January 19, 2010 at 10:34WM7 - rumors about a possible revival of the platform
Looks like they really decided to throw away WM6. Perhaps even with the old team. Honor and praise, what can I say?
(Yes, Zune is not a very popular player. But for the developer, it is * an order of magnitude * sane than WM. And this is now a determining factor, because new applications, due to the difficulty of moving to WM, get a miserable compared to a simba and an iPhone, Well, the kernel (which is the native api, that the implementation of the same Compact Framework) will be more decent there, as for mobile devices)
Here is a translation of the original article on MobileCrunch , and my comments on it.
The main changes:
1. WinMo 7 is in fact a copy of the core Zune HD. It is sharpened by one screen size and is designed for OLED devices. Microsoft will provide requirements for the manufacturers of iron and will allow installing the OS only if they are followed. In particular, the minimum screen size and RAM, as well as the minimum processor speed , are regulated.
this allows us to hope that at least there will be no brakes, also see point 3
2. The interface is similar to Zune HD's with phone elements. Since HD determines the style of use and interface, most likely the device will be with a capacitive multi-touch screen and buttons from the player.
But the devil knows him. We will see.
3. Now about the insides: in WinMo 7 there are no background processes, but there is an Apple-like event service. There is no access to system resources and multithreading. That is not at all.
Less than 5 years, as they say. Although Maemo looks cooler. But such a system also has the right to life, unlike the battery-eating horror that it was.
4. WinMo 7 will not support programs under 6.x. Point. It is based on Silverlight and .Net . Everything except some basic programs will not work on WinMo 7. We (mobilecrunch) do not expect this to be a “business device”, and the focus is now on games, including some of the functionality of XBox Live for games and communication. There will be a Microsoft App store with a simple software publishing process .
Yes, lack of compatibility is bad. But what to do? Make wrappers for the kernel and bring back the image of eternal brakes? In addition, the other logic of working with background processes so simply does not spin.
Instead of compatibility with WM6, small ones can easily get the Holy Grail of MS Crossplatform Compatibility (Win / Mac / Linux / Zune / Xbox / WM). From a strategic point of view, this is very serious.
But “non-business device” is a much more controversial step, alas. On the other hand, the business ecosystem will live on WM6 much longer, they are not those who immediately switch to cutting-edge devices. Perhaps in 7.5 or 8.0 they will add a keyboard and other similar buns when developers try WM7.
5. There is no voicemail, possibly due to patent issues. The developers are somewhat upset. As far as we can tell, they are not sure that they want to move to a new platform. This is the “point of no return” and most likely marks the beginning of global change in the Windows Mobile ecosystem. Also, most likely there will be an analogue of Zune sync - a client for Mac , a thing that, in principle, has long been expected.
And we'll see. At least, support for Macs through client software on the Internet is good and right. Some developers will leave, others will come. MS has already grown a good base on the XBLA and Zune Marketplace, so the move is quite logical.
Now let's see if the rumors are confirmed.
This entry can be commented on in my LJ .
UPD: translated into Russian quotes :)
(Yes, Zune is not a very popular player. But for the developer, it is * an order of magnitude * sane than WM. And this is now a determining factor, because new applications, due to the difficulty of moving to WM, get a miserable compared to a simba and an iPhone, Well, the kernel (which is the native api, that the implementation of the same Compact Framework) will be more decent there, as for mobile devices)
Here is a translation of the original article on MobileCrunch , and my comments on it.
The main changes:
1. WinMo 7 is in fact a copy of the core Zune HD. It is sharpened by one screen size and is designed for OLED devices. Microsoft will provide requirements for the manufacturers of iron and will allow installing the OS only if they are followed. In particular, the minimum screen size and RAM, as well as the minimum processor speed , are regulated.
this allows us to hope that at least there will be no brakes, also see point 3
2. The interface is similar to Zune HD's with phone elements. Since HD determines the style of use and interface, most likely the device will be with a capacitive multi-touch screen and buttons from the player.
But the devil knows him. We will see.
3. Now about the insides: in WinMo 7 there are no background processes, but there is an Apple-like event service. There is no access to system resources and multithreading. That is not at all.
Less than 5 years, as they say. Although Maemo looks cooler. But such a system also has the right to life, unlike the battery-eating horror that it was.
4. WinMo 7 will not support programs under 6.x. Point. It is based on Silverlight and .Net . Everything except some basic programs will not work on WinMo 7. We (mobilecrunch) do not expect this to be a “business device”, and the focus is now on games, including some of the functionality of XBox Live for games and communication. There will be a Microsoft App store with a simple software publishing process .
Yes, lack of compatibility is bad. But what to do? Make wrappers for the kernel and bring back the image of eternal brakes? In addition, the other logic of working with background processes so simply does not spin.
Instead of compatibility with WM6, small ones can easily get the Holy Grail of MS Crossplatform Compatibility (Win / Mac / Linux / Zune / Xbox / WM). From a strategic point of view, this is very serious.
But “non-business device” is a much more controversial step, alas. On the other hand, the business ecosystem will live on WM6 much longer, they are not those who immediately switch to cutting-edge devices. Perhaps in 7.5 or 8.0 they will add a keyboard and other similar buns when developers try WM7.
5. There is no voicemail, possibly due to patent issues. The developers are somewhat upset. As far as we can tell, they are not sure that they want to move to a new platform. This is the “point of no return” and most likely marks the beginning of global change in the Windows Mobile ecosystem. Also, most likely there will be an analogue of Zune sync - a client for Mac , a thing that, in principle, has long been expected.
And we'll see. At least, support for Macs through client software on the Internet is good and right. Some developers will leave, others will come. MS has already grown a good base on the XBLA and Zune Marketplace, so the move is quite logical.
Now let's see if the rumors are confirmed.
This entry can be commented on in my LJ .
UPD: translated into Russian quotes :)