Actually, the whole thing is about finally getting completely rid of all this waste of display space, right?
i.e. especially
--- scrollbars,
--- just 2 soft keys in 1 bar of their own,
--- a few task icons in another bar,
--- plus the top bar in addition,
--- probably plus ... plus ....
--- did you ever think of this significant WASTE of space on these SMALL SCREENS !?!
Apple did, their answer is iPhone and it comes completely without.

The screen serves the user and not the system,
WM7 will be revolutionary,
a complete U-turn in Windows Mobile OS history
(for several reasons, including: no longer heading the non-touchscreen, but now hopefully focusing the touchscreen devices again):
Just finger friendly, user friendly, intelligent and intuitive GUI, even better than the iPhone ... and hopefully also with even better performance.


From the current perspective,
Windows Mobile needs 3 things to get ready for the future beyond WM7:

1) getting rid of waste of GUI space plus new intuitive handling (that's what it is all about anyway)

2) extremely improve the system's memory handling - please, WM team, completely rethink your previous approach !
This topic is much more complex: unload unused apps, free RAM, hibernate, auto-clear cache, ... etc etc etc !!!

3) support for graphics CPU / driver directly implemented into the OS !
What about adding a dedicated well featured graphics engine ? - maybe ask Nav'n'Go in Hungary how to ...  ;-)

A dedicated focus to increasing system performance throughout the whole system and from scratch will be key to success (-> user acceptance).
I really hope, Microsoft will tighten R&D with device manufacturers to get this gigantic job done.
Actually, do they consider this (above #2 + #3) to be part of their job for WM7 anyway?
To outclass competition (e.g. iPhone), they definitely need to.

Hopefully, the first try will exceed expectations.
What are yours?

i completely agree with Franz about the things he suggested for the new Windows Mobile verson ! The memory handing is one of the most important topics ! 

Franz Haslbeck:

Actually, the whole thing is about finally getting completely rid of all this waste of display space, right?
i.e. especially
--- scrollbars,
--- just 2 soft keys in 1 bar of their own,
--- a few task icons in another bar,
--- plus the top bar in addition,
--- probably plus ... plus ....
--- did you ever think of this significant WASTE of space on these SMALL SCREENS !?!
Apple did, their answer is iPhone and it comes completely without.

Scrollbars are not a wast of space at all.  They are extremely important to the user interface.  I use scrollbars every day all day.

If you look at this post, you'll see removing the scrollbars has practically zero advantage:

I actually did the math. On a standard 240x320 device, you only get back 2.5% of the vertical space and less than 1.9% of the horizontal space if you completely remove the 6-pixel scroll bars.

You'd need a pretty small font to get even one character extra in either dimension.

The scroll bar provides valuable visual cues. That's why you should use the shrinking hack, not the hiding hack.

On the Professional devices, the scrollbars let you quickly and easily scroll to any part of the list.  They're also proportional so that you can tell how long the scrollable content is.  I do have TouchFlo on my device, which is similar to the scrolling in the iPhone, but it has proven to be much more tedious and I'll tell you why. Scrolling using the touch-drag-pan-flick method takes much more work and time than just dragging a scroll bar to the bottom of the screen.

 

Regarding the bottom bar with the two softkey labels, I also feel it is very important to have those on-screen at all times.  They specify what the hardware keys associated with them will do!  How else would you know?  The fact that they're labeled using text means they're more intuitive.  Compare this to the Blackberry menu which is not labelled and not discoverable and you'll see the Windows Mobile way is much easier to learn for beginners.

The top bar on WM Pro is also very important because it tells you your signal stregnth, connection status, time... and tells you where you are within the interface as well as allows you to minimize the application and access other applications.  Removing the top bar would greatly reduce the usability of the system when the user wants to access other applications. You can see this reduced usability in the iPhone and WM Standard... you HAVE to go back to the Home screen before you can access another application no matter how recently-used it is.  Then when you get back to the Home screen, you have to look for the other application.  That's not an efficient multi-tasking scenario.  Compare this to the Start menu on WM Pro, where you can instantly see and access your recent applications (as well as pinned favorite apps)... while still being able to see the current app you're using!!  The advantage in usability and efficiency to the Start menu seems pretty obvious to me. 

If you got rid of these essential user interface components, how would you know how to navigate the device at all? 

I think that's why I'm addicted to the HTC Hermes - the slideout QWERTY keyboard is a dream for MSN + SMS + emails. I can hammer out an email on the QWERTY keyboard quicker than anyone can hope to with a stylus or finger tapping.

 I hope they'll go their own way, not try to copy the iPhone interface. What I've seen of screenshots so far looks promising.

...but the stylus has to go... not completely, but for regular everyday stuff, it has to go. Many people loose their stylus, and not being able to make a phonecall or send an SMS without it is just to plain dumb. 

I think the success of HTC's Touch line has proved that. 

I agree regarding the stylus - too easy to loose. 

Here is a link to a rather old article (January 2008) "Windows Mobile 7 To Focus On Touch and Motion Gestures"

http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/archives/2008/01/06/exclusive-windows-mobile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/

And here's an interesting article:

What's Wrong With Windows Mobile and How WM7 and WM8 Are Going to Fix It

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/what.s-wrong-with-windows-mobile/whats-wrong-with-windows-mobile-and-how-wm7-and-wm8-are-going-to-fix-it-333536.php

"We just got the scoop from Microsoft on Windows Mobile 7 and Windows Mobile 8, the two upcoming platforms that will fix what is undeniably broken about the Windows Mobile platform to date.

This was originally going to be a piece about how Microsoft had no idea what the consumer wanted, where I would explain what I thought Microsoft needed to do to fix it. Oh, I still discuss the flaws, but while talking to the Windows Mobile team, I learned about the next two versions of the mobile OS. Turns out, Microsoft knows exactly what's wrong with the WM platform, and it knows what to do to fix it. Trust me: there's hope on the horizon."

 

From my read of this article, the really cool stuff is described to come in WinMo 8.  Of course, development schedules change often and so possibly some previosly planned WinMo 8 functionality could be moved up into WinMo 7 if it's well planned/integrated, ready and testable before WinMo 7 code-freeze.

Anyway, I hope these links provide some interesting ideas / information.

Recent WinMo ruminations, here: http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=14049

And a picture - this looks a lot like others I've seen. 

The Undude:

Here is a link to a rather old article (January 2008) "Windows Mobile 7 To Focus On Touch and Motion Gestures"

My response to that is here.
http://discuss.pocketnow.com/showthread.php?threadid=22848

The Undude:

And here's an interesting article:

What's Wrong With Windows Mobile and How WM7 and WM8 Are Going to Fix It

My response to that is here.
http://discuss.pocketnow.com/showthread.php?threadid=22567

Sorry for linking elsewhere, those responses are pretty long for copy/pasting.

Adamz:

The Undude:

Here is a link to a rather old article (January 2008) "Windows Mobile 7 To Focus On Touch and Motion Gestures"

My response to that is here.
http://discuss.pocketnow.com/showthread.php?threadid=22848

The Undude:

And here's an interesting article:

What's Wrong With Windows Mobile and How WM7 and WM8 Are Going to Fix It

My response to that is here.
http://discuss.pocketnow.com/showthread.php?threadid=22567

Sorry for linking elsewhere, those responses are pretty long for copy/pasting.

Thanks for these links!  I like what you say. 

When these articles first appeared, a lot of great dialog was kicking about the internet reacting to what was said.  There are a lot of smart and creative people at Microsoft.  I hope their management gives them the freedom and inspiration to do some amazing things.  They have the talent.  Can they bring it all together?

That speech was about Windows 7 which is not expected until 2010.  Windows Mobile 7 isn't mentioned until the bottom.

What kinds of new features in Windows 7 — and Windows Mobile 7, allegedly due out in 2009 — might improve PC-to-mobile connectivity and what kinds of applications/services would benefit?

I did hear that they were thinking of a concurrent release of both Windows 7 and Windows Mobile 7, but hopefully that's not true.

Yeah, I know... they should call em:

Windows Desktop 7
Windows Server 7
Windows Mobile 7

:)

 

Thats what i don't quite understand,  our microsoft resource seems to think 2nd quater or around that for WM 7 .   however O2s releasing one the end of this year?? 

Personally, I don't even see the need for a Start button on a Windows Mobile device. We don't need to mimic a desktop Windows environment on a small device. We should have a different approach to how we find, open, and execute tasks/applications on small touchscreen device.

That being said, the screenshot is pretty but I still don't see any major changes to how things work on WM. You've got your homescreen (except with a different theme) and a Start button. Both which are still used in today's WM.

Eltawil:

Personally, I don't even see the need for a Start button on a Windows Mobile device. We don't need to mimic a desktop Windows environment on a small device. We should have a different approach to how we find, open, and execute tasks/applications on small touchscreen device.

Why?  What are the disadvantages of the Start button?

The advantages on WM Pro are:

1. Users can read the word "Start" and instantly know where to begin
2. Users are already familiar with the Start button from Windows Desktop operating systems which they've been using for the past 13 years.
3. You can access your recently used programs and favorite pinned programs from within any application simply by pressing the familiar Start button... as opposed to navigating to some other type of program listing.

Are you suggesting not having a list of applications that users can use to launch applications?  What would you replace it with?  Or would you just rename the programs listing to something like "Home" and require users to navigate away from their current application in order to find another? 

Adamz:

Are you suggesting not having a list of applications that users can use to launch applications?  What would you replace it with?

I just see no need for hiding commonly used applications under another menu. I think it would be better if we displayed the commonly used applications on the homescreen itself, but at the same time we don't want to clutter the homescreen. The sliding panels on the Standard edition is a great idea, but it is still not taking advantage of the device's entire screen.

The idea here is to make use of the device's entire screen as much as possible as well as reducing the number of steps required to perform a certain task.

For instance, on the Professional version, implement multiple homescreens and a way to navigate through them by a finger swipe across the screen and/or button on the device. The default homescreens could be: 

• One to view the installed applications (sorted manually or by commonly used etc). Why hide the applications under Programs if you can easily display them all without the need for further more selections.
• One set for your Calendar (Appointments, tasks, notes, etc) and/or Email.
• One for your device's settings (profiles, task manager, control panel options, etc)
• One for cellular tasks and options (dialer, view/send sms, missed calls, etc)

Of course the above is just an idea and it probably has some flaws.

Adamz:

Or would you just rename the programs listing to something like "Home" and require users to navigate away from their current application in order to find another? 

What's wrong with that? If you were going to use the Start menu, that means that whatever selection you make will open up another window/application and will hide whatever was open. That's why having a dedicated "Home" button on the device that hides/minimizes what ever is on display to show the homescreen is an advantage. This is a cleaner and simple approach that is also easy on the eyes, in my opinion.