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

"Ready for another long, drawn-out copy and paste controversy to overtake your every waking moment for a year or two? Good: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won't be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series... so that's that."

This is one of the groan-worthy things I learned about Windows phone 7 about a month ago, but haven't been able to share because it was under NDA. So...uh, yeah, no copy and paste right now in the product. Every MVP in the room had a fit when this information was revealed; it was real "shock and awe". We of course immediately started asking the team how they could leave out something so core to user experience, and the general response was that they wanted to have it in the product, but they couldn't fit it in by shipping time. I know, I know, many of you will feel they should have left something else out of the product and put in copy and paste. But, you know, there's this update thing that might make painful omissions like this easy for Microsoft to fix in the months after they go code complete, but before the products actually hit the shelves. The Zune HD that I took out of the box was missing a bunch of feature until I connected it and got the update so...there's hope. But proceed with your screaming and ranting anyway. ;-)

"...I sit down with Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher for Microsoft Research and Albert Shum, Director of Mobile Experience Design for Windows Phone 7 Series to talk about creating compelling user experiences, how developers and designers can work together in harmony and random Canadian trivia."

Bill Buxton is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft, and Albert Shum is a Mobile Design Partner - curious titles, but if you want to understand some of the background behind the user experience of Windows phone 7, this video is a must-watch.

UPDATE: The video embed code from channel9 doesn't want to work, so you'll have to jump over to their site to watch the video.

"In the last six months, Apple and Google have jousted over acquisitions, patents, directors, advisers and iPhone applications. Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt have taken shots at each other's companies in the media and in private exchanges with employees."

The New York Times has a very interesting article on the head-butting going on between Apple and Google right now. Frankly, I think the whole thing is a bit silly and is too ego-driven, but on the other hand, the inevitable distraction this will cause both companies gives Microsoft an opportunity to launch a brand new OS that will need some time to grow.

Lots of development news came out of MIX10 yesterday, and if you're interested in coding up something special for Windows Phone 7 series, here's the info you need.

First you'll want to download the development tools at the developer website. Next, once you've got everything installed, you'll want to hit up these samples, demos, and Channel 9 labs at this Windows Team Blog post. From there on it's happy coding to those who want to get their apps ready for the next generation of Windows phones!

Quick reminder, contest for the Gomadic 2-in-1 Charger ends this Friday. You can check out the details and the thread here. DO NOT reply to this posting as your entry won't count unless it is to the original contest thread. Thanks!

"Using "super" to describe your new display technology just begs for criticism. Especially when the word is affixed to a handheld display technology as notoriously difficult (if near impossible) to see in direct sunlight as OLED. Fortunately, Samsung's Super AMOLED appears to have licked the outdoor readability issue while bettering the features that made us fall in love with AMOLEDs in the first place. First off, it's thinner since the touch sensors are now integrated into the display; colors are more vivid due to the removal of the obfuscating touch sensor layer that sits on top of TFT LCD and traditional AMOLED touchscreen displays; and even the viewing angle has been improved. You won't find a soundtrack in the video posted after the break because the technology is already booming enough."

First go and check out the 1:41 minute video here. Ok, are you excited? I am. Outdoor readability, brighter, more vivid colors, viewable from many angles - how could this not be a good thing? My only concern will be how battery life handles an awesome display like this. Video games are going to look fantastic. I just hope it's everything they're boasting it to be. How much brighter? How much more colorful? And is the outdoor readability going to be that much better? Only time will tell but I definitely think we're headed in the right direction.

Engadget is reporting from Mix10 and has taken some shots of a new Netflix app for Windows Phone 7 Series. It is just a prototype and may or may not be released in its current form. What separates it from other Netflix mobile apps is this one isn't just about managing your queue. You can instantly watch the same movies that could be streamed to your TiVo or X-Box. As Engadget says, this shows the power of Silverlight on the platform.

There is also a short 2-3 minute video of the presentation demoing what it would be like to watch a movie on your phone from Netflix.

"At Microsoft MIX10 today the Windows Phone 7 Series team are handing out a very special picture book all about our favorite user interface, Metro. There is 47 pages full of beautiful text and icons that explain where Metro comes from, what Metro represents and what guide Metro."

Doing the rounds at MIX10 is Microsoft's picture guide to Metro, the UI driving Windows Phone 7 Series. Want a look? Head over to istartedsomething where Long Zheng has delivered a slideshow of this 47-page book in all its page-by-page glory.

"Today we're disclosing the details of the Windows Phone 7 application development platform and tools and how to create more compelling and creative applications and games based on Silverlight and XNA. Everything starts there, but it doesn't end there, not until you've been able to distribute and sell your application to a customer. The way users discover and download an application or game on their Windows Phone 7 Series device is through the Windows Phone Marketplace."

There's no denying that the existing Windows Mobile Marketplace is a stretch from what it should be. Enter the Windows Phone Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series. Microsoft has significantly revamped the shopping experience to meet user expectations.

The Marketplace will ship on every Windows Phone 7 Series device and deliver a single, consistent environment from which you can browse through, purchase, and update apps, games, music, and podcasts, and also view special offers and exclusives as they happen. Now, Apple, take note! There's also a Trial API available to developers to release trial versions of apps if they wish to. Microsoft describes the Marketplace in greater detail on The Windows Blog, so be sure to head over there and check out the article.

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"Today, Opera Software released the final versions of the world's most popular mobile Web browsers, Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10. Now, nearly any mobile phone can support an Opera-driven Web experience, complete with unmatched speed, style and cost savings. Simply go to m.opera.com/ to download it directly to your phone today. Today's release puts the finishing touches on the Opera mobile-browsing duo. The focus is on delivering the best Internet experience on nearly any mobile phone, along with a unified look and feel and innovative favorite features, such as Speed Dial, password manager and tabbed browsing."

Opera Mini 5 for Windows Mobile is actually still in beta, though Opera Mobile 10 has indeed lost its beta tag and is now available as an official release. Head on over to Opera and grab it. It's free and widely seen as a better alternative to Internet Explorer.