Windows Phone 7 Series

Windows Phone 7 Series is the successor to Microsoft's line of Windows Mobile phone operating systems. It's based on the Windows CE 6 kernel, like the Zune HD, while current versions of Windows Mobile are based on Windows CE 5. Microsoft announced the new OS at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, and says that the first handsets to run it are supposed to be released by the holiday shopping season of this year.
The visual and underlying differences in the operating system are almost too numerous to mention, including a completely (and we do mean completely) upended user interface, an emphasis on finger-based touchscreen input, deep social networking integration, fully branded and expansive Zune and Xbox components, and extremely strict hardware requirements for partners. A couple familiar touchstones from the past include plans for Outlook and Office support, as well as licensing to a wide variety of third party hardware vendors -- despite the name change, Microsoft still isn't building any phones itself.
Microsoft has a very clear picture of what they want these units to be built like. Still, while the company is laying down the ground rules in an attempt to create a more consistent experience across phones, it doesn't mean there won't be variety. You'll see variation in devices (yes, some with and some without a keyboard), but there will be a much more steady tone in the nature of Windows Phone 7 Series handsets. Here's a look at some of the minimum specs detailed to us thus far:
1. Large WVGA screen with a single aspect ratio (which means BlackBerry-style devices won't be readily available to begin with)
2. Five specific hardware buttons required: Start, back, search (a dedicated Bing button), camera button, and power -- no more, no less
3. Capacitive multitouch
4. CPU and GPU requirements (beginning with Qualcomm's Snapdragon as the go-to processor)
5. WiFi
6. AGPS
7. Accelerometer
8. FM radio
9. High resolution camera
As we said, Microsoft is showing the OS off on unbranded prototype hardware. It's a simplistic slate phone with a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, what appears to be a front-facing camera (a point we haven't heard the company sound off on yet)... and not much else. We still have plenty of unanswered questions on hardware, not just about that camera, but storage specs, whether or not we'll be able to use microSD or some form of removable storage, and how we'll go about connecting these devices to our laptops. price $499.