Front facing keyboard and button-less Windows Phones coming?

February 6, 2012 | By Surur

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Microsoft may have (intentionally) leaked future design iterations for Windows Phone.

Albert Shum, the General Manager of the Windows Phone Design Studio, showed TechRadar a slide at Nokia World where “tomorrow’s” new form factors were shown off.

Besides tablets, the slide seemed to show 4 new form factors – from the left a very small screen design, next a design with very thin bezels all round, which suggests it is button-less, next a design with a very large bottom bezel, suggesting a front-facing keyboard ala Blackberry, next the regular design, and then a small tablet, followed by a large tablet.

Shum said this was "something we’re still working on.” “You want an ecosystem that’s not just about having just one or two things; you want diversity," he continued.

"If you do well not just on phone but on PC and on tablet, then your ecosystem can really live and breathe"

No time scale was provided for the arrival of these new form factors, though we could see Nokia pushing for the one with the Blackberry keyboard, as it has been selling a range of devices similarly equipped, and would want to move that design over to Windows Phone.

Do our readers think it is time for more diversity, or should Microsoft work at perfecting their single form factor first, like Apple? Let us know below.

Via techradar.com

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

http://davepermen.net davepermen

I hope the smaller tablet will be the phone os version of windows 8.
And the small one, cuuute

Anonymous

I’m really hoping for a small tablet (Galaxy Note style) with phone capable Win8 (NOT WP8) and a battery friendly Intel SOC. Yeah I know, what’s the chance of that, but I can still dream

http://davepermen.net davepermen

as there’s no difference between wp8 and win8, there’s quite some chance to actually get options with one ui or the other.

Anonymous

There is a difference. Specifically Win8 with an Intel processor will be full Win8 with legacy app support, not limited to just the Metro interface that is available on ARM processors.

http://davepermen.net davepermen

i said there’s no difference between win8 and wp8. both are win8 kernel, both are arm and x86 possible. what’ll be out on the market, that we’ll see then. but as intel mobile phones are already announced, i guess we see x86 and arm for all platforms, and win8/wp8 on most of them.
Anonymous

But there is an enormous difference. True, it seems almost certain that WP8 will be based on the Win8 kernel, but that doesn’t make it the same as Win8. Even Win8 on ARM will be very limited compared to Win8 on an Intel chip. Windows on ARM will be sand-boxed without legacy app support, that is even official from MS now. Of course some legacy applications (perhaps even a lot) will be rebuilt and released for WOA, but there is no automatic support for old applications. Even for applications that are rebuilt for WOA, they must be distributed through Windows Marketplace, because it will not be possible to install anything except apps downloaded from Windows Marketplace on WOA machine. And with that comes a fair amount of restrictions on what can be done. A lot of legacy apps would lose a lot of functionality if they are rebuilt for Windows Marketplace. So even most legacy apps that are released for WOA will probably be gimped versions compared to the old x86/x64 versions. The same applies to what the user is allowed to do. On an Intel Win8 tablet, the user has access to the registry, can install drivers and whatever program he wants. On an ARM tablet that will not be possible. This may be good for a lot of people, but this is not what I want, and yes the difference is huge. WP8 may share a kernel with Win8, but it is the sand-boxed Win8 on ARM kernel, and it will be even more restricted than even the ARM tablet version of Win8, simply because there are more restrictions place on it by the OS (WP8 will be a separate OS built on the same kernel as Win8). It doesn’t really matter how capable the kernel is if you are not allowed to use all the capabilities.
http://davepermen.net davepermen

It will still mean more possibilities than what we have now (integration with windows update, for example).

And x86 versions of wp8 will exist just as wp7 exists in x86 (the emulator). and it will, this time, exist on real hardware (intel x86 phones).

so while yes, they will tailor it down per use case, it at least allows them to share all they have:

random example: wireless connection to a secured wifi by pressing a button. win8 can do that. wp8 will, thus, too. wp7 right now doesn’t, and means i have to enter the wireless key.

Anonymous

This is a really good idea, I see many girls with those BB like Nokias in Germany somehow.
http://twitter.com/TheBigM72 Samil Shah

Windows Phone is but one line of phones for them. They have every intention of continuing innovation outside of that. I could see button-less S40 phones ahead for example.

Anonymous

*cough*Smarterphone*cough*Meltemi*cough*

http://fxfp.com/ Alex F.

4 resolutions for Windows Phone 8
2 resolutions for Windows 8

Anonymous

What do you mean 2 resolutions for Win 8? As far as I know they just have the minimum resolution, and then a minimum aspect ratio for having two metro apps side by side.

Anonymous

I get it! He meant that 4 devices from left are Windows Phone OS powered and 2 device on the right are Windows 8 powered. Makes sense actually!

Anonymous

Ok yes, that does make sense.

Anonymous

This has Windows Phone 8 written all over it! Last week the news surfaced that Microsoft will support 4 different screen resolutions. Ties in nicely with the 4 screen resolutions shown above. Guess we’ll know as soon as Windows Phone 8 will be officially announced later this year For me, bring on the BB like phone. I miss my HTC Snap
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_snap-2770.php
Anonymous

I want a phone with game buttons, just make 3 – 4 really good buttons to game with at the bottom and I’ll be happy.

Anonymous

That would be awesome. I don’t know how the Sony android PSP style phones avoid fragmentation, but MS could lay out guidelines that all games still be made for touch in mind. But they could introduce an optional API that developers could use to detect, and use, game controls.

Anonymous

An optional controller API would be pretty good, and probably not too difficult to implement.
Personally, I’d love for MS to make a universal game controller that would work with any Windows Phone, either via Bluetooth or even USB (though more cumbersome, it could also double as a battery extender).

Something along the lines of GameGripper, but more polished of course.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bossgizmo/new-bluetooth-game-gripper-a-game-pad-for-your-pho

“Turn your Windows Phone into an Xbox Phone”

of course, that’s not saying that OEMs can’t make dedicated gaming phones, but I’d be in line for such an attachment.

Anonymous

It would probably be an xbox controller if anything.

Anonymous

Honestly I wouldn’t read too much into that slide. I think they are just pointing out is that there will be new form factors in the future of Windows Phone. Let’s not start spreading the rumor that Nokia is releasing a BB style phone soon.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Lee/100003250765822 Andrew Lee

If all this stuff is true, then I think this will make up a true/perfect eco-system: different form factors targeting different needs – different people – still each form-factor with considerably similar (may not be exactly) power – same OS – same file system – sharing among all these form factors – no fragmentation

I think we still lack such perfect ecosystem. And think, being Apple and Google already in Smart-market for many years, cannot think of and develop such ecosys.

But the way MS has built its Windows and Cloud and other platforms, and showing its true visions through great development tools and true innovations like Metro UI, I feel MS is the only capable of doing this.

Anonymous

I always felt more productive when typing email or texts when using a front facing keyboard its part of the reason I got a BB first. I then got a Palm Pre, since then I have had phones without keyboards and would like a keyboard that felt substantial.
http://profile.yahoo.com/ZMAEUGXBTMBYYY7NPNB73FP6JA George

I already use windows phone, will buy the Nokia 900, but would immediately buy a Nokia with QWERTY BB style. Count me in!
http://profile.yahoo.com/ZMAEUGXBTMBYYY7NPNB73FP6JA George

I already use windows phone, will buy the Nokia 900, but would immediately buy a Nokia with QWERTY BB style. Count me in!
Anonymous

bahahhaahahahahahhahaha… This will lead to fragmentation