Hey, I told you MIX was going to be hot. A talk at the development conference has revealed a third flavor of Windows Phone 7 Series, though alas, it does not appear to be the third chassis style we heard exists — unless the extra-hot camera is the third style. This shiny new Samsung keeps the lozenge style but has a more rounded look than the “reference” design we saw at launch.
Some other news from the conference: as we expected, Microsoft is locking down the hardware requirements for WinPho7 devices, requiring them to meet or exceed certain qualifications. And here they are:
800×480 screen (320×480 to follow)
256MB RAM, 8GB flash storage
4-point multi-touch
ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better
DirectX9 support by GPU
Codec acceleration (probably on GPU via DirectX)
5 megapixel camera with flash and separate camera button
Three hard buttons: Start, Search, and Back
GPS, accelerometer, compass, light and proximity sensors
The resolution restriction is a good move for maintaining a similar visual experience across handsets. Actually, locking stuff down like this is good across the board — it means people are free to choose whichever hardware they like without worrying about whether they run the OS well. That’s a major concern for Android buyers right now.
I’m pretty sure the Samsung is not the “third chassis” mainly because of the upcoming HVGA resolution. That suggests to me a candy bar chassis with a full QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry style. The effectively halved resolution makes perfect sense for that. Who knows when they’ll announce it, but I feel strongly that’s the case.
Still carrying your iPhone in your pants pocket eh? Well, I guess you can do that. Be careful if you sit down though, you might end up with a pocket full of broken dreams and unicorn tears. Well, unless you have this pretty sweet stainless steel iPhone case.
Hand made in Portland Oregon by a person who obviously knows industrial design, this seriously stout case is hand finished and made from high grade steel. The case is custom cut with a flip cover, including space to show the time and date, as well as allowing you to answer the phone without opening the case. The designer even thought to include vents for cooling, and to improve reception. Of course, this level of hand crafted goodness isn’t going to come cheap. The LTD Tools iPhone case sells for $95, but it seems like a small price to pay for the security of knowing your phone’s case will stop a bullet.
Augmented Reality is a pretty hot topic currently, but it seems to me that theJapaneseinparticular have really embraced the concept of mixing the real world with computer-generated imagery and data. One case in point is the Crimsonfox project [JP], an “Alternative Reality” scavenger hunt game event that took place over the weekend in Tokyo, Japan.
The main idea here was to use a tailor-made augmented reality app on the iPhone (which is only available in the Japanese App Store) in a mass-player game in the real world, namely the central district of Shibuya.
And over 200 players showed up in flesh and blood on the day of the event, all equipped with iPhones. Using said app, GPS and the built-in compass of the 3GS, players ran around in the city looking for hidden (physical) hints to find the real-world hideout of a “secret society called Moonlights”.
On the screenshot below, you can see those hints in red and an interim goal in blue.
Players were able to “scan” hints they found with their iPhones, for example a graphic printed on a piece of paper somewhere. The app would then verify the hint by superimposing an emblem (see below) over the image on the iPhone camera, give away points for finding the right hint and then lead players to the next part of the game.
Very cool concept, so it wasn’t too surprising that the Crimsonfox project was watched by a total of 7,000 people live online. Tokyo-based Ubiquitous Entertainment, the main organizer of the event, was even able to win the support of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
While this is probably possible in Japan only, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this kind of event copied for marketing or other purposes outside this country in the future (hit this link for more information on the game in English).
Oh, customer service agents, how we love you. You’re an endless source of knowledge — even if about 80% of it tends to be taken from gadget blogs, pushed through the fact distorting ears of the rumor mill. That other 20%, though.. there are some real gems in there.
Like the launch window for the Android 2.1 update for the Motorola Droid, for example.
Android fan site Droid-Life started nagging at CS agents for information about when we might see 2.1 land on the Motorola Droid – and sure enough, they got a hit:
Marcelo M.: Hi, my name is Marcelo M.. How may I help you? Kellen B: Hey Marcelo! Since the Spain Milestone has Android 2.1 and the Bulgarian one launches at the end of this week with 2.1, should Droid users expect it this week as well? Marcelo M.: Within the next 2-3 weeks Kellen B: Really? That’s awesome news. So by the end of March? Marcelo M.: Yes Kellen B: Very cool! Any details on what will be included in the update? Marcelo M.: Not at this time Kellen, I am sorry Kellen B: Ok, well thanks for providing me with a more defined timeline than just “soon”. Greatly appreciated.
So, one rep says it’s coming by the end of March. One rep’s word is never enough to go off of (because, like anyone else in the world, they tend to pass on what they’ve heard, rumor or otherwise, as fact), so Droid-Life asked another rep. This one wasn’t quite as specific, saying only that it was coming in “Q1″ – which, as it turns out, happens to end in March.
Take it with a grain of salt for the time being, but Droid owners just might be in for the upgrade treatment before the month is out. We hopped on Moto’s support chat ourselves to try and confirm and, out of pure coincidence, ended up talking to the same guy quoted above. He wasn’t willing to spill the beans for me, though, leaving us with “No sir, we’re still waiting on information.”
Gratuitous shot from Mortal Kombat used here because A) Mortal Kombat is available via Watch Instantly and B) Mortal Kombat is fantastic. You know, in it’s own way.
Just about every smartphone has some sort of Netflix support at this point. Movie browsing… queue management.. all the basics. What they don’t have, unfortunately, is the one feature that everyone is asking for: support for Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service.
Well, someone’s finally stepping up to the plate with Watch Instantly support — and it’s not Apple or Google.
Fresh out of MIX 2010, Microsoft has announced that Windows Phone 7 will have a Netflix app, complete with Watch Instantly. This is one hell of a pleasant surprise, though in hindsight it makes perfect sense; Watch Instantly on the Mac/PC is powered by Silverlight (which just so happens to be the same thing fueling Windows Phone 7 applications), and Netflix established a pretty close bond with Microsoft when they added Netflix streaming to the 360.
Man, oh man – if you’re not excited about Windows Phone 7 yet, you might want to get your headbone checked out.
We love webOS around these parts. What we don’t love — not one bit — is how they’ve been advertising it. They kicked things off with creepiness, and then followed it up with mis-aimed cheesiness. Fortunately, it looks like Palm has finally, finally figured this advertising thing out.
Just minutes ago, Palm used a new commercial to debut the brand new slogan for webOS: Life moves fast. Don’t miss a thing. Given that two of webOS’ biggest strengths are how it manages notifications and contacts, we’d say that’s pretty fitting.
Plus, the commercial itself isn’t half bad. It shows off multi-tasking and app switching while riding the fine line between too abstract and too tech-y. Plus, as Youtube user zeo2k so eloquently put it, “Chick is FLY! damn…”
Lets hope this is just the beginning for a pretty massive marketing overhaul from Palm.
All naysaying aside, people are pretty excited about Windows Phone 7. Our readers are excited for it. I’d be outright lying if I said I wasn’t excited about it, too. Know who else is excited? The Windows Phone 7 team — but perhaps not for the reasons you’d expect.
With a few years of work finally coming to a head, some of the folks on the Windows Phone 7 team are taking a step back, looking at the fruits of their labor… and leaving. Not because they’re ashamed, and not because they’re being poached by the competition — but because instead of making Windows Phone 7, they want to make things for Windows Phone 7.
Earlier today, we received an anonymous tip that Microsoft Program Manager Mel Sampat was leaving Microsoft to do just that. After being one of the main voices behind the Windows Mobile blog for 4 years and helping to build the Calendar interface in Windows Phone 7, Mel Sampat (or “MelSam”, as he’s more commonly known) said in a letter to the team (see below) that he was departing to found mist labs, a company focusing on “helping big brands port their iPhone investments over to WM7″ along with a few original apps of their own. The company’s placeholder page also shows iPhone and Android handsets, implying that WM7 might not necessarily be the sole focus for them.
According to the tipster, MelSam isn’t alone; at least 6 other employees (who went unnamed) have recently left the team now that the product is almost out the door, many of whom seem to be interested in their own gigs rather than making the standard move to the competition.
Sampat’s letter follows:
Hey guys after 4 amazing years in this team, I’ve decided to shake things up a bit. I’m leaving Microsoft and my last day will be Mar 12. Wtf? Well, as some of you know, I was an ISV before coming to Microsoft, and made a decent living writing Pocket PC apps way back in the good old days when we were kicking ass with WM5. After seeing the great reception 7 has received, the dormant entrepreneur in me has resurrected with a huge urge to write apps again. I see an opportunity in a few original ideas I have, as well as helping big brands port their iPhone investments over to WM7. So I’m starting a new company and hope to have some cool WM7 stuff “ready in time for holiday 2010″.
It’s been a pleasure & honor to work alongside so many of you. I will support Microsoft from the outside, and wish nothing but the best for 7. Thanks again for your friendship, comradry and “teachable moments” since 2006. Stay in touch and feel free to drop me a line if you ever need the ISV perspective on something. I leave my features in the able hands of Steve May and the rest of the Time Management team, who deserve credit for the Calendar experience I helped build.
Got an idea in the back of your noggin that could be perfect for Windows Phone 7? (Pro tip: tip calculators and flash light apps are probably already covered.) It’s time to get to building.
Today at 11 am, Microsoft will be releasing a bunch of free tools for Windows Phone developers to start chipping away at.
Here’s whats coming:
Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
Windows Phone 7 Series Add-in for Visual Studio, for developers already working with Visual Studio 2010
Windows Phone 7 Series emulator
XNA Game Studio 4.0
Some people were worried that the Silverlight/.NET programming environment of Windows Phone 7 might not grant developers much access to the hardware; fortunately, most of those worries have been taken out back and shot. Microsoft today confirmed that developers will have access to the camera, multi-touch, hardware accelerated video playback, Microsoft’s push service (allowing apps to send notifications to the screen when not running), location, and the accelerometer, amongst other things.
So what do you think? Going to jump into the WP7 development game? Is this the next goldrush? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Best comment gets an invisible cookie.
Waiting in line for movie tickets is still the worst part of going to the movies (unless you are going to see The Bounty Hunter). With so many mobile phone movie apps, it’s easy to find what’s playing at nearby theaters and even purchase tickets right from your mobile phone, but then you still have to get a paper ticket from the dispenser or the ticket agent. But your ticket could easily be delivered to your mobile phone via a 2D barcode.
Today, Fandango is launching a mobile ticket program in eight cities which lets moviegoers finally go paperless. Your ticket is delivered to your mobile phone in the form a of a 2D barcode, or QR code, which the ticket-takers can scan. Movie theaters need to equip their attendees with special scanners, which is why it is only available in a few markets. (MovieTickets.com is testing a similar program).
Here are the theaters participating in Fandango’s initial rollout:
New York: City Cinemas 1, 2 & 3, Angelika Film Center, East 86th Street Cinemas, Village East Cinema, Beekman Theatre, The Paris Theatre.
New Jersey: Manville 12 Plex.
Houston: Angelika Film Center.
Dallas/Plano: Angelika Dallas; Angelika Plano.
San Diego: La Mesa Grossmont Center, Clairemont Town Square Stadium.
We’ve been hearing a lot about VZW getting the Nexus One the last few weeks. The latest unverified report states that Nexus One shipments are currently en route to both Verizon and Vodafone and the phone should be available later this month or early April. That is all. Move along.
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Still carrying your iPhone in your pants pocket eh? Well, I guess you can do that. Be careful if you sit down though, you might end up with a pocket full of broken dreams and unicorn tears. Well, unless you have this pretty sweet stainless steel iPhone case. 
