nexus

As someone who has watched Windows Mobile for a long time (and been critical for just as long), I must say my curiosity has been piqued.

What Microsoft has shown of its new mobile operating system looks nothing like the tired Windows interface of old; instead it looks like the much more enjoyable Zune HD. The idea of putting people and photos in one place where one can do multiple things is a good one. The connection to Xbox Live could help Microsoft appeal to a whole new area, while a pervasive connection to social networks like Facebook is also … Read more

While CEO Steve Ballmer is the one who will get top billing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it is Microsoft veteran Andy Lees who is largely responsible for shepherding the long-delayed software project to completion.

Ballmer and Lees, who came from Microsoft's server unit in March 2008, will be showing the fruits of that work--a ground-up redesign of the phone operating system into something that looks a lot more like the Zune HD than it does any prior version of Windows Mobile.

While Microsoft won't be building the phones itself, it is being pretty strict about both the components that must be included (think FM radio and capacitive touch screen) as well as also prohibiting phone makers from putting their own skin over the user interface, something that many had taken to doing to hide Windows Mobile in recent generations.

In an interview just before he headed to Barcelona, Lees talked about Microsoft's different approach with the new software, the role of Zune and Xbox in the product, as well as why Microsoft still believes it can catch up to leaders like Apple, Google and Research In Motion.

There is also a separate Microsoft-designed phone effort, code-named Pink, that is due out this year, ahead of the first crop of third-party Windows Phone 7 Series devices, although Lees wouldn't talk about those.

Here's an edited transcript of our conversation:

Q: So essentially what is Windows Mobile 7, or whatever it's being called? Andy Lees: Windows Phone 7 Series. As you may remember, we about 18 months ago decided that we're going to re-evaluate our mobile strategy, and what we're doing in the mobile space. That was based on the inflection point that was happening in a number of ways, both in terms of convergence of different industries colliding together, and also the technologies of what is becoming possible, of course, driven by Moore's Law in the hardware, connectivity, and new-user paradigms, people using their phones in concert with the Web, and their PCs, and TVs, and things. And so that really created the impetus to go through it. … Read more

Google is answering the call from Nexus One phone owners.

More than a month after officially unveiling the new Android-based phone, the search giant on Monday launched a phone support line specifically to answer the questions of Nexus One owners. Phone owners can call (888) 48NEXUS (63987) between 4 a.m. and 7 p.m. PST and reach a live tech, Google advises.

Following the launch of the Nexus One, Google's online support forums were flooded with questions from customers who were having shipping and technical issues. Google attempted to direct questions to HTC and T-Mobile, its hardware and … Read more

Though we're fond of the Nexus One as a cell phone, Google's extra "recovery fee" remains one of our complaints. Yes, we understand how phone subsidies and retailer commissions work, but the $350 charge plus the $200 T-Mobile early termination fee was more than the price of the unsubsidized model ($529).

It appears that Google is listening. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Google changed its terms of service on January 28. You'll still be paying a recovery fee, but Google has reduced it to $150. We still wonder exactly what an "equipment … Read more

We knew that a Nexus One car dock was coming. Google has already released a slick-looking desktop dock. And when you consider that the Nexus One is preloaded with a very robust turn-by-turn navigation app with a dedicated in-car interface, a car dock seems like the next logical step. However, Google's been fairly tight-lipped with the details surrounding it.

So, we were surprised to see what appears to be the actual Nexus One car dock pop up at the one-minute mark in the latest in a series of Nexus One promotional videos from Google. It's not a particularly … Read more

Another HTC Google Android smartphone? You don't say!

The HTC Incredible--yes, it's quite a name to live up to--has been caught in the wild courtesy of pocketnow.com, which managed to snag a few photos and video of the device, two of which you can see above.

Read more of "HTC Incredible Android smartphone caught in the wild" on ZDNet's The ToyBox.

A start-of-the-week treat for iPhone fanboys--Google has released a new entry in its series of behind-the-scenes Nexus One videos, this time featuring the search giant's smartphone being squeezed, dropped, bent, and subjected to several other flavors of abuse.

This being a Google production you won't get to see the phone actually splinter and break--frustrating stuff considering that CNET UK's resident Nexus One managed to self-destruct last week without the help of any industrial equipment.

Read more of "Nexus One beaten to a pulp in Google's behind-the-scenes video" at Crave UK.

If you're a Google Nexus One user, you experienced a bit of magic last week.

In one click of an over-the-air update, your Nexus One became an iPhone--offering the ability to pinch and expand the screen to zoom in or out.

Just one click, with little to no user intervention. That's what operating systems look like in the 21st century, a future more clearly playing out in mobile than in the more traditional realms of personal computers and servers.

Apple is leading the way on this, but application developers have been quick to pick up on the trend.… Read more

It's still not clear how well Google will surmount challenges selling its Nexus One to ordinary folks, but when it comes to endorsement from the tech-savvy realm, it doesn't get much better than this.

Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux kernel programming project, said Saturday not only that he likes the Google phone, but that it was good enough to convert him into a mobile phone believer.

"I generally hate phones--they are irritating and disturb you as you work or read or whatever--and a cell phone to me is just an opportunity to be irritated wherever you … Read more