Archive for the ‘Windows Mobile’ Category
Microsoft’s Windows phones hit the market
After months of talking about Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is announcing on Tuesday that the first crop of phones to carry the Windows Phone brand are ready to hit the market.
A host of new phones running the new operating system are expected to debut between now and the holidays, with many being announced later on Tuesday. AT&T has already announced two Windows Mobile 6.5-based phones–the Pure and the HTC Tilt 2. In all, Microsoft has said to expect more than 30 phones running the OS by year’s end.
With the new operating system, Microsoft hopes to make the case that the devices are not only worthy phones, but also the best option for those who want to take their Windows world with them. The operating system itself features Adobe Flash support, an improved browser, and menus that are easier to navigate with a finger, as opposed to a stylus. Perhaps more interesting are two new services that come along with Windows.
The first, the Windows Marketplace, is Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone‘s App Store. It’s somewhat interesting that Windows Mobile has long had more programs than the iPhone–none of which involved approval from Microsoft. But Microsoft has found itself in the position of having to insert itself as middleman to match Apple’s approach.
Users will still be able to buy and download applications directly from developers, but Microsoft apparently felt it had to mimic the iPhone’s App Store in order to help connect less technically savvy users with the thousands of programs that already exist for its phones.
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Intel’s Moblin 2.1 to compete with Windows
Could Intel’s new Moblin 2.1 OS make a dent against Windows in the mobile and desktop markets?
At this week’s Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, the chipmaker debuted a beta version of its Moblin 2.1 open-source operating system targeted to run on a variety of devices, including smartphones, Netbooks, nettops, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and in-car systems.
Moblin 2.1 will compete with other open-source operating systems like Google’s Android and bump up against Microsoft in the burgeoning nettop arena.
Originally developed for Netbooks, Moblin 2.1 (short for mobile Linux) will come in three flavors–one for handhelds, another for Netbooks, and a third for nettops.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10361563-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Fennec’s third alpha now ready for Windows Mobile
On Friday, Mozilla released Fennec Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile, the latest in Mozilla’s effort to put its Firefox browser on a mobile phone. As with Fennec 1.0 beta 3 for the Maemo platform found on some Nokia Internet Tablets, Fennec for Windows Mobile makes changes to the mobile browser‘s theme, and its scrolling and panning performance.
In particular, it’s using what’s called a tile cache rendering system to hold onto the part of the screen that has already been rendered. As you scroll and pan around, it should take less time to refresh the screen, since Fennec won’t be downloading the same content afresh. This is the same type of technology used in Google Maps.
In addition, Mozilla says it has increased Fennec’s startup time, though you’ll need to reboot the Windows Mobile phone for the difference to take effect. Swiping along the edge of the directional pad on the HTC Touch Pro now controls zooming. In the meantime, Fennec now supports more screen resolutions for any other Windows Mobile phone, so it could potentially look better on your device.
While Mozilla has no hard date set for completing Fennec 1.0 for Windows Mobile (which in all probability, could be called Firefox for Windows Mobile when it’s done) they have set a target time for releasing Fennec on the Maemo platform in Q4, which brings us to before the end of December. This fits the timeline of Mozilla’s open design competition for the company’s Firefox for Mobile campaign, which will cut off voting on October 7, 2009.
Fennec Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile is ready to try for your Windows Mobile phone and can be downloaded from this CAB file. Remember that as an unstable alpha release, you may encounter bugs and other issues. For more details about what’s new, you can find Mozilla’s release notes here.
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Windows Mobile 6.5 phones coming Oct. 6
(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft is hoping that a new crop of phones this fall will help the company in its quest to stay relevant in the cell phone market.
The software maker said on Tuesday that the first phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 will launch worldwide on October 6 and will include phones running on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10322007-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20