When Microsoft showed off their since cancelled Courier prototype, one of the bits of design genius in it was “tuck and paste.” Any piece of information you wanted to store away to use later, you dragged into the seam of the two-sided notebook, and pulled it out again when you needed it.
According to MSFT Nerd, WP7 might be getting something similar. Instead of being tucked in the seams, you would drag the content to the top of the screen, and grab it down again later. Here’s how it would break down:
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To select items, you simply press-&-hold like you would now, and a cursor appears for text content.
Once you’ve finished selecting, long-press somewhere on the selected text.
The content now lifts up & floats on a plane above that of the rest of the content, which fades/blurs out a bit. (Steps 1 & 2 are combined for images)
Without lifting your finger, you should drag the content up to the edge opposite the app-bar of the screen (as indicated by a “aurora of white/black color emanating from that edge). It gets attracted to that edge as you get closer, like a magnet & snaps to the edge when you release your finger.
For text, WP7 encloses it in a box colored the same as your theme, with images simply thumbnailed. Corners of these boxes/images peek out of the top edge, while content exists in the clipboard. If you take your finger close to that edge, the content responds by tilt-shifting back into the depth a bit.
If you long-press near the top, the content slips out further. Here you can now drag one piece down to wherever you want to paste it and release it.
This is very much a rumor at this stage, but it would be an intriguing way to deal with the copy and paste problem.
There’s a huge amount of supposition in this rumor, so we recommend a bit of salt to go along with it. A new phone passed through European certification, called the HTC 7 Trophy. The only other thing we know, is that it runs quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 900/2100 MHz. The assumption being made here, is that the addition of 7 to the name means that it will run WP7. HTC is obviously interested in WP7, and porting another handset is easier than designing one from scratch, but it’s still pretty shaky grounds to be making any assumptions on.
According to the official twitter account for Windows Phone, Microsoft has shipped Windows Phone 7 to handset makers. We take this as possibly reaching gold status for the OS.
UPDATE: Windows Team Blog has been updated and indeed Windows Phone 7 has gone RTM (released to manufacturing).
Windows Phone 7 is the most thoroughly tested mobile platform Microsoft has ever released. We had nearly ten thousand devices running automated tests daily, over a half million hours of active self-hosting use, over three and a half million hours of stress test passes, and eight and a half million hours of fully automated test passes. We’ve had thousands of independent software vendors and early adopters testing our software and giving us great feedback. We are ready.
Windows Phone 7 has shipped to handset makers, then to stores near you this holiday season! http://ow.ly/2y7ot #wp7
There you have it folks. RTM. Done. Next stop actual Windows Phone 7 devices hitting stores before the holiday season.
We swear, this is last time when we present photos of unveild smartphone ( this week ). This time we want to show you LG C900, which is running on WP7. The smartphone features: 3,2 capacitive display, Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8650, Light&Proximity sensors, slot Jack 3,5mm and a miniUSB slot. C900 is really heavy because of the materials that were used to produce this phone. The device is made mostly in metal, which is a very good choice. Below we present some photos and two films which will introduce LG C900 to you. LG C900 is going to be launched in Europe in some indefinite time, but we know it will cost about 350$. Enjoy!
Windows Phone 7 has been in the hands of journalists and developers for some time now, and we’ve got a huge number of first impressions reviews to show for it. But what about how people feel about the OS after using it for a substantial amount of time? Ina Fried of CNet has put together her impressions of WP7 after a month of use.
What’s really impressive in this, is that all the complaints are things that are easily fixable. No copy and paste? Software fix. Short battery life? This is beta hardware and beta software, so they’ll be better at launch.
I think it’s clear that Microsoft has pulled out all the stops with WP7, it just remains to be seen if it’ll be able to get a foot in the door from the already saturated market.
A Polish android site managed to get some one on one time with the LG E900 Optimus 7, giving us these cool pictures and videos, and some basic spec leaks.
The phone will have a 3.7-inch LCD display, will run a 1.3GHz Qualcomm QSD8650A chip, will have light and proximity sensors, mini-USB, and a headphone jack. According to android.com.pl it will go for $300-$400. The Snapdragon chip promises better 2D and 3D graphics acceleration than previous iterations of the chip, as well as HD video recording, and integrated GPS.
XBox Live kingpin Major Nelson was set to give a talk recently about XBox Live and Windows Phone 7, but unfortunately, the entire thing collapsed under the weight of the internet, and Microsoft couldn’t handle the bandwidth. You can watch the video at WP7 Backstage (free registration required). Mobility Digest have handily summarized the half hour video down to its most important points:
All props purchased on the game console appears and are available on the phone.
Change your avatar on the go.
The turn based gaming can be played with people on Windows Phone 7, Xbox Game Console and PC! Three screens and a cloud indeed!! The requirement of course being the game being on each platform.
They emphasized that the first wave of games announced is just that-the first wave! More will be announced between now and launch.
Xbox Live is the center so if a service connects to Xbox Live service it can be used to play games.
No double downloading of titles. Simply download the free trial and when you purchase it from inside the game the rest of the game simply unlocks.
Microsoft Game Studios: Windows Phone 7 is the only phone platform with a first party game studio dedicated to building quality games for the platform.
Can send and receive messages to Xbox Console and vice versa.
Microsoft intends on proactively seeking out the best games for the gaming portfolio. Yes that includes popular games from other mobile platforms.
Got to buy the games on the console, phone, pc separately.
Multitasking: If you get a text message the notification dropdown menu appears; if you answer an incoming call, the game pauses and you return to it immediately after the call ends.
Avatar Gadgets: Neat things the avatar can do to add fun to simple tasks. Flashlight, coin flip, level app, etc.
Developers have access to avatars to produce unique experiences. Basically developers can make avatars used in games.
Bejeweled Live is a unique version of the game available only on Xbox Live. An example of additional features and services being added on as a Xbox Live title.
What type of games available at launch: All kinds for all ages and interests.
There will be unique gamer points only available by purchasing the gaming title on the phone.
Windows Phone 7 is the ONLY place to get Xbox Live support.
You can be signed in simultaneously on the console and phone.
Major Nelson wanted to make sure everyone knew there are still a couple tricks up their sleeve as far as gaming titles being announced.
PocketNow continue their excellent video guides to Windows Phone 7, and have put one together about using SMSs. As always, beta hardware, beta software.
I’m intrigued by the SMS tile going between smiley face and winky face, but frowning if I don’t get any texts for a while? That’s kind of harsh. I don’t need my phone reminding me that I have no friends.
MMS is non-functional at this stage, but you can see how the system works.
It could use a little visual tweaking, we think some color differentiation between the two sides of the conversation would be a good idea.
Overall, very slick looking, Metro UI is simple and stylish as ever.
According to TechCrunch, Microsoft may have to spend large in order to get Windows Phone 7 to the point it needs to be to be competitive in today’s smartphone market:
The company could spend a half-billion dollars or more in marketing costs and payments to developers and handset manufacturers to subsidize the expense of building phones and apps, so that the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem is well-seeded at launch.
Jonathan Goldberg, a telecommunications analyst at Deutsche Bank, estimates that Microsoft will spend $400 million on marketing alone for the Windows Phone 7 launch. That doesn’t include the millions it has already committed to pay for “non-recurring engineering” costs that help offset development costs for handset manufacturers.
Apparently this isn’t the end of it either, as Microsoft is rumored to spend billions in the first years for marketing and development.
The thing is, Microsoft is playing catchup, and that’s expensive. Windows Mobile 6.5 is a hideous beast compared to modern smartphone OSs, and WP7 looks amazing. You don’t get that sort of shift on the cheap, and if Microsoft wants WP7 to take off in a saturated market, they’re going to need to spend on marketing. And they can afford it.
WMPU has just put up this great little look at the calendar app that’s going to ship with WP7. I must admit, that looks damned good! Multiple calendar sources, slick interface, the ability to link it to people or places, all great features. I think this is also the first real look we’ve had at the date and time pickers, which put a uniquely WP7 spin on setting your time.
The more I see of it, the more I’m impressed with what Microsoft is doing with the WP7 UI. It looks incredibly polished and fast, even using both beta hardware and software.
). This time we want to show you LG C900, which is running on WP7. The smartphone features: 3,2 capacitive display, Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8650, Light&Proximity sensors, slot Jack 3,5mm and a miniUSB slot. C900 is really heavy because of the materials that were used to produce this phone. The device is made mostly in metal, which is a very good choice. Below we present some photos and two films which will introduce LG C900 to you. LG C900 is going to be launched in Europe in some indefinite time, but we know it will cost about 350$. Enjoy!
