A quick glance at the Windows Phone 7 Series interface makes one thing clear — this isn’t like any other mobile phone operating system you’ve seen before. Instead of aping the “icons on a grid” user interface that the iPhone came to own (and which was later expanded upon in Google’s Android OS and Palm’s Web OS), Microsoft is aiming for something completely different. And let’s face it, even Apple’s design could be considered a modern upgrade of the standard cell phone user interface we’ve been looking at for decades.
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The OS is divided into six activity hubs that cover what most users would want in a modern smartphone. The “People” hub is the major social experience — which offers live feed updates from feeds, as well as the ability to post your own status updates to Facebook or Windows Live. Twitter wasn’t demonstrated at the event, but you can bet that it’ll be available come launch (there’s already a Twitter app available for the Zune HD).
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The “Games” hub will likely be a favorite among Xbox 360 fans. The hub integrates Xbox Live into the OS, which allows you to check out gamer scores and achievements from your Live friends. And of course, it will be your go-to spot for games on the platform. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t demonstrate any games at Mobile World Congress, but we can expect further details to trickle out in the coming months.
Windows Phone 7 series isn’t entirely entertainment-focused. In the “Office” hub, you’ll be able to work on typical Microsoft Office documents, and it also includes support for Microsoft’s Sharepoint Workspace. Corporate users will likely appreciate the inclusion of Outlook Mobile as well.
Finally, there’s the “Marketplace” hub, which will be your destination for finding applications and games. Microsoft was strangely coy about the third-party application approval process, but after Apple’s app store troubles, we can likely expect a more relaxed approach.
Hardware partners include “Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm Inc.”
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Microsoft is also aiming big with mobile operators; carrier partners include “AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.” The partnerships are a challenge to Apple’s still AT&T-centric iPhone — and they will likely make Google sweat a bit as well, since Android has been fighting for a presence across all carriers.
The biggest problem for Windows Phone 7 Series so far is Microsoft’s contempt for Mac users. There are currently no plans to support Macs. Microsoft would also have to build a Mac version of its Zune software to support media syncing — something it has refused to do for the Zune devices so far. If it really wants to reclaim a stake in the mobile market, Microsoft will have to suck it up and develop for Apple’s platform.
Expect to be flooded with further details in the coming days and months. You can check out the full press release here.
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