For the past two decades, Microsoft’s Windows desktop operating system has been nearly synonymous with personal computing, running on over 90% of desktop and laptop computers in the world. Arguably due to complacency with its position in the world and stagnant development cycle, Windows has become a lingering necessity of the lives of people who are unable or unwilling to switch to something else. Windows XP lasted for nearly six years before being replaced by Windows Vista, and in that time barely improved when there was clear areas where it could have been better. With the rise in mobile operating systems and the trend from desktop to laptop to tablet computing, Windows is losing mindshare to more interesting and innovative operating systems.
Microsoft seems to have noticed that people found them getting stale, and have been working on a huge revamped design and brand since the release of the Zune in 2006. While the Zune was not very successful, the brand language Metro has lived on as the new face of Microsoft and its products. Windows Phone 7 was one of Microsoft’s first overhauls in 2010, and showed that the technology giant was willing to reinvent itself in an imaginative and creative way. Microsoft is pushing three big product lines this year that follow in its footsteps: Windows 8, which we discussed in Volume 32, Issue 1 (Fall 2011), Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8.
The most surprising thing Microsoft announced about both Windows 8 and Windows RT recently was that they would be supported by a Microsoft-crafted tablet called Microsoft Surface (the giant slab tables that used to be called Surface are now known as PixelSense). This marks a serious milestone for Microsoft, who has always prided itself on having the higher-powered computing devices it supports created by other companies. It comes in two flavours: low-end (with Windows RT, 32-64 GB of storage) and high-end (with Windows 8 Pro, 64-128 GB of storage). Microsoft cleverly departs from the iPad knockoff look of most Android tablets these days by creating an appropriately squared off design and including a built-in kickstand which allows for the tablet to stand up without an extra accessory. The case is interesting from a materials standpoint as it is formed from a molded metal with a fine magnesium deposition layer on top, allowing for incredibly sleek components.
At first, it appeared that Microsoft had copied Apple’s iPad Smart Cover, yet their Touch Cover and Type Cover both take a unique and functional twist on the standard tablet case. The Touch Cover integrates a capacitive touch keyboard into the interior of the case, which when coupled with the standing Surface allows for a laptop-like experience. The Type Cover takes it one step further and adds a very thin mechanical keyboard, so users who prefer physical buttons may still type. The concept is an interesting contrast to Apple’s dock-and-keyboard approach, and knowing Microsoft’s approach so far, will likely allow greater keyboard support. The big downside to their announcement was that there was not much in the way of hands-on demos, which makes me wonder how close these are to being ready for release.
On the more micro-scale, Windows Phone 8 is much like Windows Phone 7 was, except it now is sharing the same core as Windows 8, which one would imagine is similar to how iOS shares a similar core to Mac OS X. The shared core allows for removable micro-SD support, enhanced encryption and devices with multiple cores. The inclusion of the DirectX interfaces, along with the shared core and tools from Windows 8, is designed to allow developers to very easily transfer applications between platforms, making it easier for them to add to the 100,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. NOVA 3, Asphalt 7, Audible, Draw Something, and Words with Friends are a few of the apps coming to the Windows Phone ecosystem soon, due to increased support for the operating system and easier tools for cross-platform development. A neat little tidbit that got thrown in, likely due to their recent purchase of Skype, is the promotion of VoIP apps to first-class, treating all VoIP voice and video calls like normal ones to the user. This kind of integration is impressive once you see how it works and seamlessly presents Skype and other VoIP calls in a way not seen on other platforms so far.
Mobile payments is a sneaky feature thrown into the mix, building on what Apple is doing with Passbook and Google with Google Wallet. The Wallet hub allows users to add credit cards and other rewards cards into a unified spot, which then gets paid using near-field communications (NFC) payments. This means the main three mobile operating systems now have some sort of financial support built into their devices, which will likely become more prominent as the services are built out more. Windows Phone 8 also supports three resolutions, up to 1280 x 768, and supports applications developed for Windows Phone 7.5. The Start screen is also being slightly modified to allow for more tile sizes, letting users add more applications in one view. Microsoft is partnering with Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and HTC to bring the first wave of Windows Phone 8 devices this coming fall, and it will be seen whether they can gain Microsoft some of the mobile pie that they’ve lost so dramatically.
The interesting thing about their announcements, or at least the Surface one, was that they have completely redone their presentation style. They have taken a page from Apple’s book, in a good way, in emphasizing the user-centric aspects of the products with enthusiasm and less on spreadsheet-ridden monotone presentations. The Windows Phone 8 devices and Surface show signs of Microsoft’s new direction, which is even being reflected on their new, beautifully Metro website preview. It is exciting and relieving to see a competitive and attractive option for devices in the consumer electronics world, and hopefully come fall we’ll start seeing if these gadgets live up to all the hype.
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