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

"By now you've probably read our in-depth blowout of Windows Phone 7 (and if not, what are you waiting for?). But what you haven't seen yet is our exclusive sit-down with Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, wherein we talk about the ins and outs of the new mobile operating system. We grill the Windows Phone corporate VP about a whole stack of items, and do our very best to make him start crying like a Barbara Walters interview subject (spoiler alert, he doesn't cry). Still, we think there's some good insight here into what the company thinks of its odds in the smartphone wars, and what kinds of features we will (and won't) see when these devices launch this fall. Take a look at the video after the break -- you won't regret it."

Joe Belfiore is part of the core leadership on the Windows Phone 7 team, and this is an excellent interview between Belfiore and Engadget's Joshua Topolsky. Well worth watching.

"The LG Fathom is Verizon's latest Windows Mobile Pro touchscreen smartphone. It features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. It's also the first US phone to run Windows Mobile Pro 6.5.3, which includes a few UI tweaks to make finger operation a bit easier."

Mobile Tech Review recently posted a 10 minute video review of Verizon's new LG Fathom, one of the first (and probably one of the last) devices to come with Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

Along with the speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Fathom also includes dual-mode GSM/CDMA functionality, GPS, b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.2 megapixel camera and microSD card slot.

The LG Fathom will go on sale May 27th for $149.99, with two year contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate).

Anyone plan on picking this up? Check out the video and let us know your thoughts.

Curious about the Zune software experience in Windows phone 7? This video shows how it's going to work - I can't wait! Windows Media Player Mobile has been a useless piece of software in need of a complete re-write for years, so I'm happy to see it completely going away. Zune FTW! :-)

"Many of us who tried out the Windows Phone 7 simulator were disappointed to discover the simulator didn’t contain a lot of the functionality that was being shown off at Mix10. It turns out Dan Ardelean has published a modified or ‘unlocked’ version of the simulator that contains virtually everything that was displayed. The front page is now full of apps that work, the settings menu is a long list of options for those apps."

Australian tech site, techAU.tv, recently posted two video simulations of WP7. The first video (about 10 minutes) shows different apps in action, while the second video goes through many of the settings screens.

One item that stood out to me was a Speech setting. I was worried if VoiceCommand may not make in WP7 (at least at launch) and was pleasantly surprised when I saw a Speech Settings option under General Settings (near beginning of second video).

While Microsoft hasn't officially announced that voice control will be available in WP7 (they may obviously still be working on it), I now have hope that this feature will make it at launch.

Hit the Read link for the videos and let us know your thoughts. What stands out to you?

Damn, I wish the phone had that pop-up holographic display - wouldn't that be cool? Even cooler than having copy and paste? ;-)

"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.

"...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.

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.

"Our brother editor Rene Ritchie of TiPB fame is still out at GDC 2010 in San Francisco, and he's caught up with Microsoft's Loke Uei to talk a little more about developing for Windows Phone 7 Series, and what's coming up."

Have some time this afternoon and want to hear more about upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series? Then check out this video interview with Loke Uei from WMExperts!

Lots of great stuff in this video on Windows phone 7 - worth watching! Their embed code doesn't work though, so you'll have to jump over to the site to watch it.

I can't understand a word of the dialogue, but the video speaks for itself - the Aspen looks like one nice device if you're the kind of person who likes the front-facing QWERTY messaging devices (and until the HD2 came my way, that was my #1 preferred device style). Oh, be prepared for some psychedelic white balance issues in the video...it's trippy!

"With the power of mobile phones more and more people want to watch movies on them. The problem is, a lot of people don't know where to begin. There are a few different routes you can take to get a movie on your phone. The main two are to buy them from various vendors or you can create them. It is pretty easy to buy them and add them to your phone using Amazon Unbox so let me help you with this one first."

Those of you looking for some interesting videos to watch on your Windows Mobile Device may be interested in this piece detailing how to add Amazon Unbox videos to your SD card, to then play in your WinMo device!

"The short video segment showcases the Microsoft My Phone service which, amongst other things, allows users to locate and retrieve a lost mobile phone. Watch as host Natali DelConte tosses her AT&T HTC Pure into the back of a cab as it drives straight into the heart of New York City. Laugh Be concerned when the GPS signal fails and the phone is no longer traceable, seemingly lost forever..."

CNET's Senior Editor Natali DelConte tested Microsoft's My Phone tracking service, which helps users locate misplaced (or stolen) smartphones, by throwing it into the back of a cab in New York City and seeing how successful she is recovering it by using the service. In the end the GPS tracking feature didn't help, but the phone was returned by a good samaritan who saw a message on the phone's screen that was sent using the service. Read more...

The HTC HD2 [affiliate] is a device worthy of much coverage - it's really a ground-breaking Windows Mobile device, and a big part of that is the software that HTC has put such huge effort into creating. This is a two-part video walk-through of the HTC "secret sauce": HTC Sense, a.k.a. TouchFlo 3D. The second video is after the break - enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions about the device or the software. Read more...

The audio is Greek to me - literally, it's two Greek guys talking - but mute the audio and enjoy the video. Finally, someone with a camera that can focus and decent lighting to boot! The Touch HD2 looks like an amazing device, and the updated version of HTC Sense (a.k.a. TouchFlo 3D) is ridiculously responsive and gorgeous on this device. The only weird thing I noticed was that they had a hard time doing the reverse-pinch to zoom out on the browser. I wonder why that wasn't working very well?

At least they have a sense of humour...now if only they could fix the security problems, the fact that they're using SIM-based filtering of applications, and no version yet for the million and millions of Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 phones.

"I think the intent of the Windows Mobile 6.5 release was to provide a more finger friendly user interface on touch screen devices, while non-touchscreen devices remain pretty much the same. I believe there were some backend updates and improvements, but there were not readily apparent. There are four main areas where end users will see changes and these are in the Start menu, lock screen, Today screen, and menus. Let's check out each area in more detail."

My friend the hyper-productive Matt Miller - seriously, how DOES he do it? - has his take on Windows Mobile 6.5. And it's about the same as most of the other reviews we've seen today...there's a general feeling of "Really? This is it?". Apple and Google have shown that significant updates can be made to an operating system on a regular basis, and they've raised the bar of expectation. With 6.5, Microsoft has done the limbo right under that bar...without needing to lean back.

It's Windows Mobile 6.5 launch day, and that means that the sites that were lucky enough to get devices are launching their content. Here we have Michael Oryl taking a look at the HTC Imagio on Verizon, and the HTC Pure on AT&T.

"Here it is, folks. Sony Ericsson's newly official XPERIA X2 in the flesh. It's got a flashy (gimmicky?) home screen, along with a view for "snacking" on bubbled-up information. Lots of buzzwords, but we'll need more time hands-on to know how we feel. The hardware? It's still a heavy beast, but perhaps just a bit more loving in this incarnation. We don't love the resistive touchscreen one bit."

For those of you interested in Sony Ericsson's latest Windows Phone incarnation, check out Engadget's post complete with gallery and video. They don't sound like big fans of the device, so feel free to post here and let us know if you are (or if you agree with them!)