Windows Phone 8 launch
Microsoft officially launches Windows Phone 8 OS
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Michael 10/29/2012 5:01:17 PMMST - Microsoft Standard Time ;) -
Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:01:17 PMHey y'all. We're all settled in, and about to get going. -
Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:01:25 PMOnly one thing up on stage, a small podium that looks to be filled with...you guessed it...phones. -
Declan McCullagh 10/29/2012 5:01:31 PMWelcome, Jessica! -
nilayan 10/29/2012 5:01:37 PMis that a surface in the pic posted at 10:28 ?
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dj 10/29/2012 5:01:38 PMThere are ppl using Surface in the audience
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Rock 10/29/2012 5:01:40 PM@mercuryblaze3 Just sell the Lumia 710 :)
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Declan McCullagh 10/29/2012 5:02:02 PMHere's Jessica's earlier preview of Windows Phone 8: www.cnet.com
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Julian Raymond 10/29/2012 5:02:03 PM@Robert I'm switching to AT&T. I'm tried of Verizon's crappy phone selection. -
Scott Linder 10/29/2012 5:02:07 PMOne thing I learned over the years - don't let iTunes convert your music. All of mine is high quality MP3s. That way I can control any conversion if needed. -
Martijn 10/29/2012 5:02:10 PM@iosh8er MS launched an app for that today in the Windows
8 store. So yes. -
Avazee 10/29/2012 5:02:21 PMWas that Steve Ballmer's voice asking the audience to silent their phones? :)
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RicBret 10/29/2012 5:02:38 PMAnyone taking notes on a Surface device in the audience? Or is it all iPads and other laptops?
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Declan McCullagh 10/29/2012 5:02:58 PMI'm handing this over to my colleagues at the event. See you again after it's over!
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:03:00 PMRicBret, all laptops here. We need to process photos as well.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:03:32 PMLights dimming, music going up. Here we go.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:03:50 PMIntro video rolling here, showing off various Windows Phone features.
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:04:05 PMI just love an intro video, don't you?
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:04:21 PMAnd the narrator is Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, who comes on stage.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:04:28 PM
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:04:57 PMBelfiore is Microsoft's corporate VP, and asks the crowd to hold up its Windows Phone devices. Welcoming people who are here, and watching online too.
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James Martin 10/29/2012 5:05:12 PM
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:05:33 PMBelfiore says it's a big week for Microsoft, launch of Windows 8, Surface, and people actually waiting in line. He also plays to the locals, noting the SF Giants world series win last night
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James Martin 10/29/2012 5:06:00 PM
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:06:05 PMBelfiore says that's cool and all, but today's all about announcing Windows Phone 8. "This has been a very special and significant project," he says.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:06:25 PMToday we're going to see some big end user features, Belfiore says.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:07:11 PMBut first, an update on what's been going on behind the scenes. Belfiore going through some of the hardware changes in recent weeks and months, including devices from Samsung, Nokia and HTC. That also includes work on a Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:07:21 PMApp catalog update: now at 120,000 apps
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:07:42 PMMicrosoft's pushing its app catalog hard. The problem is when some of the apps are shells, and not seriously made for the platform.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:07:58 PMBelfiore says Microsoft is doubling its language support to 50 languages, and including 191 country localizations for apps.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:09:02 PMBelfiore now pointing out the "heart and soul" of the Windows Phone idea. Says the interface was designed by Apple, then "copied by Android"
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:09:12 PMMicrosoft's user interface is Windows Phone's most distinctive feature.
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James Martin 10/29/2012 5:09:29 PM
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:09:43 PMBelfiore takes a knock at the iPhone 5, and its fifth row of icons. Belfiore says that "tired old metaphor" wasn't used. Instead, the company "put people at the center of" the phone experience. "People are the focus of our design," he says.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:10:18 PM"You get a sense of how it improves the heart of the phone experience," he adds. "You can actually maintain a better relationship with people, b/c you get a sense of what they're up to at that moment."
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James Martin 10/29/2012 5:10:29 PM
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:10:31 PMI have to say, I definitely like the Windows Phone interface, and the WP8 interface previewed in June. More screen real estate, and those dynamic live tiles that actually give you useful information.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:10:55 PM"The smartphone reinvented around you," is the tagline to all this. And we're going to see a video that illustrates that, Belfiore says. Video rolling, people working, running, walking, shopping at farmers markets.
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James Martin 10/29/2012 5:11:17 PM
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David Hamilton 10/29/2012 5:11:20 PMFolks, we're at Microsoft's mercy where the quality of the stream is concerned. You can always check out the same stream at their site: www.microsoft.com -
Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:11:28 PMOne thing I do like about this video MS is showing is that it shows off all the small ways you can customize the phone with its theme and configuration.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:11:28 PM"For the page turner, for the single dad.... the socializer" Personalization is key, basically.
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David Hamilton 10/29/2012 5:11:35 PMOr the Silverlight stream: www.microsoft.com
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Jessica Dolcourt 10/29/2012 5:12:01 PMIt may seem like a small thing, but having that splash of color all throughout the OS is a cool, cohesive thing.
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Josh Lowensohn 10/29/2012 5:12:02 PMAnd the ad's done. "That is what we are about," Belfiore says. "We think Windows Phone is unlike any other mobile OS out there today."
