We expect to learn a lot more about Microsoft's plan to entice developers to Windows Phone 7 at the MIX 2010 developers conference. Until then (March 15-17), aspiring WP7 devs have to rely upon rumor and innuendo to feed their curiosity. So here you go: three purportedly official Microsoft docs from January that provide a glimpse into Microsoft's Windows Phone OS 7.0 Application Platform. First up, the docs claim that WPOS 7.0 is built around Silverlight, XNA (
like the Zune HD), and the .NET Compact Framework -- a mostly clean break from WinMo's past as far as developers are concerned. Native apps are restricted to OEMs and mobile operators in order to extend the experience and functionality specific to a phone or network. Even then, they'll be limited to a set of managed APIs that Microsoft will audit during the app submission and provisioning process. Sound familiar?
As you'd expect, the OS supports preemptive multitasking -- not that Microsoft will necessarily allow its devs (OEMs, mobile operators, and independent software vendors) to send their apps to the background. The primary development tools include Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010 and Express Blend used in combination with a Windows Phone emulator. Check the docs in the gallery for the full read and be sure to hit up
XDA-Developers if you want to commiserate with your like-minded peers.
posted February 18th 2010 5:56AM
So it looks like it's in between Android and Apple. Similar to the current state of Xbox and Live development. Pretty cool. I think it's important to keep some of it managed and protective.
Now, I interpret this as having multitasking favoring MO and OEM access, but with waivers and a certification process. In essence, it has multitasking.
I'm glad MS is going to help preserve battery life via a process vs a wild west approach.
kudos to MS. Now I can't wait until MIX.
@majg So its multitasking with a "but" and a "if"... not sure how I feel about that, but better than nothing, and keeps the noobs from complaining their phone is slow.
@majg I like this implementation of multitasking disabled by default. Most apps really don't need it and it keeps your phone quick. Also in .NET saving the state of a program is easy to achieve so when it is next loaded it just resumes as if it were never closed.
As long as the multitasking is allowed for apps that really benefit from it I am happy.
@petebob796 Serialization WIN :D
@majg
If this is indeed the case, then I'm satisfied as far as the multitasking controversy is involved.
@Kbalz
Apple can't write OSs for toffee. They finally gave up and used free UNIX for the CrApple Mac.
MS have always tried to write good multitasking OSs and since they "acquired" the VMS technology of the the VAX, they are now the best in the world at it thanks to Dave Cutler.
The way that WM 7 is laid down looks to be very good indeed. I too like the way that apps by default will probably not be able to run in the background. This, it seems to me, will force "simple" apps to be single tasking whilst the OS and presumeably some apps will need to run more than one job. The question is, who decides who gets what permissions?
That said, security for the OS will be much improved by MS's policies.
I thoroughly approve.
@rederikus Ah ! Someone who actually knows their NT/VMS history.. well said !
And I concur !
@rederikus
I think people are mildly misreading what it says in the documents regarding multitasking. It says: if you plan to sell your stuff in the marketplace/preload it onto devices, you're going to have to use our .NET-based APIs that may or may not support multitasking (it doesn't explicitly say they don't, but it seems to be implied), if you want access to native-level APIs that we don't approve of, you're free to distribute it on XNA Developers/sell it on your own, but not in our store. As well, it says that you will have access to additional "developer services and runtime services", which I'm guessing means background services.
Summary
Multitasking: .NET Layer maybe (probably not though), .NET + native (might not make it into the store/OEM) more likely, native goodness that we are used to on XDA almost certainly (but not in the marketplace).
@majg
I'm not as savvy as you guys. Does this mean I can listen to Pandora while browsing the web and chatting with my buddies on AIM as I ride the bus/train?
@majg
M$ apologists can spin this anyway they like but it will be an absolute mess for consumers to find out what can be used on their handsets.
Typical convoluted mess, build the matrix:
app by handset by network
@Gas Yes that means you can play pandora in the background. There will probably be other apps that will be able to do this as well, but in an interview with Cnet I believe, they said that music/pandora will for sure be able to play in the background.
@rederikus IT SUPPORTS BACKGROUND APPS - here is the proof - http://www.scinotes.org/images/wp7_running_bg_apps.png
Just run any app and press the windows key, the app is sent to background where it is still running, then you can launch other apps aswell, in this image I have run two apps in background and launched the internet explorer in the emulator.
@scottkrk I understand your point - as a pure Open sympathizer you want no control over the matrix so you can drive your own lines of thinking and control your piece. Fact of the matter is time, money, and energy was put into the product to provide a more direct experience (if you like, Appleish) while providing some flexibility for ingenuity (think GooAndroidish).
Microsoft fell down in its previous attempts as it relates to market - they have standardized the platform and guidelines with headset OEMs for instances to build a better experience across the ecosystem of WP7 offerings.
This is the experience that Apple has shown works and can be profited on. I think this strategy pays homage to both the past and the future realizing its distinct need to profit. Not discounting your complaints... just rationalizing the grand scheme here.
You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them...Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!
@rocketman lalala
You know, techincally he did "bring balance" to the force... by whittling down the vastly over balanced light side to bring it to more equal footing with the dark :D They just read the prophecy wrong.
Oh yes, uh, multitasking is good :)
@rocketman lalala
MeeGo and Symbian are still there buddy.
Can't wait to see what apps are created for this, should be good!
Please be cross-compatible with Zune. If it's all XNA, why not?
@FallenArms3 Probably won't all be XNA, though. Chances are big that game development will be XNA, and that you'll be building for one target that supports both Zune HDs and WP7S, or perhaps two targets with the only functionality differences being connectivity (seeing how WP7S phones obviously have 3G and some more options the Zune HD 'lacks').
I do hope that they don't use XNA for applications though. Something WPF-based that works and looks like Visual Studio (whether it be the Express Editions) would probably be way better...
Then again, Microsoft's throwing in some big changes, who knows what they come up with for this :)
@graey I doubt it has WPF support as they have been heavy on the silverlight mentions. You should be able to achieve similar results though as silverlight is a subset of WPF.
@graey Well in that case, have Zune be compatible with this as well. It probably already is, actually. I just want some more development on the Zune HD. It's making even the App Store look open.
@petebob796 Sliverlight uses WPF.
@aschettler No, Silverlight is considered a subset of WPF.
@mrspiteri
So, in all fairness, when I said WPF-based I wasn't actually off-base at all. It all uses XAML, and that's where I was going with that :)
Sounds tight, good stuff, there is actually a reason to doing things this way as opposed to just "control". And All the clever brains will still hopefully be able to hack in whatever madness takes their fancy.
.NET CF?
thats not really a clean break.. at all...?
@nickodvz
were you expecting something other the .net cf?
@nickodvz Why wouldn't it have .NET CF support when it has Silverlight.
@nickodvz
Yeah, Engadget calling this a clean break really doesn't make any sense. I've developed plenty of .NET CF applications for WinMo and I can't imagine they've changed CF all that much. Should be pretty easy to port stuff.
@nickodvz: Yeah, I didn't understand that "clean break" comment either.
Also, it's my understanding that current .NET CF applications will need minimal work to transition to WP7S, mainly on the UI front. If a dev has built a totally custom UI (think TomTom, which has no WM menus at all), then it will be even easier.
@nickodvz: It also looks like someone at Microsoft Netherlands confirmed that devs will only need to tweak for UI changes for WP7S... translated link here...
http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=3147
Also has a link to a Slashgear video where an MS rep at MWC confirms that the sample device was made by ASUS.
@petebob796
Silverlight doesn't use the compact framework. It uses the CoreCLR
@Delta I can't say I've developed for Windows Mobile but I work with .NET a lot. Aside from some of it's libraries it's platform independent at it's core. Saying the OS is not drastically different because it includes .NET CF is like saying it's the same OS because it can run Java (IMO a competitor to .NET), something you see in Linux, OSX, Windows, Windows Mobile, etc.
So anyway, will current winmo 6.5 be able to upgrade to 7?
@cdf74dc9
yeah you just add 0.5
@cdf74dc9
There is only 1 phone realeased (HTC HD2) and 2 phones announced (Toshiba K01 and TG02) that meet the requirements to run WinMo 7
@ChrisSsk I think the HD2 has too many buttons to meet the requirements for WP7.
@Salath911 I think as long as it has the required buttons it's OK.
@(Unverified)
they said in the press release that the phones would have 3 buttons: home, back and search, no more and no less.
@(Unverified) What xxhonkeyxx said - the stipulations for this OS is that it has the buttons that Windows defined and that's it. It's to better control the hardware experience and not make it unfitting to the OS. Obviously the KIRF phones will alter this, but that's the fun in KIRF, I guess.
That sounds like a sensible compromise. Free reign to write apps in Silverlight and an approval process for anything that wants to get down and dirty with unmanaged code.
As long as your app can do most useful things without getting MS approval (e.g. connect to the world outside via web, phone, SMS, GPS) then I can't see a problem. You'll be able to write useful apps but not screw with the core of the phone.
The only WM app I've written is designed to stay in the background. I'm hoping apps are paused in the background by default but can request to be kept running if required. I'm sure most apps hogging resources when not running are due to lazy coding rather than necessity.
I'll say what so many are hesitant to say right now. Microsoft has hit it out of the ballpark with this platform and ecosystem. I'll say it without any caveats - MS is going to dramatically shake up the smartphone market in 2011. This little leak is just one more piece of the puzzle that helps confirm MS is firing on all cylinders with this platform. The landscape will not be the same as MS will command a large chunk of the mindshare with this platform - which has essentially been owned by Apple since 2007 with a guest apperance by Android in the past year.
What is had to predict is who will lose in this equasion. I actually do not think it will be Apple or Android based phones at all (while it is fun for the fanboys to wish for this black and white scenario to play out, it is not reality most likely). Plenty of space for these to co-exist - especially if you look at the global marketplace for smart phone. No, I think the big losers will be RIM and Nokia over the next two to three years (and I live in Europe and trust me, the Nokia luster is wearing off even over here).
@RMarch
Maybe; I'm kind of disappointed with what I've seen of WinMo7's enterprise/business features. It's nice, but not courier-nice. Maybe they're intentionally splitting paths to specifically corner different parts of the market?
@RMarch funny, last time I checked RIM still has a far higher marketshare than either the IPhone, Android, or WinMo oses in North America
@RMarch I'm thinking Palm is breathing its last gasps unless they do something dramatic soon. RIM is firmly entrenched in the corporate smartphone users' psyche. It'll be extremely tough for WP7 to chip away at their mindshare. I agree with you about Nokia though.
I wonder if Windows Phone 7 is meant to be a force for promoting silverlight as well? With applications like MS Maps relying on it (for pretty awesome results), I could see it becoming more popular. Maybe that's why Flash isn't coming out right with the system?
Overall, this sounds pretty standard though.
@m4gast0n
As someone who has done a decent amount of development for MS products, Microsoft LOVES lock-in. It's almost impossible to tell what is being used to push what at this point.
There are some large, notable exceptions, like Office for the Mac. But for the most part, Microsoft tries to create a huge ecosystem where everything is locked into everything else.
@Delta *PSSST* Silverlight works on Mac, and Moonlight is available on Linux.
I dont mind limited or restricted or whatnot as long as:
- The applications are good and make sense
- User friendly
- Very responsive
- Blazingly fast
- Stable
- Very good on battery live
Thats all!
I dont care if it is XNA or Silverlight or C++ or .NET
Sleep or paused in the background or not sleep at all :)
At the end is the "user EXPERIENCE" that matters !
@ewlung
That's kind of like saying "I'm going to get on a plane, and I don't care if it goes north, south, east or west, so long as there's great service!"
Different platforms have very different potential in terms of what *level* of services applications can provide. For example, making a great text editor or web browser is something people like, but if it's impossible to make it the default application, then it's still somewhat limited in use.
This especially goes for people who want to access the hardware, say for things like augmented reality, microphone access (recording calls, etc.. - I know it's illegal in many places, but I'm just thinking function), and here's a big one nowadays: storage access and location (probably can't change defaults for obvious reasons).
It will make a very big difference to your user experience depending on what platforms and what accessibility is given.