Windows Mobile
Microsoft says no Windows Phone 7 upgrade for Windows Mobile 6x devices
Mar 2nd
Many of the high end Windows Mobile device (like HD2) owners are hoping to get Windows Phone 7 upgrade when Microsoft releases Windows Phone 7 later this year.
Device like HD2 has a snapdragon CPU with high resolution capacity touch screen, 5MP camera and enough RAM seems to be one of the devices that qualified for Windows Phone 7 hardware requirement and likely to receive Windows Phone 7 upgrade.
However, here is a piece of bad news from Microsoft, officially. Natasha Kwan, General Manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business in the Asia-Pacific region, said that the HD2 “doesn’t qualify because it doesn’t have the three buttons”.
“Because we have very specific requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series the current phones we have right now will not be upgradable”, Kwan explained.
And it sounds like all existing Windows Mobile devices in the market will not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 and now we have to put our hope to the hackers from XDA-Developers 
[via apcmag]
HTC Desire, Legend and HD Mini get prices in UK, available 12 April
Feb 19th
Waiting to buy the new HTC phones that were announced during MWC? The UK online retailer expansys has published the prices and availability date for the 3 new phones from HTC.
HTC Desire will cost you 439.99 Sterling Pound (USD 680), Legend will cost 389.99 (USD600), and the HD mini will cost 339.99 (USD525). And they are due on 12th of April.
So start saving and your count down to the date.
[via expansys]
Meet the little brother of HTC HD2, the HD mini
Feb 17th
Hey, do you like HD2 but think it is too big to fit into your pocket or hand? HTC has announced a mini version of the HD2 – the HD mini.
It is packed with everything you would expect to have, expect with a slower processor and smaller screen. The HD mini comes with a 600Mhz CPU and HVGA (320 x480) screen. It has 512Mb ROM and 386Mb RAM. And it is loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with HTC Sense.
The phone will also come with G-Sensor, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, 5P camera, bluetooth, wifi, GPS and 3 microSF expansion slot.
We can find more information of HD mini now from HTC’s web site here.
Microsoft getting ready for MWC Windows Phone launch?
Feb 11th
So is Microsoft getting ready the big launch event for the new Windows Phone / Windows Mobile 7 in MWC?
According to Engadget, by looking at the decoration and banners, Microsoft seems to be ready to push the Windows Phone’s brand name in the event. And guess what, Steve Ballmer will be there for the event. And hopefully Microsoft is ready for the Windows Mobile 7 announcement.
MWC 2010 is going to be an interest event as we will be expecting quite a number of new products launch.
[via engadget]
Windows Mobile 7 details surfaced: no multitasking and customizable UI
Feb 8th
Before the Microsoft announcement of Windows Mobile 7 at MWC, there are already some in depth details of the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 leaked into the net.
According to PPCGeeks, Windows Mobile 7 will feature a Zune like interface and there will be no multitasking support for third party apps on the phone! Microsoft will control the Windows Mobile 7 about the same way Apple controls the iPhoneOS, except that Microsoft will not make the phone. The manufacturers will build the phone but Microsoft will control the user experience tightly.
Here is the list that PPCGeeks lists:
- The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”. It will be very similar to the Zune HD User Interface with a complete revamp of the “Start” screen. The UI is “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”
- Unfortunately there will be no Flash support at the get go as there was not enough time to implement these features.
- Windows Phone 7 will only support application installation through service based delivery. (i.e Marketplace). Application installation via storage card will not be possible.
- No Multi-Task support. Applications will “Pause” when in the background, however will support notifications via push notifications.
- Marketplace will now support “try before you buy” as well as an API
- No NETCF backwards compatibility. This means the original rumor of no backward compatibility for applications holds to be true. That being said, there are high hopes of porting the NetCF to the newer platform easily.
- Microsoft is confident that devices will be ready by September 2010
- Full Zune Integration
- Windows Mobile Device Center will no longer be used. Zune software to take over syncing via PC.
- OEM Interfaces will not be allowed to run on the device. Say goodbye to Sense UI / SPB Mobile Shell / Point UI / Infinity, etc, etc
- Full XBOX Gaming Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
- Full support for social networking
Microsoft is clearly learning the experience from its previous Windows Mobile release and obviously also from Apple’s iPhone. Will this make sense to Microsoft as well as the existing hardware partners like HTC and Samsung? May be that’s why HTC goes to Android camp and Samsung created a new Bada OS.
Will this be too late for Microsoft? We will see when Windows Mobile is finally released to market.
[via PPCGeeks]
China Mobile’s OMS 2.0 (the Android based OS) to support Windows Mobile Apps?
Feb 4th
Many of us have been confused by the press release from China Mobile regarding the new OMS (Open Mobile System) version 2.0, which is based on Android.
According to the statement, the new OMS version supports things like SVG and voice recognition and the comany also claims that “Windows Mobile API” are now part of this update. And what exactly does this support of Windows Mobile API mean? Does it create a binary layer that will run the Windows Mobile apps directly on the OMS device without any modification or does it have a SDK to allow developers of Windows Mobile apps to port the apps to OMS platform easily?
Well, the press release is included after the break and we shall wait for more interesting information from them.
[via mobiletechworld]
The first Windows Mobile 6.5.3 phone – Sony Ericsson Aspen
Feb 3rd
There have been quite a number of information of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 floating around. And until now, the first official Windows Mobile 6.5.3 device will be released soon by Sony Ericsson – the Aspen (aka Faith).
Aspen is a business oriented phone with the front QWERTY keyboard and candy bar form factor like Blackberry. It has a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT touchscreen LCD, 3.2 megapixel camera, A-GPS with Google Maps, 3.5-mm audio jack, WiFi, and microSD expansion.
The most important thing is that it will come with Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Although it sounds like a minor upgrade from version 6.5, it actually completes the UI improvement from Microsoft to a completely finger friendly interface. The new version also support capacitive touch screen and multitouch support is enabled. Microsoft has also improved browser performance with faster page load times and better memory management.
The original Sony Ericsson announcement is here.
