“August marks the six-month anniversary of the public unveiling of our next-generation mobile phone, Windows Phone 7. Six months is an interesting bit of time; it can fly by, or it can feel like it’s dragging on forever. The gating factor tends to be how much fun you are having. For us on the Windows Phone team, it feels like just yesterday that we first introduced Windows Phone 7 to the world. Now, just a blink of the eye and phones will be on shelves. All of the work of the last six months is certainly paying off, as just about every conversation we have with developers focuses on their strategy for generating more business with Windows Phone 7. It’s amazing to see so many inspired developers looking to create experiences for Windows Phone 7. In fact, to date there have been north of 300,000 downloads of the Windows Phone Developer Tools.”

Lots of interesting points in Brandon Watson’s latest blog piece, here’s the basics:

• 300,000 downloads of the WP 7 Developer tools… wow!
• Final tools drop on Sept. 16
• Marketplace starts taking submissions (e.g., opens) in early October!
• Marketplace policies have been updated in preparation.

An exciting time to be a Windows Phone Developer!

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“So, how different is CE7/WP7 from that model? (Which is the model we have now in CE5.x/WM6.x) – The mARM AMSS provides a different interface and initialization proceedure. That means any of the WP7 drivers from a donor device we might port from would not work at all with our current AMSS. Which in turn means no boot without re-writing the drivers/kernel or AMSS. So to compare it to a desktop PC once again, we need to write a BIOS, a Hardware Abstraction Layer, and a set of drivers for each component on the system (likely a good deal of the drivers would be usable once the rest is done) Do I sound jaded yet? Yes, yes I am It’s probably a factor of 10 more complicated than I thought it would be initially.”

Remember when I said half-baked WP7 on an HD2 was a bad idea? Well those who are attempting to port WP7 over are finding it a bit tougher than they initially thought to even get it on the device, aside from the performance concerns I raised. Also putting aside the legality (which isn’t vague – the HD2 isn’t licensed for WP7, so you’ll find no one arguing that the device should have WP7 running on it), I think this is further evidence that WP7 marks a radical shift in Windows Mobile development, away from what we’ve had in the past. It’s no wonder that no existing device got an upgrade, despite the pleas of the users!

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“Taipei, Aug. 10, 2010 (CENS)–High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), a world-caliber supplier of smartphones, has reportedly received orders from AT&T and Orange for its newly debuted Windows Phone 7 phone, which will be launched in the U.S. and some European countries in the fourth quarter of this year, in an effort to cash in on year-end sales booms, according to industry sources. In fact, Microsoft`s chief operating officer Kevin Turner has confirmed that the world`s first WP7 phone will be available in the U.S. and Europe in October or November, implying that among WP7-powered hardware developers as HTC, Asus, Samsung, LG and Dell, who have been engaged in development of such phones, some have been set to ship out their models.”

I’m a bit concerned that we’ve heard too much about AT&T carrying WP7 and not enough about T-Mobile, Verizon, or Sprint carrying it. Could this mean they don’t actually have plans to carry WP7 at launch, or do they simply have an easier time keeping their leaks in check? Is WP7 doomed if only 1 major carrier per country carries it?

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“Perhaps best, however, is the control Microsoft have put in place regarding adapting and skinning Windows Phone 7. HTC may work magic with Android and their Sense UI but some of the lesser offerings from Sony or LG could do serious damage to Windows Phone 7′s slickness. What is most likely is developers and manufacturers will make their mark on a handset by building apps that sit on the home screen rather than slowing the phone down with heavy UI changes. It shouldn’t be long now before we start seeing some of the many manufacturers associated with Windows Phone 7 showing off their handsets. From the looks of it Microsoft have built a genuine contender with Phone 7 and if the release hardware is up to scratch could have a shot at topping iPhone sales at Christmas.”

Hunter Skipworth at the Telegraph published a pretty nice write-up on Windows Phone 7′s preview release, and he appears impressed. It’s good to see some journalistic reaction from outside North America this positive. He calls WP7 a ‘genuine contender’ – now let’s just hope it’s a genuine contender that can turn the world of premium smartphones back into a 3-horse race!

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

Product Category: Bluetooth Headeset

Manufacturer: Jabra

Where to Buy: Expansys [Affiliate]

Price: $116.99

System Requirements: Bluetooth Headset Profile 1.1, Handsfree Profile 1.5, Right Ear

Specifications: 10 meter operational range; Pairing with up to 8 devices, 2 simultaneously; 2 hours talk time, 8 with charger; headset weighs 7 grams, charger weighs 26 grams; Charges through MicroUSB.

Pros:

• Small & Stylish;
• Charges while in STONE portable charging unit;
• Charges through MicroUSB.

Cons:

• Those missing a right ear need not apply;
• Slightly tinny & lackluster sound when streaming audio;
• Price is on the high side.

Summary: I’ve been a Jabra user for many years, and with my older headset beginning to show its age, I wondered if the small STONE could suffice for this large man. What I found was much more than I was expecting, with only a few “gotchas”. Read on to hear more!

It’s All In Presentation

So, previously all of the Jabra products I’ve used have shipped in very nondescript packaging that was ripped open, discarded, and never thought of again. The STONE, however, was a clear exception. The following pictures speak to the unboxing experience, and as a picture is worth 1000 words, I’ll give you the equivalent of 7000 words on this page!

Figure 1: The Jabra STONE arrives in a hard plastic cylinder, prominently displayed.

Figure 2: The top of the cylinder, headset and STONE charger.

Figure 3: Helpful opening instructions which really did work without any force, the paper is designed to rip and open into two halves easily. All of the plastic snaps together and can be disassembled with only a bit of effort (once one sees where to twist). The packaging is nice enough that once the Jabra is done with its “primary” life, it’ll look very nice on the shelf as the “spare” headset.

Figure 4: The headset. The hook fits nicely around the back of the ear, and the ear piece fits within the ear, creating a very small profile when worn.

Figure 5: The back of the headset, and speaker grille.

Figure 6: The STONE charger that the headset charges in while both connected to MicroUSB and while standing alone in a pocket or bag. MicroUSB! No proprietary charging cable needed!!!

Once I freed the headset from its plastic prison, and took a few shots of it above, I compared it to the Jabra BT8010, my previous headset for the past 3 years. As you can see, the STONE is quite a bit smaller than the BT8010.

Figure 7: The Jabra STONE on the left, the Jabra BT8010 on the right.

So it’s no surprise to say that it looks nice and small, and even in its STONE charger is not even remotely bulky to carry. But how does it work?
This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“Microsoft is raising the bar for mobile device interactions with the development of Windows Phone 7. Speech has been seamlessly integrated into the phone experience, for functions such as search, navigation and dialing.”

I hate talking to people on the phone when strangers are near by. I don’t even like doing it when friends are near by. And despite what Zig Serafin says at SpeechTEK this week, I doubt I’ll want to start talking to my phone. In fact, the only time I ever talked to my phone was when I drove quite a bit and used a VERY finger unfriendly mobile OS (e.g., Pocket PC Phone Edition, circa 2003). Now a days it’s much easier to peck out a few things here and there, rather than speak to the phone. While I’ve used Google speech-to-text on my Nexus One a handful of times (and always with good results) I just can’t get into it. Are you excited about a WP7 phone you can talk to? Or will it be a waste as I suspect it will be for me?

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday told financial analysts they should temper their expectations when it comes to sales prospects for Windows Phone 7, seen by many as Microsoft’s last chance to become a player in the Apple- and RIM-dominated U.S. smartphone space. ‘A number of you had a chance to kind of ask me a question … which is how are we going to do,’ Ballmer told the analysts, at Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash. headquarters. ‘And I think it’s fair to say we’ve got a lot of work to do,’ said Ballmer.”

Steve B’s reservations come at a time when the last possible thing Microsoft wants to do is appear too confident. It’s a fine line to walk, but I think they’re playing it well: “We’re confident in our product, it will speak for itself, we aren’t going to make wild speculations.” Are you reassured, or do you long for the Ballmer of the past?

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

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…OK, here’s part 2 (People Hub):

And 3 (Office Hub)…

And 4 (Zune stuff, voice command, Bing), Enjoy!

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

“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!

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.

Over the past few days numerous sites have published their thoughts on the Windows Phone Technical Preview, and while some have been pretty negative, on the whole, most have been pretty positive (e.g., Paul Thurrott calls it “Rock Solid“, Matthew Miller calls it “Extremely stable and fluid“, Daniel Dumas believes it has made “Major, major improvements” and even Joshua Topolsky in a review that at best is lukewarm, refers to it as “an example of what a next-gen phone platform could be“). Everybody agrees that it’s a radical departure from Windows Mobile as we know it now, and it seems most find that to be a good thing. That being said, it appears to me that there is a deep desire amongst some out there to see Microsoft fail, to see Windows Phone falter, and to ultimately have Microsoft leave the mobile space entirely. Personally, I think the “haters” motives behind this can be summed up in two words: Bitterness and Fear.

Who is a hater? Well it’s someone who, no matter what, will argue against something. Don’t get me wrong – haters aren’t those making legitimate arguments against a space (so the people I cited above I wouldn’t classify as haters). This piece is aimed at the haters and what motivates them. So let’s take a look at these two words, and why I believe they sum up most of the Anti-Windows-Phone-7 sentiment.Before I jump into “Bitterness”, I first need to give you a bit of my perspective on Windows Phone and the mobile space in general. In my role here at Windows Phone Thoughts as the News Editor, I’m responsible for assigning news items to the other editors, and as thus I see quite a bit of news flow into my inbox and RSS reader on a daily basis. It’s not an easy job picking and choosing what should be assigned, but it does give a somewhat unfiltered view of what people are saying. Therefore, I believe I’m being as unbiased as possible in what I write below. Trust me – many of the people I know who work for Microsoft wouldn’t be happy to acknowledge some of the things I’ll talk about, but they’d all agree that what I’m saying is true. Some may point to my MVP status and argue that I must be somewhat biased toward Windows Phone 7, and to that I’ll say the following: I am excited at what Microsoft has put together for this version. However honestly, I’m excited overall at the mobile space these days. In my gadget closet I have Windows Mobile devices, android devices, and an iPhone 3GS, all of which I’ve used extensively. Google and Apple are doing cool things with their OSes, that’s undeniable, and not something I’m going to say. In general I see a lot of potential winners in the space, and no need for “losers”. Do we really want one OS to dominate?

So let’s get into Bitterness, the first thing that I think pushes the “haters” of Windows Mobile/Phone:

Microsoft So Seriously Messed Up The Past 3 Years!

OK, how’s that for the truth? Windows Mobile was moving along quite well until about version 6.0. At that point, as Microsoft was debating how to evolve their OS into the next logical progression, Apple jumped into the game and got everyone excited about touch screens again. Microsoft appeared confident that consumers would eventually abandon touch and yearn for D-Pads and buttons, something I doubt many internally believed. But they had to advocate for it – their OS was nearly useless for touch, a stylus was always required.

This sent Microsoft into a three year “funk” that caused many who championed the device and operating system to abandon in droves. If you don’t believe hard core users were shaken substantially, I’ll relate this small observation. At my first MVP summit, in 2008, I was surprised to see how many Windows Mobile MVPs (I won’t name names…) were using an iPhone as their primary device, or even a RIM device! These people were perhaps the most passionate fans of Windows Mobile on the planet, yet they couldn’t ignore the competitors. Most of the Windows Mobile MVPs using other devices worked in the mobile space – they knew they couldn’t just turn a blind eye and champion Win Mo over everyone else – it would be career suicide. Unfortunately, that’s what Microsoft did for quite awhile.

This ignorance of the way the market was moving, coupled with numerous shifts in management and leadership within the Windows Mobile group, stalled Microsoft and ultimately created the stereotype of Microsoft as the “old man at a young man’s party”, a staunch stalwart who refused to change. After three years, many of it’s most hard core supporters began to become bitter about the whole situation, so it’s no surprise that most of the talking heads on the internet turned Anti-Microsoft, Pro-Anything-Else (Or blatantly Pro-Apple!).

So people were mad at Microsoft, and now that a product is being released soon that is truly revolutionary, they want to see it fail. Perhaps it’s so they won’t be lured back into a mildly abusive relationship with a company they don’t know if they can trust to keep evolving the platform. Or maybe it’s just because they don’t want to leave their new loves who have treated them well thus far. Or maybe the bitter emotion isn’t the real cause, maybe they’re afraid of what Windows Phone 7 might mean for their platform of choice.

OMG – If Windows Phone 7 Does Well, My Phone OS Will Do Poorly!

Remember what I said about “It doesn’t have to be a game of winners and losers?”, well let’s revisit that. While it is true that there is only so much market share, one undeniable fact remains: people are different (trust me, I study “individual differences” for a living!). Not everyone wants the same thing in a phone. Apple users and iTunes devotees will probably gravitate toward the iPhone. Google users, when they come out of their clouds, will most likely want to use an Android phone. Those who use Windows and are still kicking around the old Hotmail account, or are on the corporate Exchange server, will hopefully find a Microsoft product to be home. All of these people are still consumers, and thus all of the major phone operating systems will want to appeal to the consumer side as well, which is fine. But in the end, what would be so bad about having a consumer phone with excellent Apple/iTunes support, a consumer phone with excellent Bing/Live support, and a consumer phone with excellent Google Cloud support co-existing?

Now I’ll admit that if I were Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer, or Eric Schmidt, my idea of a great world may well be having everyone under the sun using my phone (Mike Lazaridis might just pray for a world to go back to using email as it’s only electronic communication form, I suspect). But for consumers, competition is good. Repeat that a few times if it hasn’t sunk in; competition, which means companies have to compete for your business by offering new and innovative features, is GOOD. Got it? It’s not bad for consumers that Android offers built-in Wi-Fi hotspot/tethering and thus makes the iPhone look antiquated. It may be bad for Apple, but certainly not for us. Likewise it isn’t bad that Google and Apple have kicked Microsoft around for a few years now – it has caused Microsoft to stop and realize that what they were doing wouldn’t work, and that only a radical departure would ever hope to save it’s phone product. It isn’t even bad for consumers that the Kin failed so spectacularly – it paints a clear picture for everyone else on what pitfalls to avoid in both implementation and planning of a phone product. Any time a company needs to change in response to competitor’s good ideas, it’s good for consumers.

And if you’re just one of those people who gets all upset whenever your platform looks bad, even when it’s deserved? even when it’s good for the mobile space as a whole? Then do us all a favor and at least admit that’s what drives you. Proudly say “I am an iPhone user and Apple can do no wrong”, people will respect you more for admitting it.

So There You Have It…

Windows Phone 7 is far from perfect, but one shouldn’t deny that it is a major step, and if implemented properly it could bring Microsoft back from the edge of Mobile death. But to rip on it claiming to be objective, when in fact you’re either bitter, fearful, or an unabashed fan-boy, is just annoying. Take it from a guy who wants both Microsoft, Apple, and Google to succeed – competition is good for us, bashing something just to hear yourself speak is not.

This was originally posted at Windows Phone Thoughts, check out the the source for discussion.