This is just a quick one, saying about a thought I had last night.
Microsoft’s new OS is meant to be something new, which it is. Don’t get me wrong, I think its brilliant & cant wait for its release, but it does seem that they have said one thing, yet done another.
WP7 is all about ‘hubs’ & ‘tiles.
I have no issue with the tiles, they aren’t what this entry is about.
Its about the hubs.
The hubs concept is all about congregating relevant information & apps together. So you don’t have to go in & out of different apps.
They say that all of the information will be available in the hubs instead of apps and that developers can incorporate things into these hubs. I dont know about exactly how much integration people are allowed to add to any existing hubs, but I doubt its very much.
On top of this, developers supposedly have the possibility to create their own hubs, but I cant remember exactly where I heard this so I’m not sure how credible it is.
Then: Microsoft has been putting lots of effort into getting people to get developers to create apps!
- Giving free devices to developers to use for development
- Giving free devices to their employees to use for development
- Generally pushing the idea of making plenty of apps for the marketplace
Windows Phone 7 is supposedly taking a different action plan to other smart-phone OSs ( iPhone / Android ) which are centred around providing plenty of apps (want to get your cat out the tree? there’s an app for that) & its doing it differently by using hubs & tiles… AND having loads of apps.
It just seems a bit daft of them to say “WE ARE DIFFERENT! WE DONT WANT YOU TO JUMP FROM APP TO APP” then to prompt people to develop loads of apps. Either we will end up going from app to app, having a large number of hubs, or have oversized extended hubs, retrieving information from multiple apps.
Having said all this, I still want plenty of apps for WindowsPhone7, I just wanted to make that point.
Got any thoughts on this? Drop us a message below!
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They want developers to develop software, which the word “apps” has somehow bizarrely become synonymous with.
It’s just a matter of wording, and really doesn’t mean that much.
I do actually find it a little annoying how “programs”, “software” & “applications” are now simply summed up under the name of “apps” but people understand it, so I use it.
Regardless of what they call it, I think the point still remains the same.
What are the limitations for 3rd part devs to write hubs ? With tiles I think they have to stick to square tiles, the double size tiles ( think zune , Pic ) are not available for 3rd part devs
You can’t have hubs without apps so any argument that suggests there is a contradiction makes no sense to me. Hubs do not replace apps, they surface “some” of the more important info that can be read at a glance negating the need to go to the app in “every” case.
To avoid an overload of unneccessary hubs, developers will need to effectively categorize their app into exhisting hubs when possible and resist the need to create it’s own hub.
The question to me is this- will every developer think his app requires hub access not because consumers really need glancable info from it, but because developers want home screen mind share to increases sales. I can see home screens with long scrolls through a ton of tiles and hubs getting unruly real quick.
That being said, I’m willing to put up with some of the inevitable annoyances that I do think are going to creep into this experience to take advantage of some of the killer integration features that I think sets Windows Phone 7 apart from iPhone/Android- Zune, xbox, Office and SharePoint.
These videos should help clear up the confusion:
http://pocketnow.com/tech-news/comprehensive-windows-phone-7-demo
(can’t remember in which video he talks about hubs and developers’ ability to integrate applications with them)
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