Microsoft to announce Project Pink phones on 12th of April

Microsoft Corp. plans to introduce a new line of mobile phones Monday 12th April with social-networking capabilities aimed at young consumers, part of the technology giant’s effort to turn around its struggling mobile-phone strategy, people familiar with the matter said. The code names for the devices have been Turtle and Pure.

The Pure and Turtle phones, which are part of Microsoft’s long-running “Pink” project, also have Windows CE at their core as well, but aren’t likely to run programs written for either current crop of Windows Phones or those written for Windows Phone 7.

Seesmic for Windows Phone announced

After the release of an Android app, a BlackBerry app Seesmic announced that they are working on Seesmic for Windows Phone. Demonstrating a prototype of the Seesmic app at the MIX conference in Las Vegas, this cross-platform application, written in Silverlight, will allow you to run under both Windows AND Mac environments. Although the design is very similar with Seesmic for Windows, the application takes full advantage of the rich development features in Silverlight to provide an enhanced experience.

Windows Phone 7 build 7.0.0.6077 ROM Leaked

Windows 7 Series Phopne are Available on near About Christimas 2010, but before 8 Month XDA developers have acquired a code dump of the Windows Phone 7 operating system. The code was pulled from the SDK emulator image and currently only runs on an x86 PC, but the XDA gang is already starting to prod and dissect the code in anticipation of a full ROM.

You can Download the Windows Phone 7 build 7.0.0.6077 ROM from here

Windows Phone Marketplace for Windows Phone 7

At MIX10 show in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced the Windows Marketplace Mobile app store will be getting a refresh in Windows Phone 7 series. Like the latest mobile operating system, the Marketplace is going to be pretty. Like any app store, you’ll be able to see a wide view of categories and there are smooth-looking transition animations when you want to see the price, screen shots and other details of an application.

Microsoft is revealing some of its app launch partners and for the most part the names are pretty familiar. Here are some of the most familiar ones: Pandora, Fandango, Foursquare, the Associated Press, Seesmic, Shazam, EA Mobile and Sling will have apps supposedly ready to go when the phones become available. Netfllix will also have an app available and you’ll be able to stream your Netflix movies over the phone via Sliverlight. What’s nice is that you’ll be able to try out the apps before you buy.

If a developer wants to post a free, ad-supported app, the only two hurdles are the $99 fee and approval by Microsoft. For ad-supported apps specifically, the company will also have guidelines specifically targeted at making sure the ads are appropriate.Regarding transactions, Microsoft is using actual currency and not a points system a la Microsoft Points, with an opportunity for direct carrier billing possible.

Windows Mobile 7 gets Zune HD Makeover

PPCgeeks has posted some exclusive details of Upcoming Windows Mobile 7, they mention that UI will be very similar to the look of the Zune HD, with a completely new Start screen. These details are next to official, which means we might be onto something real. Features listed after the jump.

· WP7 will be announced at MWC, and there will be a demo, but this will be just the UX
· MIX will have specific developement focus sessions on WP7
· WP7 supports both Sliverlight (out of browser) and XNA
· Silverlight is version 3.0, with elements of 4.0 plus mobile specific features such as sensors etc
· XNA apps can be developed using XNA GameStudio 3.1
· SL apps developed using Expression Blend 3.x and VS2010
· MS will release a mobile version of VS / Expression which will be free, and VS2010 / Expression Pro will have a free add-on
· WP7 will have an equivalent of .NET CF embedded into SL, but no SQL.
· WP7 will have isolated storage which is accessible using LINQ
· The UX of WP7 is based upon a theme called “METRO” and is similar to Zune HD, but with a completely new “Start” screen.
· No multi-tasking (applications will pause when in the background, however they will support notifications using the MS Push Notifications environment)
· No .NET CF backwards compatibility, however a proportion of the data and business logic in .NET CF could be ported
· MS were confident to have devices ready for Sep 2010
· No MS manufactured device, however much tighter control of manufactring process, so as an example each device has a 3D processing chipset, and MS provide all of the device drivers. So no platform builder. This enables OTA updates and simplified model for ODM’s
· Marketplace will support buy and try before you buy, as well as an API
· ODM / OEM will not be able to modify the “Start” screen, so no more HTC Sense / TouchFlo etc.
· MS are actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists
· Browsing experience is currently faster / better than iPhone 3G, and they are aiming towards 3GS.
· Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality
· No in browser Flash or SL
· WP7 has full integration with XBOX Live, and ability to purchase games
· WP7 will use the Zune software for music, videos, photos sync
· WP7 only supports app installation through service based delivery i.e. marketplace, so no side-loading
· MS will provide a hosted push notifications environment