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Getting to Know the Windows

Phone 7 Device

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?

‰

Getting to know the minimum speciﬁ cations for Windows Phone 7

devices, including chassis design and screen resolution

‰

Understanding the phone hardware features

‰

Understanding the Start and Lock screens

‰

Understanding hubs and what goes in them

Microsoft has leveraged its considerable marketing muscle and published a very strict set of

minimum guidelines on what hardware and features will be available on Windows Phone 7.

These guidelines ensure that both users and developers will have a consistently high-quality

experience, no matter who manufactures the device your games will be running on.

This chapter provides an overview of the minimum speciﬁ cations every phone must have. It

also discusses hardware features of the device and software features of the new Windows

Phone 7 operating system, including the innovative hubs feature.

MINIMUM SPECIFICATIONS

When Windows Phone 7 was ﬁ rst announced, Microsoft created quite a stir with the initial

feature set, as well as the promise that no hardware vendor would be allowed to sell a device

branded as Windows Phone 7 unless it supported the following minimum speciﬁ cations:

‰

Two screen sizes — 480 by 800 WVGA (available at launch, with 480 by 320 HVGA

available at a later, unannounced date)

‰

Capacitive touch — Four or more contact points

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COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

Summary of content (10 pages)

PAGE 1
AL 1 MA TE RI Getting to Know the Windows Phone 7 Device WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER? Getting to know the minimum speciﬁcations for Windows Phone 7 devices, including chassis design and screen resolution ‰ Understanding the phone hardware features ‰ Understanding the Start and Lock screens ‰ Understanding hubs and what goes in them GH TE D ‰ PY RI Microsoft has leveraged its considerable marketing muscle and published a very strict set of minimum guidelines on what hardware and features will be
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x CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEVICE ‰ Sensors — Assisted Global Positioning System (aGPS), accelerometer, compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor ‰ Camera — 5 megapixel (MP) camera with a flash and dedicated camera button ‰ GPU — DirectX 9 acceleration ‰ Hardware buttons — Must be fixed on the face ‰ Keyboard — Optional ‰ Multimedia — Common detailed specifications, codec acceleration ‰ Memory — 256 MB, 8 GB Flash or more ‰ Processor — ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or
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Phone Features x 3 Screen Resolution All the Windows Phone 7 devices available at launch (sometimes called “Chassis 1” devices) are required to have a screen resolution of 480 by 800 pixels, also known as Wide Video Graphics Array (WVGA). Devices made available after launch (cleverly referred to as “Chassis 2” devices) may instead support a screen resolution of 480 by 320 pixels, also known as Half-size Video Graphics Array (HVGA).
PAGE 4
x CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEVICE While resistive-touch screens defi nitely have appealing user interface implications for game development, capacitive-touch screens are currently (and are likely to remain) the only option for Windows Phone 7. Sensors All Windows Phone 7 devices come standard with a number of sensors, including the accelerometer, aGPS, compass, light sensor, and proximity sensor.
PAGE 5
Phone Features x 5 Light Sensor The ambient light sensor built into the phone is responsible for adjusting the brightness of the display based on the amount of available light. This sensor cannot be accessed or controlled via API and is not covered in this book. Proximity Sensor The proximity sensor is built into the phone hardware. It deactivates the screen when you place the phone near your face or any other body part or inanimate object.
PAGE 6
x CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEVICE DirectX 9 Acceleration I f you’ve been paying attention to the media hype about Windows Phone 7, you’ve probably seen DirectX 9 acceleration mentioned a few times. It’s an impressive bullet point, but what does it mean for your game? When you’re developing games (or any piece of software, for that matter), sometimes you push the edges of performance.
PAGE 7
Software Features x 7 which can be detected and handled programmatically. This means that although you can’t actually capture the Start button, you can still respond to the events it generates when it suspends your game. You’ll read more about the Start button in Chapter 6.
PAGE 8
x CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEVICE The Lock screen secures your phone contents from prying eyes. It also keeps you from accidentally “butt dialing” your mom while at the office holiday party. Microsoft has also made the Lock screen useful by incorporating status updates similar to what you would fi nd on the Start screen, just in a smaller fashion.
PAGE 9
Software Features x 9 this writing, access to these features is restricted to developers who have a publishing relationship with Microsoft.) Furthermore, you get Spotlight feeds and the ability to browse gamer profiles directly from your phone. Make no mistake — multiplayer and Xbox Live integration is a really big deal to Microsoft.
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x CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEVICE With the Office hub, you can view and comment on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations, as well as use various aspects of OneNote and SharePoint to store and retrieve documents. In addition to documents, the Office hub lets you manage lists and tasks, as well as schedule appointments and meetings. As long as you don’t have any need for copy and paste, it’s just like the real thing.