User Manual
29
Picking a Phone
Proximity sensor: 3 This sensor can detect how close other objects—such as
your face or a table—are to the phone. So the phone can know when you’re
making a phone call or when you’ve placed the device on a table. It can also
know that it’s in a pocket and thus not respond to button taps.
FM radio tuner: 3 All Windows Phones ship with an FM radio tuner, providing
free access to FM radio and, via bundled software, the ability to mark particu-
lar stations as favorites.
NOTE These specs are what Microsoft calls its “Chassis-1” specs. Presumably,
over time, there will be further updates to the requirements.
What’s Not Included on Every Windows Phone
If you’re an eagle-eyed technology follower, or are simply performing due diligence
for your next 2-year commitment, you may have noticed that the Windows Phone
hardware requirement list doesn’t include some hardware features that you believe
are important or even necessary in a modern smart phone. In some cases, these omis-
sions are nothing to worry about: Hardware makers are free to exceed Microsoft’s
requirements and do bundle additional features with their phones. In other cases,
however, the lack of certain features is a bit more troubling, because the underlying
platform simply doesn’t support this hardware.
Here are some features that Microsoft—good, bad, or indifferently—does not
explicitly require its phone makers to include with a Windows Phone. When picking a
Windows Phone, it’s a good idea to understand which of these features are valuable to
you and choose a device according to which features are included.
Wi-Fi:3 Despite its absence from the hardware requirement list, you can expect
virtually every Windows Phone to include 802.11g (Wi-Fi G) or 802.11n (Wi-Fi N)
wireless networking capabilities.
Bluetooth:3 Ditto for Bluetooth, a separate wireless networking standard that
is most often used to connect portable devices with in-ear headsets, key-
boards, in-car navigation systems, and other hardware.
NOTE If you’re a Bluetooth fan, you’ll be interested to know that Windows
Phone explicitly supports the following Bluetooth proles: BT 2.1 + EDR; HFP
1.5 – Hands-Free Prole; HSP – Headset Prole; A2DP 1.2 – Advanced Audio
Distribution Prole; AVRCP 1.0 – A/V Remote Control Prole; and PBAP –
Phone Book Access Prole.
Thanks to the
inclusion of Zune
software on the
phone, you can also
identify and even
purchase songs you
hear on the radio. I
discuss this capability in
Chapter 6.
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