Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"AT&T Tilt2 owners are in for a surprise. A new ROM has surfaced over at Shipped-ROMs that appears to be a Windows Mobile 6.5 update for the Tilt2. On top of the ROM surfacing, over at XDA Developers, a new radio has also surfaced from AT&T (included in the ROM update)."

George Ponder at WMExperts is reporting that AT&T's Tilt2 may soon be getting an official Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM update. Meanwhile, he's gone ahead and flashed his Tilt2 with what he believes to be a test version. He likes the result, noting that the new interface elements are clean and effective. A new radio is also included. He suggests that you could try this out yourself, or wait for the official release which is likely to surface in the next few weeks. I'd say if you've been waiting to see this for some time, click the Read link and get flashing.

gdgt runs gadget shows across the US (duh!), among other things, and the latest iteration was in Seattle. Apparently Microsoft's booth drew a lot of interest from visitors, checking out the Windows Phone 7 prototypes (the LG model). There's not much to the news, except to confirm that people are starting to get hip to WP7, but there's a short photo gallery that may hold your interest.

AT&T is currently running a one cent sale for any Windows Mobile phone. For your penny you can get a Samsung Jack, HP Glisten, LG Expo, or a HTC Tilt2. As AT&T has been rumored to be an important launch partner for Windows Phone 7, this could be a move to clear out inventory. Buyers will have to sign a two year contract as well as sign up for at least a $15 data package.

Hi there. The topic of ad blockers tend to generate some heated discussions around these parts, so I'm going to keep this really simple: if you're running an ad blocker, this is a polite request that you white-list this Web site and allow the ads to load. Here's why: I work hard to keep the ads on Thoughts Media sites non-intrusive; I say no to pop-ups, pop-unders, full-page ads, ads with sounds, etc. I know that those types of ads are irritating, and I value the readership of everyone who visits our sites. I don't want to irritate anyone with our ads.

What you may not realize about online ads is that, for the majority of them, when they simply load, that helps me pay the bills (our server bill alone is almost $500/month). Ad blockers stop the ads from loading, which hurts this site. You don't have to click on the ads - just letting them load helps us out a lot. If you do click on them, all the better - that helps us get better advertisers because they know you're interested in the ads. It will help us continue to provide you with the content that you come here for, and that benefits you in the end. So please white list this Web site in your ad blocker.

As a side note, I have a personal "1 visit, 1 click" policy where, when I visit a site and read/watch some content on it, I find an ad that I'm interested in and click on it. It only takes a few seconds of my time to do, and it's my way of giving back to that site, thanking them for creating that thing I just read/watched. The Internet would be a very different place if everyone had a similar policy. Just a thought to ponder as you head into the weekend. :-)

"With the Windows Phone Developer Tools in Beta and Windows Phone 7 in ,now is the time for you to build Windows Phone 7 apps in earnest. We have refreshed our developer documentation to help you build those apps, and we have two, new design-focused documents to help you make them look beautiful. First up, the UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 v2.0 has been updated from the ground up for beta. With additional information and a new layout we hope you will find more readable, this guide provides detailed information about UI elements and controls, UI system behaviors, and the interaction model for the touch interface based on the design system internally named Metro. Designers and developers should read this guide to learn about the dos and don'ts of UI implementations for their Windows Phone apps. We've made it easier to find specific guidance by putting it in bold in the right-hand column of each page."

Style guidelines and more are now available to developers looking to not only write great apps, but make them look halfway decent as well. For all the docs, hit up Microsoft's site. If you want a really nice indepth review of the UI Design, take a look at this excellent piece from WMExperts!

It's been a little over three weeks since news leaked that HTC were killing off their Dopod brand, which they bought over a few years back in a sweetheart deal and used in certain markets in East Asia. Now the expected denouement is in sight - HTC will be marketing their devices under their own brand name on the China mainland, with four units spearheading the effort via China Mobile on the operator side and GOME in retail. On the launchpad are the Tianxi, Tianyi, Desire and Wildfire, with the Tianxi looking to be the only one running Windows Mobile. You can read through the full press release here.

"What's different about Windows Phone 7? Everything. Microsoft has started completely fresh with the design for Windows Phone 7, so old users won't even recognize the new interface, which now uses a system of tiles and hubs. Other major additions include voice recognition, integrated Xbox Live functionality, and multi-touch support."

Nick Mokey over at Digital Trends has written a short guide claiming to be everything you need to know about Windows Phone 7. I guess it really depends on who you are and your overall knowledge of what's been going on in the smartphone world to know for sure if it really is "all you need to know". It does cover all the basics though, and if you've not been following all the discussions and news about Windows Phone 7 then this is a good place to go. The article does have an embedded video from Chris Pirillo that provides a 17-minute walkthrough of an early Windows Phone 7 build.

"With the loss of the software customization and the lack of hardware variation, OEMs might find themselves with no effective means of establishing a brand or carving out a niche for themselves. Though they're supporting Windows Phone 7 right now, there's a good chance that they will lose interest once their hardware has been commoditized...This commoditization is, after all, what Microsoft wants: Redmond wants people to think of the phones, first and foremost, as Windows Phone 7 devices, and for the vendor differences to take a back seat. But unless the company can do something to keep the hardware companies sweet, it may find that they drop the platform in favor of one where they can do more to create their own identity: Android being the obvious contender."

Ars Technica weighs in and argues that Microsoft should copy the Apple model wholesale. To be fair, the reasoning is sound; the business model Microsoft is using with WP7 is a combination of Apple's closed ecosystem and the license-and-build model of Windows Mobile. The billion dollar question is: Is this approach the best of both worlds, or the worst? MS has already given up on the licensing model with their MP3 player efforts - upsetting both vendors and consumers in the process - and it's arguable that smartphones are more a consumer electronics market than a PC market. After all, it's not as if you can swap components in an existing device if you wanted to. On the other hand, the failure of the Kin will probably make MS sour to the go-it-alone idea for at least a couple of years to come. Thoughts, people?

Engadget has the scoop on an as-yet unnamed HTC device running Windows Phone 7. The features of the device include the required 1GHz processor, a 3.7-inch SLCD, an 8MP camera, and three touch-sensitive buttons. In my opinion, the device looks a little plain when compared to something like the rumored Dell Lightning. The Engadget source says the "hardware is ready," but this rumor has yet to be confirmed and I wouldn't be surprised to see the device change before launch (There are often carrier adjustments that could significantly change the appearance and features.). Hit the link for more photos of the device.

German site magnus.de has a pretty awesome and comprehensive four-part walk-through of Windows Phone 7. The first part is embedded above, which shows off some of the underlying concepts and what a hub is. If you want to check out the other three parts, simply read on... Read more...