tiles: Word documents (blue tile), Excel spreadsheets (green tile), PowerPoint presentations (red tile), and OneNote documents (purple tile).
Multitasking
In Windows Phone 7, multitasking is limited to bundled apps. Starting with Windows Phone 7.5, a card-based task switcher can be accessed by pressing and holding the back button. The screenshot of last five open app are shown as cards. Apps can be kept running even when out of view through "Live Agents". In other cases, apps are suspended and can be quickly resumed.Sync
Zune Software manages the contents on Windows Phone devices and Windows Phone can wirelessly sync with Zune Software. In addition to accessing on the Windows Phone devices, Zune software can also access the Zune Marketplace to purchase music, videos, and all apps for Windows Phone. While music and videos are both stored locally on the PC and on the phone, apps are only stored on the phone even if purchased from the Zune Software. Zune Software can also be used to update all Windows Phone devices. Although Zune Software is unavailable on Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
operating system, Microsoft has released Windows Phone Connector which allow Windows Phone devices to sync with iTunes for Mac and iPhoto.
Windows Phone OS doesn't support usual USB sync with Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
's Contacts, Tasks and Notes as opposed to older versions of Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
with Desktop ActiveSync
ActiveSync
ActiveSync is a mobile data synchronization technology and protocol developed by Microsoft, originally released in 1996. There are two implementations of the technology: one which synchronizes data and information with handheld devices with a specific desktop computer , and another technology,...
. Syncing Contacts and Appointments is done via a cloud
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
-based service (Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, or Exchange Server) only. There's no way to sync this personal information directly from a computer to a windows phone and back.
Petition for Microsoft was filled to reinstate USB sync for Outlook.
Updates
According to Microsoft documentation, software updates will be delivered to Windows Phone users via Microsoft Update, as is the case with other Windows operating systems. Microsoft has the intention to directly update any phone running Windows Phone instead of relying on OEMOEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
s or wireless carriers. The software component, called Windows Phone Update, exists both on the phone (for smaller updates, over-the-air) and in the Zune Software for Windows PCs (for larger updates, via USB connection). Users will be notified to attach their phones to a PC if such an update is required. Microsoft has said that in the future, all updates, both large and small will eventually support over-the-air downloads. Charlie Kindel, Program Manager for the developer experience of Windows Phone, confirmed that the update infrastructure system for Windows Phone was available and that Microsoft is "in a position where we have the systems in place to effectively and reliably deliver updates to (Windows Phone) users".
Microsoft plans to regularly ship minor updates that add features throughout the year, and major updates once a year.
7.0.7008 - Improvement for future update
7.0.7390 - Codename "NoDo" with Copy and Paste, fast application startup, and deeper Facebook Integration
7.0.7392 - Revoking of fraudulent certificates
7.0.7403 - Pre-Mango
7.10.7720 - Windows Phone 7.5 Mango available now
7.10.7740 - Fixed email issue in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and voicemail notification issue.
All third-party applications can be updated automatically from the Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
.
Advertising platform
Microsoft has also launched an advertising platform for the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft's General Manager for Strategy and Business Development, Kostas Mallios, said that Windows Phone will be an "ad-serving machine", pushing advertising and brand-related content to the user. The platform will feature advertising tiles near applications and toast notificationsToast (computing)
In software engineering, a toast is a small, informational window displayed by certain kinds of software, especially instant messaging clients such as AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, XFire and Trillian...
, which will bring updating advertising notifications. Mallios said that Windows Phone will be able to "preserve the brand experience by going directly from the web site right to the application", and that Windows Phone "enables advertisers to connect with consumers over time". Mallios continued: "you're now able to push information as an advertiser, and stay in touch with your customer. It's a dynamic relationship that is created and provides for an ongoing dialog with the consumer."
Bluetooth
Windows Phone supports the following Bluetooth profileBluetooth profile
A Bluetooth profile is a wireless interface specification for Bluetooth-based communication between devices.In order to use Bluetooth technology, a device must be compatible with the subset of Bluetooth profiles necessary to use the desired services. A Bluetooth profile resides on top of the...
s:
- Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP 1.3)
- Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP 1.0)
- Hands Free Profile (HFP 1.5)
- Headset Profile (HSP 1.1)
- Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP 1.0)
Marketplace
The Windows Phone MarketplaceWindows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
is used to digitally distribute music, video content, podcasts, and third party applications to Windows Phone handsets. The marketplace is accessible using the Zune Software
Zune Software
The Zune software functions as management software for Windows Phone 7, Zune devices, and Microsoft Kin, a full media player application with a library, an interface to the Zune Marketplace, and as a media streaming server. Zune Software is used to sync with all devices with Zune functionality....
client or the marketplace hub on devices (though videos are not downloadable through the marketplace hub and must be downloaded and synced through the Zune software). The marketplace is managed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, which includes an approval process.
Music and videos
Zune Marketplace offers 14 million songs up to 320 kbit/s in DRMDigital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format from the big four music groups
World music market
The music industry or music business sells compositions, recordings and performances of music. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate within the industry are the musicians who compose and perform the music; the companies and professionals who create and sell recorded music The...
(EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, Sony BMG and Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
), as well as smaller music labels. It offers movies from Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Warner Brothers, and other studios and also offer television shows from popular television networks.
Microsoft also offers Zune Pass music subscription service which allows subscribers to download an unlimited number of songs for as long as their subscription is active.
Development
Third party applications and games for Windows Phone must be based on XNAMicrosoft XNA
Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
or a WP7 specific version of Silverlight only. For Windows Phone apps to be designed and tested within Visual Studio 2010 or Visual Studio 2010 Express editions, Microsoft offers Windows Phone Developer Tools as an extension. Windows Phone Developer Tools run only on Windows Vista SP2 and later. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported. Microsoft also offers Expression Blend for Windows Phone for free. On November 29, 2009, Microsoft announced the Release to web (RTW) version of its Visual Basic .NET
Visual Basic .NET
Visual Basic .NET , is an object-oriented computer programming language that can be viewed as an evolution of the classic Visual Basic , which is implemented on the .NET Framework...
Developer Tool, to allow development in Visual Basic.
Submission
Registered Windows Phone and Xbox Live developers can submit and manage their third party applications for the platforms though the App Hub web applications. The App Hub provides development tools and support for third-party application developers. The submitted applications undergo an approval process for verifications and validations to check if they qualify the applications standardization criteria set by Microsoft. The cost of the applications that are approved is up to the developer, but Microsoft will take 30% of the revenue (the other 70% goes to the developer). Microsoft will only pay developers once they reach a set sales figure, and will withhold 30% tax from non-US developers, unless they first register with the United States Government's Internal Revenue Service. Microsoft only pays developers from a list of thirty countries. A yearly fee is also payable for developers wishing to submit apps.In order to get an application to appear in the Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace
Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
, the application must be submitted to Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for approval. Microsoft has outlined the content that it will not allow in the applications, which includes content it deem “sexually suggestive”.
Hardware
System requirements
Microsoft has said that it is issuing "tough, but fair" hardware requirements to manufacturers.All Windows Phone devices, at minimum, must include the following:
| Minimum Windows Phone device requirements |
|---|
| Capacitive, 4-point multi-touch Multi-touch In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface... screen with WVGA (480x800) resolution |
| ARM ARM architecture ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced... v7 "Cortex/Scorpion" – Snapdragon QSD8X50, MSM7X30, and MSM8X55 |
| DirectX9 rendering-capable GPU |
| 256MB of RAM Ram -Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another... with at least 8GB of Flash memory Flash memory Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data... |
| Accelerometer Accelerometer An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame... with compass Compass A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined... , ambient light sensor, proximity sensor Proximity sensor A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact.A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic or a beam of electromagnetic radiation , and looks for changes in the field or return signal. The object being sensed is often referred to as... , Assisted GPS Assisted GPS Assisted GPS, generally abbreviated as A-GPS or aGPS, is a system which can, under certain conditions, improve the startup performance, or time-to-first-fix of a GPS satellite-based positioning system. It is used extensively with GPS-capable cellular phones as its development was accelerated by... , and Gyroscope Gyroscope A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation... |
| 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash and an optional front facing camera |
| FM radio tuner |
| Six (6) dedicated hardware buttons – back, Start, search, 2-stage camera, power/sleep and volume buttons |
Reviews
Reception to Windows Phone has been generally positive, with special note to certain shortcomings (the lack of VPN support, and the inability to use it as USB disk being two of the most important ones), which EngadgetEngadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
and Gizmodo
Gizmodo
Gizmodo is a technology weblog about consumer electronics. It is part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton and is known for its up-to-date coverage of the technology industry, along with topics as broad as design; architecture; space and science....
felt were notable omissions in a modern smartphone OS. ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
praised the OS’s virtual keyboard and noted the excellent touch precision as well as powerful auto-correct and revision software. The touch responsiveness of the OS has also been universally praised by all three sites with reviewers noting the smoothness of scrolling and gestures like pinch to zoom in web browsing.
The reception to the “Metro” UI and overall interface of the OS has also been highly praised for its style, with ZDNet noting its originality and fresh clean look. Engadget and ZDNet applauded the integration of Facebook into the People Hub as well as other built in capabilities, such as Windows Live, etc.
Market share
According to GartnerGartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
, 1.7 million smartphones using a Microsoft mobile OS were sold world wide in the second quarter of 2011, for a 1.6% market share. In the third quarter of 2011, WP7's world wide market share dropped slightly to 1.5%.
Studies carried out by Nielsen Company indicated that in the US, WP7 achieved a smart phone market share of 1% each in the periods March to May, and May to July 2011. For Q3 2011, Nielsen reported a US marketshare of 3% for Microsoft’s mobile platforms, without differentiating between Windows Mobile and WP7.
Awards
Windows Phone was presented with a total of three awards at the 2011 International Design Excellence Awards; Gold in Interactive Product Experience, Silver in Research and Bronze in the Design Strategy.“The Windows Phone 7 was built around the idea that the end user is king. The design team began by defining and understanding the people who would use this phone. It was convinced that there could be a better user experience for a phone, one that revolves more around who the users are rather than what they do. The Windows Phone 7 lets users quickly get in, get out and back to their lives.”
At the awards ceremony, Windows Phone 7 was given "the noteworthy People’s Choice Award, an award handed to the favorite IDEA 2011 gold award winner."
See also
- List of Windows Phone devices
- Metro (design language)
- Microsoft SilverlightMicrosoft SilverlightMicrosoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
- Microsoft XNAMicrosoft XNAMicrosoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
- Mobile operating systemMobile operating systemA mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
- Zune HDZune HDThe Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010...
- Windows MobileWindows MobileWindows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
- Xbox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
- Windows 8Windows 8Windows 8 is the codename for the next version of the Microsoft Windows computer operating system following Windows 7. It has many changes from previous versions. In particular it adds support for ARM microprocessors in addition to the previously supported x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD...