Showing posts with label Windows Mobile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Mobile. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Windows Phone rumors ramp up in advance of Mobile World Congress
The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week looks like it will play host to the usual range of exciting announcements in the mobile devices and software field. Based on the continued appearance of enticing rumors, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform looks like it will be one of the main attractions this year.
At 9:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, CEO Steve Ballmer is expected host a press conference unveiling the latest Windows Mobile developments, which could be anything from the official announcement of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 to the launch of Xbox Live-enabled games on Windows Mobile to a so-called "Zune Phone."
Reuters today cited anonymous sources who said the announcement will be "new mobile phone software," an aggravatingly vague description, which The Wall Street Journal tightened up into "Windows Mobile 7," which it says will resemble the Zune HD's interface, but all signs seem to be pointing elsewhere.
Microsoft assured us last month that its user-friendly, non-legacy mobile operating system was NOT Windows Mobile 7, and a report from Bloomberg today eliminated its mention of Windows Mobile 7 in favor of "The renamed Windows Phone operating system."
A new version of Windows Mobile that concentrates on media and entertainment instead of business functionality would no doubt be welcome in the new consumer-driven smartphone market, and many would say it's long overdue from Redmond.
At 9:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, CEO Steve Ballmer is expected host a press conference unveiling the latest Windows Mobile developments, which could be anything from the official announcement of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 to the launch of Xbox Live-enabled games on Windows Mobile to a so-called "Zune Phone."
Reuters today cited anonymous sources who said the announcement will be "new mobile phone software," an aggravatingly vague description, which The Wall Street Journal tightened up into "Windows Mobile 7," which it says will resemble the Zune HD's interface, but all signs seem to be pointing elsewhere.
Microsoft assured us last month that its user-friendly, non-legacy mobile operating system was NOT Windows Mobile 7, and a report from Bloomberg today eliminated its mention of Windows Mobile 7 in favor of "The renamed Windows Phone operating system."
A new version of Windows Mobile that concentrates on media and entertainment instead of business functionality would no doubt be welcome in the new consumer-driven smartphone market, and many would say it's long overdue from Redmond.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Sony Ercisson Xperia X2 mobile phone launch delayed manual
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 which was supposed to be launched in the UK market in the year end, has been delayed. The mobile phone was supposed to be an exclusive Vodafone product.
THE ISSUES bugging Sony Ericsson Satio, which caused the smartphone to be withdrawn from Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U outlets across UK, have been reported the reasons why the latest offering from the mobile phone producer, Sony Ericsson Xperia X2, has been delayed from its year end release.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2, a high end model was due to be launched in UK market with an exclusive Vodafone deal. The mobile phone is a successor to the X1 model and reportedly has a 3. 2 inch display, a QWERTY keyboard, a panel based interface, eight megapixel camera and Windows Mobile 6.5 interface.
While the Vodafone website has now stressed that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 would be launched in January, the mobile phone would miss out on big shopping avenues like Christmas and New year. Further, as the mobile phone company has planned to launch Android based Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 in February next year, this would threaten sales of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sony Ericsson launches top-of-the-line Xperia X1
‘Xperia X1’ features a three inch wide screen and a full keyboard. Its quality metal-finish offers a sleek look. It also features Windows Mobile and a 4GB card. This new mobile can be upgraded to 32 GB..
SONY ERICSSON launched its top-of-the-line mobile phone ‘Xperia X1’last week. This touch-screen smartphone is a 50:50 joint venture between Sony and Ericsson, which would cost Rs 44, 500. This latest smartphone provides the facilities of multimedia. This new smartphone aims to serve the needs of the users related to converged entertainment and mobile web communication experience.
While speaking to the media, Anil Sethi, the Sony Ericsson India president said that Xperia X1 would offer energising communication and premium mobile experience besides world-class quality and functionality.
‘Xperia X1’ features a three inch wide screen and a full keyboard.
Its quality metal-finish offers a sleek look. It also features Windows Mobile and a 4GB card. This new mobile can be upgraded to 32 GB. The company has aimed to target the premium multi-media devices market, which is doubling every year.
Xperia X1 features a special characteristic which can be personalised through nine panel user interfaces to suit the users’ mood and lifestyle. The users can easily access content through touch-screen, switching between applications by touching one of the unique customised panels. This new windows mobile phone is also well equipped with high data transfer rate and Wi-Fi support, which would help users enjoy the entertainment. The new Xperia X1 will be available in the United States from November 28 with a price tag of $799 at Sony Style stores and other selected stores.
Read more »
SONY ERICSSON launched its top-of-the-line mobile phone ‘Xperia X1’last week. This touch-screen smartphone is a 50:50 joint venture between Sony and Ericsson, which would cost Rs 44, 500. This latest smartphone provides the facilities of multimedia. This new smartphone aims to serve the needs of the users related to converged entertainment and mobile web communication experience.
While speaking to the media, Anil Sethi, the Sony Ericsson India president said that Xperia X1 would offer energising communication and premium mobile experience besides world-class quality and functionality.
‘Xperia X1’ features a three inch wide screen and a full keyboard.
Its quality metal-finish offers a sleek look. It also features Windows Mobile and a 4GB card. This new mobile can be upgraded to 32 GB. The company has aimed to target the premium multi-media devices market, which is doubling every year.
Xperia X1 features a special characteristic which can be personalised through nine panel user interfaces to suit the users’ mood and lifestyle. The users can easily access content through touch-screen, switching between applications by touching one of the unique customised panels. This new windows mobile phone is also well equipped with high data transfer rate and Wi-Fi support, which would help users enjoy the entertainment. The new Xperia X1 will be available in the United States from November 28 with a price tag of $799 at Sony Style stores and other selected stores.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The HTC HD Mini Offers With a Wealth of Technology
The HTC HD Mini is a compact unit that manages to incorporate a wide range of useful technology into a small casing. The handset is only 103 mm x 57 mm wide and is 11 mm thick. It offers effective functionality by virtue of its Qualcomm 7227 600 MHz processor and Microsoft Windows mobile 6.5.3 professional operating system.
The handset comes with an impressively vibrant 3.2 inch TFT touch screen that displays 65,000 colours and their variants within a screen which is 320 x 480 pixels in size. Thehandset also includes accelerometer and proximity sensors which automate certain tasks including automatic shutdown, to save battery power and image aspect orientation. As its primary means of navigation, the touch screen utilises the sense user interface which is aneffective multi-touch input method that is both responsive and efficient.
The phones 384 MB of internal memory is supplemented by the fact that the integrated microSD card slot can be utilised to increase memory storage capacity up to 16 GB. Thehandset provides a myriad of connectivity options which include GPRS and EDGE, both of which are class 10 in addition to the integrated blue tooth and micro USB connections. For those who require internet access, this is available by virtue of the Wi Fi and HSDPA connections with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available. The GPS function which comes with A-GPS support offers satellite navigation as standard.
Audio and visual entertainment is offered by virtue of the included stereo FM radio and MP4/MP3 media player. The radio comes with RDS capabilities whilst the media player supports all major audio and video file formats. In addition several games are also included, providing additional entertainment options. Thishandset also provides social media integration in the form of Facebook, Flickr and twitter applications.
The HTC HD Mini, is an effective handset, that bears similarities to its sister handset the HTC HD2. The premise behind this mini version of the popular handset is the fact that it squeezes into a small and compact body, a wide array of useful technology that provides the means to perform numerous tasks whilst on the move.
The handset comes with an impressively vibrant 3.2 inch TFT touch screen that displays 65,000 colours and their variants within a screen which is 320 x 480 pixels in size. Thehandset also includes accelerometer and proximity sensors which automate certain tasks including automatic shutdown, to save battery power and image aspect orientation. As its primary means of navigation, the touch screen utilises the sense user interface which is aneffective multi-touch input method that is both responsive and efficient.
The phones 384 MB of internal memory is supplemented by the fact that the integrated microSD card slot can be utilised to increase memory storage capacity up to 16 GB. Thehandset provides a myriad of connectivity options which include GPRS and EDGE, both of which are class 10 in addition to the integrated blue tooth and micro USB connections. For those who require internet access, this is available by virtue of the Wi Fi and HSDPA connections with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available. The GPS function which comes with A-GPS support offers satellite navigation as standard.
Audio and visual entertainment is offered by virtue of the included stereo FM radio and MP4/MP3 media player. The radio comes with RDS capabilities whilst the media player supports all major audio and video file formats. In addition several games are also included, providing additional entertainment options. Thishandset also provides social media integration in the form of Facebook, Flickr and twitter applications.
The HTC HD Mini, is an effective handset, that bears similarities to its sister handset the HTC HD2. The premise behind this mini version of the popular handset is the fact that it squeezes into a small and compact body, a wide array of useful technology that provides the means to perform numerous tasks whilst on the move.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Microsoft outsmarted Windows Phone OS rings in the new
The oft-renamed Windows mobile phone platform has never matched the glitz of the iPhone or BlackBerry. But is that about to change?
Among smartphone users, Windows Phone – the handset operating system formerly known as Windows Mobile – tends to not to provoke excitement. This is a space dominated by flashy handsets such as the iPhone, now in its third incarnation – with its OS X operating system also at 3.0 after just two years – and by buzz about new operating systems such as Google's Android and the Palm Pre's WebOS.
Worse, Microsoft has had to play catchup to Apple, Google, Palm and even RIM, introducing an "app store" for Windows Phone after its rivals had done so – and after insisting that nobody was making much money from Apple's iPhone App Store. In January 2007, its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, dismissed the iPhone as "the most expensive phone in the world, and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine". In fiscal 2008/9, the iPhone sold 20.4m units – compared with an estimated 18m Windows Phone licences. (Microsoft has not given numbers for the year, but has not said they were any higher than 2007-08.)
Call for more style
In short, Windows Phone has an image problem – which has not been altered by rebranding it.
Besides the endless name changes (from PocketPC to Windows Mobile to Phone), the Windows phone platform has been regarded as a dull tool for corporations instead of a strong player in the consumer market, and its user interface has never been much to write home about. Third-party vendors have gone so far as to build their own front ends to hide its perceived ugliness, though offerings such as HTC's Touch-Flo haven't always been an entirely good thing, placing a further burden on the phone's CPU.
Yet Windows Phone is the determined tortoise of the smartphone world, having been around since 1996. Microsoft hopes that its next version – snappily named 6.5 – will end its reputation as a plodding also-ran and spur it to catch up with flashier hares such as the iPhone and HTC Hero.
But is it enough? Roberta Cozza, principal analyst with Gartner, says no. "It's too little, too late. WinMo has been struggling in the consumer market. 6.5 is a small improvement in the look and feel, but it's not comparable with efforts from other vendors."
The irony is that what had seemed like a sure thing – aiming a mobile form of Windows squarely at the business users who had it on their desktops – has turned out to be a mistake.
At its core, the OS offers enterprise solutions such as Office apps and support for Exchange, Microsoft's email and collaboration application. This has made it popular with corporate IT departments; consumers, however, have been less impressed. And the BlackBerry was already there to grab market share.
All this is changing, says James McCarthy, Microsoft's business manager for mobile communications. The next release, probably in September, "pays real attention to the consumer". Certainly, the new look places it much more firmly in the arena with the iPhone and LG Viewty.
The whole interface has had a makeover, aimed at making it much more intuitive and finger-friendly. Until now, using Windows Mobile has tended to require a stylus – fiddly, easy to break and to lose – because the screens on the devices have been small and packed with information.
A lot of care has been taken with the home screen. There's no need to drill down to an application: if it tells you you have an email, you can launch it right away.
Microsoft will also launch a series of related products, from an app store to MyPhone, an online backup service that already works well in beta.
Perhaps the most important thing for any smartphone is the ecosystem that grows up around it. Apple's App Store for the iPhone registered 1.5bn downloads in its first year, and rivals quickly followed: RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, has its App World, Nokia its oddly named Ovi World, and there's the Android Market for handsets running Google's Android. "It's a battle of the ecosystems," says Cozza. "Microsoft needs to come up with a strategy around an application marketplace."
Microsoft had left the apps business to partners such as Handango, but now would argue that it's doing precisely that. With its app store Windows Marketplace for Mobile (it's rubbish at names), it understands that it must offer at least some apps when it launches 6.5. There will be 20,000 available, and McCarthy says "We're busy making sure that they work with the handsets – there's a ton of work going into that."
Consumer challenge
The key question is whether Microsoft can be a big player in the consumer space. The figures suggest it has some catching up to do. According to Gartner, Windows Mobile has a steady 10% or so of the OS market – competing against proprietary Sony Ericsson and Samsung systems, as well as Symbian, which runs on Nokia and some other phones, and the offerings on the BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and Palm. Its share of the smartphone market has fallen as the iPhone has wormed its way into corporations, by licensing Microsoft Exchange so that it can handle ActiveSync push notifications and calendaring.
However, says US-based analyst Michael Gartenberg, "of course it's not late to the party". He reckons that the new version of Windows Mobile will "have a lot of appeal to consumers" and that it "builds on a solid foundation". Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, argues that other smartphone manufacturers still cannot match Windows Mobile as a business offering.
With a Windows Mobile phone, he says, you can not only take pictures and keep up with Facebook and Twitter, you can also edit a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet and then email it to your colleagues – which you can't (yet) do with an iPhone. Business people who need that are also consumers who want to keep up with their social networks, he notes, adding that Windows Mobile offers the best of both worlds.
Cozza concedes that Windows Mobile is "a strong platform for enterprise", but adds that for a smartphone to succeed, it needs to blur the dividing line between business and consumer users. RIM, with the BlackBerry, has done that smartly, she says.
But, counters Gartenberg, Windows Mobile already does that. What Microsoft needs to do now is to tell the story of its latest version of the system. "There's a lot of negative perception about WinMo," he says, adding that there's everything to play for.
"Six platforms can't survive," he says. "The battle is hardly over yet. "Cozza is more cautious: "We will have to wait and see," she says.
Read more »
Among smartphone users, Windows Phone – the handset operating system formerly known as Windows Mobile – tends to not to provoke excitement. This is a space dominated by flashy handsets such as the iPhone, now in its third incarnation – with its OS X operating system also at 3.0 after just two years – and by buzz about new operating systems such as Google's Android and the Palm Pre's WebOS.
Worse, Microsoft has had to play catchup to Apple, Google, Palm and even RIM, introducing an "app store" for Windows Phone after its rivals had done so – and after insisting that nobody was making much money from Apple's iPhone App Store. In January 2007, its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, dismissed the iPhone as "the most expensive phone in the world, and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine". In fiscal 2008/9, the iPhone sold 20.4m units – compared with an estimated 18m Windows Phone licences. (Microsoft has not given numbers for the year, but has not said they were any higher than 2007-08.)
Call for more style
In short, Windows Phone has an image problem – which has not been altered by rebranding it.
Besides the endless name changes (from PocketPC to Windows Mobile to Phone), the Windows phone platform has been regarded as a dull tool for corporations instead of a strong player in the consumer market, and its user interface has never been much to write home about. Third-party vendors have gone so far as to build their own front ends to hide its perceived ugliness, though offerings such as HTC's Touch-Flo haven't always been an entirely good thing, placing a further burden on the phone's CPU.
Yet Windows Phone is the determined tortoise of the smartphone world, having been around since 1996. Microsoft hopes that its next version – snappily named 6.5 – will end its reputation as a plodding also-ran and spur it to catch up with flashier hares such as the iPhone and HTC Hero.
But is it enough? Roberta Cozza, principal analyst with Gartner, says no. "It's too little, too late. WinMo has been struggling in the consumer market. 6.5 is a small improvement in the look and feel, but it's not comparable with efforts from other vendors."
The irony is that what had seemed like a sure thing – aiming a mobile form of Windows squarely at the business users who had it on their desktops – has turned out to be a mistake.
At its core, the OS offers enterprise solutions such as Office apps and support for Exchange, Microsoft's email and collaboration application. This has made it popular with corporate IT departments; consumers, however, have been less impressed. And the BlackBerry was already there to grab market share.
All this is changing, says James McCarthy, Microsoft's business manager for mobile communications. The next release, probably in September, "pays real attention to the consumer". Certainly, the new look places it much more firmly in the arena with the iPhone and LG Viewty.
The whole interface has had a makeover, aimed at making it much more intuitive and finger-friendly. Until now, using Windows Mobile has tended to require a stylus – fiddly, easy to break and to lose – because the screens on the devices have been small and packed with information.
A lot of care has been taken with the home screen. There's no need to drill down to an application: if it tells you you have an email, you can launch it right away.
Microsoft will also launch a series of related products, from an app store to MyPhone, an online backup service that already works well in beta.
Perhaps the most important thing for any smartphone is the ecosystem that grows up around it. Apple's App Store for the iPhone registered 1.5bn downloads in its first year, and rivals quickly followed: RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, has its App World, Nokia its oddly named Ovi World, and there's the Android Market for handsets running Google's Android. "It's a battle of the ecosystems," says Cozza. "Microsoft needs to come up with a strategy around an application marketplace."
Microsoft had left the apps business to partners such as Handango, but now would argue that it's doing precisely that. With its app store Windows Marketplace for Mobile (it's rubbish at names), it understands that it must offer at least some apps when it launches 6.5. There will be 20,000 available, and McCarthy says "We're busy making sure that they work with the handsets – there's a ton of work going into that."
Consumer challenge
The key question is whether Microsoft can be a big player in the consumer space. The figures suggest it has some catching up to do. According to Gartner, Windows Mobile has a steady 10% or so of the OS market – competing against proprietary Sony Ericsson and Samsung systems, as well as Symbian, which runs on Nokia and some other phones, and the offerings on the BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and Palm. Its share of the smartphone market has fallen as the iPhone has wormed its way into corporations, by licensing Microsoft Exchange so that it can handle ActiveSync push notifications and calendaring.
However, says US-based analyst Michael Gartenberg, "of course it's not late to the party". He reckons that the new version of Windows Mobile will "have a lot of appeal to consumers" and that it "builds on a solid foundation". Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, argues that other smartphone manufacturers still cannot match Windows Mobile as a business offering.
With a Windows Mobile phone, he says, you can not only take pictures and keep up with Facebook and Twitter, you can also edit a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet and then email it to your colleagues – which you can't (yet) do with an iPhone. Business people who need that are also consumers who want to keep up with their social networks, he notes, adding that Windows Mobile offers the best of both worlds.
Cozza concedes that Windows Mobile is "a strong platform for enterprise", but adds that for a smartphone to succeed, it needs to blur the dividing line between business and consumer users. RIM, with the BlackBerry, has done that smartly, she says.
But, counters Gartenberg, Windows Mobile already does that. What Microsoft needs to do now is to tell the story of its latest version of the system. "There's a lot of negative perception about WinMo," he says, adding that there's everything to play for.
"Six platforms can't survive," he says. "The battle is hardly over yet. "Cozza is more cautious: "We will have to wait and see," she says.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Nokia X2 Launched in India
Nokia has come over as a popular brand that is crowned to offer a line of stunning mobile phones to the worldwide users. Talking particularly about the music lovers, the new Nokia X2 has come over as the most stunning and appreciated Nokia mobile phone. It has become quite popular in the market and has given the option to enjoy a real fun time to rejoice to the mobile users. Nokia has come over as one of the biggest mobile manufacturing companies, where its latest introductions such as new music mobile phones can be claimed as the true delight of music lovers.
Among all the X series mobile phones considered as a new range of music phones, Nokia X2, X3, and X6 phones, X2 has gained a distinct place among the mobile lovers. It is considered as the newest member of family that is enwrapped as a wonderful device having a line of attractive features. All these aspects are necessary to be accomplished for all the entertainment needs. This Nokia mobile phone is a stylish handset and is thus, loaded with the latest features such as 2592×1944 resolution 5MP digital camera along with dedicated music keys, LED flash, 2.2 inches TFT display, and stereo speakers which are further supported by 3.5mm audio jack. This Nokia mobile phone is also shore up by 2G connectivity, featuring great storage capacity.
In order to make your music listening experience more enjoyable, the gadget is set equipped with instant access to apps from Ovi Store. Employing this feature, the music files can be managed via Ovi Player PC client or Windows Media Player 11. This mobile phone is an amazing device which has won the hearts of many mobile lovers. It is also considered as one of the best mobile phones introduced by Nokia.
Other highlights apart from Nokia X2 prices are the dual speakers, an FM stereo and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music enjoyment. This mobile phone is a boost for the users who love social networking, X2 phones that offer direct access to Facebook directly from the homescreen.
This Nokia mobile phone is available in attractive pay monthly offers on all the major network services in UK. Almost of all these deals are accompanied by a number of additional benefits and free gifts including talk time, free texts, cash back offers, free laptop, LCD TV, reduced or free line rentals, or a free handset.
Among all the X series mobile phones considered as a new range of music phones, Nokia X2, X3, and X6 phones, X2 has gained a distinct place among the mobile lovers. It is considered as the newest member of family that is enwrapped as a wonderful device having a line of attractive features. All these aspects are necessary to be accomplished for all the entertainment needs. This Nokia mobile phone is a stylish handset and is thus, loaded with the latest features such as 2592×1944 resolution 5MP digital camera along with dedicated music keys, LED flash, 2.2 inches TFT display, and stereo speakers which are further supported by 3.5mm audio jack. This Nokia mobile phone is also shore up by 2G connectivity, featuring great storage capacity.
In order to make your music listening experience more enjoyable, the gadget is set equipped with instant access to apps from Ovi Store. Employing this feature, the music files can be managed via Ovi Player PC client or Windows Media Player 11. This mobile phone is an amazing device which has won the hearts of many mobile lovers. It is also considered as one of the best mobile phones introduced by Nokia.
Other highlights apart from Nokia X2 prices are the dual speakers, an FM stereo and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music enjoyment. This mobile phone is a boost for the users who love social networking, X2 phones that offer direct access to Facebook directly from the homescreen.
This Nokia mobile phone is available in attractive pay monthly offers on all the major network services in UK. Almost of all these deals are accompanied by a number of additional benefits and free gifts including talk time, free texts, cash back offers, free laptop, LCD TV, reduced or free line rentals, or a free handset.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Windows Phone 7 smartphones to be launched in India soon
Microsoft is slated to launch its much talked-about Windows Phone 7 operating system
Microsoft has completely made a new start Windows Phone 7. Its just-discarded mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5.3, had seriously gone long in the tooth. First, it was Apple which showed everyone how outdated and unsophisticated it was with iOS and iPhones. Then came Android, Google’s entry into the smartphone OS space. Being free, it quickly picked up as a more open alternative to the walled garden of iOS and Phone. Microsoft is late to the party alright, but remember this is Microsoft, and whenever they have felt really threatened, they were perfectly willing to throw major marketing muscle and money at problems.
Android currently is growing extremely fast, and not just in the US. Cheap Android phones are being introduced prce-sensitive markets of Asia and Africa – something which expensive iPhones cannot do. Here is our list of Android smartphones in India.
In this context, Microsoft’s decision to launch Windows Phone 7 in India so quickly after its launch in US is intriguing. Would they be able to put up a fight in India?
Free pass to Microsoft App Marketplace
First, let us look at the information that is available about the upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7 in India. Developers can create applications sell them, or offer them free through Microsoft’s App Marketplace after they register for a fee of $100 – but app developers who show up at Unpluggd will get free passes for Marketplace.
These passes will allow them to bypass the credit-card entry section on the AppHub website and they will directly be able to register to sell their products through Marketplace to Windows Phone 7 users around the world.
People who want to attend Unpluggd, though, need to register to do so. Microsoft, along with various phone manufacturers, will also showcase some of the smartphones that run on the new operating system.
Windows Phone 7 prices in India will be key to success
What has kickstarted the Android market in India are the super-cheap Android phones. Nowadays, for pretty much the price of a top feature-phone, you could pick up an Android device in India. iPhones, even the last generation 3GS models, cost above Rs 30,000 here. It is no contest, then.
But Microsoft is likely to face its first hurdle here. Windows Phone cell phones have high-end specifications, so how will they keep prices low to make them popular in India?
This will be a touch challenge for Microsoft, for sure. If they price them similar to how they would priced in US without contracts, they would be at the very top of the smartphone market in India – and sell very few units. Are Microsoft’s amibtions for Windows Phone 7 in India so limited?
Or, they could try and do what Apple may be planning – introduce phones on contract. Yes, rumors are that CDMA iPhones would come to Tata and Reliance on contract. This would ensure that initial prices remain low, while the buyer is bound by a one or two year contract.
That, definitely, is one way out for Microsoft. The alternative would be to limit themselves to the top-end of the market, and price their Windows Phone 7 smartphones out of almost everybody’s reach. Well, all we have to do is to wait for the actual launch!
Windows Phone 7 mobile phones for India: Which of these would be launched?
These WP7 phones haven’t yet been announced for the Indian market, though quite a few of them are slated for international launch – including in the US. The new Windows Phone 7 cell phones launched in the US, which are likely to cost typically around $200, include:
HTC HD7
HTC’s HD7 is a Windows Phone 7 smartphone available with T-Mobile in the US, O2 in the UK and Telstra in Australia. The phone will be available around mid November in the US and a little before that in Europe.
The HD7 has a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT screen that offers a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 chipset, and gives you 576MB of RAM. The device comes with a 5-megapixel camera. The phone is rather similar to the HD2, albeit with the ability to record 720p high definition video at 24 frames per second. The phone has 16GB of memory, and offers built-in apps for Netflix, T-Mobile TV, etc.
HTC has a major presence in India, and now have a wide range of Android phones. They might decide to bring this excellent Windows Phone 7 device to India.
HTC Surround
HTC Surround is yet another Windows Phone 7 device, which is available with AT&T in the US and Telus in Canada. In the US, it will cost about $200 with goodies and a two-year contract.
The phone has some interesting hardware features such as a kickstand and a speaker that slides out from under the device. The Surround sports a 3.8-inch WVGA display and has a similar processor from Snapdragon as the HD7. The phone is different from the HD7 because it offers Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound. So, this might be the one handset for audiophiles looking for great music capability on the move.
Music aficionados in India would be thrilled if Microsoft launches this smartphone in India.
HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy
The HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy will be out in October. These two Windows 7 devices are very similar to the HTC Surround and HD7. The Mozart has a 3.7-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash, while the Trophy offers you a 5-megapixel camera and is going to be the cheapest WP7 phone from HTC (or, so the company says).
HTC 7 Trophy will be available in the UK on Vodafone’s network, while the Mozart will be sold through Orange in the UK and some other European markets. Neither handset is slated for release in the US though.
HTC 7 Pro
The HTC 7 Pro will be available through Sprint in the US early next year. The phone has a tilting screen. Its touchscreen slides back and snaps into place so that the device takes the form of a mini laptop. It has a five-row QWERTY keyboard in landscape format.
Dell Venue Pro
Dell’s Venue Pro runs Windows Phone 7. It will be available from T-Mobile in the US this holiday season. Expect a 4.1-inch touchscreen that displays a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. You will also find a 5-megapixel HD camera. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, but in portrait format so you can hold the handset and type with one hand. The Venue Pro, in all likelihoods, will be the first of many WP7 devices to be made by Dell. The company hasn’t yet revealed how much the phone will cost.
LG Quantum and Optimus 7
LG, too, has entered the Windows Phone 7 market with its Quantum device for the US and Optimus 7 for Europe and the rest of the world. The Quantum will be available in the US with AT&T for $200.
The two phones have the usual Windows Phone 7 features – 1GHz chip, 8 or 16GB memory, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording and playing capabilities, etc.
The Optimus is meant for entertainment, while Quantum is for business users. The key feature of these phones is apparently their ability to transfer media to computers, HD TVs and other devices nearby.
Samsung Cetus
Finally, we have Samsung’s Cetus smartphone, which recently debuted on – guess what? – Windows Phone 7 OS. It seems that the South Korean consumer electronics company has renamed the Cetus to Samsung Focus and has also launched the Omnia 7. The Focus has a 4-inch WVGA screen and gives you the usual Windows Phone 7 specs. It will be available with AT&T in the US, while the Omnia 7 will be available in Europe with T-Mobile, Orange, SFR and Movistar.
Microsoft has completely made a new start Windows Phone 7. Its just-discarded mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5.3, had seriously gone long in the tooth. First, it was Apple which showed everyone how outdated and unsophisticated it was with iOS and iPhones. Then came Android, Google’s entry into the smartphone OS space. Being free, it quickly picked up as a more open alternative to the walled garden of iOS and Phone. Microsoft is late to the party alright, but remember this is Microsoft, and whenever they have felt really threatened, they were perfectly willing to throw major marketing muscle and money at problems.
Android currently is growing extremely fast, and not just in the US. Cheap Android phones are being introduced prce-sensitive markets of Asia and Africa – something which expensive iPhones cannot do. Here is our list of Android smartphones in India.
In this context, Microsoft’s decision to launch Windows Phone 7 in India so quickly after its launch in US is intriguing. Would they be able to put up a fight in India?
Free pass to Microsoft App Marketplace
First, let us look at the information that is available about the upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7 in India. Developers can create applications sell them, or offer them free through Microsoft’s App Marketplace after they register for a fee of $100 – but app developers who show up at Unpluggd will get free passes for Marketplace.
These passes will allow them to bypass the credit-card entry section on the AppHub website and they will directly be able to register to sell their products through Marketplace to Windows Phone 7 users around the world.
People who want to attend Unpluggd, though, need to register to do so. Microsoft, along with various phone manufacturers, will also showcase some of the smartphones that run on the new operating system.
Windows Phone 7 prices in India will be key to success
What has kickstarted the Android market in India are the super-cheap Android phones. Nowadays, for pretty much the price of a top feature-phone, you could pick up an Android device in India. iPhones, even the last generation 3GS models, cost above Rs 30,000 here. It is no contest, then.
But Microsoft is likely to face its first hurdle here. Windows Phone cell phones have high-end specifications, so how will they keep prices low to make them popular in India?
This will be a touch challenge for Microsoft, for sure. If they price them similar to how they would priced in US without contracts, they would be at the very top of the smartphone market in India – and sell very few units. Are Microsoft’s amibtions for Windows Phone 7 in India so limited?
Or, they could try and do what Apple may be planning – introduce phones on contract. Yes, rumors are that CDMA iPhones would come to Tata and Reliance on contract. This would ensure that initial prices remain low, while the buyer is bound by a one or two year contract.
That, definitely, is one way out for Microsoft. The alternative would be to limit themselves to the top-end of the market, and price their Windows Phone 7 smartphones out of almost everybody’s reach. Well, all we have to do is to wait for the actual launch!
Windows Phone 7 mobile phones for India: Which of these would be launched?
These WP7 phones haven’t yet been announced for the Indian market, though quite a few of them are slated for international launch – including in the US. The new Windows Phone 7 cell phones launched in the US, which are likely to cost typically around $200, include:
HTC HD7
HTC’s HD7 is a Windows Phone 7 smartphone available with T-Mobile in the US, O2 in the UK and Telstra in Australia. The phone will be available around mid November in the US and a little before that in Europe.
The HD7 has a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT screen that offers a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 chipset, and gives you 576MB of RAM. The device comes with a 5-megapixel camera. The phone is rather similar to the HD2, albeit with the ability to record 720p high definition video at 24 frames per second. The phone has 16GB of memory, and offers built-in apps for Netflix, T-Mobile TV, etc.
HTC has a major presence in India, and now have a wide range of Android phones. They might decide to bring this excellent Windows Phone 7 device to India.
HTC Surround
HTC Surround is yet another Windows Phone 7 device, which is available with AT&T in the US and Telus in Canada. In the US, it will cost about $200 with goodies and a two-year contract.
The phone has some interesting hardware features such as a kickstand and a speaker that slides out from under the device. The Surround sports a 3.8-inch WVGA display and has a similar processor from Snapdragon as the HD7. The phone is different from the HD7 because it offers Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound. So, this might be the one handset for audiophiles looking for great music capability on the move.
Music aficionados in India would be thrilled if Microsoft launches this smartphone in India.
HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy
The HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy will be out in October. These two Windows 7 devices are very similar to the HTC Surround and HD7. The Mozart has a 3.7-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash, while the Trophy offers you a 5-megapixel camera and is going to be the cheapest WP7 phone from HTC (or, so the company says).
HTC 7 Trophy will be available in the UK on Vodafone’s network, while the Mozart will be sold through Orange in the UK and some other European markets. Neither handset is slated for release in the US though.
HTC 7 Pro
The HTC 7 Pro will be available through Sprint in the US early next year. The phone has a tilting screen. Its touchscreen slides back and snaps into place so that the device takes the form of a mini laptop. It has a five-row QWERTY keyboard in landscape format.
Dell Venue Pro
Dell’s Venue Pro runs Windows Phone 7. It will be available from T-Mobile in the US this holiday season. Expect a 4.1-inch touchscreen that displays a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. You will also find a 5-megapixel HD camera. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, but in portrait format so you can hold the handset and type with one hand. The Venue Pro, in all likelihoods, will be the first of many WP7 devices to be made by Dell. The company hasn’t yet revealed how much the phone will cost.
LG Quantum and Optimus 7
LG, too, has entered the Windows Phone 7 market with its Quantum device for the US and Optimus 7 for Europe and the rest of the world. The Quantum will be available in the US with AT&T for $200.
The two phones have the usual Windows Phone 7 features – 1GHz chip, 8 or 16GB memory, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording and playing capabilities, etc.
The Optimus is meant for entertainment, while Quantum is for business users. The key feature of these phones is apparently their ability to transfer media to computers, HD TVs and other devices nearby.
Samsung Cetus
Finally, we have Samsung’s Cetus smartphone, which recently debuted on – guess what? – Windows Phone 7 OS. It seems that the South Korean consumer electronics company has renamed the Cetus to Samsung Focus and has also launched the Omnia 7. The Focus has a 4-inch WVGA screen and gives you the usual Windows Phone 7 specs. It will be available with AT&T in the US, while the Omnia 7 will be available in Europe with T-Mobile, Orange, SFR and Movistar.
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