If you’ve been keeping up with Windows Phone 7 Series, you probably already know that the mobile operating system’s completely re-thought start screen is its greatest weapon against the grid-based, app-filled homescreen designs that have been proliferating throughout the smartphone space for the past few years. So, we thought we’d give you another look at the WP7 “Start Screen” and it’s hub-tastic layout with this here HD video. We also take a look at the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Office Hub that includes OneNote note-taking features, document management, and SharePoint access.
You’ll notice that the hub-based homescre, er, Start screen changes the way a smartphone user interacts with the information on their handset. Each hub centralizes features and apps according to their function. The media hub gives you access to media, but will also integrate music apps like Pandora, for example. Each “tile” on the Start screen is animated and dynamically updates itself based on the number of pending notifications/messages, who you most recently called, and what music you’ve been listening to. There’s also the slick Office integration through the aptly-named Office Hub.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is banking their future on cloud-based services and integrating those services seamlessly into their products. Windows Phone 7 Series, for example, handles online photo albums with ease. The yet-to-be-launched mobile operating system will succeed the ancient Windows Mobile platform with a sleek new user interface paradigm and a focus on cloud-connectivity. One of the more notable features of WP7 is the way it synchronizes with photos you have stored on, say, Facebook or Flickr. Windows Phone 7 Series goes and pulls photos from the web and presents them in a way that feels native and local.
What you’re seeing in this video is Joe Belfiore demonstrating the Windows Phone 7 platform’s online photo-syncing capabilities. Notice how the Facebook photo album loads images from the web. The overall user experience is hard to distinguish from the local photo albums – photos just take a moment to actually load from the cloud.
Auto-rotation is nothing new. Almost all smartphones these days have accelerometers integrated into their hardware, allowing them to detect orientation (landscape or portrait) changes – that allows them to automatically rotate the screen when the user rotates the handset. But, not all smartphones do auto-rotation the same way. Windows Phone 7 Series, for example, concentrates on the auto-rotating details, making for a truly integrated and cohesive user experience.
The video you see here shows off the Windows Phone 7 Series implementation of auto-rotation. Not only do apps smoothly rotate to accomodate portrait and landscape orientations, but the buttons rotate as well. The beauty, in the case of Windows Phone 7, is in the details – details like rotating app buttons. What do you think, dear reader? Do rotating buttons make a difference to you?
One of the cool features baked right into Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is its hub-centric Xbox Live games panel. By connecting Windows Phone 7 directly to your Xbox Live account, you can keep up to date on your Xbox Live account – points, avatars, unlocked achievements, etc. And, because the Windows Phone 7 platform is all about keeping you connected to the web (and all the information that that entails), your WP7 phone will update its games hub “tile” to notify you that you have one (or more) friend requests or other gaming actions on your Live account.
The video you see here comes straight from MIX10, and features Joe Belfiore himself showing off the WP7 games hubs in more detail that we’ve seen in the past. Notice the animated Xbox Live games hub showing Belfiore’s avatar peeking its head out periodically. Once in the hub itself, you get completely synchronized Xbox Live account information, including your installed games collection, integration with the Marketplace, notifications for game invites and notifications that it’s your turn in an ongoing turn-based game.
Of course, there’s more to WP7 than its Xbox Live integration. There’s the Zune music hub, the always-connected web features and the innovative new UI that breaks the smartphone mold cast by the iPhone and it’s app-centric homescreen layout. We’ll continue to bring you more MIX10 coverage throughout the day, so stay tuned!
Windows Phone 7 Series owes a lot of its design aesthetic and features to the Zune music player from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). From the sleek user interface to the incredibly integrated Zune music hub, it’s clear that Microsoft is really trying hard to give Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and its iPhone’s iTunes-based music ecosystem some hard-hitting competition. As such, the WP7 platform will essentially turn any smartphone that powers into a Zune music player. Microsoft confirmed as much this morning at their keynote speech at MIX10 in Las Vegas. But, with all the music integration in WP7, how will users manage their tunes and synchronize their Windows Phone with their desktop or laptop computer?
Zune isn’t just a music player. It’s also a desktop-based music player/manager that aims directly at the heart of iTunes. The Zune desktop player gives the user “quickplay” access to music with shortcuts to favorites, recently downloaded or played music, and videos. There’s also a Smart DJ feature that can take any song, artist, or album and generate a playlist from music in your library or music on the Zune Marketplace. But, that’s just the beginning.
The Zune desktop software isn’t just a music manager for your computer – it will serve as the music manager for your Windows Phone 7 Series handset. Just connect your Windows Phone to your computer and Zune automatically detects your phone, The “Device” tab allows you to browse, manage, and delete music directly on your phone. All changes are instantly reflected on the handset’s Zune hub. Take that, iTunes!
Take a look at the video to see exactly how Windows Phone 7 Series will work with Zune.
Yes, we all know by now Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) flipped the switch this morning to take pre-orders on the Apple iPad. But did you know that there’s a much more delicious alternative to the Apple iPad? That is, of course, the Doritos Tablet!
One of the major updates the Doritos Tablet has over a regular Doritos chip is the multi-taste interface. No longer do I have to pass my bag over to my buddy Jim to lose out on a moment of deliciousness. Instead, Jim and I can experience the Doritos Tablet together while our knees touch uncomfortably. And then when all is said and done, we can look at each other and say, “Welcome to Spice 2.0″
Just in time for March Madness, Miller Lite has put together an iPhone app for the legal-aged beer-drinking basketball fan. Combining ones love for beer and basketball, the Miller Lite ‘Tip ‘n Spin’ iPhone app puts you to the test by making you spin and balance a basketball on top of a Miller Lite bottle.
Seems easy I know, but it’s actually quite challenging. Get the ball spinning (and keep it spinning) by swiping your finger, and balance the ball by tilting and twisting your iPhone. Compete against your friends, earn points, beat personal or global high scores, and share your results with friends on Facebook. In the app you’ll also find links to other MillerCoors mobile apps. The release of this app comes with March Madness upon us, so look out for ads promoting this app and others on television.
Before I go, did I mention the app was free? Download link below.
The HTC Supersonic aims to be one of Sprint’s first 4G (WiMAX) enabled phones of the year. Today, a video was added onto YouTube showing the Supersonic booting up, and what it looks like on the back. If you’ve got a whole 42 seconds to spare, check it out, won’t you?
Not long ago, we previewed one of the first videos for the Incredible, followed by some more pictures that popped up out of nowhere. Now, we have a real-deal video for the Supersonic, and while the video doesn’t know the interface (we’ve all seen Sense at this point, right?), you can get a feel for what the device looks like in hand.
Comparable to the Incredible, the Supersonic runs Sense, and will also be a CDMA device. They also share AMOLED screens, Android 2.1, 5-megapixel cameras, you get the idea. With the Incredible going towards Verizon (NYSE: VZ), seemingly, at least, the Supersonic does indeed look like it will be heading towards Sprint (NYSE: S). What better to have as your launch 4G device than a beautiful, HTC made, Snapdragon smartphone? Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) may be filing a patent for the word ’smartphone’, so we’ll just call it ‘handset’ from now on.
HTC’s new line up of phones– Desire, Legend, Incredible, and Supersonic is stunning, showing so many improvement’s from the original Hero. With leaks of HTC’s devices coming out of the woodwork left and right, they might just be right around the corner. Let’s hope we’ll see some in action at CTIA.
The Academy Awards show is a time to reflect back on the past year’s silver-screen successes. It’s also a great time to check out the prettiest and hunkiest actresses and actors in Hollywood – all gussied up for their big Oscar-night. That made the Oscars a befitting backdrop for the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPad’s sexy aluminum casing and sleek lines. Apple was apparently keen on this last night, as they unveiled their very first iPad TV commercial during the Hollywood ego-circle-jerking session. The ad showed off the iPad’s touchy-feely features and subtly made the argument for the iPad as device intended for the living room.
The iPad ad shows the tablet’s prowess in web browsing, without any reference to Adobe’s Flash technology. The iPad doesn’t support Flash content, so it makes sense that they don’t highlight any Flash-heavy websites. The ad also shows the bookstore and makes the case for the iPad as an ebook reader. But, there are a couple possible points of concern from the video. As the slow-motion version of the ad (below) shows, the font on the Calendar app is worryingly small. It’s not clear if the fonts are user-adjustable.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was at the Oscars as an attendee, presumably rubbing elbows with high-powered celebrities in a bid to push the iPad onto the influential Hollywood scene. Jobs could be looking to celebrities to help make the iPad one of this year’s gotta-have devices. Time will tell.
The Android phone that Megan Fox was showing off in the bathtub during the Superbowl has arrived at IntoMobile headquarters, and we’ve taken a quick little video to show you the goods. We had a chance to put hands on a locked Devour at Mobile World Congress, but this time around we actually have an activated unit to show you. The stylish Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Devour brings yet another Android phone to Verizon (NYSE: VZ). With a metallic unibody and Type A geek design, it gives the Motorola Droid a cheaper companion in Verizon’s stable.
It seems phone makers are moving towards minimal packaging, and the Motorola Devour’s minuscule box continues that trend. The retail package is simple and to the point – you get only a wall charger, a microUSB cable (which doubles as the charging cable), and some documentation.
The phone itself sports unibody styling that might just give the HTC Legend some serious competition. The sharp angles and metallic body give the Devour a hard-edged feel that Motorola’s Droid gives. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is an improvement from the Droid, what with its well-spaced, contoured, and tactile keys. The Droid’s flat keyboard, in comparison, is a mushed-up jumble of keys with no tactile feedback. But, the Droid outshines the Devour’s lower-resolution 3-megapixel camera – hey, you can’t win ‘em all.
The Devour’s innards boast a 3G radio, WiFi, GPS, microSD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, and in interesting slot-loading battery compartment (check the video to see what we’re talking about).
Android OS 1.6 is the operating system of choice, and gets the widget-happy, social network savvy MotoBLUR treatment. The MotoBLUR homescreen pulls all your social network updates, alerts, news feeds and messages down to a handful of widgets that make it easy to instantly access the info most important to you.
One of the cool features baked right into 
