New OS revealed
Theo Boshoff
Last year at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer unveiled Windows Mobile 6.5. Yesterday, he unveiled Windows Phone 7 operating system (OS), at this year’s WMC.

But users will have to still wait a while for handsets sporting the new OS, as Balmer also indicated that these will only be ready by the end of the year. I guess the company needs to first try to capitalise a bit on Windows Mobile 6.5, which is only appearing on handsets in earnest these days.

The user interface of Windows Phone 7 mimics that of the Zune digital media player and also has access to the Microsoft Xbox Live gaming service.

When it comes to the user interface, there is nothing new. Apps are launched on the handsets in much the old way, by clicking an icon on the screen, after first going into a specific section, like Games, Marketplace, Music and Video (called hubs), for instance. After entering a specific hub, various apps are revealed which must then be clicked on to activate. It seems a bit long-winded and time-consuming, but according to the company, it’s the way they want it, as everyone knows how to operate it. So, there is no reinventing the wheel on this one.

According to Balmer, Windows Phone 7 takes into account the merging of professional and private lives of users, something that again is not a new concept.