Today, Microsoft gave the first look at Windows Phone 8, due out this fall. Windows Phone 8 is more of a hardware spec than a software spec and this new hardware will support a new feature set not available to current Windows Phone 7.5 phones. The most obvious change that sets the new OS apart is the new start screen.
While this looks similar, gone is the blank space to the right of the tiles. Instead, users can change the size of each pinned tile from the current (medium), to large (currently not available to 3rd party developers) and small (1/4 size of a medium tile), a bit like Windows 8 where users can switch between Medium and Large. The app list is still there; you still swipe from the right to get to the app list. I wonder if the removal of the asymmetry from the original start screen also implies that you’ll be able to swipe from the left to see an as yet unannounced screen, such as a notifications screen. Tiles have always been one of my favorite features and I’m excited to have more customizability as both a user and developer.
One big enabler of the new features is the support for multiple cores. Under the current architecture, I’ve never been in need of a second core. The phone just doesn’t slow down and a lot of that is attributed to the app model. It’s likely that Microsoft needed multiple cores to support the background threads. These full background tasks allow apps like Skype and GPS tools to continue to run when they aren’t visible, something that isn’t currently supported (unless you’re an audio app).
Speaking of Skype, it and other VoIP providers can now integrate deeper into the phone, including the dialer and the people hub. I’m looking forward to this feature because using Skype now is a bit of an exercise in pre-planning. I have to text my wife (the only person I Skype with) to tell her to get on Skype.
When I Just Don’t Care
There’s a bunch of stuff announced today that I just don’t care much about, the first of which is SD card support. I’m sure some people will be ecstatic about this, but right now I have a grand total of 21 songs downloaded to my Lumia 900. 21! Yes.
The reason I have so few is that, because of my Zune Pass and my environment, I always stream from the Zune Marketplace (which of course will now be called something different) when I want to listen to something new. Sure, if I was going on a plane or worked in an area with poor cell reception, the streaming wouldn’t work so well but I live maybe 7 minutes from my office in the middle of corn fields with solid reception.
Most of the places where I listen to music (gym, office, etc.) all have Wi-Fi and so the streaming is even easier. I rarely connect my phone to my computer, so I’m not constantly syncing music. I just download or stream what I want when I want it. My daughter watches Netflix, so there’s no video on my phone either. According to my phone, I still have 10.59 GB of free space, so, yeah, I’m good.
The new phones will have NFC which sounds super cool but I don’t think will be very useful to me in the next couple years. I mean, my debit card has tap to pay and yet I still swipe my card 99% of the time. Excepting the digital wallet possibilities, my environment doesn’t support a lot of NFC actions. I suppose if it could be hooked into the prox card access at my office, that would be nice, but the chances of that are essentially nil.
I also don’t really care about IE10. Yes, I will gladly take the improvements in the JavaScript engine and more HTML5 feature support. But the one feature bandied about is SmartScreen. Frankly, I turn that off on the PC, so I don’t really want it on my phone.
What Should You Do?
It’s still early to say, but assuming you’re sold on the Windows and Windows Phone ecosystem, you might be wondering what you should do now. And that depends on where you’re at with your current cell phone. Here’s how I break it down:
- Just Bought a Nokia Lumia 900 — Well that kinda sucks, doesn’t it?
I just bought one too, so see below to check what I’m going to do. Or stick with the Windows Phone 7.8 and its partial update. - No Lumia 900, but contract is up — Wait.
Assuming your phone isn’t dying on you, just wait until Nokia announces their new phones and we get closer to release. It’s almost July and they’re saying Fall for release. It’s really not that far away. - Contract not up yet — This is the best position to be in as you’re already forced to wait. Don’t get out of your contract early to get a Lumia 900.
What am I Going to Do?
Not surprisingly, even though I recently got a Lumia 900, I’ll be lined up to get the latest Lumia device from Nokia when Windows Phone 8 releases. There’s so much we haven’t heard about. Who knows, maybe they’ll have some sort of early trade in program for Lumia 900 owners. Either way, I essentially didn’t pay for my Lumia: it was $100 and I got the $100 bill credit from Nokia. That means that, while I’ll have to pay non-contract prices for a new phone, I won’t be out the money I already paid for the Lumia. I just lost my renewal window.
I’ll have more to say about Windows Phone 8 as more developer information and features start to roll out.