I’m currently working on a write-up of the different Windows Phone 7 devices, but for now, I thought I would let everyone know of a few places to check out and what’s happening.
Let’s not confuse launch with ship/availability. The actual release or shipping date for many of these devices will actually be November 8, as I’ve mentioned before. Some devices won’t be available until after that date, but this is the first date that any Windows Phone device will be available.
Zune 4.7 software for the PC is now available. It may be an auto-update for you, or manual. If it doesn’t automatically update (my desktop did, my laptop didn’t) you can head on over to the Zune site, or you can update the software through your settings menu in Zune: Settings –> General –> Check for updates. The updates mainly apply to Windows Phone 7, but there are a couple updates for the general use. I’ll provide a review of this hopefully later this week.
Windows Phone 7 devices, there’s plenty to go around. I won’t be able to actually use a device for a while, but I will try to cover each device and jot down their specs. Feel free to hop on over to Engadget who seems to be doing a pretty good job of covering the new Windows Phone 7 devices.
There will be two main carriers in the US, AT&T and T-Mobile. Microsoft will offer CDMA support in the first quarter next year and this will allow phones to run on the Verizon and Sprint networks.
Updates to the phone will occur, hopefully, on a quarterly basis. If this is true and Microsoft holds their end on this, the user base should be thoroughly pleased, and I think this will be a huge competitive advantage. Also, cut & paste should be available in the first quarter as well.
It will not be up to phone companies (i.e. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) to determine which phones get what updates. Instead, Microsoft will have full-reign in this department, which right now trumps the Android devices.
Did you miss the press conference? If so, Microsoft offers the whole (nearly 2 hours) event here. That link also has several other videos that discuss Windows Phone 7 along with the ‘Really?’ WP7 commercial. Have fun!
I think that’s about it for now. I’ll be adding a few things here and there throughout the next couple of days (it’s a really busy week for me though, so don’t expect much often). Let me know your thoughts so far on the whole Windows Phone experience!
WinQuire 