IA32 is pushing elephants up steep hills - Bob Colwell, former chief architect at Intel
|
|
|
MWC: Microsoft shows off Windows Phone 7 update
SMARTPHONE OS DEVELOPER Microsoft showed off at Mobile World Congress some of the technologies that will be coming out in its upcoming Windows Phone 7 (WP7) update.
During his keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spent the majority of the hour afforded to him promoting WP7 in a manner that was reminscent of his speech six weeks ago at CES. Only this time, Ballmer and his colleague, corporate VP and director of Windows Phone program management, Joe Belfiore actually demonstrated something users can look forward to, the fabled WP7 update.
It had been rumoured that Microsoft would release what has become known as the 'copy-and-paste' update in March, however judging by Microsoft's demonstration, which Belfiore warned would include beta code, it's unlikely that any update in March will incorporate much more than copy and paste and a few performance updates.
Microsoft demonstrated Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) running on WP7 and a hook-up with Kinect that allows users to interact with gaming sessions on the Xbox 360. For businesses, the "Office Hub" will collect documents into one easy to use pile. Included was Sharepoint support, with Microsoft doing a pretty good job of showing multi-user editing of documents on WP7.
There was a mood of bullish optimism, which is not surprising given that Microsoft has come out on top after its deal with Nokia. It even decided to show an IE9 beta release running against Safari on Apple's Iphone 4, a test in which it came out on top, unsurprisingly.
Microsoft was extremely vague as to when this large update will be made available to users, although Ballmer did say that all Windows Phone 7 users will have access all at once, "to avoid the fragmentation that exists in other mobile platforms", a not so subtle jab at Google's Android operating system.
After 45 minutes Ballmer finally mentioned Nokia, with Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop taking to the stage to outline just why its deal with Microsoft is such a good thing. Both Elop and Ballmer claimed that the relationship will turn Windows Phone into the "most operator friendly platform", essentially claiming that mobile operators will be able to make more money by flogging Windows Phone devices than Apple, Android or Blackberry phones.
Microsoft must hope that by showing off some of the upcoming features in WP7, operators will remain interested in an operating system that simply hasn't taken off. However, if Microsoft can integrate its Office and Xbox cash cows with WP7, there might just remain some hope for the Vole's mobile ambitions yet. µ
Tags: Microsoft
Share this:
Share
And of course, zero mention of on-device encryption for enterprise adoption. Yay, Ballmer... yay! Nice to know that Apple STILL has the only corporate-approved device for my organization.
Chalk this decision right up there with no Outlook synch.. who needs it?
All that aside, I received the HTC HD7 for a valentine's gify. It really is a snappy little gizmo, all other grumbles aside. Can't wait for some updates!
I guess Nokia should have updated its virus/trojan scanner running on its HR computers. A particularly nasty infection -- capable of destroying their entire company (as well as any scraps of employee personal integrity) -- seems to have run rampant through their organization.
Symptoms of W32ELOP.worm infection include:
- Hallucinations of tall, bald, pot-gutted ogres, combined with sudden-onset hearing loss.
- Hallucinations of billions of easy dollars arriving at your doorstep. Hallucinations usually resolve in a 12 month period, as lack of sales and customer moral boycotting -- combined with MS-authored lowbrow advertising -- cause onset of bankruptcy. This may be accompanied by suicidal ideation (AKA the Yahoo/Novell syndrome).
- Depression and social alienation of all those to whom the Nokia name previously represented open-source and user-hackable open innovation (now replaced with locked-down, remote-controlled, DRM-encumbered, poorly-coded software). No more "user-serviceable parts" inside.
There is no presently-known cure for W32.ELOP.worm infestation. The best practice is to quarantine all known infected systems and products. In particular, users are advised to strictly avoid all Nokia, Microsoft, and WP7-containing products.
we're seeing a batch of stories about mobile devices, conspicuously phones, because this just happens to be "Old Phone Week". The holiday where you find out that your cellphone is now suddenly the obsolete model. (My Galaxy Tab is still in the carton... or nearly so.)
I'm trying to work out if you mean "it's LIKELY that any update in March will incorporate much more than copy and paste and a few performance updates", since you go on about Internet Explorer 9 at length. (Yeah... be still my beating heart. I didn't much like the first eight versions.)
Isn't there anything better to write about then cell phones? For christ's sake! With all the technology out there you would think the inq. could come up with better tech news!!!