Windows Phone 7 is the major mobile phone OS release developed by Microsoft, released in October 2010. As the successor to Windows Phone 6.5.2, Windows Phone 7 offers many new features and a nice graphical user interface (GUI). Microsoft’s goal for Windows Phone 7 was to create a compelling user experience by redesigning the user interface, integrating the operating system with other services, and strictly controlling the hardware it runs on.
Windows Phone 7 features and updates
1. User interface
Windows Phone features a completely new and unique user interface, based upon Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 design system, codenamed Metro. Windows Phone 7 is connected in the same sense as Palm’s webOS and Android, with live, real-time data seamlessly integrated, though it’s even smoother and more natural. Live tiles on the Start screen, which you can totally customize, are updated dynamically with fresh content like weather, or if you’ve pinned a person to your Start screen, their latest status updates and photos. Windows Phone 7 uses multi-touch technology.
2. Text input
Users input text by using an on-screen virtual keyboard, which has a dedicated key for inserting emoticons. Spell checking and word prediction are supported, and users may change a word after it has been typed by tapping it; similar words that may have been the word the user was trying to type will then be suggested as alternatives. This feature is more like an iPhone in my opinion.
3. Web browser
Windows Phone 7 uses Internet Explorer Mobile as the default web browser. The engine of this Internet Explorer is the same as IE7 and IE8. This Internet Explorer Mobile will support multi-touch gestures, a streamlined UI, smooth zoom in/out animations, the ability to save pictures from web pages, share web pages via email, and inline search, which allows the user to search for a word or phrase in a web page by typing it.
4. Multimedia
Windows Phone 7 multimedia is similar to Zune HD. Music + Video supports music, videos, and podcasts, and integrates the Zune Marketplace. In my opinion this feature is more like iTunes in iOS.
5. Games
Yes, this is the most interesting feature for me. Windows Phone 7 supports playing Xbox Live on your mobile phone. Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 will bring a console-like gaming experience to phones by displaying the user’s avatar in 3D. The user will be able to interact with the avatar, view gamerscore and leaderboards, message Xbox LIVE friends, and see Spotlight. Multiplayer (turn-based) gaming with live multiplayer will be released after launch.
6. Search engine
Windows Phone 7’s search function uses Bing Search or Bing Mobile as the default search engine. Windows Phone 7 also has a voice recognition function, powered by TellMe, which allows the user to perform a Bing search, call contacts, or launch applications by speaking.
7. Software updates
According to Microsoft documentation, software updates will be delivered to Windows Phone users via Microsoft Update, as is the case with other Windows operating systems. Users will be notified to attach their phones to a PC if such an update is required.
8. Applications
All Windows Phone 7 applications will be available on the Windows Phone Marketplace.
Summary:
Windows Phone 7 Series brings together a bunch of different Microsoft services like Zune, Xbox, and Bing. Which is actually good and also offers a nice GUI. But this is actually reinventing the wheel of iPhone and Android features. Is it too late for Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 7? Will Windows Phone 7 bring Microsoft back to the mobile phone market?