According to istartedsomething’s conversations at MIX10 this week, the developers behind Windows Phone 7 already know exactly how they’ll be implementing copy & paste in the platform, it just won’t be ready for the first batch of devices.  The timescale for WP7′s roll-out is already fixed, and there simply isn’t room to accommodate such a cross-platform feature being added without pushing back the release schedule.

So, expect copy & paste to appear in an update sometime after the first phones arrive, along with much fanfare.  In the meantime, Microsoft are pointing to their heavy use of cross-app integration as a reason why the omission won’t actually be too troublesome: for instance, addresses and numbers are automatically identified and linked to Bing Maps or the phone app, meaning there’s actually less need for grabbing chunks of text and pasting them into different places.

In its current state, the new JavaScript engine vastly out-performs IE8, as you can see in the graph below.  It’s lagging behind Chrome, Safari and Opera 10.5 at the moment, but besting Firefox 3.6 (by a little, anyway), and we’re promised further improvements as they tweak the script.  Part of the way Microsoft are approaching JavaScript is to run it in a separate background thread from the main browser, even on a separate CPU core if available.  That takes better advantage of multi-core processors, a decent idea given many people spend most of the time in their browsers these days.

Now, this isn’t a full release of the new IE9 today, it’s the company’s “Platform Preview”, but there are still a few downloads you can try out if you’re developer-minded.  The IEBlog has several links, and they’re also promising to update the preview every eight weeks in the run up to the Release Client.  In fact, they’re being particularly honest about the current shortcomings of the latest build, which passes 55 out of 100 tests in benchmarking tool Acid3 (which tests for compliance with browser standards).  You can find the new Platform Preview build here.

Press Release:

Microsoft Announces Hardware-Accelerated HTML5, Pushes Boundaries on Web and Cloud Development

Microsoft releases first platform preview for Windows Internet Explorer 9, highlights commitments to jQuery and OData.

LAS VEGAS — March 16, 2010 — Industry standards and innovation took center stage at MIX10, as Microsoft Corp. made a series of announcements that underscore the company’s commitment to interoperability and performance on the Web. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer at Microsoft, unveiled the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview including expanded support for HTML5, hardware-accelerated graphics and text, and a new JavaScript engine. Together these allow developers to use the same markup and deliver graphically and functionally rich Web applications that take advantage of modern PC hardware through a modern operating system.

Microsoft also announced that it will contribute to the development of new features and enhancements in the jQuery JavaScript Library and shared the release of new software development kits (SDKs) for the Open Data Protocol (OData) that make it easier for developers to access data from the cloud to create more compelling cross-platform Web applications.

Raising Developer Expectations With Hardware Acceleration, Increased Interoperability

As part of its commitment to interoperability, Microsoft detailed its support for a number of HTML5 specifications, including CSS3, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), XHTML parsing, and the video and audio tags using industry-standard (H.264/MPEG4 and MP3/AAC) codecs, among others. In addition, Microsoft demonstrated a new JavaScript engine that uses the multiple cores of today’s modern chips to effectively manage computing resources and improve Web performance. By combining increased interoperability with a new JavaScript engine and Direct 2D technology, Internet Explorer 9 enables Web developers to provide users with richer experiences that render more quickly and consistently.

“I am very happy with Microsoft’s commitment to the HTML Working Group and to HTML5,” said Philippe Le Hegaret, W3C, Domain Leader.

“Internet Explorer 9 is the first browser to take standard Web patterns that developers use and run them better on modern PCs through Windows,” Hachamovitch said.

Starting at MIX10, developers also will be able to track Microsoft’s progress and provide direct feedback on the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview by evaluating new code refreshes approximately every eight weeks leading up to the beta release. Developers can download the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview at http://www.IETestDrive.com.

“Internet Explorer 9 enabling GPU-accelerated HTML5 is a milestone for visual computing,” said Drew Henry, general manager of GeForce and ION GPU business unit at NVIDIA Corp. “By harnessing the power of NVIDIA GPUs, Internet Explorer 9 removes the glass ceiling for Web developers, enabling them to build graphically rich, high-performing Web applications.”

Increased Support of Client Development Through the jQuery JavaScript Library

As part of Microsoft’s broad engagement with open source communities, Corporate Vice President Scott Guthrie today announced that Microsoft is investing resources to contribute to the development of the jQuery JavaScript Library to help improve the development process of standards-based Web applications. Microsoft will also work to provide better interoperability between ASP.NET and the jQuery JavaScript Library by enhancing ASP.NET so .NET developers can better incorporate jQuery capabilities. In addition, Microsoft will actively promote and distribute versions of the jQuery JavaScript Library by packaging it with popular products such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and ASP.NET MVC 2. As a first step, Microsoft will contribute a templating engine to the jQuery JavaScript Library Team to simplify Web applications.

Creating Compelling User Experiences, Powered by the Cloud

To enable developers to build immersive, cross-platform Web and mobile applications that use data delivered from the cloud, Microsoft also released SDKs for OData, an HTTP and Atom-based approach to data portability, for a number of languages and platforms including .NET, Java, PHP, Objective-C (iPhone and Mac) and JavaScript. In addition, Microsoft announced the second Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Microsoft code-named “Dallas,” an information marketplace powered by the Windows Azure platform, which provides developers with access to third-party datasets that can be consumed by Web and mobile applications. By making content and data available with an OData feed via “Dallas,” developers can access and monetize their data under their terms and pricing, which can be can built into applications to deliver unique user experiences.

Today, developers can take advantage of more than 30 datasets from content providers, including NAVTEQ, Pitney Bowes Business Insight, Weather Central and Zillow.com, available on the “Dallas” information marketplace. Developers can access the OData SDK at http://www.odata.org and download “Dallas” CTP2 at http://www.Microsoft.com/Dallas.

The latest news from MIX10 is available at http://live.visitmix.com/press.

We’ll just start off with the “bad” news first, just to make sure we get it out of the way. As much as everyone is still holding out hope that the HTC HD2 is going to be upgraded from its current Windows Mobile 6.5 existence, we can now completely confirm that the HD2 is not getting updated. Furthermore, despite the rumors that OEMs would be able to determine whether or not their current generation models would be able to get updated to the new mobile Operating System, that rumor can now officially be squashed. It’s not happening. Microsoft is making a clean break from the previous iterations of their software, and doing so with no strings attached.

Microsoft is doing everything they can to remove a lot of the barriers and other blockades that was preventing previous developers out there from creating applications for their Windows Phone 7 Series platform. New tools will be introduced with the already set-in-stone tools available to developers, making it completely possible that new devs can just jump right in and start making the highest class products, right out of the gate. And as we mentioned in earlier posts throughout the day, these applications can be developed in record time, and have the same high quality that consumers have come to expect.

The Windows Phone Marketplace is going to be a vibrant digital store front, with the applications being the most important part. As you make your way through the Marketplace, you’ll download what you want, and watch as the applications of that same nature are shown to you on the go. Are you fond of a particular style of game? The Marketplace is going to show you the other titles in that particular style, just to make sure that you enjoy your experience. And speaking of games, where trial periods are a well known feature, the developers are able to determine just how long a particular trial period will last. Whether that means you get to play the first level for free, or continue on until you’ve accomplished a particular goal, is completely up to the developer. Furthermore, while some applications may become static and forgotten on other systems, an application or game title in the Windows Phone 7 Series platform will always be able to be found easily, and be promoted by the developer with push notifications. Have an update for a game you’ve forgotten about? The developer can let you know with a simple push notification.

Ads are still going to be be prevalent within the application marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series. Developers can utilize their own advertisement network, so that they can promote something that they wish to promote. Anyone can bring their own model for advertisement, if they wish. Microsoft, though, has created their own advertisement model, which promotes other applications within the Windows Phone Marketplace, and showcases other paid apps. Basically, to keep the pay ecosystem going strong. The Windows Phone Marketplace is currency-based, as well, which should be good news for people who have been fed-up with Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE points system. Consumers can tie their Windows Live account (which means you can use Xbox LIVE, Hotmail, or any other Microsoft-based service) with a credit card, and pay for applications directly in that fashion. A Live account is required, though. And, thankfully, the credit card and applications are tied to the account, and not the phone.

Updates for applications are pushed to the device, meaning you’ll never miss an update. Additionally, if the application is part of the core element of the Windows Phone 7 Series, like an Xbox LIVE arcade game, then that push notification would be displayed on the Game Hub. Updates to third-party applications happen in two ways: the toaster method, which means that you get a pop-up notification that an application can be updated; or users can be notified of an available update when they enter into an application. These are determined by the developer, and will be different for each application.

The full policies of application development and all the extra information will be available in May, when Microsoft releases that information officially.

Finally, the Windows Phone Marketplace will be the majority rule for downloading applications to your Windows Phone 7 Series device. Meaning, you can’t side-load a lot of the applications. Except that, you’ll be able to do some “big screen” shopping from your desktop client, such as the Zune Software that syncs your device with your PC. You will be able to buy them from the PC, and then they will syncronize with your device when you connect it.

With rumors coming out that Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of the Zune HD, we wanted to know if Microsoft has any plans to make an optimized version of Windows Phone 7 Series available for any other “mobile” platform. They ceremoniously said that they haven’t announced any future version of the Zune HD, but they did add that the Windows Phone 7 Series User Interface is obviously pulling a lot of design elements from the Zune HD. So, take that for what it’s worth.

The big difference between the Windows Phone Marketplace and the Apple App Store is going to be the transparent screening process. While the rules for the development process for the App Store may not be so clearly defined, Microsoft is going to make sure that everyone who wants to develop for the Windows Phone 7 Series platform knows exacty what they need to do to get published. If they follow those rules, and don’t stray far from the scope, then they’ll get approved. As of right now, there won’t be any mature-rated material found in the Windows Phone Marketplace, but that’s because they don’t have any parental controls in place. As soon as that changes, then the Marketplace may begin to reflect those changes.

As we mentioned previously, developers get 70% of revenue when their application is bought within the Windows Phone Marketplace. When asked about returns, Microsoft made it clear that they do allow refunds for Windows Mobile 6.x, and that that is going to stick around for Windows Phone 7 Series. As for returns that do occur, the developer gets only 70% of the return price, and Microsoft would keep the difference. Developers will not be charged for updating their software, and developers are only charged the $99 a year for the ability to release applications. The development software is free, and will always be free. Additionally, developers are able to release 5 applications, before they are charged $99 for any additional applications they want to release. Obviously, not many developers go over that 5 application threshold. Developers can release one of their apps they’ve already released as many times as they want in the Marketplace, and have the ability to update their application an unlimited amount of times.

MIX10 is still going strong, and there’s still a lot of information to sift through. Hopefully this in-depth interview has brought answers to a lot of the questions you may have, but if you have more, feel free to let us know in the comments. And, if you’re a developer that plans to bring applications to the Windows Phone Marketplace, we want to hear from you in the comments. Are you excited about what Microsoft is doing? What are some of the applications you can’t wait to see, or are going to build yourself?

And lastly, if you want to join the discussion about Windows Phone 7 Series, sign-up over at Windows Phone Forums!

The team over at Engadget had an opportunity to have a quick meeting with the three handsets, and managed to take some quick snapshots of them as they posed for their moment in the spotlight. As for the phones themselves, we don’t have any real details about the devices in particular. We have the minimum specifications to go off of, but from these images alone we can’t really guess as to what kind of devices we can expect to hold in our hands. Or, more accurately, what’s powering them.

As soon as we get some more information, we’ll be sure to pass it along. As it stands right now, we’re waiting to find out some more information on these LG and Samsung devices, because we’ve heard that the ASUS model is strictly for the beta software. But, things change all the time. As MIX10 continues, we’ll be sure to bring you the latest information, so stay frosty.

[via Engadget]

Talk about these handsets and the Windows Phone 7 Series software over at Windows Phone Forums!

The Seesmic team has one of the best opportunities right now: they’re the Twitter client for Windows Phone 7 Series right now. We know that a lot of companies and people out there would love to be in their position. But the team seems to be pretty humble about the entire experience, thanking Microsoft for the ability to develop their desktop client in the Silverlight platform. Of course, developing their desktop application (which has been a huge success for the company) in the Silverlight platform is both great for the desktop, but also means it’s fantastic for the Twitter client that will be utilized on the Windows Phone 7 Series Operating System later this year. Just as we’ve seen from Xbox LIVE Arcade games utilizing XNA Game Studios 4.0, with Seesmic using the same software to run the desktop client and the mobile client, means that things can be synced on the go, and utilized in tandem, instead of one and then the other. It also means that no unnecessary code needs to be learned while developing for the desktop and mobile clients; it’s all just seamless, and works.

And while the team stressed that coding for other platforms, like Android and iPhone, would still mean that developers would have to develop new code for Silverlight (unless they’re already programmed in Silverlight, obviously), that it’s easy enough that anyone can do it.

During our hands-on time with the Twitter client proper, we got to see the action closeup, as opposed to the big screen during the keynote. The transitions from each screen within the panoramic view are just as seamless as we’d expect, and the options available within the client are just as full-featured as they should be. You are able to see your timeline, replies, as well as direct messages. However, the real magic happens when you select “nearby” tweets, which brings up the integrated Bring Maps, and showcases for you right there on the screen all the tweets coming to you within a set distance. Opening up a Twitter profile not only brings up the bio of the person, along with their most recent tweets, but it also brings up their Twitter background, right there in the client. It’s fun to watch, and also helps the user feel more integrated with the service itself. We can’t wait to see more of the Seesmic Twitter client as it develops, so we’ll be sure to keep checking in with the team as the months progress.

Discuss Seesmic running on Windows Phone 7 Series over at Windows Phone Forums!

As Joe Belfiore elaborates, right from the start you’re shown pretty much everything you’d want to know about your LIVE profile at a glance: notifications, and what your Avatar looks like. These notifications come in real-time, and are in the fashion of a number at the upper-right corner. Once you touch the panel to access the gaming section within your Windows Phone 7 Series device, you are immediately transported to the details of your LIVE content. Right at the start, you’ve got the games that you’ve installed on the device, which you can launch (just like everything else) with a quick tap of your finger. Below those tiles, you’re offered a “Try for Free” tile, which is being marketed directly from the LIVE servers to you.

As you pan to the right in the panoramic view, you’ll reach the Spotlight feature within the Hub. In this area, Xbox LIVE is telling you what’s new and available. Whether that’s cheats, tricks, or what not for a particular game, or new games themselves, this is the area where you’ll find the latest run-down of what’s new for you to take in. As you continue to the right, you’ll find your actual Avatar standing there, waiting patiently for you. Right next to the digital representation of yourself, you’ll find your current gamerscore as well. These are all updated in real-time, so that when something changes (like your Achievements, from playing a game), this screen will update accordingly.

Moving to the right again, we come to the requests section. This is the area that reflects the notification number on the Hub upon your Start screen. In the case of the video, Belfiore has three requests to play games with people. While these may be requests to play games in general, or for friend requests and the like, what Belfiore is showing off in the demo is something we’d heard about before. The asynchronous turn-by-turn gaming, for such titles as Backgammon, where you can play a real game, with real players. Belfiore also mentioned that this gaming experience isn’t just meant for people with Windows Phone 7 devices, but also for those playing the game on the PC. And eventually, the console as well. As long as the title is written with XNA Game Studio 4.0, you’ll be able to play it with your friends. We love where multiplayer games are heading, so let’s start counting down the months, shall we?

Dicuss this, and other great Windows Phone 7 Series features with others like you! Join Windows Phone Forums!

We weren’t given that much time to look at the device, and we weren’t able to actually touch or play with it, but from what they were showing off, it looks like Samsung is determined to offer a quality handset to the Windows Phone 7 Series line-up. Especially along side the two other manufacturers that Microsoft showcased on screen, ASUS and LG, Samsung is definitely in the game. While Microsoft wouldn’t elaborate on any real details about the device itself, you can obviously see that the standard hardware keys are on the phone: Back, Start, and Search. Microsoft also pointed out that the Samsung device has a very bright screen (an AMOLED display, perhaps?), and then the camera. The Samsung will have a terrific camera, and considering how beefy it looks on the back of the phone, we are hoping that’s very true.

It was also mentioned that the photo capabilities in Windows Phone 7 Series is something to be excited about, along with the fact that this Samsung device will play a part in that as well. With the hard work that Microsoft is putting into the minimum specifications for their hardware, we’re not surprised that they also want to make sure that the images you take with your phone are just as good. After all, if you take a photo with a bad camera, what good is it looking at it on the phone?

Belfiore also wanted to come clean on the minimum hardware specifications for their Windows Phone 7 Series devices, and it looks like they’ve covered all the bases. As we’ve heard before, all the devices need to have a capacitive touchscreen, with at least four contact points. In the sensors department, all the phones must have a-GPS, Accelerometer, Compass, Light, and Proximity. The cameras need to be at least 5MP, have a flash, and a hardware camera button. Memory has a minimum specification of 256MB RAM, and 8GB Flash. Keep in mind, those are the minimum specifications for their devices. The GPU needs to be DirectX 9, and the CPU needs to be a ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better. Screens need to be at least HVGA, and have a resolution of 480×320. Again, these are the minimum specifications.

[Update:] That HVGA, and 480×320 resolutions specifications are coming out some time later. At the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft is making sure that all the devices are 800×480. And that’s it. On top of that, all the devices will have the same amount of RAM available, as well as have the same capacitive touchscreen capabilities.

Basically, Microsoft is making sure that their software, Silverlight functionality, and the user experience is always in tip-top shape, and the only way to do that is by mandating the hardware that powers it. Microsoft wants you to love using your phone, and not worry about a process slowing you down. From what we can tell, they’re doing a great job of that.

Want to discuss Windows Phone 7 Series? Head on over to Windows Phone Forums and join in on the discussion!

[update via Engadget]

Just like the Seesmic Twitter client, Bing Maps is playing a heavy role in the location-based service. When you pull up where you are, and go through the routine of checking in and then shouting out where you are, you can take a look at the integrated map within Foursquare, and find out where some cool locations are around you. The great part of Bing Maps being integrated into the application, is that you can actually use the map from within Foursquare. No need to exit out of it, or do anything else. Just use the map, right then and there.

Of course, if you’re not a fan of finding where you want to eat on a map, the application has made the locations available in a list just below the map as well, so that you can scroll through them and find them in that fashion. When you select a location, it will open up the ability to check-in there, shout out, or add a review/opinion about the location. You can also read reviews/opinions about the location from other Foursquare users as well, all from within the application itself, in the same seamless fashion.

Want to talk about Foursquare and more? Then join Windows Phone Forums and join the discussion!

Silverlight is going to be a huge part of the platform. That goes without saying. But, even as we see in the video, Seesmic is using the technology to capitalize on the transitions, backgrounds, and other elements of the software. In this case, you can see that as the image of a Twitter user comes up on the screen of your phone, their Twitter background is also shown on your phone. This makes for a far more robust user experience. You are also able to showcase Tweets near you, with a map, as well as their tweets listed below the map of your location. This uses a Bing Maps plug-in, making the services used fast and accessible.

The integration between applications, the software, as well as seemingly everything else that goes into the phones makes it look like Windows Phone 7 Series is going to be a seamless experience. The use of plug-ins, especially the ones such as Bing Maps within Seesmic, means that you can move form one service to another, like geotagging your tweets or seeing where your friends are tweeting from around you, is one of those features that gives a lot back to the user, and just goes to show why you’d want to use the service at all.

Feel like you need to add your piece about Windows Phone 7 Series? Sign up at Windows Phone Forums and join the discussion!

The Marketplace is being billed as the perfect place for you to find whatever it is you’re looking for. Whether to find a game, or to find something to spice up the life of your phone, the Marketplace will have it. It says that it’s a “smarter way” to find your apps, games, and music for your phone, thanks to the panoramic view that Windows Phone 7 Series is highlighting. You can also find featured items of the day.

There’s also the ability to read reviews of the applications you want, as well as “try before you buy,” which is created by the developers. They can choose how long an application can be tested, before the customer is optioned to buy it. There wasn’t any mention of a refund policy though. You cana input your own reviews, and base your decision on app ratings. All easy enough by the touch of your finger.

Discuss Windows Phone 7 Series at Windows Phone Forums!

Video demo after the cut

The alert itself takes the form of a discrete blue bar that scrolls along the top of the display. That has a summary of the notification – in MLS that could include the game playing, a new goal, whore scored and at what point in the match – which you can then tap to open the full app.

In the case of Major League Soccer, that includes video clips of the goal segment and more. What remains to be seen is how Apple – who have been serious proponents of push notifications in iPhone OS – respond to Microsoft’s co-opting of the idea, which seems to be an attempt to cut down on background processes and reduce device lag.

Windows Phone 7 series Associated Press news reader app:

The Associated Press app fits in perfectly with Windows Phone 7 series’ overall UI theme, with various panes of topics which can be side-swiped between as we’ve seen of Microsoft’s own native apps.  The app uses Silverlight to render images and video in-line with the text.

Windows Phone 7 series The Harvest game demo:

More visually-impressive is a gaming title Microsoft called The Harvest, again built in Silverlight and supporting Xbox LIVE integration for keeping track of achievements, avatars and progress.  Later in the demo, Major Nelson from the Xbox team showed how you can also load the game on a Windows 7 PC or on an Xbox 360 console and have the same game experience only tailored to the input device – touchscreen, mouse or pad – you’re using at the time.  The Legend, like the other demo apps from the show, took under four weeks to develop.

We’re processing more video demos from MIX10 and will be putting them up at our sibling site, WindowsPhoneForums.com, when we have more ready.

The tools the Olympic broadcast technicians used include the Silverlight player, but also the ability to dynamically inject adverts into the stream.  Silverlight 4 RC will now support full-screen HD playback in a multi-monitor setup, something Microsoft say no other streaming video system can do.  There’s also integration with Microsoft Expression Blend 4 Beta, which allowed eBay to design their Silverlight auction app, for instance, using Sketchflow.  The final release of Silverlight 4 is expected next month.

As for Windows Phone 7 series, Microsoft have confirmed that developers will be able to use the hardware’s accelerator, multitouch display, camera and microphone, as well as using Microsoft’s Notification Service and Location Service.  The former will give developers a way to push information to the smartphone, whether or not the related app is actually running, while the latter provides a single point from which to source location information.  Finally there’s also Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for digital delivery of content together with support for DRM.  We’re expecting to hear more about these things as MIX 2010 progresses.

Confirmed software partners for Windows Phone 7 series’ launch include Associated Press, WeatherBug, Citrix, EA Mobile, Fandango, Foursquare, frog design, IMDb.com, Match.com , Microsoft Game Studios, Namco, Pandora, Photobucket, PopCap Games, Seesmic, Shazam, Sling Media, SPB Software and Vertigo Software among others (check out the full list in the press release below).

They’re using the new, free tools for Windows Phone 7 series development:

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
• Windows Phone 7 Series add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC
• XNA Game Studio 4.0
• Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing
• Expression Blend for Windows Phone Community Technology Preview (which will also be available as a separate download)

Apps can be distributed through the Windows Phone Marketplace, with a 70/30 revenue split in the developers’ favor.  Microsoft have also scythed away some of the secondary fees previously involved, and students will get more discounts or even free submissions.  The new Marketplace slots into the Marketplace Hub, complete with gaming and carrier-specific offerings.  We’ll be bringing you more from MIX 2010 as it develops.

Press Release:

Microsoft Outlines New Opportunities at MIX10 for Developers to Create Compelling Experiences

Unveils end-to-end development platform with free tools for Windows Phone 7 Series and advances with Silverlight that will bring new applications, games and experiences to life.

LAS VEGAS — March 15, 2010 — Today at MIX10, Microsoft Corp. showcased advancements in its platform technologies that enable the developer and designer community to deliver compelling user experiences across a broad set of devices. Building on the excitement of the recently announced Windows® Phone 7 Series, Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform, and Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president, Windows Phone Program Management, detailed the opportunity for developers to use proven technologies such as Microsoft Silverlight and the XNA Framework to build new mobile applications and 3-D Games.

“As the browser, server, Web and devices evolve, a focus on delivering consistently great user experiences has become paramount,” Guthrie said. “By extending our familiar platform technologies and tools to phones, Microsoft is delivering the premier application development experience across a variety of devices and form factors.”

End-to-End Application Development Platform for Windows Phone 7 Series

During the keynote, Microsoft provided the first deep dive into Windows Phone 7 Series application development. By combining Silverlight features for rich application development and the XNA Framework for games, Windows Phone 7 Series empowers millions of developers and designers to build visually stunning and immersive applications and games — one of the industry’s most profitable mobile application categories — while taking advantage of device-specific capabilities. Specifically, developers will be able to take advantage of the following features:

•Accelerometer, an intuitive control that responds to motion
•A Microsoft Location Service to provide developers with a single point of reference to acquire location information
•Microsoft Notification Service for pushing information to the phone, regardless of whether or not an application is running
•Hardware-accelerated video with digital rights management (DRM)
•Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for the industry’s highest quality content viewing experience
•Multitouch
•Camera and microphone support

“Windows Phone 7 Series brings together a rich application environment, powerful hardware, a fresh approach to software and a smart new design,” Belfiore said. “It was designed to generate incredible opportunities for developers and designers to quickly and easily deliver compelling applications and games. With the best developer tools, an established ecosystem and marketplace, and a path for developers to use their Silverlight and XNA Framework skill sets, we are delivering an application platform that is simple, powerful and inspiring.”

Free Tools for Windows Phone 7 Series Developers and Designers

To further support an end-to-end development experience, Microsoft announced the availability of comprehensive tools support for Windows Phone 7 Series. The easy-to-install package includes previews of the following:

•Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
•Windows Phone 7 Series add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC
•XNA Game Studio 4.0
•Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing
•Expression Blend for Windows Phone Community Technology Preview (available as a separate download)

A Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series Applications

Microsoft also showed how developers and designers will be able to bring applications and games to market with a new Windows Phone Marketplace. The Marketplace features a panoramic design and active merchandising to increase the discoverability of games and applications, and supports one-time credit card purchases, mobile operator billing and advertising-funded applications. The Marketplace will also enable customers to try applications before buying them and allow developers to cross-promote their applications through deep linking.

Several leading companies will be creating exciting applications and games for Windows Phone 7 Series. They include The Associated Press, Archetype International Inc., AWS Convergence Technologies – WeatherBug, Citrix Systems Inc., Clarity Consulting Inc., Cypress Consulting, EA Mobile, Fandango Inc., Foursquare Labs Inc., frog design inc., Glu Mobile Inc., Graphic.ly, Hudson Entertainment Inc., IdentityMine Inc., IMDb.com Inc., Larva Labs, Match.com LLC, Matchbox Mobile Ltd., Microsoft Game Studios, Namco Networks America Inc., Oberon Media Inc., Pageonce Inc., Pandora Media Inc., Photobucket Inc., PopCap Games Inc., Seesmic, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., Sling Media, SPB Software Inc., stimulant, TeleCommunications Systems Inc., Touchality LLC and Vertigo Software Inc.

Continued Innovation With Silverlight and Expression Blend

Microsoft announced a release candidate (RC) for Silverlight 4, available for download today, which builds on the beta version released at the Professional Developers Conference in November 2009. The Silverlight 4 RC provides powerful media and enterprise application and media capabilities, out-of-browser flexibility and world-class tools support via Visual Studio and Expression Blend with Sketchflow to enable robust application development and rich interactive experiences.

In addition, Microsoft unveiled the Expression Blend 4 Beta, a design and development workflow tool. New features such as Path Layout enable developers and designers to build and animate innovative user interface design via a groundbreaking visual layout mechanism, without the need to write code. Expression Blend 4 Beta also adds support for Silverlight 4, .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010.

Silverlight Customer Adoption

Silverlight adoption has continued at a rapid pace with installations approaching 60 percent of all Internet devices worldwide — an increase of nearly 15 percentage points in just four months. Customers such as Major League Soccer, BBC, eBay Inc., Netflix Inc., NBCOlympics.com and CT Corp., a Wolters Kluwer business, demonstrated how they are taking advantage of the power of Silverlight to deliver compelling consumer and enterprise experiences.

“Microsoft Silverlight technology will be the backbone of the video platform on our newly launched MLSsoccer.com,” said Chris Schlosser, director of digital strategy for Major League Soccer. “Our work with Microsoft allows us to launch cutting-edge digital and mobile experiences for our loyal fans. As part of our increased focus on digital media, we view a rich video experience as absolutely critical to accomplishing our goal of ‘super serving’ MLS supporters.”

All the latest from MIX10 is available at http://live.visitmix.com/press, including downloads of tools for Windows Phone 7 Series, the Silverlight 4 RC and Expression Blend 4 Beta, which will be available today.

Like Marketplace for Mobile, Windows Phone Marketplace will offer developers from thirty countries a single on-device way to distribute their titles.  The revenue share rate is set at 70-percent – in the devs’ favor – and is accompanied by the Marketplace Hub on Windows Phone 7 series devices themselves.

As for Silverlight 4 RC, that will be accompanied by a new, free Windows Phone Developer Tools package from developer.windowsphone.com.  Expression Blend for Windows Phone and a preview of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone will be also included as part of the download.  There’ll also be a CTP for Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone, bringing the same project management tools that Silverlight and .Net developers have been used to – including Behaviors, sample data and the visual state manager – to WP7 development.

You can follow along with the MIX 2010 keynotes and other content by visiting live.visitmix.com.  SlashGear is also at the event, and we’ll be highlighting anything interesting we spot, so keep reading over the next few days!