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Archive for the ‘rumour’ Category

Regular readers will know know we keep a close eye on Microsoft’s job postings, and occasionally come across something interesting.

The one below appears to be a pretty standard Project Natal job post, but then goes off into an unexpected tangent by demanding Windows Phone experience.

Does this mean that gesture-based UI is really coming to Windows Mobile?

Read the job post below and tell us what you think.

Sr Software Test Engineer (SDET) X box Live – Project Natal Job

Date: Feb 8, 2010

Location: Redmond, WA, US

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 707967 11095
Product: Xbox Live
Division: Entertainment & Devices Division

Do you love Graphics? Want to take the latest graphics code, tools, and technologies for a ride before anyone else in the world? Want to participate in an effort to create the next generation of technology that will make our customers jump with excitement and our competitors shake with fear? If so, check out the Natal project – The Natal Platform Team is building the components at the core of this high profile project that is a huge part of the Microsoft consumer strategy. The result will be a revolutionary component for rich game and entertainment experiences that will forever change the face of entertainment. Do you have what it will take to help deliver on the vision? Jump in and find out…

Responsibilities include:
Design and implement graphics test cases which programmatically measure quality.
Investigate & implement new graphics testing techniques
Port existing graphics tests to new platforms
Write graphics test specifications
Lead by example
Own the quality of one or more feature areas in the System Test team
Identify product defects and track to their appropriate resolution
Collaborate with feature area Devs and PMs
Collaborate with partner teams
Provide feedback on key user scenarios, functional and technical designs, and
Contribute to overall product test planning and architecture
specifications.
Contribute to implementation of automation tools & solutions
Create and integrate test tools into test infrastructure
Qualifications include:
Experience writing graphics code with D3D10 or D3D11
Experience writing complex HLSL (or equivalent) shaders
Skills with 3D vector and matrix math
6 + years of product development and testing experience
Demonstrable experience of multiple successful product ship cycles
Strong C/C++ development and debugging skills
Able to work independently or with a team with minimal supervision
Excellent working knowledge of test methodologies and techniques
Utilization and evangelism of testing best practices
Experience with creating and enhancing existing automation systems
Examples of successful implementation of solutions to difficult product quality challenges
Familiar with test-driven development
Excellent problem solving skills
Strong communication and collaboration skills
Self disciplined and detail oriented
Solid understanding of the Xbox 360 software and system architecture desired
Experience working on Windows Mobile Phones a plus
A BA/BS in Computer Science or related technical discipline is required

Read the full job post here.

It seems everyone is jumping on the ereader market, and the latest rumour from Asia is that Cube, who produces a variety of PMP’s, is set to release a Windows Mobile 6.5 powered e-reader with a 6 inch colour capacitive screen.

No other details except for the targeted price is known yet, but at $150 that’s quite enticing enough.

No pictures exist yet, except for the teaser above, which I assume says its better that the iPhone .

Via Akhibaranews.com

Early reports are rolling in, suggesting the HTC Nexus One is failing to set the world on fire, despite its high profile launch.

Initial reports had suggested only 20 000 had been sold in the first week, and sales have remained at this low constant, clocking up only 80 000 sales in the first month, according to Flurry Analytics.

This compares pretty poorly with the Motorola Droid, said to have sold 525 000 in its first month, or the iPhone 3GS, which sold 600 000.

While the Nexus One is aggressively Google branded, the very similar HTC Bravo, set to launch soon, is likely to suffer from being tainted as a re-release of a now old and failed handset, making the whole design unlikely to sell well.

This contrasts with roaring sales of the HTC HD2, which run into stock shortages all of December. Recent leaks from the company’s Chinese division, Dopod, has seen handsets destined originally for Android converting to Windows Mobile, which may indicate a loss of confidence in Google and the Android platform.

Chainfire, via Tweakers.net, has posted this collection of Windows Mobile rumours:

Microsoft will drop much of the business side of WM in favor of the consumer side. The traditional business offerings like Office / Exchange functionality will of course still be supported, but the focus will be shifted to gaming and multimedia. The Xbox and Zune brands will be represented, the Zune player willl be included and it will be possible to wirelessly exchange data, multimedia, and games with the Xbox 360.

The first batch of phones that will be released will have pretty much the same chip specs, and HTC, Samsung, LG and SE will be the ones to deliver this first batch of phones. In this first batch (September 2010), the OEMs are apparently not allowed to make big changes, they all have to use the same interface.

This means, no custom UI like Sense, no Opera Mobile either. Instead the default WM UI will be used and a new PocketIE based on IE7, but with some functionality from IE8.

The second batch (end of 2010) will be allowed to have small changes, but likely only theme-based and addition of some custom application.

Only at the third batch (early 2011) will the OEMs be allowed to add their own interfaces, like Sense, Panels, TouchWiz and S-Class.

The official announcements of the WM7 phones are not expected to occur more than a few weeks before actual release of the OS, [CF: so we probably won't see official (unleaked) specs and such before the end of July (based on the September release date)].

As hardware goes they say mostly the same as the chassis 1 specs. 1 Ghz+ CPU, Open GL ES 2.0, 800×480+, 3.5"+, 384mb+ (possibly 512+).

According to those we have seen the WM7 interface, it is nothing revolutionary. It should have standard multi-touch support and supports only capacitive. The interface is said to be a hybrid of iPhone / Android / Zune HD elements.

Apparently those that have used WM7 builds differ in opinion about the software. Some state it is much faster than for example the 3GS, while others mention apps are slow to start and experiencing ‘hickups’.

Apps-wise, old applications will in principle not be compatible with Windows Mobile 7, throwing away many thousands of apps that are currently available. It may be compatibility for old apps will be emulated, but this is not clear yet. How exactly this will work will likely be explained at MIX 2010 in March.

It certainly seems like only .NET apps will be supported [CF: ugh!], however it is not clear if the Compact Framework will be a part of that .NET support.

Read more at Chainfire here.

What do our readers think? Let us know below.

AndroidCentral managed to come across this device roadmap for HTC’s subsidiary Dopod, who operates in China.

Besides showing a number of Android devices, it confirms a HVGA windows Mobile phone set to be released at the end of Q2 2010.  This is likely the Chinese version of the HTC Photon, a smaller version of the HTC HD2.

Read more at AndroidCentral here, including speculation of an Android HTC HD2 being changed back to Windows Mobile.

PPCGeeks claims to have come accross a treasure trove of Windows Mobile 7 information, and most are consistent with other rumours we have heard, but no less controversial.

They claim:

-The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”. It will be very similar to the Zune HD User Interface with a complete revamp of the “Start” screen. The UI is “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”
-Unfortunately there will be no Flash support at the get go as there was not enough time to implement these features.
-Windows Phone 7 will only support application installation through service based delivery. (i.e Marketplace). Application installation via storage card will not be possible.
- No Multi-Task support. Applications will “Pause” when in the background, however will support notifications via push notifications.
-Marketplace will now support “try before you buy” as well as an API
-No NETCF backwards compatibility. This means the original rumor of no backward compatibility for applications holds to be true. That being said, there are high hopes of porting the NetCF to the newer platform easily.
-Microsoft is confident that devices will be ready by September 2010
-Full Zune Integration
-Windows Mobile Device Center will no longer be used. Zune software to take over syncing via PC.
-OEM Interfaces will not be allowed to run on the device. Say goodbye to Sense UI / SPB Mobile Shell / Point UI / Infinity, etc, etc
-Full XBOX Gaming Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
-Full support for social networking.

Hopefully what PPCGeeks are talking about is a Zune Phone rather than the real Windows Mobile 7, because otherwise… Do I hear Android calling?

What do our readers think?  Let us know below.

We have written earlier about TMoNews’s speculation that the HTC HD2 was coming in March, based on a Dark Project Training date on the 19th March. They have not managed to narrow down the date even further by laying their hands on this slide, which clearly shows the handset with a launch date of the 24th March.

I know some of our US readers are pretty impatient for the device to arrive, but it is clear that even in 6 weeks time the HTC HD2 will still be the best specified handset in the US.

Via WMExperts.com