1. Introduction, What is new in Windows Phone 7 Series? 2. Windows Phone 7 Series Hubs 3. Hardware Requirements, Questions Yet To Be Answered, Questions yet t… 4. What Next? What Was the Point of the Show?, Article rating 5. Related articles, Reader comments (0 comments)

Introduction

There we go. A new and truly revolutionary version of the Windows Mobile operating system, the Windows Phone 7 Series, has been introduced. This put Microsoft for a few days in the limelight. We can only hope that such a situation will repeat more often. In this article, we summarize known facts about the new system, review questions yet to be answered, and analyse the whole situation.

The operating system is based on a new Windows CE 6 kernel that has been already implemented in ZuneHD. In fact, the whole user environment resembles that of the ZuneHD quite closely, so if you have seen it before, Windows Phone 7 Series will look familiar to you. Although many things change with the arrival of Windows Mobile 7, Microsoft has been resisting the temptation to offer a device under its own brand. Instead, it has been building cooperation with third-party hardware vendors, with the latest move an attempt to exercise more control over them.

Your reporter was not present in Barcelona, which is why this article is based mainly on official sources, a press conference, and various other materials, as quoted accordingly.

What is new in Windows Phone 7 Series?

Most commentators and users have agreed that the question is not what has changed, but what has stayed the same. Reports that Microsoft had been planning a revolution and had been going to start from scratch without legacy burden proved to be correct upon the first look at the system. Microsoft introduced a brand new user interaction concept where most static screens, menus, and other “dated” controls were replaced with a dynamic interface that changes according to the context.

The Today screen remains the starting point of the system. However, it has been fundamentally redesigned. As you can see in most images and videos, the Today screen should be fully user-configurable and offers a continuously updated overview of local (SMS messages, e-mails, missed calls...) and online (Facebook, Windows Live...) events, and an easy access to the main hubs, which we are going to discuss later. Reportedly, changes to the main screen are to be left up to the user while device manufacturers should leave it as it is, at least in the first versions. The basic building block is a rectangular tile into which the user can link any application, contact, URL, photo gallery, or audio track. It can also serve as a standalone widget or a link to one of the six hubs.

Although it was not highlighted in the main program of the conference, official screen shots clearly show completely redesigned system controls, such as buttons, check boxes, and a software keyboard. The good old Start menu is gone, as is the majority of the familiar configuration elements. Simplification is the motto of the day. This fundamental change has met with mixed reactions. However, Microsoft says this is not the final version of the GUI, which is yet to be tuned and polished.

The simplification means there is always only the necessary minimum of information on the screen complemented by a new controls concept. The system is based on a kind of large virtual desktop with information and controls with the user changing the active view simply by dragging the finger. You can see this in screen shots of the different hubs below. The visual style is original, featuring a combination of graphical elements and text labels of various sizes that often exceed the boundary of the viewable area. The Today screen is also composed of plain, single-colour lines and fields. All transitions, movements and operations are smoothly animated, which is the reason why the system requires a powerful CPU and video chip.

There are going to be many more innovations. Basically, this is a completely new system where it will be easier to find 20 new functionalities than one remaining the same from the previous version, as you can see in the videos. In any case this is a true revolution.

1. Introduction, What is new in Windows Phone 7 Series? 2. Windows Phone 7 Series Hubs 3. Hardware Requirements, Questions Yet To Be Answered, Questions yet t… 4. What Next? What Was the Point of the Show?, Article rating 5. Related articles, Reader comments (0 comments)