"We actually haven't seen any official shots of the Office apps for Windows Phone 7 Series, but now that Microsoft's emulator has been hacked and unlocked, we've got a glimpse of what creating a Word doc in OneNote looks like -- and while there's a high probability that this a super-early version of the app, it's still revealing in how drastically minimal it is."

There's a couple of video run throughs as well, mostly showing off what's available in the emulator, but with sneak peeks at the Office apps as well. Don't expect to do anything more than basic editing (at least, not yet), but you know - at least they're there.

"Here you go, folks, an official statement from Redmond itself on the perennial Windows Phone 7 Series / copy-and-paste discussion. First and foremost, from the onset, there will be no copy and paste in the traditional sense; Microsoft is hoping to bypass the issue by integrating into the OS contextual, single-tap instances for viewing an address on a map (let's hope it has some good recognition algorithms here), doing Bing searches based on highlighted terms, dial a phone number, and so on. But the book isn't entirely closed here, apparently, as the statement goes on to say the company "will continue to improve our feature set over time based on what we hear." We've also got a statement regarding the hacked emulator, to which a representative told us, "we have been very clear that [it] is based on early code and is not reflective of the final user experience," which is a nice way of saying don't get your hopes up on those fun little surprises (task manager, anyone?). Full statements after the break."

What I find interesting is the statement "will continue to improve our feature set over time based on what we hear." So do they really not hear us shouting that we want copy and paste? Perhaps as we use the new OS we won't find we need copy and paste but I really don't think that will be the case. With all the hype and attention lately, this is a golden opportunity for Microsoft - I hope they don't blow it. So as you post your comments, how important is copy and paste for the Windows Phone 7 series?

First off, let's be crystal clear: this is a work of pure imagination, not some sort of leaked image of the next HTC HD device. What's so impressive so me is the quality of the mock-ups...you'd never know that this was a mock-up of a phone that doesn't exist...until you look at the specs, because that's where things start to look a little too creative. The creator wants a 1.5 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but as far as I know, that speed of processor doesn't exist yet. The 1 GB of RAM seems like overkill, but the 16 GB of internal storage sounds about right. The 4.5 inch screen running at 800 x 1280 sounds cool, but that's not supported resolution of Windows phone 7. 4G? Nah, we won't see that yet. USB host? Nope, not compatible with Windows phone 7. 8 megapixel camera that can record 720p video? Maybe...just maybe. I've heard rumblings about phones this year being able to do HD capture.

So that's the mythical HD3. What would your dream Windows phone 7 device have on it in terms of hardware? Yeah, I know you want copy and paste, but what about the hardware?

Feeling like getting all crazy this weekend with Windows Mobile 6.5 on your Sprint Touch Pro 2? Then make a backup and have at it - the downloads are now available!

I'm sure this isn't how Microsoft wanted to show off most of Windows phone 7 - in a broken, dysfunctional emulator-based way - but they put out an emulator with this functionality, opting to hide some of the functions, so it's not surprising that someone figured this out. Check out the video for more of what Windows phone 7 is all about, though keep in mind this is unfinished software.

"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?

"One of the most appealing parts of the iPhone is its Web browser. Mobile Safari is powered by the WebKit engine, and this same engine also powers the desktop browser. The result is a Web experience that, while not identical to the desktop experience, is not far off. Windows Mobile, on the other hand, has a browser that's roughly derived from Internet Explorer 6. The result? A decidedly second-rate Web experience. Windows Phone 7 Series will improve things somewhat-to approximate parity with Internet Explorer 7-but it remains behind its desktop counterpart."

I'm finding it hard to put any kind of posiive spin on this - fact is, it's hard to be positive about a lot of the WP7S news that's come out over the past few weeks. I can (probably) learn to live with most of them, but this is one area that I'm going to find hard to gloss over. If we had access to alternative browsers like Opera that's one thing, but it looks like that's still going to be a ways off with the restrictions Microsoft is placing on developers. Getting on par with IE7 may be good enough, but...who knows? WP7S is coming late to the party as it is, and a dated web experience is just one more strike against it.

"HTC Corporation today outlined its disagreement with Apple's legal actions and reiterated its commitment to creating a portfolio of innovative smartphones that gives consumers a variety of choices. Founded in 1997 with a passion for innovation and a vision for how smartphones would change people's lives, HTC has continually driven this vision by consistently introducing award-winning smartphones with U.S. mobile operators."

That has to be the most polite way to respond to a lawsuit I've ever read - who wrote this, a Canadian? Anyway, the press release outlines some of the interesting firsts that HTC has made in the market. I didn't realize they created the hardware for the first Windows PDA back in 1998. That would have been an HPC if memory serves - Palm-sized PCs weren't out yet, were they? I wonder which HPC HTC was an OEM for? Compaq? Philips? HP? NEC?

Consumers are fickle creatures; they change their minds all the time when it comes to phone contract renewal time. HOWEVER...I wonder if "app lock-in" will play a role in moving to other platforms? As in, you're Joe Smith and you have an iPhone and you've spent $200 on apps over your two year contract...that app investment, will it make you feel like you need to stay with your iPhone even if there's another phone you like more? I wonder...

The reality is, of course, that the majority of users don't yet have smartphones - so in that sense the market is wide open - yet I think the biggest adoption blocker remains the costs of data plans. If you want your phone to do more than make calls, sent texts, and MMS, you're increasing the monthly outlay by a fair bit - especially if you're a light phone user with a small minutes plan, it can easily double the monthly cost of your phone bill (it does in my case). Until the carriers start to want all these people on their data networks, I think data plans will remain expensive, and the bulk of the population will stay away.

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

It's been an exciting week with all the MIX10 News flooding our homepage and causing quite a stir on some points. In case you missed anything, here's what we covered relating to MIX10 (and just for fun - who has been doing all the work?):

• Highlights From The MIX10 Keynote! (Jon)
• Check Out Some Live Mix 10 Content (Jason)
• Microsoft Unveils Samsung Phone as Third Windows phone Handset (Jason)
• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Demo Video (Jason)
• All the Goodies from MIX 10, Engadget Style (Jason)
• Managing Your Photos, Videos, and Music Using the Zune Software (Jason)
• Windows Phone 7 Series Push Notifications (Nurhisham)
• Microsoft Talks About Windows Phone Marketplace for End-Users (Darius)
• Netflix For Windows Phone 7 (Ed)
• What You Need To Get Started Developing for Windows Phone 7 Series (Jon)
• A Conversation with Bill Buxton and Albert Shum; Microsoft's User Experience Gurus (Jason)
• Windows phone 7 Will Lack Copy & Paste: Please Proceed With Your Screaming and Yelling (Jason)
• No User-Replaceable Storage on Windows phone 7 Devices: Please Proceed With Your Screaming and Yelling (Jason)
• Rumour: Copy/Paste Coming to Windows phone 7 Eventually? (Jason)
• More Hands-On Time With Windows phone 7 (Jason)
• Windows Phone 7 Series -- Yes, it can make a phone call! (Eriq)
• Free Ebook: Programming Windows Phone 7 Series (Jon)
• Attack of the Show on Windows phone 7 (Jason)

And if you want to watch any of the MIX Presentations, they're available here! What a week, Kudos to Jason for keeping the news pumping! Jason - take a rest, you deserve it!

"Speaking at a MIX10 session about Windows Phone 7 Series architecture this morning, Microsoft's Istvan Cseri mentioned that the Windows Phone Marketplace -- the one and only clearinghouse for apps in WP7S -- will be able to remotely revoke licenses. Since devices will only run properly-licensed apps, this effectively means the company will be able to shut down apps remotely -- a capability they'd probably invoke if a Marketplace app were to badly misbehave en masse, for example."

The paranoid in me says "Whoa... what if I want that app". The sane person in me says this is actually a good thing - it can be invoked to prevent bad applications from messing up the phone experience. While it sacrifices flexibility, it increases the likelihood that your Windows Phone 7 Series experience will be much better than (certainly) Windows Mobile 6.5. Now lets just hope that this 'bad' applications discipline extends to provider bloatware!

"All naysaying aside, people are pretty excited about Windows Phone 7. Our readers are excited for it. I'd be outright lying if I said I wasn't excited about it, too. Know who else is excited? The Windows Phone 7 team - but perhaps not for the reasons you'd expect. With a few years of work finally coming to a head, some of the folks on the Windows Phone 7 team are taking a step back, looking at the fruits of their labor... and leaving. Not because they're ashamed, and not because they're being poached by the competition - but because instead of making Windows Phone 7, they want to make things for Windows Phone 7."

Going back a few years, anyone remember Two Peaks software, headed up by Mel Sampat? I always liked Two Peaks software - in fact, I'm still using FlexWallet to this day, despite it being replaced by eWallet, and always like what Sampat did for users in terms of creating really superb software. He went to work for Microsoft a few years ago, and I kept in touch - in fact, at one point we had a conference call about what a pain that stupid birthday alarm triggering at midnight problem was. I'll have to find out if that lunacy has continued on into Windows phone 7 - I kind of doubt it, but then again, I never thought after 7+ years the same problem would continue to cause problems. But I digress...

Mel Sampt is now on his own again, under the company name Mist Labs, and in partnership with Trinket Software, they've already released/updated their first application: Twikini, updated for Windows phone 7 goodness. It looks good, though I notice it still has the same problem as Twikini does today on Windows Mobile 6.5. It's the Twitter app I use on my HD2 after suffering the baffling dysfunctions of HTC's Twitter app, Peep, for too long. The problem with Twikini is that it forces you to go into the Tweet to read it because it doesn't display the full 140 characters, then back out again to see your feed. I'm a big fan of efficiency in software, and anything that forces me to perform more actions isn't good in my book. Based on the screenshots, it looks like Twikini for Windows phone 7 shows even less of the Tweet...but they have time to change that based on user feedback.

Anyway, welcome back to the world of the indy developer Mel - we missed you!

Long Zheng has some really cool screen shots on his site, apparently of what early mock-ups looked like for Metro, the name for the visual design that Windows phone 7 is made up of. Well worth checking out - some of them I like more than how Windows phone 7 looks today!

"With breaking news about the Windows 7 mobile apps from MIX10, Chris Hardwick talks to Engadget's Joshua Topolsky about what Microsoft is bringing to the table, from Xbox gaming on Windows 7 phones, a preview of their new apps and more."

Sure, there are more than a few things that some people aren't too happy about right now with Windows phone 7, but there's one very important thing that Microsoft has done with the announcement of this new version: they've put themselves on the map in a way that hasn't happened in a very long time. More from me later on this topic, but I think it's really important to acknowledge that fact.

"That's Charles Petzold! Looking stylish with the cover of his free ebook on his tee shirt. It's a draft preview of his upcoming book (to be published in the fall): Programming Windows Phone 7 Series. This preview ebook contains six chapters in three parts (153 pages total):"

A draft version of the upcoming book Programming Windows Phone 7 Series is available for free download. So if you haven't had a chance to start playing around with the new developer tools, here is one more reason to start - and if you have, here is another thing for your development arsenal.

"Sure, we've been pushing Microsoft hard for Windows Phone 7 Series details like copy and paste (no) and multitasking (no), but we just realized that we've never actually seen a 7 Series device... make a phone call. A little running around later and we've got two demo handsets calling each other..."

With all of the recent video coverage of WP7, no video has shown a WP7 device make an actual phone call. Engadget recently posted a short video of two WP7 devices making a call between each other (and please don't call the number shown out of respect) that demos how the phone experience will work overall.

One glaring issue to me is how easy it'll be to respond to a call by applying accidental pressure to the Answer or Ignore buttons with incoming calls. HTC solved this problem in their most recent TouchFLO 3D interface by requiring users to slide a graphic control knob left or right to answer or ignore a call. I LOVE this feature in my Touch Pro2, and Microsoft should learn a thing or two from HTC when it comes to specific features like this, since "butt dialing" has been an epidemic problem with touch-screen smartphones for a while now.

While it's difficult to know WP7's phone features in detail at the moment, what are you thoughts and/or questions about the phone interface so far? Personally, I'll miss having dedicated physical answer/end buttons (it's great when your fingers "know" exactly where specific functions are) and I wonder if voice-dialing (VoiceCommand) will make it in WP7...

"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.

"Contrary to the controversial report out of Microsoft MIX10 this week that Windows Phone 7 Series will not feature copy & paste functionality, a person close to the den explained that copy & paste is definitely a scenario and feature that the team is putting a lot of thought about and hope to bring to the platform soon after initial release."

This echoes what I know about the topic and have been trying to say in our very lively discussion on the subject (between the weeping and gnashing of teeth). If this rumour is accurate though, Microsoft has done itself a huge disservice by trying to spin this as a by-design feature rather than telling us "Look, we know you want it, we want it, but we just couldn't pull it off in time - but we're making a commitment to do it as soon as we can." Honesty is always better than trickery. This whole thing has made this a day I want to end soon (that photo above is how I feel right now).

"We found out from Todd Brix of Microsoft that Windows Phone 7 Series will eschew user-replaceable memory. Memory cards may still be used by manufacturers and OEMs, but those won't be easily or readily accessible to the end-user. This will allow, as Microsoft puts it, for a better user experience on the device, and we're not sure that the primary motive for locking down storage memory is for a better experience - we're guessing it has to do with DRM though the strategy would go well with Microsoft's move to remove a file management system."

Although I tend to put a memory card in my phone and leave it there - rarely if ever taking it out - I've always like the idea of removable storage because there are two constants in the flash memory world: first, that the cards will always grow to have more storage, and second, that they'll get cheaper. I railed on Microsoft for not putting removable storage card slots in their Zune products, because it would have been a key advantage over the iPod, and now Microsoft is taking a step backwards in my opinion by removing the option for OEMs to offer removable storage cards. According to Todd Brix, this is due to wanting to offer a "better user experience". I call bunk on this point - any modern program not designed should automatically scan both local and removable storage and present the user with the content they want to see. If the user options up the photo application, it should show the user all the photos on their device, and their card, seamlessly. Anything less is just lazy programming and not caring about the user experience.

If HTC and the other OEMs offer devices with decent storage options (up to 32 GB, maybe even 64 GB if they want to rock the house), I personally won't care about this too much - but I know it shuts off a lot of scenarios for some people, and I wish Microsoft hadn't gone this route. I think in this respect, they're trying a bit too much to copy Apple - and that's not a good thing.

And since we're getting all the bad news out of the way this week, there's also no file system. I think the file system is a poorly-suited concept on a mobile phone and creates too much complexity for average users, but I know power users love having a file system.

You may now proceed with getting angry at Microsoft and swearing you'll move to Android.