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posted 02/15/10 10:51 AM | updated 02/15/10 10:51 AM
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WP7 is Blowing Up, "Windows Phone 7" Not So Much

By Michael van Baker
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The top Twitter hashtag for Seattle right now is #WP7, as the smartphone crowd hashes out what the advent of Windows Phone 7 means. TechFlash has "what they're saying," and what they're saying is very complimentary (except for the name, Windows Phone 7). Gizmodo says it's "the most groundbreaking phone since the iPhone." But don't expect to see it until the holiday season.

The short story is that Microsoft has thrown out the old WinMo experience and adopted an augmented Zune HD interface that's heavy on live animation, so that its integration with external sources like Facebook is, to the user, seamless and always-on. "You never see an annoying 'loading...loading...loading,'" says Microsoft's Joe Belfiore.

This, combined with the news that two dozen cell phone providers are forming their own mobile app store, is keeping the mobile marketplace very interesting. That next iPhone had better be a doozy.

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Holiday season?
This thing seems all well and good, but something that's not going to launch until the holiday season is vaporware, pure and simple.

Unless the holiday is Easter. Or perhaps Arbor day.
Comment by bilco
2 days ago
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RE: Holiday season?
The holiday season is when you'll see it wide on phones, I'm told. The manufacturers will need time to make it "native" on their devices. But I give them two thumbs up on this: for one, they focused on their strength, which is software. And for two, they leveled up. The smartphone experience has been all about specific apps up to now--this represents an attempt to knit a user experience together that gets beyond opening and closing this or that app.
Comment by Michael van Baker
2 days ago
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