Windows Phone 7 Series: What we can expect

15 February 2010

Xbox Live gaming just one of many welcome additions

We've known it's been coming for a while now, but now Microsoft has officially started talking about what we can expect from Windows Phone 7 Series. The key ingredient appears to be real time, with the introduction of "live tiles". Create a tile for a particular friend and the user will be automatically fed all of their latest feeds, pictures and posts direct to their home screen. Each Windows Phone 7 Series handset has a dedicated hardware button that will provide one-click access to Bing. Users in turn will be provided with the most relevant web results depending on their location.

All Windows 7 phones will also feature six hubs, divided into various categories. These include 'People' which will provide a portal to all of your friends live feeds and photos, while you too will be able to post your own status updates. 'Pictures' is a straight forward process of posting pictures direct to your various social networks, while the 'Games' hub sounds particularly exciting with the ability to play Xbox LIVE games, a first on any mobile phone.

'Music and Video' integrates Zune that not only enables users to play content from their PC, it also features Zune Social, a music sharing service with other users. 'Marketplace' provides access to Microsoft's app store, while 'Office' shows that Microsoft haven't forgotten their roots with access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace, enabling users to read, edit and share their documents.

However, before we get too excited, it won't be until the end of this year that we begin to see the first handsets in the Windows Phone 7 Series, with HTC already announcing that they will be part of this next-gen of Windows Mobile phones.