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Review of update packs (AKU) for Windows Mobile 5.0

Review of update packs (AKU) for Windows Mobile 5.0
Updating and enhancing of any operating system are the things that seemingly will never stop. Groundbreaking changes get introduced in case a company is about to shift up the version of its OS, like it happened to Windows Mobile 2003 upgraded to Windows Mobile 5.0. However, when various fixes are many, but at the same time they cannot constitute a new version, already existing operating system obtains a suffix, indicating its advanced capabilities – for instance Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. Minor tweaks tend to pop up frequently and aim mostly at patching up actual version of operating system.
In Windows Mobile’s case such updates go by the name of Adaptation Kit or Adaptation Kit Update (or simply AKU abbreviation, which we will use throughout this review) – they usually patch up existing bugs and enable several new features. Each newly released AKU pack retains fixes found in previous versions of AKU, so in order to emphasize the most crucial fixes carried by AKU, the company sometimes turns to Feature Pack (FP) term, adopted from S60 platform. Significance-wise, Nokia S60’s FP and Windows Mobile’s AKU are on a par with each other, thus FP term applied to Windows Mobile has more of a marketing move rather than actual necessity in it.
Before the release (expounding this in Microsoft’s own terms - release to manufacturing or RTM), each AKU undergoes stages of alpha- and beta-testing within Microsoft and manufacturers (OEM/ODM). Once the partners have received the final (RTM) version of an update pack, it takes them at least 120 days to embed it in new devices, and it can’t be helped, for Microsoft needs these 4 months to fix critical errors and tackle missing functions. Just remember how long Windows Mobile 5.0 was getting to the first widely available device.
In this article we will review all released to date AKU versions for Windows Mobile 5.0 in order of appearance. On the whole, majority of changes incorporated into each pack are related both to WM for PPC and WM for Smartphone – in these cases we won’t make any comments, however should an update be specific for either WM for PPC or WM for Smartphone only, you will see a special note standing next to it.
Review of Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC
Review of Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone
Our readers had the chance to look into the brand-new Windows Mobile 5.0 with the help of the world’s first review published on our page and today you are going to learn more about AKU 3.0 at first hand as well. But as we’ve promised a few lines above, the review starts with the very fist AKU versions.
How to find out which version is installed on your smartphone/communicator? Very simple – all you have to do is call up About window (Start/Settings/System), the last three digits (look like x.x.x) indicate AKU edition used on your device. However in this review only the two first ones will matter.
Adaptation Kit Update 0.1 и 0.2
Being a part of the very first updates wave, these packs focus on patching up errors of the original WM 5.0 (for example impossibility to make an emergency call when the device is locked). In their turn, manufacturers have acquired insignificant (from the point of view of end-users) possibilities, such as editable Help files (Pocket PC), control over default wallpapers transparency (Pocket PC), and ability to switch off auto words completion. As you see, alterations are so minor, that end-users could hardly notice that there were any at all.
Adaptation Kit Update 1.0
This update pack shows off loads of new features and patchworks, especially on the imaging front – owing to the developed features the corresponding application’s functionality has been greatly extended. Nevertheless manufacturers of gadgets which actually hit the shelves of retail stores give more preference to own interfaces and thus all Microsoft’s efforts have ended up being overlooked.
One of the most notable additions for WM for Smartphone platforms lies in landscape screen mode support (which was quite predictable, since back then announcement of Moto Q was not too far-out). Another update for smartphones is the possibility to manage these devices without a SIM card – before a plugged in SIM was a must in order to start up a phone. There are also some other steps taken towards unification of Pocket PC and Smartphone platforms.
Messaging part has gotten tuned a bit as well – checking for incoming mail at defined intervals can be assigned to all mailboxes set up in Outlook Mobile. Before, users were at liberty to make only one mailbox retrieve mail on schedule – all other accounts were to be managed manually. On top of that, the developers have added sorting by message type (for instance, in order to move apart SMS and MMS), however that tweak proves to be completely useless, when a manufacturer applies special folders for SMS and MMS.
One more extra feature for smartphones makes it possible to dial, save in the phonebook or send a SMS to a telephone number received in a message’s body and all that without leaving “View mode”. Surely, it is a really handy function.
Smartphones’ call logs have gotten amplified with the capability to send a short message or MMS to any record found on these lists. Nevertheless it is only the way everything was meant to be, in reality MMS gets replaced with E-mail, even for telephone numbers missing in the phonebook.
Pocket PC platform has been provided with FDN (fixed dialing numbers) feature, requiring PIN2 code – it allows limiting telephone numbers which users can call and send messages to. This function had been available on ordinary phones back then, but for some reasons it made it to Windows Mobile powered communicators a bit later.
When alarm clock is turned on, Today screen displays a corresponding bell-looking icon near time and date.
Pocket PC are now empowered with a full-fledged SIM contacts support, which are shown in the end of general contacts list and can be moved to the main phonebook.
Function keys lock has been added to Pocket PC software shell too.
And the last, but not the least addition to the interface – should you reach the end of a list (contacts, messages stored in Inbox) after scrolling through the last item, you will be redirected to the list’s beginning, whereas before the only option was to scroll it all the way back. Next update packs enables manufacturers to turn this off.
Adaptation Kit Update 1.1
This update pack targets mostly at increasing performance of wireless connectivity.
Nominally, from this update onwards, AD2DP Bluetooth profile, transferring stereo-sound to a special Bluetooth headset without using wires, is officially supported, however in practice support for A2DP profile was disabled by default (it was rather a daring experiment and mediocre quality just proves this theory) – many manufacturers haven’t included it into new devices. Another boost of Bluetooth is capability to synchronize contacts with Bluetooth-powered car kit.
Wi-Fi connectivity has undergone a lot of minor changes – for example now user is shown the access point he is currently using, whether it is secure or not. Once a device tracks a new Wi-Fi access point, the pop-up notification displays its safety status – protected networks are market with a lock-looking icon in the general list; but in case you think it is too much of information, you can turn prompt windows off. Further more, the developers have taken care of numerous bugs regarding Wi-Fi performance.
This update pack also delivers official hard drives support (the Korean manufacturer had to make it work without this feature on its Samsung i300). Another fetching addition – fast screen rotation for Pocket PC only.
Adaptation Kit Update 2.0
This AKU comes included with the infamous Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) – since the magnitude of this software kit has grown important for Microsoft’s target audience, the company had nothing to do but embed it in AKU 2.0.
The next point of interest concerns the audience this update aims at – before the release one of alternative titles used inside the company was Enterprise Feature Pack. As the name implies, enterprise users are the ones who should squeeze most out of this AKU.
The major innovation provided in this update pack is support for Always Up to Date version 2 or briefly AUTDv2 (the very first version involved SMS messages as notifications coming from the server), which is more widely known as Microsoft Direct Push Technology. To put it simply, this function works in the following way: if a mobile device has established a permanent connection to a server (MS Exchange 2003 SP2 is required), then as soon as new data gets to the server (new letter, contact, or alteration in schedule), it will be immediately sent to the mobile device without burdening users with checking out for updates manually. In a nutshell, owing to this feature you will be able to keep yourself updated on all recent happenings. It might sound strange, but a smartphone/communicator at permanent GPRS/EDGE connection lasts not for several hours, but several days instead – overall lifetime depends on concrete model. But in the end it still makes an impressive total, especially with Direct Push being switched on (for example from 9 AM till 6 PM).
Naturally the application has been attuned to mobile devices, as data there is beamed over cellular networks. For more speedy transfers the tool applies GZIP compression, for less synchronization time – special «connection caching» utility. Support for Secure MIME (SMIME) is also included, so that users are now capable of reading signed and cipher messages. Further more, enterprise users can conduct search for contacts and addresses in a corporate contact book (Global Address Book Lookup, GAL).
Remote device security management allows MS Exchange administrators to set password requirements, block a device, and wipe important data that might harm the company’s business without having the corresponding device at hand.
Short note. Whether to enable Direct Push via Wi-Fi or not – it’s up to manufacturer to decide.
Basically, MSFP is an extensive subject to discuss, but it’s not the main goal of this very review after all. Those of you, who would like to find out more about this system, may look up in vast variety of articles published on the net:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/5/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/strategy
/mobiledeviceplatforms.msp
http://www.gartner.com/resources/129000/129022/security_in_win.pdf# search=%22gartner%20MSFP%20%22
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/features/mobility/default.mspx
Nonetheless, «Enterprise Feature Pack» definition cannot give you an idea of all improvements that AKU 2.0 brings inside – there are still many interesting aspects to tell about.
Many of you will be greatly surprised, but Internet Explorer Mobile found in AKU 2.0 has been significantly re-worked. Even though the main part of the update offers various types of patchwork, there are some new functions as well, like accelerated scrolling and Fast Back feature, support for compiled WML, WMLScript over HTTP and enhanced DOM standard.
Smartphones have obtained frames support; keys “2” and “8” now serve for Page Up/Down purposes.
The update pack also carries Wireless Manager application for handling wireless connections – with its help you can quickly turn on/off Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Flight mode, in other words it’s a multifunctional switch, where users may also access Wi-Fi/Bluetooth settings outright.
SIM Toolkit. SIM-menu for operators, proposing a standard feature list – before manufacturers had to deal with third-party solutions.
Similarly to what we saw in the previous update pack for smartphones, Pocket PCs can now process a telephone numbers received in a message’s body, submit it to the phonebook as separate entries or send a message to them.
This update pack also includes a feature which doesn’t appeal to many experienced Pocket PC users – instead of clock in the top status bar, we now see battery level indicator. However it is changed in AKU 2.2, where users are at liberty to choose what they would like to see in the top right corner of display.
Smartphones have acquired a bundled file browser – previously they made use of a third-party application. According to its title, it performed all basic operations with files, but couldn’t offer something more.
Adaptation Kit Update 2.1
The only notable feature of this update is dynamic switching between screen modes (landscape and portrait).
Adaptation Kit Update 2.2
Compatibility with ActiveSync has been gotten better owing to the advent of ActiveSync Serial Switch utility. New ActiveSync 4.x has been initially set to use the RNDIS transport layer, but now you are granted the freedom to switch back to the old way (applied in Windows Mobile 2003 and earlier releases) in case you’re experiencing issues with pairing the device up with a PC. The developers have also managed to cut down time required for starting up Pocket PC by 15 seconds on average due to amplified caching algorithms. All other alterations are either beyond attention or target at patching up bugs.
Adaptation Kit Update 2.3
This AKU can boast only patches for existing errors – new functions and features don’t stand out too much, so we have almost noting to tell about the 2.3.
Adaptation Kit Update 2.5
And this is another “feature-less” update; at least it contains nothing deserving a special note. We can point out only SmartDial from the Today screen for QWERTY-equipped smartphones and the option enabling manufacturers to change dialing font color (Samsung’s influence?).
Adaptation Kit Update 2.6
The only more or less noteworthy change found in this AKU – zooming (up to 2x) for video clips played back in Windows Media Player.
Adaptation Kit Update 3.0
So, we have finally made it to the latest update pack available, also known under the name of Venti. It retains a number of really crucial patches and tweaks, which we are going to dwell on. In fact, finding out whether your device is running on AKU 3.0 or not is incredibly simple – at start up you will see “Windows Mobile Direct Push Technology” against green background, this is actually all another way of laying stress on MSFP’s presence. Moreover, About window now features a note regarding availability of Messaging and Security Feature Pack as well.
We’ll start reviewing this AKU with new specific functions and features. And .NET Compact Framework version two (instead of ver. 1; feature can be customized by a manufacturer) is the one at the frontlines.
One of the best things about AKU 3.0 is so-called Language Provisioning, enabling local manufacturers to add as many languages to a device as its onboard memory can store (at that every dictionary takes up from 6 to 12 Mb, depending on given language).
However the bad thing here is that language can be chosen only once, after that all other packages are deleted automatically, even hard reset won’t change the system’s mind. Thankfully, manufacturers can disable that and keep all language packs on the main storage permanently, so that users could switch languages after hard reset. All in all it’s a very important piece of work, even though hard reset is still a must for changing language.
Wireless connectivity has also received a major boost – an all-round new Internet Sharing utility replaces Modem Link, and allows accessing Internet via Pocket PC or smartphone with the help of USB/Bluetooth connection. On top of that settings are one-sided, which means that you will have to adjust only your mobile device, while your PC should only have support for Bluetooth network profile onboard, at that Windows Mobile-powered device doubles as a Bluetooth access point rather than a remote modem. In a nutshell, all you have got to do is establish connection to the access point without any additional settings being required (for example Access Point defining, which was inevitable on connection via Bluetooth DUN profile).
New Wi-Fi connection wizard for smartphones helps a lot in configuring new Wi-Fi networks.
One of the most crucial improvements is support for WPA2 – the most secure Wi-Fi standard for the time being. However the developers have seemingly decided to give Wi-Fi all their efforts and embedded Wi-Fi Multimedia, also called Wi-Fi Quality of Service (QoS), which allows access point to modify bandwidth limit for each application – a really credible tool when it comes to IP-telephony and streaming multimedia applications.
Bluetooth connectivity has gotten enhanced as well: from now on it supports FTP profile, better handles A2DP, whose quality gave rise to criticism lately.
A really credible feature has been embedded in Internet Explorer Mobile –AJAX support (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), enabling you to create dynamic pages on a mobile device; gmail.com is apparently the most widely-known AJAX-based service.
Outlook Mobile has been modified as well – on first start up the system offers you to setup e-mail (POP3/IMAP or Exchange) step-by-step via a special wizard, whereas before it proposed only time and security settings. At that both manufacturers and operators can pre-define settings for most popular mail services and thus lighten the rest of work to do.
From now on it’s possible to navigate Pocket PC’s folders containing messages without drawing your stylus. Previously, inability to browse folders via menus was only of the greatest flaws of single-handed management of Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices.
Contacts can be now transferred via SMS (in vCard standard), and should you retrieve a short message containing a phonebook entry, you will be immediately offered to save it into your contacts.
Short messages can be saved on SIM-card. Messages stored on SIM-card are displayed in general list of messages.
You can now send messages via GPRS (SMS over GPRS), but for that you will have to make sure that your cellular operator offers support for this function.
Support for contacts stored on SIM-USIM card has been improved. From now on SIM card contacts are sorted by Name in general contacts list, instead of being placed into bottom of list as it used to be. In my opinion this is not so convenient, especially in case you have loads of contacts and they are partly backed up on SIM-card, in other words you will end up handling duplicated entries. It would have been better to make this feature optional.
We should also highlight fact that support for external displays has been added officially. As an experiment (function is still rather crude, but this will most likely be fixed in future) you can now assign MP3 ring tones to all events including SMS and reminders. Yet, it’s unknown whether this feature will be implemented into final release or not.
Conclusion
Throughout AKU’s history for Windows Mobile 5.0 we see how treatment of “infantile sicknesses” (it took years for Microsoft to realize that MP3 ring tones should be allowed for assignment to SMS and others) and correction of bugs have been initiated simultaneously with empowering the OS with new features, such as support for Microsoft Direct Push, WPA2, Language Provisioning and greatly improved Internet Explorer Mobile.
Nonetheless the most interesting part of the WM’s history is yet to come with the release of Microsoft Windows Mobile Crossbow (possible commercial title – Windows Mobile 5.0 Second Edition). One of the upcoming articles on Mobile-Review.com will be dedicated to this matter; our readers will be able to find out what WM Crossbow is all about several months ahead of its actual release.
Узнать все о коммуникаторах и смартфонах Qtek>>adv
Anton Kotov ([email protected])
Translated by Oleg Kononosov ([email protected])
Published - 07 September 2006

Predictions for Enterprise/Business side of Windows Phone 7 Series?

Obviously, I think the use of the word "Series" tells me that Microsoft isn't done with the many "options" they will offer with WP7S. I think a nice enterprise/business UI is on the way as well, if not coming a bit after the holiday 2010 release.
Any predictions? I'm looking forward to this update in the Series just because my life really doesn't revolve around what my friends ate for breakfast and what movie they just went to see.
Personally, I need to make sure that I have a professional messaging/mail layout, Office, file management, VNC capabilities, and the ability to customize the UI based on limitations necessary per business needs.

1. Office Communicator Mobile with PUSH capabilities
2. Remote Device Management
3. Remote Desktop

Well, I guess Microsoft already put a lot for Business users in there: multiple Mail-Push-Systems, Sharepoint Integration and so on.
One could perhaps integrate Status messages on corporate progress from time management systems to the people screeen (and i'm pretty sure this already integrates with MS Exchange).
It comes down to what information u need and u are able to have that on the Start Screen via Live Tiles. What will be interesting is how company's will be able to deploy their custom software to the devices - as Marketplace is not the way to deploy these.
All the Social Networking Systems are just a means of adding additional information - u don't need it, u don't use it. Guess there'll be a RDP Client in there (although i hope it's more usable now, than the version in WinMo 6.5).
Remote Management - well, do you really think MS would release a phone that supports all the features of MS Exchange Active Sync but omit the manageability (disable storage card, disable camera, wipe device are not that hard to implement).

[Q]Skydrive frontend?

This is probably a really stupid question seeing as how we don't even have a file manager yet, but I though thats because wp7 is so cloud based there should be a front-end or something for skydrive, can anyone confirm/find one?

There is no such 'front-end' for Sky Drive files at the moment but I believe it is lined up to be integrated into the Office hub for the next update release in early 2011.

Hey guys
i know its an old thread but its VERY important to me.
I use Skydrive Livesync to sync between my two PC's - work and home. I REALLY wanted to sync this to my WinPho7 much like Mesh used to to my 6.5 as I really don't want to have to fork out for a sharepoint server.
Is this functionality still expected early 2011 (presumably with the same copy/paste patch)?
Any ideas?
Thanks loads!!

If you goto skydrive.live.com in the phones browser it takes you to a mobile version of the site. Can always pin it to your home screen for quick access. You can download and edit files from it too.

Monty Burns said:
Hey guys
i know its an old thread but its VERY important to me.
I use Skydrive Livesync to sync between my two PC's - work and home. I REALLY wanted to sync this to my WinPho7 much like Mesh used to to my 6.5 as I really don't want to have to fork out for a sharepoint server.
Is this functionality still expected early 2011 (presumably with the same copy/paste patch)?
Any ideas?
Thanks loads!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't heard anything to the contrary since I posted that.
Sources are still saying the early 2011 update will include SkyDrive integration into the Office hub as well as copy/paste and turn-by-turn navigation.
Or course I could be totally wrong!

might have to cope with that but its not ideal, would much prefer sync'ing. Thanks

JEEtoP said:
I haven't heard anything to the contrary since I posted that.
Sources are still saying the early 2011 update will include SkyDrive integration into the Office hub as well as copy/paste and turn-by-turn navigation.
Or course I could be totally wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool - obviously, won't hold this against you if it doesn't happen

with windows live 2011 there's an app called "mesh" (i've been in beta with this for a while now) and I'm using that to sync folder up. I did a mail about the beta ending soon but I can't remember much on it so it must be getting reading for the final launch.
http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other
Hope that helps anyway

Sadly no Jedix, but thanks! Live Mesh is the "old" solution that was in fact a prototype for the new system now employed. I currently use Live Mesh on my HD2 and its THIS functionality I want to now get on my WinPho7 device.
As mentioned above, it appears that Skydrive/office integration is due early 2011. Once it is, I think I am back to the perfect phone

Official Windows Phone Survey

From @windowsphone on twitter: http://newwp.it/i6NfzI
On the last page there's this question, "What, if anything, would you change about your Windows Phone 7?" Bombard away with what MS needs to be working on (file management or at least local document sync, direct Outlook sync, etc.) Please make sure what you guys write is thought out and most importantly, grammatically correct.

* Give us an official support page and a contact number for issues
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
* More frequent updates and force carriers to deploy them in maximum of 45 days
* Enable to use own MP3 ringtones
* Sync directly to Outlook
* Allow tethering
* Turn by turn navigation for Australia with better maps
* Allow unlocking of the device for a one of fee! Only charge per year when someone wants to submit to marketplace

janemanno1 said:
* Give us an official support page and a contact number for issues
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
* More frequent updates and force carriers to deploy them in maximum of 45 days
* Enable to use own MP3 ringtones
* Sync directly to Outlook
* Allow tethering
* Turn by turn navigation for Australia with better maps
* Tom Tom,Garmin etc GPS compatible software
* Allow unlocking of the device for a one of fee! Only charge per year when someone wants to submit to marketplace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen to all of these.
Just changed one thing for every other country.

More recent hardware, and I am in.

agp64 said:
Amen to all of these.
Just changed one thing for every other country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed

Zune Pass in australia. Our zune hub isnt very pretty without it

Well, I would like to see multitasking, some options on the right of the home screen, let's say a button, that would open a line of Wifi on/off and etc., Copy paste, better browser. And what's important- update devices, give more info about the updates, what is coming and when

janemanno1 said:
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, remember a little thing called "Longhorn" (aka "Vista")? So many promised features and released dates missed. I doubt you'll ever see anything other than vague descriptions and nebulous dates, Microsoft has been slapped around too much in the past for missing promises.

My comment:
- SkyDrive if you dont have sharepoint in the officehub.
- More reliable push notifications.
- Expanding Facebook integration with ability to send private messages from the message hub to facebook and other services... but this will probably not happen so hope the fb app gets better with notifications.

I would love to have a bug free ZUNE , it is crashing all the time and sometimes with BSOD'S

Turn-by-turn voice nav
User selectable ringtones and sounds
User created email folders
More themes and UI customization
Screen capture
Copy & paste

A good one:
http://wmpoweruser.com/the-art-of-stalling/

doministry said:
A good one:
http://wmpoweruser.com/the-art-of-stalling/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is unremarkably sad. I didn't know it was that serious.

That is unremarkably sad. I didn't know it was that serious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean remarkably sad?
And android wasn't the same way at launch?
I purchased the HTC Magic on launch day from Rogers.. Android market wasn't made available to us in Canada until roughly 5 months later..
I didn't get turn-by-turn until aprox a year or so later..
No voice search until ...what...3 updates which took roughly a year and half (1.5, 1.6...2.1)
They day I dumped my HTC magic I still didn't have local search.. unless I opened a browser and went to Google.CA and specified my city in the search field.
WP7 wil catch up eventually, it's still a baby OS compared to the others. Android didn't really become great until after 2.XX
I agree with other with the timeline business. I'd like to see that as well.

I just put a CDMA version of WP7.... It is about time we have the option of getting one.

Things to change about Windows Phone 7
--------------------------------------
1) Password protection on email. This is needed when you hand your phone to someone to check out or use and don't want them to be able to just click on your email while that happens and read private emails.
2) The marketplace should have an option to download first and install later. This is because public wifi or data plans in general are not nearly as fast as using your local wifi. You might pop into a coffee shop or mcdonalds to try some new apps on the go and you want to maximise your use of the wifi while you are there to get through the download queue. Installing/unpacking can take quite a long time but that can be done when you are no longer connected. This also aids in saving on limited data plans. With this approach, if there is no more space currently left to unpack the queue should move on and unpack successively but keep downloaded packages on the device to be installed later once the user frees up some more space.
3) Better managaement of marketplace download queue. I have had stuck downloads before, particularly at pending or corrupted downloads that were stuck at the installing phase. You should always be able to cancel or retry something. These options only come up when "attention is required". Queue reordering is also a strong "nice to have".
4) Better Management of phone download history. For example, when I restore a phone I don't want it to queue up literally everything I have ever "purchased", especially many trial or free apps. There should be a special "restore" queue for indispensible games/apps that you do want to automatically redownload when this happens.
5) Better lock phone i.e. android combination swype. The current 4 digit system is too easy to see over the shoulder and easily brute forceable, even more so if someone remembers only some of the digits.
6) Complete application data/isolated storage sync. Anytime you are at a local computer or connection to sync, you should have an option sync the latest application data for example news feeds and media as well. This way data connection apps are still useful in places without a connection i.e. subways. I understand this is a major feature just by itself
7) VPN options
8) Local file management/drag and drop.
9) Ability for Zune to play and organise media by folders with 8 implemented.
In general I think WP7 should be stronger with local/isolated storage features and not be so cloud dependent. The combination of cloud + local services will be a killer combination. In addition I think WP7 should be going after Android's #2 spot right now and not iPhone which it currently cannot compete with. Android has many weak spots including lower requirements on apps and games resulting in weaker quality when compared to WP7, lack of SD installability for many apps. and generally unpolished "iphone knockoff" feel. Secure #2 spot for now, which will be a good base to attack iPhone from. WP7 is already superior to Android in UX now and can gain quickly in app diversity and features.
Right now the OS feels like a beachhead but a strong one. There is good work, but unpolished and incomplete but the war can still be won. Keep fighting the good fight

The bottom line is that if MS wants this OS to fly for real, in the long term, they need to get their act together.

stillriza said:
I think you mean remarkably sad?
And android wasn't the same way at launch?
I purchased the HTC Magic on launch day from Rogers.. Android market wasn't made available to us in Canada until roughly 5 months later..
I didn't get turn-by-turn until aprox a year or so later..
No voice search until ...what...3 updates which took roughly a year and half (1.5, 1.6...2.1)
They day I dumped my HTC magic I still didn't have local search.. unless I opened a browser and went to Google.CA and specified my city in the search field.
WP7 wil catch up eventually, it's still a baby OS compared to the others. Android didn't really become great until after 2.XX
I agree with other with the timeline business. I'd like to see that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what I hear you saying, any company that puts out products should not consider the current state of the industry? What should Apple do with the next iPhone? Put one out without all the current features and then migrate those features into it over the course of a year? Or how about the car companies, they should put out cars without navigation or high tech stereos or computer aided engine controls and just migrate those features into them over the course of a year?
Far be it from MS to stay up with even itself on new products and put out a smartphone without the current state of the industry features. Let them put those features in over the course of a year...or two. It's unwise to bring a mature product to market. People might begin to expect that kind of thing. Bollocks!

My feedback on the online survey:
-Current phone - WM 6.5
- Next phone - (i) Android
(ii) Other- Windows Mobile, if it is revived , will be preferred over Android
Suggestions:
(i) I don't like the Homescreen, it should be more customizable and at the very least the tiles
should be resizable.
(ii) There should be a favorite people hub with the option to pin a contact directly to this hub from
the contacts list (tap and hold on contact should give at least 3-4 options viz. pin to favorites, pin
to start, edit & send)
(iii) After device purchase, the user should have the option to replace the homescreen with an
approved one from reputed developers(I will prefer a solution from SPB software).
(iv) There is too much scrolling in the program list, option of grid view should also be there.
(v) Size of headings too large in the hubs. The headings should either be in a background layer or
they should Auto Hide after somtime and be replaced with blinking arrows on the left/right edges of
the screen.
(vi) File Explorer + Multitasking.
(vii) Office applictions should be more powerful.
(viii) Availability of powerful Calendar & Task management applications like pocket informant.
(x) Revival of Phone/End hardware buttons.
Forgot to add - (xi) Revive Smart-dialling
(xii) Bring back outlook sync

MartyLK said:
So what I hear you saying, any company that puts out products should not consider the current state of the industry? What should Apple do with the next iPhone? Put one out without all the current features and then migrate those features into it over the course of a year? Or how about the car companies, they should put out cars without navigation or high tech stereos or computer aided engine controls and just migrate those features into them over the course of a year?
Far be it from MS to stay up with even itself on new products and put out a smartphone without the current state of the industry features. Let them put those features in over the course of a year...or two. It's unwise to bring a mature product to market. People might begin to expect that kind of thing. Bollocks!
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I agree with you.. but what I was saying is Android was the same way. Apple already had a pretty good grip on the market at the time Android launched. As per what you mentioned above.. it was clear Android didn't have a grasp of the then current state of the market. Several updates later.. and look at them now.
Basically, any company that puts out a product should consider the current state..but sadly that just doesn't always happen. The phone is pretty complete to I would like to say 70% of the general phone using public. It seems MS had targeted the OS to those switching from 'dumb' phones, if you will, to smart phones. The only people who are really hurting would be the power users. The updates will come.

MiX2011(12-14.04)-Will There Be Any New"additions" to wp7 ANOTHER UPDATE BEFORE MANGO

MiX2011(12-14.04)-Will There Be Any New"additions" to wp7 ANOTHER UPDATE BEFORE MANGO
The MiX conference is just around the corner and i thought that it would be interesting to see what the users think, hope, want software vise.....
On the other hand, maybe a new handset will be revealed or the new minimum requirements...
With certainty new api's will be introduced...
My hope is for another update in june-july...

The things I would like to see in this order:
#1 Open up APIs that use address book which will open the door for whatsapp and skype.
#2 Bug fixes.
#3 An improved way of delivering updates.
#4 More new features.

I expect announcements of other upcoming features which have not yet been announced.
I fully expect some of the API's to be opened up to developers.
Maybe an announcement of a smaller update which will come out before Mango.
I don't expect any phone announcements, but maybe some Nokia teasers? That would be pretty cool.

nicksti said:
The things I would like to see in this order:
#1 Open up APIs that use address book which will open the door for whatsapp and skype.
#2 Bug fixes.
#3 An improved way of delivering updates.
#4 More new features.
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I made a bit of a list myself. Well, it's kind of large: http://n8ter.wordpress.com
Skype is a bit meh for me.
There is more to gain by developing a good Windows Live Messenger integration with VoIP and Video Calling, in addition to Facebook Chat and Integrated Presence information in the People Hub. Add in Push Notifications, Group Chat, and File Transfer from the Office/Picture Hubs and it would be just perfect.
They need to add Tasks to Hotmail and add Task Synchronization to WP7's ActiveSync support.
The rest is in the link above. Don't want to bloat up the thread listing all my thoughts...
IE9 needs to be pushed out the minute it's done. Just upgrading IE would be considered a ridiculously big update to many users, and seriously... It would make tons of websites either usable, or much much easier to use.
A Basic RSS Reader integrated into the Platform (with configurable polling times and notifications on new items) would be nice. However, Windows Live allows you to subscribe to Blogs from there, so maybe that serves that purpose and you can just get this form people HUB.
They need to make Facebook Pushed, IMO. And add support for giving Push Notifications adn a counter on the People Hub tile when you get a new Direct Message/Facebook Message/Mention. Perhaps they can roll out Twitter support early.
I think it's pretty bad that they're holding back so much for one big update. I wonder how many people at Microsoft are actually closet iOS/Android users. They don't seem to be clued in much with the way they're iterating on the platform.

I expect nothing new so that I don't get disappointed again.

My wish list:
- ful Skydrive integration so all office documents can be synced
- Twitter integration in the people hub
- some way to allow zune streaming music and video not only to the XBox but to the WP7 devices as well

New apis like above said to make whatsapp available, youtube embedded vids working properly on all regions, bing maps merged with ovi so i can actually use maps, skydrive for office, taskswitcher and facebook im/private messages integerated in messaging app (a pivot next to sms would be cool) and people hub. Ill be a more than happy guy, will be all i need

Interesting if they will show anything we don't already know there.

Talks about NoDo and more Mango previews. Maybe a mention of some API, maybe, and that is all. Any bets?

N8ter said:
I made a bit of a list myself. Well, it's kind of large: http://n8ter.wordpress.com
There is more to gain by developing a good Windows Live Messenger integration with VoIP and Video Calling, in addition to Facebook Chat and Integrated Presence information in the People Hub. Add in Push Notifications, Group Chat, and File Transfer from the Office/Picture Hubs and it would be just perfect.
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One of the few times we agree 100%. MSN Messenger by Miyowa is not good enough. If MSN Messenger was as feature-rich as you described I would buy a WP7 phone tomorrow.

If there are no new APIs I will be very surprised. And if there aren't, as much as I love my Omnia7, I'm picking up an Xperia Play the very next day. I can understand not having some functionality, but not providing APIs to developers is just plain stupid.
Sent from my OMNIA7 using Board Express

blade0rz said:
if there are no new apis i will be very surprised. And if there aren't, as much as i love my omnia7, i'm picking up an xperia play the very next day. I can understand not having some functionality, but not providing apis to developers is just plain stupid.
Sent from my omnia7 using board express
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+11111111111

Yep, the lack of functionality isn't what stinks. Developers can develop apps to fill those voids.
What stinks is the API blackholes in the platform. That pretty much makes this functionally is impossible to implement at the moment, and there is nothing you or any non-OEM/Microsoft developer can do about it.

You guys shouldn't really expect much in the way of new features. MIX is where the development platform was unveiled last year, I imagine any announcements will be centered around that.
I'm expecting a focus on IE9, hopefully some additional APIs like sockets (which they said has been the #1 request from developers).

vetvito said:
Talks about NoDo and more Mango previews. Maybe a mention of some API, maybe, and that is all. Any bets?
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I'll take the bet that you're 100% right. That's what they do with the 360, it's like "you won't want to miss our announcements" then they serve you the same old sh.. you already knew about.
Sent from my OMNIA7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

dkp1977 said:
My wish list:
- some way to allow zune streaming music and video not only to the XBox but to the WP7 devices as well
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Marketplace (or Zune > Marketplace) > Music > Find Music > Click on Album/Single > Click on Play icon next to album or single = Streaming music,

I mean streaming media that I have on my windows 7 PC.
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

doministry said:
Interesting if they will show anything we don't already know there.
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Joe Belifore mentioned in a Channel 9 interview last week, that they will be revealing Mango features that they have not talked about before. Expect some major announcements. It was obvious that he was holding back some good stuff.

wheelerk said:
Joe Belifore mentioned in a Channel 9 interview last week, that they will be revealing Mango features that they have not talked about before. Expect some major announcements. It was obvious that he was holding back some good stuff.
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Don't, you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
This year, MIX will highlight Microsoft’s commitment to web standards and HTML5, build on the excitement for IE9, and showcase the future of the Windows Phone developer ecosystem. Plus, we’ll unveil what’s new for developers in the next version of Windows Phone.
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If they announce new features, great I've learned to keep expectations in check when it comes to WP7 though.
Edit: There are 13 sessions on the platform updates. That should mean a good number of APIs are coming our way.

foxbat121 said:
I expect nothing new so that I don't get disappointed again.
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same here....lol