Test-drive Windows Phone 7 on your Android phone or iPhone

Of course, short of driving to your local cell phone emporium and standing there like a dweeb, there's no easy way to test-drive the OS. (It's not like anyone you know has a Windows Phone. Am I right?)

As it happens, you can test-drive Windows Phone 7, and you can do it right on your Android phone or iPhone. For reals! Microsoft just introduced an interactive, browser-based Windows Phone 7 demo, one that gives you both the look and flavor of their please-won't-somebody-buy-it mobile operating system.

If you're reading this on your phone, just tap the link in the previous paragraph. Otherwise, point your mobile browser to http://aka.ms/wpdemo.

What you'll see next is an HTML5-powered page that shows you the Windows Phone 7 home screen (in all its photo-flipping glory) and lets you try all the main features: Phone, People, Messaging, Outlook, Family, and so on.

Tapping any one of these tools leads you through a semi-guided demo, one that allows you to scroll screens and flip pages along the way. If you tap where the glowing swipe and/or tap indicators tell you, you'll eventually get to the "end" of that particular demo, with the option of starting over. (On my iPhone, I discovered I could also tap Safari's Back button to return to the Windows Phone home screen.)

Truth be told, this was my first exposure to Windows Phone 7--and I liked it. The interface is just lovely, a monumental improvement over the train wreck that was Windows Mobile. There's a logic and elegance to it that, quite frankly, is lacking in both Android and iOS. I'm not saying I'd abandon my iPhone for it, only that I could see myself using and enjoying a Windows Phone.

In other words, mission accomplished, Microsoft. You gave me a little hands-on time with your redheaded stepchild of a mobile OS, and got me thinking about adoption.

Source is:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-57333671-233/test-drive-windows-phone-7-on-your-android-phone-or-iphone/#ixzz1fFfrN9Mr

New Path 2.0 automatically chronicles, shares your life

Path has a new, attractive, and intuitive interface for sharing moments and viewing what your close friends are posting.


The year-old semi-social network app Path is getting a major update that adds scary but interesting automatic life-tracking features, as well the capability--finally--to share Path items with larger social networks.

A refresher: Path was designed as a mobile service that lets you share what's important in your life with only your closest friends. It's not a wide-open social network like Facebook, nor a broadcast platform like Twitter. It's designed to keep you in touch with your family and your close, intimate friends only.

Path now makes that even easier and, in my opinion, more enjoyable. The new user interface on Path is extremely engaging. Now every sharing activity hides under a single button. And Instead of being good at just sharing photos and videos, now Path is equally adept at sharing thoughts, places you're visiting, and when you're asleep or awake. (It also lets you share music, but it's less good at that, since it can only tell what you're playing in the phone's music player, not on Spotify or other services.)

The fascinating, scary, and fortunately optional new feature of Path is called "Automatic." The app knows where you are and can automatically update your Path stream with significant location changes, once it learns your routine. If you hang out in a new neighborhood, or you're driving and stop in a city you've never been to, Path will create a location update. When it spots you at a new airport, ditto.

You can also tell Path when you go to sleep and when you wake up, and it will create an update with that data, and additional clever story-telling. Sleep for two hours and it might say you, "need coffee." Snooze for ten and it could say, "Ready to attack the day!" Path has a novelist on staff, I'm told, to keep these little items fresh.

Path CEO Dave Morin told me that tweaking the algorithms that figure out when to update, and which update "story" to use, are under constant development. Siri, he says, is paving the way for mobile apps with personality and smarts. "AI is the new UI," he says.

Posting automatic updates about when you're stopping for grub or grabbing some shut-eye might seem like trivia or over-sharing, but Morin maintains that in Path's tight networks of real friends, it's not. This information is not irrelevant when it comes from your best buddy or your spouse.

But it certainly is TMI when it comes to sharing with friends of friends, or those long-lost Facebook contacts you last saw in grade school. So while Path will now let you share out the items you post intentionally to Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare (Tumblr is coming; but Google+ still has no API), it won't share the Automatic updates.

Morin says that Path 2.0 will post "natively" to these other social platforms: It'll use link-shorteners for items it puts on Twitter, and will post natively to Facebook's photos, for example. So you could, theoretically, use Path for sharing everything, from your intimate updates to Path friends to your broadcasts out to the Twitterverse.

Path 2.0 is due out today on iOS and Android.

Source is
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-57333449-250/new-path-2.0-automatically-chronicles-shares-your-life/

RIM BlackBerry services open up to iOS, Android

The iPhone 4S may soon be managed by BlackBerry's server.

Research In Motion now aims to support both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets--a break from the company's previous BlackBerry-only focus.


RIM introduced today BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a mobile device management service that takes advantage of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology to track and monitor different phones and tablets.


With BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, RIM is attempting to preserve its hold over the business customer even as more of them leave the BlackBerry fold for other flashier devices. Mobile Fusion allows RIM to play a role in companies and government agencies, even if its BlackBerrys are no longer used. For RIM, it also represents a fundamentally different view of the mobile world from only a few years ago, when it would have never considered opening up its core service to other platforms.

The Mobile Fusion service gives RIM an in on the bring-your-own-device trend that's starting to pick up momentum with businesses. Increasingly, corporate IT departments are letting their employees use whatever smartphone they want. A number of companies have jumped into the business of supporting that trend.

RIM is taking advantage of one of its core assets: the strength of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server. For all of the knocks that its phones receive, its BlackBerry service remains the most efficient at delivering e-mails in a secure and speedy manner. That's particularly important with as employee-owned phones increasingly run confidential corporate applications and data.

RIM said it is in early tests with select business customers, and will have a wider trial with more customers in January, with planned general availability in March.

The services include standard management tools including the ability to remotely lock or wipe the phone, manage a phone's secure wireless connection, and selectively providing or denying access to certain corporate data.

RIM said Mobile Fusion will be able to use the capabilities on BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.3. It also said there are additional features for BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets.

Source is
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57332782-94/rim-blackberry-services-open-up-to-ios-android/

Windows Phone 7 wins Operating System of the Year 2011 award

Windows Phone 7 has won the  Know Your Mobile Operating System of the Year 2011 award.

The number of WP7 developers are growing faster too, and so is the Windows Phone MarketPlace. The OS as you’d already know, has a refreshing user interface which favorably doesn’t rhyme with any of its competitors.

The OS won the category on the strength of its now widely emulated Metro OS with its easily customisable start screen, which is focused on putting people.

The system won plaudits for having a unique tile-based look which stepped away from the sea of isolated uninformative icons used by other smartphone operating systems while integrating experiences come from third party developers and from across Microsoft’s suite of products including Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Office 2010, Zune, Windows Live, Bing and more.

Runner ups include Samsung’s Bada OS and BlackBerry 7 OS. Here’s why the Jury thinks Windows Phone 7.x is the Operating System of The Year:

“It has the most potential, with a unique interface and a rapidly growing apps selection. It has a great looking UI and doesn’t look like Android or iOS.”

“A massive move from the previous OS. Huge growth in apps and system looks heaps better than the competition.”

“Innovative interface, with more success to come.”

“A refreshing OS that doesn’t try and copy other operating systems. Has attracted a large number of developers too.”

The runner ups on this category were Blackberry 7 and Samsung Bada.

Source is
http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-7-wins-operating-system-of-the-year-2011-award/

Microsoft Lync coming to Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone next month

Heads up, corporateers. Just like the company previously hinted, Microsoft Lync will soon make its smartphone debut. Currently, the enterprise instant messaging client (formerly known as Microsoft Office Communicator) has only been available to Mac and PC users, but all that is set to change next month when the software becomes available for Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone. Curiously, Microsoft's New Zealand outfit had formerly stated that Symbian would be among the mix, although its mention is entirely absent from this announcement. Granted, the news seems rather informal at this point, and there's only so much you can cram into 140 characters.

Source is
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/25/microsoft-lync-coming-to-android-blackberry-ios-and-windows-ph/

Yes, It Might Be Time for Windows 7.5 Phone

I am not sure the mobile operating system folks over at Apple or Google are losing any sleep about it, but Microsoft's latest upgrade on its mobile OS, Windows Phone 7.5, has made a decent mobile business tool even a bit better.

Redmond's mobile OS struggles are hardly deep dark, J. Edgar Hoover-like secrets. These are the facts: Even though Microsoft controls something on the order of a half-billion desktop computers on Earth, it essentially controls none of the mobile computers.

Which, rightly, should terrify Steve Ballmer and company.


And Redmond is clearly busting it to try crack the mobile market. To wit, Microsoft recently rolled out a major upgrade to its Windows Phone OS, called 7.5 -- and dubbed rather idiotically "Mango." Handset manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC and, yes, good old Nokia, have actually cozied up to the code. Major cell operators including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile now all offer reasonably business-useful Window Phone phones.

I have spent the past month or so tinkering with this upgrade. Here is what you need to know about Microsoft's improving mobile business fortunes.
(Full disclosure: My firm does business with an unrelated unit at Microsoft.)


1. Dirt-cheap business phones.

Microsoft may not be shy about charging up the you-know-what for its desktop tools, but in the mobile world the company is like a trip to Goodwill. None other than Verizon now sells the perfectly business-ready HTC Trophy for just $30 with a two-year contract. And the HTC Arrive from Sprint -- which sports a surprisingly effective keyboard for us recovering BlackBerry) addicts -- can be had for a decent $99. That's cheap, and they both work.

2. Social media you can ... gasp! actually control.

Here's a clever idea: A business-ready group communication function that can be tightly managed. Called Groups in Windows Phone world, they are essentially multiperson chat or email threads that happen in one place on your phone. Sure, any chat module from, say, Google Talk or even Facebook does the same thing, but to these paranoid eyes, a Windows Group is much easier to control. Factor in the Windows Phone's overall improved security and don't be shocked if you find these phones easier and safer to be social with than even an iPhone.

3. The best mobile Microsoft Office experience, period.

Without question, the biggest news with Windows Phones 7.5 is improved support for Outlook and document types such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint for just about any business user. As I have reported, the integration of Windows Phone with Microsoft's Web-based software tools called Office 365 is excellent. But here in Windows 7.5, really any business can take its copy of Office out of the office. An app called Office Hub not only offers a reasonable mobile facsimile of say, Word, but users can also store and share content on Microsoft's Web storage tools such as SkyDrive. (Be warned: SkyDrive is primitive by Google Apps, Box.net or even Apple iCloud standards. But for basic file sharing and swapping, Windows Phone works. And you don't need the hideously expensive SharePoint servers to do it.)

Source is
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11317403/1/yes-it-might-be-time-for-windows-75-phone.html

Silverman: BlackBerry vs. Windows Phone

When trying to decide on a smartphone, most buyers focus on the two biggest platforms: Google's Android and Apple's iPhone. But those aren't your only choices.

Two veterans are still in the game. Research in Motion, or RIM, still has its BlackBerry, and Microsoft is offering a completely revamped mobile operating system.

Last week, I compared Android and iPhone; this time around, it's BlackBerry vs Microsoft's Windows Phone system.

BlackBerry

RIM may have been the top smartphone dog at one time, but its failure to respond to the iPhone and Android has dramatically decreased its share of the market. There are still plenty of BlackBerry devices to choose from, and RIM is working on new ones built around the QNX operating system it started using in its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

The pros. When it comes to handling large amounts of email and messages, no one does it better than BlackBerry. Its Messenger client is legendary for organizing overwhelming flows of information and doing so in a secure manner. Email gets routed through RIM's servers, which provide an extra layer of security.

The BlackBerry is also known for the quality of its physical keyboards. There are models of the phone that are narrow, but the flagship BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve provide roomy keyboards with a solid feel.

RIM offers phones in two versions of its operating system: BlackBerry 6 and 7. A new OS based on QNX, to be called BlackBerry BBX, is due next year, and should come with updated hardware. BlackBerry devices are available from all four major U.S. carriers, and some models work with faster 4G networks.

The cons. RIM's competitive flatfootedness is largely responsible for its market-share decline. Critics say the phones' approach to handling data is somewhat dated, even with the newer BlackBerry 7 OS. Its Web browser, for example, remains among the slowest among smartphones and can have trouble rendering some Web pages.

One of the advantages to BlackBerry is also a disadvantage. BlackBerry owners usually pay an extra monthly fee for the privilege of routing messaging through RIM's servers.

And while they add security, they also can be a point of failure. When they went down for several days in October, BlackBerry users couldn't get email or access the Web.

There aren't as many apps for BlackBerry devices as for Android or iPhone, and there are relatively fewer free ones.

Windows Phone

As with RIM, Microsoft got run over by the iPhone. Realizing its Windows Mobile software would no longer cut it, the company threw it away and developed a brand new operating system, Windows Phone 7, which was recently updated to 7.5. New phones are coming later this year and early next, and Nokia has adopted Windows Phone as its primary operating system.

The pros. If you're tired of the same old apps-on-a-grid look of Android, iPhone and BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7.5 offers something different.

It features dynamic tiles on its home screen that update with information pulled in over the Net from a variety of sources. The Windows Phone software is divided into hubs that focus on different topics, such as a People hub for social media and an Office hub for productivity. And yes, as you'd expect, Windows Phone has the best support for working with Microsoft Office documents.

Social media are deeply integrated into Windows Phone, particularly Facebook. It's very easy to keep up with friends' statuses without ever opening a Facebook or Twitter app.

Windows Phone hardware comes from a variety of manufacturers, including HTC, Samsung, LG and more, and tends to be priced lower than most other smartphone types. It's available for all four major U.S. carriers.

The cons. Windows Phone's newness means it doesn't have all the features of the more mature mobile platforms.

For example, it doesn't formally support memory cards or dual-core processors. Windows Phones also don't work with faster 4G networks.

In addition, Windows Phone doesn't support very high resolution screens. So, although its upcoming HTC Titan has a 4.7-inch screen, it only has a resolution of 480-by-800 pixels.

Windows Phone also has more than 40,000 apps, putting it far behind Android and iOS. It also lacks some of the best-known apps, such as Hulu Plus.

Source is
http://www.chron.com/business/silverman/article/Silverman-BlackBerry-vs-Windows-Phone-2281510.php