[Windows Phone 7 Development and Hacking] krjcook:
I have tons pics of the Windows Phone (Mobile) 7 series for those who have been living under a rock for the last couple of days. The pictures exhibit the core of the OS and the UI.

Click on Each Individual Pic to Zoom in

Lock & Home Screen

Web Browser

Zune Music & Video

Pictures Hub

People Hub

Xbox Live Hub

About Windows Phone 7​

​

Microsoft's latest mobile OS behaves completely different from previous iterations which may be a major selling point or a deal breaker. The UI is elegant, simplistic, and fully animated, no other OS is close in comparison. It's innovation at it's finest. Its pretty obvious what type of user MS was aiming towards just by glancing at the screen shots, and you can't blame them. That was how iPhone gained such huge ground.

​

WinPho 7's ;) interface, codenamed "Metro", is visually similar to the Zune HD. Unlike previous edition of windows mobile, Windows Phone 7 isn't powered by Windows CE kernel, but it is rather based on said embedded OS. It seems like MS main focus is push notification, social networking and finally integrating their other services like Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live.

Ballmer didn't announce much about the hardware requirements, but he did say that there was a capacitive screen requirement. So gone are the days of using your stylus in Excel, Office, or Bubble Breaker.

What make windows Phone 7 Series stand out is the attention to detail, animations, and overall look of the OS. The keyboard is completely overhauled, it's bigger and translucent. The Lock screen is carried over from the Zune HD, it only displays important notifications like new messages, missed calls, and updated status. Unfortunately it doesn't display appointments. The home screen consists of animated tiles or hubs that serve as links to other features of the OS. The home screen is sorta reminiscent of Androids, by allowing you to pin any App, Contact, Picture, Bookmark, etc.

My Opinions​

​

It's pretty clear that I like the revisions or I would've denounced it in this post. The animations are uncanny and The overall experience may make it easy to use, but this is just speculation. I own an Xbox 360 and have Live for Windows on my PC so achievements are pretty big to me and it's nice to see MS being the first to integrate such a feature into a mobile device.

​

As happy as I am, there are still things that have me upset. The home screen just looks bland and flat, couldn't they have added some kind 3D element and why is there no background image? The apps menu only shows one row of apps in alphabetical order, which may make it easier to find app, but may get tedious once your App collection grows. I feel they should have used the same view they have for the contacts in the Apps menu, it would've been leagues better than just one row of apps.

My Question and Conclusion ​

​

Like a lot of you forum goers, I'm pretty stuck on the fence on this one. Still many things I want to know such as:

How does the OS handle Multitasking?

What level of Customization is available?

Will OEMS be allowed to differentiate themselves from each other?

What about SDK and 3rd party software?

Details on Compatibility with Phones like the HTC HD2, Toshiba TG02 & K01 or other devices releasing in 2010.

What are the Hardware requirements.

What's the fate of Winmo 6.5?

Is there compatibility with Legacy Apps and vice versa?

More info on MS's plan for Cloud computing

How far along are you with flash support?

The name is Windows Phone Series, does that mean there will be other versions of the OS, Maybe a Lite Version for Older Phones?

What about Cabs & File Browsing?

​

MS's latest revision may look more treacherous than adventurous to "Hardcore" users and fans of Winmo. Love or hate it, this mobile OS isn't finish, there's much to be revealed at MIX10 and we won't see a release date anytime soon

Stay tuned, in a couple days I will have animated gifs that demonstrates the UI animations.