Archive for the ‘windows mobile’ Category

Samsung Omnia II gets broken down, screenshot by screenshot

The overwhelming mediocrity of Windows Mobile 6.5 gives us pause before saying something sensational like “it’s a great time to be a WinMo fan,” but we’ve got to admit, manufacturers are really stepping up their game to deliver these days — one need look no further than the mighty HD2 to see that. The Omnia II’s looking pretty solid, too, especially if you like your phones served up keyboard-free, and ai.rs blog has compiled a comprehensive screenshot gallery showing just how deep the TouchWiz integration really goes. Build quality is said to be top-notch, and it’s pretty hard to argue with a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display — so as we go into 2010, it looks like we might be gearing up for an epic TouchFLO / TouchWiz showdown in the WinMo octagon. Who doesn’t like a good fight?

[Thanks, msav]

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Omnia II gets broken down, screenshot by screenshot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Confirmed: Zune Integration Coming in Windows Mobile 7 [Ballmer]

Ballmer just confirmed to Engadget that Zune integration IS coming to Windows Mobile 7, as was implied by these leaked screenshots earlier this year. [Engadget]

Windows Mobile 6.5.1 (or whatever it’s called) looking ready for primetime

Even before 6.5 got official, the Windows Mobile community has been toying around with post-RTM leaked builds that really amp up the finger-friendliness — thing is, no one seems to know what it is, what it’s called, when it’s coming, who will get it, or how it meshes with the upcoming release of WinMo 7 next year. For now, it’s being informally called 6.5.1 — sounds like a fair name to us — and new mockups floating around suggest that Microsoft really wants to bridge the gap and make major user experience modifications to 6.5; the pre-7 platform hasn’t yet reached the end of the road, apparently. Big buttons at the bottom of the screen look like they should be usable by even the fattest of fingers on a resistive display (and indeed, we’ve seen various forms of these in leaked builds) and interface elements throughout the OS have been spruced up to finally put the stylus to bed. We’ll take it, but we would’ve been happy to take it in lieu of 6.5, too.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Windows Mobile 6.5.1 (or whatever it’s called) looking ready for primetime originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say” [Ballmer Interview]

In this segment of my exclusive interview series with Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer, I brought up the sore subject of Windows Mobile 6.5. After defending it, he cited another product that did well but suffers mounting criticism: Nokia smartphones.

As you can see in the video, Ballmer acknowledges that Windows Mobile 6.5 is receiving negative reviews, but I never get him to actually admit that the platform still needs work. He says, “reviews aside,” he’s happy with what Windows Phones (running 6.5) can do now.

And faced with competition of iPhone, BlackBerry and others, he contends it’s currently “kind of a horse race.” The only clear leader, market-share wise, is Nokia, and they’re losing ground. When I said that Nokia was another developer currently lambasted by reviewers, Ballmer replied:

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what the critics say, it matters what the customers say.

Perhaps given the power of advertising (still mighty, even if it’s on the decline), there may still be a way for a product to get positive sales despite negative reviews. But the internet has changed that landscape, and the lines between critic and customer blur more every day. We all share knowledge in order to make better choices. So who, in the end, is this customer, who is so different from the critic? Not anyone who reads Gizmodo, that’s for sure.

Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday.

Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming

HTC’s HD2 continues to impress, reveals multi-touch web browsing

We’ve seen plenty about HTC’s hot HD2, gone hands-on and sized it up next to everyone’s most/least favorite smartphone, but there’s one thing we haven’t seen yet: multi-touch in IE. The video embedded below from Techblog.gr is in a language you may not quite understand, but certainly everyone can grok the snappy UI performance and the pinch zooming demonstrated at the 2:20 mark. It does look a wee bit unresponsive at this point, but HTC still has time to make things perfect before releasing it here — though to be honest we’d rather just have it now.

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

Continue reading HTC’s HD2 continues to impress, reveals multi-touch web browsing

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC’s HD2 continues to impress, reveals multi-touch web browsing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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