Blog News Channel somehow managed to get their hands on an internal Microsoft document that outlines the Windows Mobile 7 features. The document is from last summer, and as it stands right now Windows Mobile 7 isn’t scheduled to ship until 2009. That’s quite a gap, so it’s likely that some things will still change.
With that being said the document implies that Windows Mobile 7 will carry forward with a multi-touch interface that will surely bring out the unfriendly side of Apple fans. The on-screen keyboard (pictured above) looks “vaguely” similar to that of the iPhone. And then there are the gestures:
As you can see it takes on a Vista-like appearance, and I do have to admit that it looks rather slick. Far better than the current Windows Mobile.
One key feature that will distinguish Windows Mobile 7 from the current iPhone is the ability to recognize device movements as gestures. By that I mean you could shake the device in a predefined motion to have it wake up.
Something that really blew me away, however, was that one of their screenshots showed the device running Office 2007! If Microsoft can get a full-scale version of Office efficiently running on Windows Mobile I think they will deserve a huge round of applause:
I’m sure this type of interface is really going to take the mobile market by storm just as it did with the iPhone, and I hope that Microsoft does it right. The screenshots all look really good, but that doesn’t mean the end product will be a fluid and polished mobile operating system. What’s unfortunate for Microsoft is that Apple will probably be releasing their second generation iPhone around the same time that Windows Mobile 7 launches, and with that Apple will likely be incorporating the most requested user features. It will be as if Apple is polishing up their touch interface while Microsoft is just getting started. The key for Microsoft will be how many devices will be available at launch, and what their prices will be.
Lets not forget that Windows Mobile is a an open platform, meaning that developers like myself can develop application for it. Not true for the iPhone. Also, being able to run Office applications is a huge bonus for lots of users.
If Microsoft can give users a clean, easy-to-use UI then they will be in great shape. The portable market is still very young.
You can get this functionality now.
Video: [youtube.com]
New UI: [pointui.com]
More stories: [QuasiPreneur.com]
Works perfectly on my Sprint PPC-6700
Windows Mobile Platform is more robust than iphone’s one.
Well, Apple does have plans to open up the development of the iPhone in a month, but we’ll have to see what really comes of that.
Yes, it is. But Apple has done a good job of making the iPhone fast and usable without needing a stylus. That’s something Microsoft still needs to work on.
Am i I the only one wh thinks office looking like that on a mobile device with a small screen will be utterly UNUSABLE?
It’s just a mockup. There’s very little chance that Office on that device would actually look like that.
Do you think they will provide this as a free upgrade, as they did with 6.1?
Very unlikely. Version 7 will be a major upgrade, and Microsoft isn’t exactly known for making those free.