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

"We just spent some quality time with the MIX10 build of Windows Phone 7 Series running on the same prototype hardware sourced from Garmin-Asus that we saw at MWC -- and apart from a few Murphy's Law-style demo hiccups, we loved what we saw."

I'll say this much: anyone who thinks that this is a copy of the iPhone clearly isn't paying attention. Well worth watching - lots of great stuff in the video. Love it or hate it, Windows phone 7 is full of little things that, when taken together, make for a very different experience than anything else out there today.

"We've had it up here with these shenanigans. You're jerking us around, and we're sick of it. We get it, you have a very particular concept of what sort of phones you want running your new Windows Phone 7 Series OS. Not only do we get it, but we're kind of proud of you for sticking up for yourself for once and ensuring some sort of sameness across your platform. Unfortunately, it's not the holiday season yet, so we can't buy one of these fancy WP7S phones yet. Meanwhile, on the other end of town, HTC is bringing the HD2 to T-Mobile in the US this month. Sure, it runs your soon-to-be-outdated Windows Mobile 6.5 OS which nobody wants, but it's also pretty much the best hardware we've ever seen. Bar none."

Paul Miller published an editorial at Engadget yesterday that made me think about the consequences of corporate secrecy and policy when it comes to the geek community. Even as someone willing to play by these rules (as evidenced by my own NDA with Microsoft), I still long for a time where geeks can have what they want, and companies can keep mainstream customers happy. Unfortunately I don't see that happening any time soon for some very practical reasons. And in the end, as frustrating as it is, I think it is for the better.

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"Microsoft's Aaron Woodman just pulled off a little surprise here at The Engadget Show: he brought out LG's Windows Phone 7 Series pre-production prototype! The QWERTY slider is the first branded Windows Phone 7 Series device the world's ever seen"

5 MP Camera! Flash! 3.5 mm Jack! And more pictures available over on Engadget's site. And while I like the look of the front, I'm not too crazy about the keypad's buttons. Thoughts?

In case my summary of the keynote wasn't enough for you - it's OK, my feelings aren't hurt by the, the Johnny-on-the-spot gang at Engadget did a live blog of the launch event. Lots of great photos, worth a look!

"Forget everything you know about Windows Mobile. Seriously, throw the whole OS concept in a garbage bin or incinerator or something. Microsoft has done what would have been unthinkable for the company just a few years ago: started from scratch. At least, that's how things look (and feel) with Windows Phone 7 Series. This really is a completely new OS -- and not just Microsoft's new OS, it's a new smartphone OS, like webOS new, like iPhone OS new."

The guys at Engadget had a chance to get their hands on a Windows phone 7 device before this craziness started this morning, and it's worth a read. There is no Windows Mobile - there is only Windows phone. Forget what you thought you knew about what this product was going to be...

"You'll be familiar with the LG eXpo and its specs already -- which include a slideout QWERTY keyboard and 1GHz Snapdragon under the hood -- but we thought we'd go try the handset out for ourselves and tell you what we thought. Construction on this little machine was plenty sturdy to withstand the bumps associated with its unusual shape, while the keyboard slider mechanism had a reassuring feel to it. On the whole our impression was that you've got a middle of the road modern phone with a sales hook that depends on just how into projecting your images you are."

I've been pleasantly surprised at the reports of the LG eXpo's projector, especially since it seems highly usable. Engadget takes it out for a spin and adds a bit more info on this first WinMo Projector phone.

"We're not sure we'd be able to find a piece of hardware that made us adore Windows Mobile 6.5 the same way we adore puppies or a hot cup of cocoa, but that doesn't mean that the usual suspects -- HTC, Samsung, LG, and the like -- aren't producing some magnificent hardware on which to run it. Today we've had a chance to give LG's new eXpo for AT&T a quick once-over, and on paper, this is a hell of a handset: 5 megapixel autofocus cam, a fingerprint sensor that doubles as a d-pad, Snapdragon power, a WVGA display, full QWERTY, and most notably, support for an optional microprojector add-on"

The LG eXpo is hitting the news big as of late, and Engadget has their two cents out if you're interested and want to take a look at both some nice pictures of the device and some interesting reading!

"We're currently at a multi-purpose Microsoft event right now -- an event touring the company's holiday lineup, as well as today's launch of Windows phone devices (AKA, Windows Mobile 6.5). We had a chance to sit down with Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, and ask him some questions about where the big M is headed with its recent lineup."

While the conversation with Robbie Bach had some interesting points on Windows Mobile and Windows Phones in general, in light of the recent Sidekick fiasco, I found the following point slightly ironic:

Peter Rojas asks about the company's acquisition of Danger. Robbie: "There were clear reasons for us to acquire Danger -- I think in time that will pan out. It wasn't another OS, it was services... the Sidekick isn't our brand, it's T-Mobile's brand."

Oh how I bet many at Microsoft would love to keep repeating that mantra over the next week...

"We had a chance to give HTC's newest darling device -- the Windows Mobile 6.5-sporting HD2 -- a more thorough hands-on today, and we wanted to share our impressions. Firstly, we must say that HTC has done perhaps its most ambitious skinning job ever here. So while this does run atop Windows Mobile 6.5, you rarely see the OS poking through the gorgeous new Sense user interface the company has created."

It looks like there's a lot to like about the HTC HD2, but I'm honestly questioning the 4.3 inch screen. It looks HUGE in Eric Lin's hands...is 4.3 inches too big? What do you think? I guess I'll have to see it in person to decide. Other than that, wow, does this device look hot! HTC Sense - the new term for TouchFlo3D - looks buttery smooth in performance. This looks like it's going to be a great device - and it seems like it's even going to come to North America...

"That's why droves of subscribers on virtually every carrier are on the edge of their seats awaiting the Touch Pro2's release. Whether you love, hate, or feel nothing but pure, unadulterated ambivalence toward Windows Mobile, it's hard to argue that the Pro2 isn't a gorgeous smartphone at a distance, and T-Mobile USA's gently-tweaked version is no exception."

Engadget has a nice write-up on the Touch Pro 2, including more pictures like the one above. Overall it isn't a bad looking device, and it's taking a lot of control for me not to buy one. However with 2 phones already purchased this summer, I think I should hold off for awhile!

"So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously. Granted, we get nastygrams from angry tech companies practically every day, but rarely regarding anything that's not some piece of news we published that they're livid about having out in the open. And irony of ironies, this whole use-of-magenta thing is precisely the topic we took up last year on behalf of DT."

It is Friday here at Pocket PC Thoughts, and today I'm thinking about how best to get myself confused with a major company to try to get my exposure up. Apparently T-Mobile may be thinking that Engadget Mobile had similar thoughts and as thus sent out a rather interesting letter to them. The scary part? I can almost see T-Mobile's point because Yes, Engadget Mobile does use the word "Mobile" and yes, they do use a color very similar to T-Mo's magenta (to color the word Mobile, nonetheless). While I don't think anyone is confused by the difference, I can kinda see T-Mobile's point, in a weird convoluted way. So am I weird? Is this completely frivilous or is there something to see here?