Windows Phone 7 Series
Windows Phone 7 Series Unveiled! Microsoft has finally unveiled the next version of Windows Mobile – the Windows Phone 7 Series. Windows Phone 7 Series is the best name Microsoft could come up with to say that they’re not manufacturing phone hardware themselves or putting the Microsoft name on it.
“Many of the consumers we’re speaking with are not necessarily aware of Windows Mobile and we do not want them to think Microsoft is launching a Windows phone. ‘Series’ also says there are different form factors. It’s just like when you buy a Windows PC; you don’t think Microsoft manufactures it. ‘Series’ was the best word we tested as being able to convey that.”
Windows Phone 7 Series Interface
The Windows Phone 7 Series prototype shown at Mobile Word Congress has many similarities to the Zune HD. “Metro” is what Microsoft calls for its visual design and is a reference to the clarity of information and typography on the signs you see at train stations and Joe Belfiore says has its roots in Windows.
One thing that is noticeable on a Windows Phone Series 7 device is the Lock screen, showing the time and date, plus details like the number of unread messages, missed calls or your next meeting. Swipe your finger to unlock the phone and you see the tiled Start ‘experience’; some of these animated tiles are shown by default, like email, others which you can customize.
In general the interface uses an ‘app bar’ of icons and commands at the bottom of the screen rather than menus (what Microsoft calls the ‘chromeless’ interface) or press-and-hold context menus, but the software does support press-and-hold – on the Start screen this gives you Zune HD-style heart and broken heart icons for adding and removing tiles. There’s also an alphabetical list of all apps, like the current Start menu (although this is a list rather than the ‘honeycomb’ grid of Windows Mobile 6.5).
