Ripped off the official emulator

Mar 16, 2010 10:43 GMT  ·  By

While Microsoft is offering details on what the development of applications for the new Windows Phone 7 OS is all about and on how application builders can distribute their software solutions to users, others are more interested in other actions, such a Windows Phone 7 ROM. And some even managed to dump the WP7 Build 7.0.0.6077 off the PC Emulator software, which Microsoft released only yesterday along with a series of other development tools.

As one can easily imagine, the move was made by the guys over at XDA-developers, and it appears that they will start working on porting the software solution to existing devices running under the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. For the time being, however, the code can be used only on an x86 PC, yet a full ROM might not be too far ahead, it seems.

The Windows Phone 7 Build 7.0.0.6077 unveils some unknown details on the development of apps for the new OS, including the fact that the emulator will run natively on a PC. On the other hand, considering the fact that the build has been actually extracted from the emulator and not from Windows Phone 7 Series devices, it will certainly be hard enough to make a working ROM out of it.

At the same time, it will also be interesting to see whether a Windows Phone 7 ROM can be loaded on an existing Windows Mobile-based device. There have been a lot of rumors regarding the availability of an upgrade for existing phones, but now it is confirmed that no such handset will be upgradeable to the new platform. Moreover, pocketnow reports that Microsoft itself said that HD2, the handset with the greatest chances to receive an update, would remain with Windows Mobile 6.5 on board.

This comes as bad news for enthusiasts, but they might receive an unofficial solution via leaked ROMs in the end. There are at least eight months left until the first Windows Phone 7 Series devices will arrive on the market, and many things might happen in the mean time, so stay tuned to learn additional details on the matter.