Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Almost Complete
CNet’s got it on good authority that Microsoft plans to complete the final build of Windows Phone 7 in just “a few weeks.” That would probably mean the final build would ship out to developers by the middle of July. According to Microsoft, the core software is already complete; as of now, they are simply modifying the software, and doing some needed tweaks to the features, so that it works on a wide range of devices.
Apparently, Microsoft is focusing on the user experience and battery life at this point, looking to extend the latter’s while in every day usage. And, just as we expected, Microsoft is currently working with several different companies out there for the launch date, which is going to be some time during the holiday season, this year. Microsoft Vice President, Terry Myerson, specifically named Qualcomm and Broadcom as chip manufacturers, while LG, HTC, and Samsung were all named as primary focuses for hardware manufacturers. As for carriers? We already know AT&T’s the premiere partner, but it looks like T-Mobile USA is also getting some Windows Phone 7 love, too, around launch.
We’ll have to wait and see if Microsoft’s gamble to start over, completely, with their mobile division is going to pay off. While the initial demonstrations of Windows Phone 7 were favorable, and many people loved the integration with other Microsoft-based products, like Xbox LIVE, we won’t get a firm grasp on what Microsoft is planning for the future until we can finally see a final build of software, and hardware. Hopefully that’s coming up soon.
[via Cnet]