Microsoft released a lot of exciting and new information regarding their new mobile platform at the MIX 2010 conference. Windows Phone 7 has the following minimum spec requirements:

Capacitive Touch: 4 or more contact points
Sensors: A-GPS, Accelerometer, Compass, Light, Proximity
Camera: 5 megapixels or more, Camera with a flash and dedicated camera button
Multimedia: Common detailed specs, Codec acceleration
Memory: 256 MB, 8 GB Flash or more
GPU: DirectX 9 acceleration
Processor: ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better
2 screen sizes: 480×800 WVGA, 480×320 HVGA
Keyboard: Optional
Hardware Buttons: Must be fixed on the face

Remember, these are MINIMUM requirements. As you can see, at least in my opinion, this is great news. The main technical aspect I am concerned about is the CPU or processor. If you know your processors, you might know that the ARMv7 is a kind of processor technology that focuses on power conservation. In 2007, 98% of all mobile phones used a processor that used ARM technology. The Nexus One and iPhone uses these processors as well. Mobile processors have only advanced in efficiency since 2007. Microsoft went ahead and made ARMv7 CPUs a firm requirement for Windows Phone 7. The Cortex/Scorpion processors range from 600 MHz all the way to 1.5GHz. Because of the advancing core speeds, we can almost certainly see streaming HD movies and video on the rise in 2010 and with the release of Windows Phone 7 devices.

HTC seems to want to express their intellectual side through the naming of their new WP7 devices. Through the Twitter grapevine, the names of the yet-to-be released Windows Phone 7 devices manufactured by HTC have been leaked.

The HTC Mozart, Maestro, Salsa, Tango, and Swing are all top candidates for the new WP7 devices. The news is just taunting. We need some visual aids here, but nothing has emerged… yet. Either way, it’s great to know that HTC has an arsenal of devices that should fit the personality of every consumer out there.

Microsoft is an aggressive beast.  Not only are they paying developers cash up-front to begin developing games for WP7, but now they are hosting an application suggestion contest.  Here is what Microsoft’s site says they’re doing:

Pitch us your idea of the dream app you’ve been waiting for.  If it gets the votes, we’ll build your app and make it available on Marketplace as a FREE download for Windows Phone 7 shortly after its Holiday 2010 launch.  We’ll also throw in $5,000 and a new Windows Phone 7 device!

Grab a camcorder, camera phone, or flex your writing skills – get creative.  Tell us about the app you want to see on Windows Phone 7.  We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

Contest ends July 8, 2010.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 team made an aggressive move last week in the mobile OS market. In an attempt to bring popular mobile applications to Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is offering iPhone Developers CASH to develop games for WP7. While it is still technically a “rumor” because Microsoft will not confirm, many popular iPhone developers have been surfacing their [new] relationships with Microsoft. Multiple sources are reporting that Microsoft is approaching popular iPhone developers with ‘significant cash offers’, in order to motivate them to switch allegiances.

Microsoft’s strategy is genius. In order for WP7 to be [more of] a success upon its release date (still unknown, but i’m guessing July), they need GAMES to compete with iPhone. Cash is King to mobile developers. Why develop apps for the iPhone and wait for revenue, when Microsoft will pay you up-front for your work? If you were approached by Microsoft and get asked to switch mobile platforms, would you do it? What if there was a $10,000 cash sign-on bonus? I’ll answer for you: yes you would switch. Microsoft knows that mobile applications are only as good as the developer that creates them. With this in mind, Microsoft most likely started this campaign as an aggressive move to gain back mobile market share (mostly from Apple). This is very similar to dangling a carrot in front of a horse. I’m not at all trying to compare developers to horses, no that can’t be my main point.  Well in a way, I am. Cash is something that everyone wants, and with the right amount you can “make friends” with almost anybody… even Apple fanboys.

So how many games does the iPhone actually have? Hovering around 200,000 as of this post, the iPhone blows Android, Palm, and Windows Mobile 6 right out of the water. Palm is like a little firecracker that will make your ears ring. Android is like TNT, it can cause some damage.  But the iPhone, at least at this moment in time, is like a Tsar Bomb relative to the other mobile operating systems in regards to available applications.

The competition is getting heated, and it’s getting more and more obvious to consumers like us.  Overall, I’m content with Microsoft paying developers to switch from the iPhone to WP7.  It shows me that Microsoft has not, and will not, bow down to the iPhone.  But at the end of the day, the winner will be the platform that has the most applications available for its users.

Kin One & Kin Two

The Kin is the very first phone that uses Microsoft’s newest mobile OS, Windows Phone 7. Although the Kin uses a slightly stripped down version, it’s still considered a new mobile operating system. The Kin One and Two are available exclusively with the Verizon network, and only costing $49.99 and $99.99 for new customers. Very affordable, but at what cost?

There are downsides to the Kin. For one, the two new phones are manufactured by Sharp. Microsoft and Sharp have a lack of ‘technical synergy’ because the Kin was being planned out and developed even before Windows Phone 7 was announced. This leads me to believe that the Kin is more of a ‘gimmick’ product than anything else. In my opinion, Sharp is attempting to profit off of the ‘hype‘ surrounding Windows Phone 7.

Never purchase a new phone based on advertisements or what the media is saying. Do some research, especially if you’re looking to sign into a one or two year contract with Verizon. Personally, I’m going to pass on the Kin. Stick with HTC as your Windows Phone manufacturer.