The last few weeks I heard more and more developers talking about WP7 – so I decided to ask someone I knew is kind of an expert on the topic to explain it.
So here comes what Michael B. McLaughlin has to tell us about Windows Phone 7:
Windows Phone 7 has been making big waves in the developer community over the past few months. If you haven’t heard of it yet, don’t worry: Microsoft has been working overtime to make WP7 a phenomenal experience when it launches this holiday season and so far that’s meant focusing their attention on helping developers make some outstanding games and apps for the platform. But with all the major mobile providers and many of the best phone manufacturers already lined up – WP7 promises to be an experience you won’t want to miss.
So what exactly is it?
Windows Phone 7 is centered around several hubs that integrate your digital life with your daily life. While you’ll certainly enjoy the Office hub, the Music + Videos hub, the Pictures hub, and the People hub (for all your social networking), you will absolutely love the Xbox LIVE-integrated gaming hub!
keep on reading after the more button…
Now you can play games, earn achievements, and climb your way up the leaderboards of some of your favorite Xbox 360 games no matter where you are. Of course the gaming hub isn’t just Xbox LIVE: many of your favorite Indie titles are already well on their way to appearing on the Windows Phone 7 platform thanks to the power of the XNA framework that underlies both platforms. Thanks to the ease and simplicity of the XNA development tools, you can expect many wonderful games to be on the marketplace when WP7 launches in a few months with many more coming steadily in the months following its release as developers learn how to harness the power of the amazing hardware specs that all Windows Phones are required to meet. From the powerful 1GHz+ processor to an 800×480, capacitive four-point multi-touch screen, to DirectX 9 hardware acceleration through the GPU, not to mention the (at a minimum) 5 megapixel camera, built-in accelerometer, and cellular and wi-fi connectivity, amongst other things (like a built-in FM radio), even the most basic of models will contain some serious hardware.
Microsoft has been involved in the pocket computer and smart phone industry for over a decade, starting with the Pocket PC platform in April of 2000. To date their mobile products have seen wide use in the enterprise market but consumer devices have been a different story. Enter Windows Phone 7, a complete redesign from the ground up.
With its clean and vibrant Metro interface providing a beautiful, modern-looking interface, the Phone is a pleasure just to look at. But it goes well beyond a pleasant surface.
You’ll hear a lot more about Windows Phone 7 as the holiday season approaches. Personally, I’m already liking what I see.
Links
- http://www.machackpc.com/headline/xbox-live-gaming-titles-for-windows-phone-7-unveiled-hands-on-videos/
- http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/xbox-live-launch-titles-for-windows-phone-7-finally-revealed-we/
- http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wp7dev
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Michael B. McLaughlin retired from a career as a lawyer in 2009 in order to pursue his lifelong passion for programming. He is currently building a small studio dedicated to building Xbox LIVE Indie Games and Windows Phone 7 games and apps. He blogs primarily on programming-related topics at geekswithblogs.net/mikebmcl and tweets regularly @mikebmcl.
