Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Mobiles
The rise of Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry, and more recently Google Android Mobiles have collectively eaten up Microsoft’s influence on the mobile land. Windows Phone 7 is a desperate attempt by Microsoft to tilt the scales in its favor. But will it or will it not?
Microsoft engineers have torn their own old Mobile OS project apart to come up with what’s now called Windows Phone 7 or WP7. Steve Ballmer claims that the Microsoft engineers took a hard look at how real people interact with real phones and have tried to come up with a software that meets those real needs. This operating system has been in the making for long. Microsoft also sought early inputs from a trusted sphere of mobile experts to guide the development of its WP7. The end result overall is drawing some good feedback. But it’s yet to be seen whether that’s enough to counter the rise of rivals or not. A slew of new mobile phones from HTC, Samsung, LG, and Dell will run on Microsoft’s new mobile OS. Microsoft has planned to run a massive ad campaign to promote this new army of phones. It intends to burn whopping $500 million to spread the word about new operating system. Microsoft’s partners will do their bit to draw consumer attention to new set of phones. AT &T, who will be offering the first batch of WP7 phones, for example has allocated more prominent room to display these phones. The phones have gone on sale for AT&T users starting November 08 and soon Sprint and Verizon users can also avail them. Regardless of what kind of success Microsoft sees, WP7 is sure to fuel the mobile OS war. Windows Phone 7 features a home screen that’s customizable and gets updated constantly giving more dynamic feel to the phone. For example, you can set the phone to display new messages, news, weather, game score, etc. right on the home screen. Microsoft has of course integrated its search engine Bing into Windows Phone 7. This is the first OS to offer integrated Bing. It gives you instant access to information and also comes with maps so you can find your way to any destination. A new People Hub features adds the social touch. It gives you instant connectivity with your Facebook friends – you can chat or update your status. You can even update your profile picture across multiple social networking sites in one go from Windows Phone 7. What’s interesting to note is that Microsoft Windows Phone 7 not only supports Outlook but also allows you to integrate Gmail, and Yahoo email. Now, that’s a nice gesture from Microsoft. Other enhancements are of course in the area of Web Browser and Media features giving app developers more control the Photos, Music, and Video management. The Marketplace hub connects you to the tons of options for shopping music, TV shows, games, movies, and podcasts. Microsoft would tell you that there is plenty of free stuff on the Marketplace but the truth is the Application bank for Windows mobiles is still limited compared to Apple iPhone and Android phones. Microsoft is said to have reached out to app developer community to develop more applications for its new operating system. Another worth noting feature is Find My Phone something that was popularized by BlackBerry. Mobile phones being handheld devices are easy to get misplaced or lost. They are small but not cheap. And of course they know a lot about you – your contacts, personal data, business documents and more – all is at stake. Having features to geo-locate the lost mobile or to remote wipe the data on it are invaluable. Overall, Microsoft has tried to bring all the popular features of the popular Mobile Operating Systems out there but nothing really out of the world. I guess, that’s what Microsoft is best known for these days – recreating, repackaging not reinventing. Buy Windows Mobiles
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Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system is finally out in open. Company CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced the new mobile OS to the world in a conference held in New York on November 08. It’s an attempt by Microsoft to become relevant again in the fast expanding smartphone market that has left the giant software company far behind.
