Windows Phone 7 Series Marketplace gets pictured
By Vlad Savov 
posted February 16th 2010 3:25AM
posted February 16th 2010 3:25AM
posted February 16th 2010 3:25AM
Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5
Microsoft Windows Phone 7
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@insky Wow, I wasn't actually complaining, just pointing out the hypocrisy. I like what they've done with their new mobile OS.
Goodbye iPhone.
I dont get it.... The menu screens dont fit on the screen? Is that quality design? Looks like they had an issue and had no idea how to approach it, so they just said "we'll come back to it" and never did.
I am sure it blows lots of other phones out of the water. But the menu looks half arsed.
@Stepup Yeah.. you obviously don't get it.
@Stepup, lysmith, and your ilk...
If one looks at from a 'philosophical' perspective, the 'Menus That Don't Fit Entirely On The Screen' are representative of a system with a 'larger/unlimited vision', one that keeps providing more information as one explores one's surroundings.
Example:Look directly in front of yourself. Notice how you only see so much? Now move your head to the left. Then to the right. See how there's so much more to see simply by looking around? The world is so much more expansive if you simply look around - It's That Simple.
It's also extremely 'fluid' and a far cry from the more 'boxed in' or 'wall' paradigms that one typically finds on such systems.
Personally: I find it even more Brilliantly realized here than even on the masterful ZUNE HD effort.
@DaHarder "Now move your head to the left. Then to the right. See how there's so much more to see simply by looking around?"
Holy crap! This is going to make it WAY easier to get to the fridge to get a soda. I can't thank you enough DaHarder!
@DaHarder You make some good points. I just feel that there are numerous ways you can let the viewer know there is more information just round the corner. I have a hero, love it, and I do like this interface, I just get distracted by the slice of text on the right and feel like the content I am looking at does not fill my screen. Some times i do want to focus on one thing at a time.
I do take your points though. Its just what I like i guess.
@Anatidae
Glad to help, but you might want to lay off of the 'soda' as I understand that drinking it in excess can impede comprehension/execution of simple tasks ;-)
@DaHarder
OMG! There's stuff on the bottom of my Firefox browser on my computer that I can't quite see unless I scroll down! This is unacceptable!!!
@DaHarder that was magical!
@DaHarder "If one looks at from a 'philosophical' perspective, the 'Menus That Don't Fit Entirely On The Screen' are representative of a system with a 'larger/unlimited vision', one that keeps providing more information as one explores one's surroundings."
Yeah, such vision. Ok. And the black space between the iPhone's App icons represents the possibilities of growth into infinite space, a la "the big bang" theory which represents the miraculous explosion of the iPhone and its users.
Ahhh. This is fun to affix totally pretentious meaning to these things. *sits down next to you, sips Zima, turns up Steely Dan*
I applaud Microsoft. They have gone and created something that looks and appears to function decent. Something I genuinely did not think they were capable of. Good job guys, better late then never.
I love the UI design and aesthetic. It's like an interactive artsy magazine with function beneath the form. Just look at how "FLIGHT CONTROL" and its icon are tilted and offset. That's just beautiful.
@PegasusBites you're right ! the OS really does have a magazine feel to it...
White text on white clouds.
Novel
@(Unverified)
You might want to have that vision of yours checked...
The clouds depicted are clearly various shades of light blue and off-white, which allows the bright white text to remain highly legible.
Nice Try,..
@DaHarder
And of course that's great for accessibility and those who can't distinguish contrasts so easily.
I can run it through the Colour Contrast Verification tool if you like? See if it is WCAG compliant?
@(Unverified)
Petty... Much?
@(Unverified) somebody has whiny retinas
@(Unverified) Turn down the contrast and brightness levels of your monitor!
Man, I'm really loving the direction Microsoft is taking now.
The UI here is nothing short of beautiful to me. Hopefully it runs as well as it looks
Apple fanboys claim to think differently. Funny how they stick to their unorganised grid of icons that has been with us since the modern gui was created.
@Proud Japanese
They do look stupid after demanding someone do something "original", to just then sit there and sneer and call a design, c.2006, the apex.
Has Microsoft discussed how these apps will affect the Zune HD? Will it be similar to Apple's system (apps work on both the iPhone and iPod Touch). I understand that the Zune HD is probably not the same OS, but that application store, and especially Hexic, look mighty familiar.
......how is the UI confusing?
....first time I picked up the Zune HD it was the easiest thing to use.
For the record the GUI is code named "Metro". And The Zune UI and Windows media center were the first two to have UI based off that idea.
(obviously with the Zune HD getting a heavier influence)
Judging a UI before you've sampled it isn't right. But If you want to sample it go to best buy and just try the HD's UI, It really is quite fluid and easy to use.
Windows Phone 7 Series = The Silverlight Phone
it wont work if they stay with the current wm software pricing at $19.99 or more, it needs to be cheaper than $9.99, starting from 99c
Lets hope the MFR's maintain the thin Bezel look...
at least visually, certainly looks better than the Android Market...
3 words: four years late...
@brrrain
For what?
"How come you have to scroll around to see the whole word or page"
Microsoft needs to stay consistent (there old browser wouldn't show a full web page, it broke it up all over the page, at least now you can swipe from side to side to see the whole thing). The web pages will work the same, it takes 4 screens to show the whole page so you just swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe then you can see everything. BRICK and SWIPE, BRICK and SWIPE, BRICK and SWIPE, BRICK and SWIPE-- Now you have seen the whole page. Great concept, half a word, half a page on screen at a time. A new concept for an interface, half pages. Just watch now Apple with do Half Pages and Half Words just to keep up. Gone will be the days of a full page views, this will change the whole market, soon everyone will display only half pages (or forth pages).
With the UI's design, your location within a menu is given in a very intuitive way. By allowing the user to make visual/spatial inferences based on the location of background images and text, the need for scroll bars, numerical, alphabetical and symbol indicators is unnecessary. This is smart and subtle.
As such, it seems like not everyone "gets" it just yet (and a few lack the mental wherewithal).
Microsoft isn't the only company that sees the genius in this kind of UI. Certainly you've seen this before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAZCr6canvw
It's practically the same UI in a tablet form factor. Once again, subtle and smart.
as if I need more reasons to lust over this...
Man, I haven't seen Apple fanboys this scared in quite a while.
Everything is so... big. How many times would I have to swipe the screen to get to where I want to go?
@Niteperson One time, then press "Applications"...
PUT THIS SOFTWARE ON THE ZUNE HD!!!!!!!!
So there taking the basic concepts from the WinMo 6.5 Marketplace, the Windows 7 Marketplace, and the Zune Marketplace and applying it to the new idea for WP7? Hmm. Makes sense. Though what's gonna happen with XNA? Are they just going to have a WP7/Zune HD version of the Community Games on 360? If you buy a game on one platform will it work for you on the other two? Will achievements and saved games stack and be interoperable? I'm really curious to see how they pull this off...
Bleah! Looks like a dumbphone UI...
@winbsodos
It runs programs, so how dumb can that be.
Its beautiful!
It is so beautiful, the hole OS...i realy like the GUI...again...just beautiful...
I think Microsoft hit a home-run with this mobile OS it is new, intuitive and it is amazing.
wow whats with all the arguing??? I think we should all chill, microsofts new mobile interface is beautiful and a huge step forward in innovation for the entire smartphone world.
building an ecosystem where each app works together, and similar apps are stored in the same workplace or "hub" is both thoughtful and innovative, very different from anything we have seen on the market.
all of the ignorant comments pouring in are just here to try and get a rise out of m.s fanboi's trolls are annoying, and the more you feed them the more they come back