I am not sure why everyone loves this new MS operating system. Yes its prettier than others, but is it really that different from existing ideas? I can't help but think that the buttons almost are ironically "Chrome-like" despite MS's assertion to the contrary in that they are specialized extensions designed to collect information.
@iqbalj It's the most un-Microsoft-ian thing they have ever done. Rather than thinking about what they wanted to sell, they thought about what someone would use and how they would use it.
I am an Apple Kool Aid drinker, and I am thoroughly impressed to see Microsoft come up with this.
@AlienSix All microsoft has are square icons that update with information. This is no different than Apple's icons changing when you get mail or the call icon changing when you get voicemail. I say chrome like because that's how I have chrome set up. I can look over at the square icons and know that the status of my G-voice has changed (be it a text or call or whatever). Click on it and it automatically peaks into the information without having to leave what your doing (like reading Endgadet). Apple has a patent out that looks like they will update OS 4 to a more group oriented screen regarding status changes as well.
@Dale P I think MS could do better. Office 2010 for PC is outstanding! But look at the photos in this article and the many other articles Engadget has written on this. What's going to happen if you meet a contact and you don't have a photo of him/her? Do they show up as blanks on the recent page? Where's the time and date on the home screen? Not having to wear a watch b/c I carry my phone around is amazing. It sucks to think that I would have to start wearing a watch just to use this phone. Details and answers to what if's are missing from this release. Granted this has the potential to be a great OS, but the way its currently presented leaves a bunch of unanswered questions that are dealbreakers for me given the outstanding competition.
@iqbalj It seems a lot more changes that just a small red circle with a number in it. Also, the tiles seem to be configurable too.
I think the idea is that the important hubs can be bigger for you and contain more visual information. Like pictures appearing on the phone hub to show you who called, instead of just a number to show you how many calls.
That is pretty cool. There are a lot of slick things going on in this interface. It is an evolution of the icon-launch interface we have been so used to for many years.
Hmmm ... you might want to check out more photos than just the one posted here. Here is the official site: http://www.windowsphone7series.com/. The date and time are prominently featured on the unlock screen. The time also remains on the screen through the whole experience (upper right hand corner). You can still live sans a watch. I would definitely recommend watching the demo video.
If you don't have a picture there will probably be a placeholder image. Isn't that basically how every phone works? With Facebook integration most people will just get their pictures downloaded automatically.
As someone else pointed out the squares won't be relegated to simply widgets to display how many messages you have. You will be able to see the actual messages as they update in real-time. There is nothing remotely similar to this in the mobile space today.
Finally, this is the tip of the iceberg. Zune integration is huge and looks to be beautifully implemented. We haven't even seen the Xbox integration but it has the potential to be huge.
We can't praise the OS too much yet since there are some unknowns. But, I am willing to give the guys the benefit of the doubt for a few months while more details roll in.
@iqbalj I believe it's more in the presentation of the information. Of course everything is not going to be completely new. There's only so much they can change. If something isn't broken, why fix it? Of course it's going to update information. Every smartphone OS does. Did you expect them to take it out? Like I said, if it's a system that works, there's no need to fix it. What everyone loves so much about 7 Series is the way it presents that information and ties everything together so seamlessly (or at least it LOOKS like it does, since this isn't released to market yet). 7 Series is doing so much more than just displaying a box with a number on it. And on top of that it does it beautifully (which is another very important step up from WinMo).
@Dale P: I definitely like what they're doing with it, but as someone who's been using Windows Media Center and the Zune software since the 3.0 version, I don't think I'd call it non Microsoft-ian.
It's just that MS is starting to stick with a theme. Of course the most important details aren't going to come out until MIX or later - app development (probably Visual Studio and XNA), and the level of integration with all their other services.
During his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs touted iCloud as a service that will sync many of your Apple devices, for free. Macs, iPhones, iPads, and even Windows computers can synchronize documents, contacts, calendar appointments, and other data.
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I am not sure why everyone loves this new MS operating system. Yes its prettier than others, but is it really that different from existing ideas? I can't help but think that the buttons almost are ironically "Chrome-like" despite MS's assertion to the contrary in that they are specialized extensions designed to collect information.
@iqbalj Chrome Like? Not seeing how you come to that conclusion?
@iqbalj It's the most un-Microsoft-ian thing they have ever done. Rather than thinking about what they wanted to sell, they thought about what someone would use and how they would use it.
I am an Apple Kool Aid drinker, and I am thoroughly impressed to see Microsoft come up with this.
@AlienSix All microsoft has are square icons that update with information. This is no different than Apple's icons changing when you get mail or the call icon changing when you get voicemail. I say chrome like because that's how I have chrome set up. I can look over at the square icons and know that the status of my G-voice has changed (be it a text or call or whatever). Click on it and it automatically peaks into the information without having to leave what your doing (like reading Endgadet). Apple has a patent out that looks like they will update OS 4 to a more group oriented screen regarding status changes as well.
@Dale P I think MS could do better. Office 2010 for PC is outstanding! But look at the photos in this article and the many other articles Engadget has written on this. What's going to happen if you meet a contact and you don't have a photo of him/her? Do they show up as blanks on the recent page? Where's the time and date on the home screen? Not having to wear a watch b/c I carry my phone around is amazing. It sucks to think that I would have to start wearing a watch just to use this phone. Details and answers to what if's are missing from this release. Granted this has the potential to be a great OS, but the way its currently presented leaves a bunch of unanswered questions that are dealbreakers for me given the outstanding competition.
@iqbalj It seems a lot more changes that just a small red circle with a number in it. Also, the tiles seem to be configurable too.
I think the idea is that the important hubs can be bigger for you and contain more visual information. Like pictures appearing on the phone hub to show you who called, instead of just a number to show you how many calls.
That is pretty cool. There are a lot of slick things going on in this interface. It is an evolution of the icon-launch interface we have been so used to for many years.
@iqbalj
Hmmm ... you might want to check out more photos than just the one posted here. Here is the official site: http://www.windowsphone7series.com/. The date and time are prominently featured on the unlock screen. The time also remains on the screen through the whole experience (upper right hand corner). You can still live sans a watch. I would definitely recommend watching the demo video.
If you don't have a picture there will probably be a placeholder image. Isn't that basically how every phone works? With Facebook integration most people will just get their pictures downloaded automatically.
As someone else pointed out the squares won't be relegated to simply widgets to display how many messages you have. You will be able to see the actual messages as they update in real-time. There is nothing remotely similar to this in the mobile space today.
Finally, this is the tip of the iceberg. Zune integration is huge and looks to be beautifully implemented. We haven't even seen the Xbox integration but it has the potential to be huge.
We can't praise the OS too much yet since there are some unknowns. But, I am willing to give the guys the benefit of the doubt for a few months while more details roll in.
@iqbalj
I believe it's more in the presentation of the information. Of course everything is not going to be completely new. There's only so much they can change. If something isn't broken, why fix it? Of course it's going to update information. Every smartphone OS does. Did you expect them to take it out? Like I said, if it's a system that works, there's no need to fix it. What everyone loves so much about 7 Series is the way it presents that information and ties everything together so seamlessly (or at least it LOOKS like it does, since this isn't released to market yet). 7 Series is doing so much more than just displaying a box with a number on it. And on top of that it does it beautifully (which is another very important step up from WinMo).
@Dale P: I definitely like what they're doing with it, but as someone who's been using Windows Media Center and the Zune software since the 3.0 version, I don't think I'd call it non Microsoft-ian.
It's just that MS is starting to stick with a theme. Of course the most important details aren't going to come out until MIX or later - app development (probably Visual Studio and XNA), and the level of integration with all their other services.