Remember the XBox Live Live chat event with Major Nelson, there was such a huge demand for it their servers crashed ( so anyone still think one one cares about xBox Live on WP7 ??? ), but they have uploaded the video from the event and Here are the key point that was discussed.. ( kudos to MobilityDigest via WMPU )
All props purchased on the game console appears and are available on the phone.
Change your avatar on the go.
The turn based gaming can be played with people on Windows Phone 7, Xbox Game Console and PC! Three screens and a cloud indeed!! The requirement of course being the game being on each platform.
They emphasized that the first wave of games announced is just that-the first wave! More will be announced between now and launch.
Xbox Live is the center so if a service connects to Xbox Live service it can be used to play games.
No double downloading of titles. Simply download the free trial and when you purchase it from inside the game the rest of the game simply unlocks.
Microsoft Game Studios – Windows Phone 7 is the only phone platform with a first party game studio dedicated to building quality games for the platform.
Can send and receive messages to Xbox Console and vice versa.
Microsoft intends on proactively seeking out the best games for the gaming portfolio. Yes that includes popular games from other mobile platforms.
Got to buy the games on the console, phone, pc separately.
Multitasking
If you get a text message the notification dropdown menu appears.
If you answer an incoming call, the game pauses and you return to it immediately after the call ends.
Avatar Gadgets – Neat things the avatar can do to add fun to simple tasks. Flashlight, coin flip, level app, etc.
Developers have access to avatars to produce unique experiences. Basically developers can make avatars used in games.
Bejeweled Live is a unique version of the game available only on Xbox Live. An example of additional features and services being added on as a Xbox Live title.
What type of games available at launch: All kinds for all ages and interests.
There will be unique gamer points only available by purchasing the gaming title on the phone.
Windows Phone 7 is the ONLY place to get Xbox Live support.
You can be signed in simultaneously on the console and phone.
Major Nelson wanted to make sure everyone knew there are still a couple tricks up their sleeve as far as gaming titles being announced.
To watch the 30 min long video ( will auto play ) click here
In this video you will see the SMS interface for Windows Phone 7, notification when you receive a message on WP7 and the Live tile on home screen. The MMS function does not let the user send out an MMS ( in this build of WP7 ) but the interface which will allow the user to add an image via the messaging app is working, given that this is not the final product , this does not imply the final product will miss this feature. You can also see the SMS Live Tile Emoticons. Unfortunately the video does not include the emoticons in the messaging app ( still hoping to see Emoji on there someday ).
Some of the features include Smooth and Simple metro look. The live tile on the Start screen will act as a counter for your text messages ( unfortunately like one of our reader suggested why such a big tile with no preview of the actual message ) . Conversation view that shows you who is saying what through right/left justification but there is no difference in color, possibly coz the app changes color based on your theme choice ( but dark and light color for sender and receiver is a nice feature that can be added ) . Notifications for SMS work quite well. You’ll get a little preview at the top of your screen when a new SMS comes in. Ignoring it is the only way to make it go away or you can tap on the notification to be taken to the text messaging application.
Flick 7 Up is a Flickr uploader for WP7 being developed by Sam Judson from Wackylabs.Net. In this video you can see that once you launch the app you can choose an existing picture on the device and upload it to your Flickr account. Usage is quite intuitive
select a photo
add a title, description and tag
enable or disable photo sharing with everyone
click upload and you are done
Unfortunately the video does not show any signs of Picture Hub integration, the default options of SkyDrive and Facebook is shown in a video here , imagine if the app would have added the ability to upload to Flickr in the Picture Hub ?
That brings me to a Question
If the developer adds the Picture Hub Integration in to this WP7 App will the end user be able to install the app but prevent the app from integration in to the Picture Hub or is the integration forced automatically ? .. plz let us know if you know how this works . Appreciate it
My Car Buddy is a new Windows Phone 7 App , its a work in progress and the UI is still in development. Its developed by Withey Technologies and they have posted a short video of what to expect from the wp7 app. The features demoed in the video include a Fuel economy calculator, you add the distance traveled in Km or miles and the amount of fuel used in litres or gallons and the app will generate the fuel economy. The other feature demoed was the journey tracker. In this mode the app lets you track a journey : you can add it to various categories and keep track of the time taken for the journey, you can also keep records for past journey. This WP7 app also integrates with Bing Maps to show a map which shows the map view of the journey involved.
BibleSurfer is a free and simple Bible reading app for Windows Mobile Devices. BibleSurfer is best suited for WM6.5 and works with full gesture support (finger friendly). According to the developer of the app “White Knight Consultancy” the following ideas were taken in to consideration while developing this app.
1. Really simple – just for reading
2. Fast! For quick referencing
3. Optimized for one finger gestures
4. Intuitive and easy to use
We have told you guys about the Pocket to Picture feature on Windows Phone 7. You can click on the camera button to take photos even if you’ve locked your phone. There’s no need to unlock the device, enter the passcode, or launching the camera app. Many of us were worried about all the photos that WP7 might take while the device was in your pocket, but now we know that this wont happen coz Pocket to Picture makes use of the proximity sensor to jump in to the camera app. So if its in your pocket the camera app cannot be opened !! Now that is a smart feature. The video also runs you through the Picture Hub and the integration with SkyDrive and Facebook.
Geolocation Gaming is being proposed for Windows Phone 7 leveraging the features offered on Xbox Live. You could see features like a handset’s GPS could trigger new abilities or availability of a limited edition weapons for your characters in the game, giving you an advantage over your rivals, if you visit a real world location and activate the game. Beyond simply visiting a location a game level might have to be completed there to allow access to unique game features or simply to progress. There are also talks about adding in a time variable to this equation , so along with a location where a game’s level has to be played , you have to be there at a certain time to obtain the weapons or abilities.
Where does all this lead to ? Imagine a game is sponsored by Starbucks and the you get bonus content when a level was completed at one of Starbuck’s physical stores. So if you go in to Starbucks you get a ProtonCannon and if you don’t you get to use Bow and Arrows, that would be a fair fight wouldn’t it ? [Insert sarcasm here]
via the INQUIRER in an interview with Microsoft’s independent software vendor developer evangelist Paul Foster and OS and mobile product manager lead William Coleman.
They have stated that it is up to the game developers and their commercial partners to decide if such geolocation related discounts or product placements were to be created in to their games. I do hope this form of advertising does not get in the way of the gaming experience that that a game could offer. Now I don’t see this as a completely bad thing .. for example there can be a Treasure Hunt game from Myer [ for international readers insert your choice of Department Store like .. Bloomingdale's, House of Fraser, Big Bazaar, etc ] that could offer discount for WP7 users who participate , etc. But on the other hand imagine getting a screen like the one posted above when you are playing an RPG game on WP7 !!!
We have a video which shows the boot up time for iPhone 4 , Nexus One ( Android ) , HD2 ( Windows Mobile ) and LG Panther ( WP7 ). Keep in mind that the WP7 software is a developers build and not the final product. Windows Phone 7 starts up in almost half the time of all of the other smartphone operating systems. We are not sure if there are 3rd part apps on the other platform which might impact the boot up time but under 30 sec is quite nice especially when compared to the sluggish Windows Mobile startup time.
Twimagic: http://www.Ringer.org is the best ringtone maker I’ve ever seen! Completely free, online, no registration!
Andrew Chobaniuk: Thanks for the heads up! [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
Emiel Zuurbier: I would like to see the posibility of making a trip that uses different kinds of transportation as from train to bus, bus to subway, subway to train. With a map and directions,...
MrVamosMuchachos: Nice idea. You could take some ideas from the application “SBB”. It is the public transport app from switzerland. [Posted from the 1800PocketPC app]
Twimagic
Andrew Chobaniuk
Emiel Zuurbier
MrVamosMuchachos
Skypirate
DeeDee
Dlanor
hg
Sam
Sweet
