Windows Phone 7 seen as “an extension”

Mar 25, 2010 09:17 GMT  ·  By

Windows Phone 7, the latest mobile operating system from the Redmond-based software giant Microsoft, won't sign the death certificate of Windows Mobile 6.5 it seems, and the company recently reaffirmed its commitment to continue the development of the older platform. Michael Chang, the senior product manager on Windows Phone 7, said recently that the work on Windows Mobile 6.5 would continue for a long time, reiterating what other Microsoft officials already stated.

“We will continue to support, ship and sell 6.5,” Chang said in an interview at the CTIA Wireless conference, a recent article on computerworld states. “Windows Phone 7 is a departure and a break at a code level. Doing so wasn’t an easy decision. It’s a tough decision to move away from a platform like Windows Mobile, but one we were willing to make.” At the same time, he also notes that the new OS will arrive with a great deal of multimedia features for users, even if it doesn't support Adobe Flash Player at launch.

Moreover, Chang further says that Microsoft is committed to support enterprise customers with its mobile operating system, and that it will continue to supply enterprise handhelds, including some rugged ones. However, the new Windows Phone 7 operating system, as most of you might already know, will come with a series of consumer friendly features, including multimedia support and rich browsing, showing the company's focus on the end-user mobile market too.

“We think of this OS as an extension … of our scope,” Chang said. “I wouldn’t say we are building a consumer phone at the expense of our heritage [of supporting] work productivity. We are taking that and adding to it features that include entertainment and a focus on a new experience. Windows Mobile was all about productivity, but we had relied on someone else to deliver a great experience. Not anymore.”

It's a common fact that Microsoft already announced that it would continue working with its partners on the development of Windows Mobile 6.5, and that new handsets powered by the platform were set to be launched in the following months. However, the company is also expected to show a great focus on the development of Windows Phone 7 and on that of new smartphones running under the platform, in an attempt to gain more market share from rival mobile OSes like Symbian, Android, BlackBerry or Apple's iPhone.