So Microsoft's Charlie Kindel posted up a long blog post about
Windows Phone 7 Series and app development just now, and we couldn't help but notice the WP7S device mockup he used is noticeably different from the
stock press shots we've been seeing and the
actual devices we've gotten to
play with. That's a totally different hardware trim, for starters, and there's a Zune-like menu on the right-- on the builds we've seen scrolling to the right reveals the app list. And that map on the bottom has been moved up a couple rows from where
we've seen it on demo builds -- which is unfortunate because it's so wildly ugly in comparison to the rest of the 7 Series interface. Now, this could actually be an
older mockup, not a newer one, so we're not reading too much into this, but it's clear that Microsoft is still making a ton of tweaks to the WP7S interface as time goes on -- hopefully we'll see some final results at MIX.
Update: Charlie
confirms that this is an older mockup. Sorry, Zune fans.
posted March 4th 2010 9:24PM
Better :)
@182 Helps the user to know that there is something else on the side swipe screen.
@182 By the time WP7 comes out Palm will have another WebOS or 2 device on the market & WP7 will have to be something really special.
Not saying it won't, just saying that with BB finally evolving, Android having a full head of steam & Palm presumably having more momentum as well as better hardware, the competition is stiff. Not to mention Apple will have some slight variation/upgrade of the iPhone. I'm looking forward to WP7, I just hope they bring something new to the table.
@182 its much worse. i like the first one!
@182
I think the text on the right is a much more obvious visual cue than the arrow. I hope the one on the right is newer. Also looks like we will be able to customize the color theme, but that was pretty much a given. That orange isn't doing anything good for me though.
@Dick Lynch LOL... dont you mean that whatever Palm shows, would have to be really special? Palm is the one thats not getting the sales and its updates are few and far between. They would need another huge leap in order to match what WP7 phones are showing.
@werty1432k and you thought the arrow wasn't obvious enough? but i like the text tease though for its appeal....
@Dick Lynch I'm a pre owner but they aren't really doing a whole lot of "innovating" to the interface. wp7 is but we still don't know if it will have its own issues yet. I for one think its a good thing to have the text to the right instead of the arrow.
@182
Charlie Kindel just post an official respond: Yes, it is an older mockup
http://blogs.msdn.com/ckindel/archive/2010/03/04/yes-it-is-an-older-mockup.aspx
@182 I like the one on the left more, its not blurry haha
@werty1432k Cuz the arrow didn't give that away.
@Dick Lynch Um win mo 7 is already special and since palm aren't exactly flying of the shelves nor porting the OS to other suppliers I see no worries there at all
It will probably have the same zooming in and out motion like on the Zune HD seen in the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHbl5V7QwgM
The Tegra chip is fantastic, and I'm really hoping a phone gets in with wp7 :D
@GON
Tegra was fantastic 2 years ago, then was "very nice" last year. This year it's outdated, unless Tegra 2 makes an appearance IN DEVICES before Qualcomm's -admittedly inferior- Scorpion.
Umm .. did you think you might be able to customise the main screen ? Seems like a pretty obvious feature to me.
@taligent
Not only is it obvious, I'm pretty sure I heard it straight out of a Microsoft rep's mouth during the MWC announce. Isn't that what all that adding and removing people was about during the presentation? I'd be very surprised if you couldn't move stuff around like that.
I cannot wait for this OS its so new and dosent try to imitate anything else.
YAY... so now it needs an EXTRA GESTURE to reach my apps. Great.
Better than having all of my apps strewn about my desktop.
@TareG
Theres nothing I hate more then moving my fucking finger. It sucks right? Having to move that stupid thing and press on the screen. Oh geez I think I'm gonna have a hernia.
Thats what you sound like to me.
@p0p0
Can't wait for mind based UI's. Will sure be a blessing for my poor wrists.
@TareG
What does that even mean? I can't think of a single OS that doesn't involve some sort of movement to get to your apps, even on the iphone, you could have an app several pages away that you have to scroll through.. what a stupid complaint.
@TareG
For real.. why can't the phone just read my mind and figure out what I want to launch before I even get my finger anywhere near it. This UI is complete rubbish..
@zsmorr
(sigh)
Android OS: Shortcuts are all on the homescreen. The rest of the apps are ONE gesture away.
iPhone OS: The homescreen is the apps screen (at the cost of more information)
WPS7: Swipe to the right, then hit apps, then swipe through till you find the app you want.
Looks both better and worse.
I have no real opinion on it.
@Independence76
Gee, thanks for sharing.
@Independence76
I agree, wile also disagreeing...
@n0ne It's the art of arguing... without arguing.
@n0ne
@Independence76
alright Tweedledee and Tweedledum, make up your minds
...sorry just saw Alice in Wonderland
@Independence76
yes, on this subject i am highly neutral!
I think it's better of course... there has to be a main menu, to supplement that "highlights tiles".... but wasn't that the whole purpose of the "hubs"? To act as main menu items? Will I now be able to access my music through BOTH the music hub and the "music" menu item?
It's starting to reek of a rushed out job already... (excluding 5 years to make and scrap out Photon..)
I think it's older. For one, it looks exactly like they started with a Zune HD and tweaked it slightly, instead of the 'slightly further along from a Zune HD' interface. Orange doesn't look as good as the blue either. And the hardware is definitely uglier. Check how the MWC version is all black on the front, whereas the orange one is black and slightly-less-black.
the capacitive buttons became worse :(
and its probably a bit more customized in the other 1 :)
I prefer the 1st mockup, especially the hardware
I know it's a just a mockup, but I liked the look of the older back arrow and magnifying glass. If you ask me, I'd guess this is older, I mean, what's the point in having your tiles on the left menu (Phone/Xbox/People/Messages) and having the list on the right menu with the exact same thing. Still, I doubt the app list they showed at MWC is there to stay.
I dont like the off center stuff, and having to constantly slide over, or words half hanging on the screen
No Surprise Here...
It works perfectly on my ZUNE HD, so why mess with a good thing?
Hope there's an option to change the color of the block.
could it simply be that the interface is customizable? it'd be a nice addition and a convenient explanation.
looks the same to me, he just shifted the blocks around, like they said you could.
i could move the phone, text and mail boxes right to the bottom if i wanted to. hardly make any phone calls or sms anyway....
all i want are games! games! games!
oh... don't mind me....
I'm almost certain it's older....if they're leveraging their brands, they wouldn't start calling it Outlook and then switch back to the generic "Mail"
@KeegdnaB : Almost didn't catch that. If the first one is more recent, I wish they would have kept with something as simple as 'Mail', then putting the 'Outlook' branding. Though it might be because Office Mobile will be included on all phones anyway, so Microsoft will sacrifice the naming simplicity to stay consistent with it's Office branding.
@Quikboy
In the multiple MWC vids I saw. Some phones said 'mail' while others said 'outlook'
Definitely should be a users preference, but if not I think the "arrow"/MWC version is more suitable for a clean looking start screen.
I like the first one better. Maybe it's because the 2nd one is blurry, but the first one seems more done and polished, which might mean the 2nd one could be an older mock-up.
Or it could show how customizable the OS is, with maybe an option to hide the cut-off items (based probably on a good number of complaints from those who remark about 'marketplac'), or enable them on, to illustrate the UI paradigm where everything isn't "boxed" in.
Man I know this is much better then winmo 6/6.5 but I just dont like it at all, the OS looks too much like you're scrolling through a web page.
@dreamer3kx
It's called natural UI, your brain is wired to best understand and memorize spaces, not discrete menus.
I'm an Apple fanboy, but I will be honest, that is one sexy beast. I wouldn't mind having one, but I still love my iPhone ;)
i thought it was pretty obvious zune and windows phone 7 where gonna be integrated design wise, and likely functionality wise.
This caught you by surprise?
I have a shitty 2.5 year old WM phone, and I hope it blows up the day this goes on sale.