Steve Ballmer at Mobile World Congress
BARCELONA--At the Mobile World Congress show here, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today made the case for Windows Phone 7, including the current version, an update coming in a few weeks with copy and paste and with some application performance improvement, and a more significant update due toward the end of 2011.
IE9 coming to Windows Phone 7
IE9, including hardware acceleration and support for the HTML5 standard, is due to ship with the update of Windows Phone 7 arriving later this year. Microsoft showed this fish-tank demo (in this orientation) to illustrate the benefits of hardware acceleration; the demo was fast on IE9 but dragged on Safari on an iPhone 4.
Windows Phone 7: now with 8,000 apps
The ecosystem isn't there compared to Android and iOS, but Ballmer believes it's well under way, with more than 8,000 apps available today for Windows Phone 7.
IE9 coming to Windows Phone 7
Mobile browsing needs some of the performance people are used to on PCs, where the Web caught on initially, Ballmer said at the MWC show.
Coming: better Windows Phone 7 multitasking
The late 2011 update to Windows Phone 7 will bring better multitasking to the OS, including faster switching among applications and a specific set of services third-party applications can run in the background. Audio from a third-party player, for example, will still play.
Twitter integration coming to Windows Phone 7
An update to Windows Phone 7 later in 2011 will bring tighter Twitter integration.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop took the stage to tout his company's tight partnership with Microsoft.
Ballmer touts Nokia deal
Microsoft OneNote integrated with future Windows Phone 7
Today's Windows Phone 7 can tap into OneNote documents.
Microsoft Office integrated with future Windows Phone 7
The late 2011 update to Windows Phone 7 will bring deeper Microsoft Office integration: with the ability to access not just OneNote files, but also Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Skydrive integration coming to Windows Phone 7
Microsoft's Skydrive, an online storage system, is headed for Windows Phone 7 in an update due later this year.
A look into Skydrive on Windows Phone 7
This demonstration shows how a shared Skydrive folder looks on Windows Phone 7.
Xbox extends on Windows Phone 7
Microsoft has had success with its Xbox franchise, and its Xbox Live online gaming technology extends to Windows Phone 7.
Smart Design philosophy
Windows Phone 7 has a "smart design" philosophy that Ballmer believes more effectively puts the user at the center of the mobile-phone experience.
External sharing over Skydrive
Skydrive lets people share folders with others, including others using a new version of Windows Phone 7 due later this year.
Steve Ballmer speaks at MWC
Steve Ballmer speaking at MWC.
More Galleries
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?