NEW!!! Official Windows Phone 7 Series Pics and Screens (Showcases OS and UI)!!!

I have tons pics of the Windows Phone (Mobile) 7 series for those who have been living under a rock for the last couple of days. The pictures exhibit the core of the OS and the UI.

Click on Each Individual Pic to Zoom in


Lock & Home Screen



Web Browser



Zune Music & Video




Pictures Hub



People Hub



Xbox Live Hub



About Windows Phone 7

Microsoft's latest mobile OS behaves completely different from previous iterations which may be a major selling point or a deal breaker. The UI is elegant, simplistic, and fully animated, no other OS is close in comparison. It's innovation at it's finest. Its pretty obvious what type of user MS was aiming towards just by glancing at the screen shots, and you can't blame them. That was how iPhone gained such huge ground.
WinPho 7's interface, codenamed "Metro", is visually similar to the Zune HD. Unlike previous edition of windows mobile, Windows Phone 7 isn't powered by Windows CE kernel, but it is rather based on said embedded OS. It seems like MS main focus is push notification, social networking and finally integrating their other services like Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live.

Ballmer didn't announce much about the hardware requirements, but he did say that there was a capacitive screen requirement. So gone are the days of using your stylus in Excel, Office, or Bubble Breaker.

What make windows Phone 7 Series stand out is the attention to detail, animations, and overall look of the OS. The keyboard is completely overhauled, it's bigger and translucent. The Lock screen is carried over from the Zune HD, it only displays important notifications like new messages, missed calls, and updated status. Unfortunately it doesn't display appointments. The home screen consists of animated tiles or hubs that serve as links to other features of the OS. The home screen is sorta reminiscent of Androids, by allowing you to pin any App, Contact, Picture, Bookmark, etc.

My Opinions

It's pretty clear that I like the revisions or I would've denounced it in this post. The animations are uncanny and The overall experience may make it easy to use, but this is just speculation. I own an Xbox 360 and have Live for Windows on my PC so achievements are pretty big to me and it's nice to see MS being the first to integrate such a feature into a mobile device.

As happy as I am, there are still things that have me upset. The home screen just looks bland and flat, couldn't they have added some kind 3D element and why is there no background image? The apps menu only shows one row of apps in alphabetical order, which may make it easier to find app, but may get tedious once your App collection grows. I feel they should have used the same view they have for the contacts in the Apps menu, it would've been leagues better than just one row of apps.

My Question and Conclusion

Like a lot of you forum goers, I'm pretty stuck on the fence on this one. Still many things I want to know such as:

• How does the OS handle Multitasking?
• What level of Customization is available?
• Will OEMS be allowed to differentiate themselves from each other?
• What about SDK and 3rd party software?
• Details on Compatibility with Phones like the HTC HD2, Toshiba TG02 & K01 or other devices releasing in 2010.
• What are the Hardware requirements.
• What's the fate of Winmo 6.5?
• Is there compatibility with Legacy Apps and vice versa?
• More info on MS's plan for Cloud computing
• How far along are you with flash support?
• The name is Windows Phone Series, does that mean there will be other versions of the OS, Maybe a Lite Version for Older Phones?
• What about Cabs & File Browsing?

MS's latest revision may look more treacherous than adventurous to "Hardcore" users and fans of Winmo. Love or hate it, this mobile OS isn't finish, there's much to be revealed at MIX10 and we won't see a release date anytime soon.

Stay tuned, in a couple days I will have animated gifs that demonstrates the UI animations.

[Never4saken]

Any good Chef's out there ready to get busy????

[937dytboi]

um it looks dumbed down, but maybe thats to run smoother and not be so buggy. Who knows until we get our hands on it. Like said before it looks kinda bland but i will take that over a buggy a sometimish OS.

Cant wait to try it out and see what it can really do

[DavidinCT]

Any shots of the dialer ?

[champ052005]

Leaked documents suggest multi-tasking capabilities.

Source: Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/photos/windo...eaked/#2721800

[champ052005]

Originally Posted by DavidinCT

Any shots of the dialer ?

There are, but its a very basic dialer that seems unfinished.
The dialer is black with white numbers with a * and # key. Very basic.
I'll try to see if I can get a pic for you.

EDIT: Found the dialer picture. Like I said, its still going to be developed further. Its just a basic dialer as of now.

[elephant007]

I bet they threw that together in a month...
they'll develop it after it's released, this is Microsoft we're talking about ya know~

[DavidinCT]

Originally Posted by champ052005

There are, but its a very basic dialer that seems unfinished.
The dialer is black with white numbers with a * and # key. Very basic.
I'll try to see if I can get a pic for you.

EDIT: Found the dialer picture. Like I said, its still going to be developed further. Its just a basic dialer as of now.

Ok, where is the 6.5 dialer that looks like that now ???

anyway...

Time will tell, there is...what...8-9 months before it's scheduled release date... and if we know Microsoft, it might not hit till spring or summmer of 2011....It will be interesting to see if they can keep the date (to make a holiday 2010 release).

A lot can and will change before it gets to the final release point....Man, I wish I could get into a beta of it...(I do know my current phone will not be able to handle it)

[TheShade001]

Originally Posted by elephant007

I bet they threw that together in a month...
they'll develop it after it's released, this is Microsoft we're talking about ya know~

I know right? It looks like maybe, just maybe Microsoft is attempting to learn from their mistakes. After being very happy and refreshed by Windows 7 and Office 2010 on the way, i am hopeful that they keep the momentum up and deliver on Windows Phone 7. After spending a few hours reading reviews from the conference on Feb 14th it looks like they just might deliver. In my opinion at least.

I think MS is on the right track! The way it integrates and unifies all things oriented to what's important to you has me excited. I think it smashes every OS out there - this being said, of course, without ever using it myself.

One thing that REALLY concerns me though is the look. I completely agree with the previous post about the home screen. My first impression was, "Ew. Are you fraking kidding me?" I know they were going for simple and clean, but c'mon. This is BY FAR the ugliest home screen i have ever seen. I have heard talk about the desgin portions being completely done in XML. This could be good news if we can go in and style things the way we want. If we can create our own look through XML the HORRIBLE home page would be less of an issue. I get the feeling though, that it was probably SUPER stripped down for performance (for demo-ing purposes) since the emphasis was on the smooth transitions. Hopefully, that is the case and some attention will be given to the look. It sounds like, to me, they are putting A LOT of effort and money into this so i know they are INDEED working hard to redeem themselves rather than throwing something together in a month.

Another thing i am not sure how i feel about is something i came accross in a video or article of a MS rep demo-ing the phone. Unfortunately, i can't remember where i saw it. I suppose i could track down the link if anyone was interested. He said that Windows Phone 7 will not support Sence. Has anyone heard this? I have grown to love Sence. Although it would be nice to have Sence as an alternative UI i supose it's possible that we won't miss it at all, but it sucks to know that themes i have been working so hard on will be dead by Christmas. Bummer.

Nice review krjcook! Appreciate the info!

[FlatSurfSucks]

Originally Posted by TheShade001

Another thing i am not sure how i feel about is something i came accross in a video or article of a MS rep demo-ing the phone. Unfortunately, i can't remember where i saw it. I suppose i could track down the link if anyone was interested. He said that Windows Phone 7 will not support Sence. Has anyone heard this? I have grown to love Sence. Although it would be nice to have Sence as an alternative UI i supose it's possible that we won't miss it at all, but it sucks to know that themes i have been working so hard on will be dead by Christmas. Bummer.

That is correct. Sense, as we know it, will not exist in WP7. Microsoft wants one unifying interface, not the fragmentation that exists in WM currently and to some extent, android. I'm guessing HTC will have a "sense" home panel that will add stuff like weather, footprints, etc.