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More Windows Phone 7 specs revealed

By: , IntoMobile
Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 2:53 PM

We’ve already heard about the three chassis that are required for handsets that run Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, but the software giant has revealed a few more details.

As we already know, the handsets will have to sport a capacitive touchscreen with at least four points of contacts and a minimum resolution of 480 by 320 (the launch devices will have to be 800 by 480). The devices will also need to have an accelerometer, compass, assisted-GPS, and light and proximity sensors. The CPU needs to be an ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better, and the GPU needs to be DirectX 9. Manufacturers will have to include at least 256 MB of RAM, 8 GB  of flash memory, and there needs to be at least a 5-megapixel camera with a hard button to snap photos. It’s good to see Microsoft take a stand with its hardware partners, and these seem like a good baseline for devices going forward.

Microsoft appears to have learned its lesson with Windows Mobile – as it was widely distributed with few limitations and manufacturers released a variety of flavors. There’s something to be said about this approach because it enables handset makers to differentiate its products and it has brought us things like HTC’s Sense UI. But it can also lead to fragmentation and an inconsistent user experience – Android is already starting to feel some of this pain. Apple and Research In Motion have been very successful in this space because the companies have tight integration over the hardware and software, and Microsoft is trying to create a more cohesive experience with WP7S. Will it work? We’ve just started to see some interesting stuff to look forward to, so I’m pretty optimistic about Microsoft’s chances.

[Via Slashgear]

About The Author

Marin Perez

Marin Perez has torture tested cell phones and smartphones for industry leaders like CNET and InformationWeek. He remembers when 4G was just a screen on PowerPoint presentations and is fascinated with the amount of innovation out there. Marin has spent a lot of time with BlackBerry and Android but he finally broke down a bought an iPhone to see what all the hype's about. He also has too many tablets.

  • Jeff

    By restricting the types of handsets that can be produced, Microsoft will lose the industrial and rugged handset market. These markets require various handset form factors.

    This is why the enterprise market, which is abandoning Windows Mobile, will gravitate to Android as the platform for running custom applications.

  • ScottF

    Isn’t that the Omnia HD pictured?

  • John

    No the phone pictured has a windows button, the Omnia HD dosen't.

  • mwahahah

    what about my htc touch pro2??

  • pman

    Microsoft will not loose, ultimately the platform wll rule the market, as the Windows Desktops ans Servers are ruling. You seem to be biased dude…

  • Jay Fero

    How many (if any) USB ports does the Windows Series 7 Phone have? Are they miniUSB ports or regular ones?

    Thanks

  • Mobokinky

    gayass it’s mini.. reg would not make an ideal phone for wp7…

  • Jefferycarlson

    I think microsoft’s approach wasn’t even for the enterprise market but to get regulars joes to buy it.

  • Zeogravity

    microsoft should constantly update their minimum specs every year to future-proof specs and should not play ‘catch up’ (android’s good, apple sucks) on specs with android or ios phones. they should do a major update on the os every year and minor updates every 2 month on EVERY phone with Windows Phone OS! (apple’s good at this, android sucks)