Windows Mobile 7 to get multi-touch
Microsoft is enduring a number of attacks on its core businesses right now with the Likes of Linux and Mac OS X looking for a foot in the operating system door, Google setting the pace for online office applications and browsers such as Firefox grabbing a growing share on the browser market. There is also another area in which Microsoft is facing a growing battle and one that is certain to become very important in the coming years: mobile.
Until recently the main operating systems for mobile phones were from the likes of Symbian but now most of Microsoft’s major competitors are getting in on the game. Apple’s iPhone has proved itself already and it runs a version of the Mac OS X operating system. And more recently Google has entered the fray with its Android operating system, an open source Linux-based OS that already runs on HTC phones and is likely to spread in the coming year. Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile OS is very popular in the smartphone market but, just as in the desktop market, Microsoft is facing growing competition.
Rewrite
With Windows 7 for desktops now finalised, Microsoft is expected to release Windows Mobile 7 early in 2010 and already there are indications that the new version of the smartphone OS will be based on a significant rewrite of the system. So while it is the successor to Windows Mobile 6.5, WM7 promises to be significantly better than that release.
Microsoft has said that Windows Mobile 7 will be a “premium” experience operating system while WM6.5 will remain on the market as a low-cost alternative. The two operating systems are expected to co-exist while WM7 targets the high end of the market, the portion of the market where the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones are dominant.
The most obvious changes in Windows Mobile 7 will be the rewritten interface. In place of the traditional folder view of earlier Windows Mobile releases, Windows Mobile 7 uses 24-bit icons spread across the screen to access applications, much like the iPhone does. Also included in WM7 is access to the Windows Phone market place, a repository of WM-focused applications along the lines of Apple’s App Store. Google’s Android operating system also has its own dedicated application market place.
Multi-touch
Perhaps the most important change in WM7 will be the inclusion of multi-touch capabilities along the lines of the iPhone. Many users were hoping that multi-touch would be introduced in WM6.5 but Microsoft has now said that it is working with specific phone makers to introduce this exclusively in Windows Mobile 7.
As more and more users begin to use online services – cloud services – to synchronise and share data, Windows Mobile 7 will include new My Phone synchronisation features. Using the service users can synchronise their phone data through a Windows Live account. Users will also be able to remotely wipe the data off their phone using the PC client software if it is stolen or lost. They will also be able to download their existing data, including emails, contacts and SMSes, to a new phone.
Windows Mobile 7 discussion
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