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Windows Cellphones Microsoft Operating Systems

Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Preview For Phones 85

Posted by Soulskill from the good-news-for-all-six-people-who-bought-lumias dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has launched Windows 10 preview for phones. To get started, you'll need to download the Windows Insider app from the Windows Phone Store. Microsoft has already released multiple new Windows 10 preview builds, but those were limited to just PCs. The new preview for smartphones comes with a slew of new features. Until now, the Windows Insider app only worked for Microsoft employees. Now, users who are part of the Insider program can install the first Windows 10 preview build, as long as they have one of the six compatible devices. The Windows 10 preview works on the Lumia 630, Lumia 635, Lumia 636, Lumia 638, Lumia 730, and Lumia 830.
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Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Preview For Phones More

Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Preview For Phones

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  • I want (Score:2, Insightful)

    by rossdee ( 243626 )

    I want my next desktop xomputer to have an OS designed for desktops, not phones

    I am happy with Android on my phone

    • Where's the crossover? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tepples ( 727027 ) <tepples.gmail@com> on Friday February 13, 2015 @10:48AM (#49046847) Homepage Journal

      Which raises the question of the dividing line between devices for which a phone-style UI is best and devices for which a desktop-style UI is best. Should a battery-powered computer with a 10 inch screen and a detachable keyboard, such as the Transformer Book or the Nextbook, have a "desktop" or "phone" user interface?

      • It should have a command line.
        Note that on desktop we've had a dual interface since the days of Windows 3.0 : desktop interface and command line interface. Web could be a third, or it's just a subset of the desktop interface (ignoring lynx, elinks etc. which are only useful in specific context)

        There could be a Metro/Android/Ubuntu/whatever interface, but one special "app" just gives you the command prompt (and it always works, has the unix-like programs and can access the multimedia, off-line documents file

      • The user should have a choice. How about the first 5 times it boots up, it gives the user a choice? As well as a check box to "make this selection permanent"?
      • When you pull the tablet from the keyboard the OS reverts to the touch screen UI. When the keyboard is connected, or on conventional computers, the desktop UI is presented. This is how Windows 8 should have functioned had Microsoft not blow off our early feedback and told us to "live with it". It took 3 years for Microsoft to undo the mess that Windows 8 was, with the latest preview of Windows 10. Hopefully, as more builds are released they'll continue to make Windows 10 more user friendly, something that w

        • When the keyboard is connected, or on conventional computers, the desktop UI is presented.

          That'd be fine so long as the switch happens when I press the home button. But if I have a touch app open, and I connect the keyboard to do some typing, does it make the open app disappear? Say I have touch IE open, and I encounter a <textarea> such as the one into which I am typing this comment. I grab the keyboard and connect it to enter some text into the <textarea>, but that causes a switch to the desktop subsystem, which causes the comment form to disappear. I disconnect the keyboard, and t

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by ormico ( 1226940 )

            when switching from Tablet mode to Desktop mode "Metro" apps will go from full screen to windowed. In addition there won't be Touch IE and Desktop IE, there will just be IE which will work in Touch and Mouse/Desktop environments. The current IE in the preview is not the final one.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Smauler ( 915644 )

          God forbid letting users actually decide when to switch user interfaces, it must be done automagically.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        I've got an HP Touchsmart - All in One - with touchscreen so why in hell can't I have both? I actually use both modes (touch when I'm showing someone how to do something) and the keyboard mouse when I'm using it myself. I also have one of those transformers (Nextbook 10.1) that I mainly use as a tablet but sometimes do use the keyboard.

        As usual, MS has screwed up and is trying to force one method on people and kill an entire segment of computing that's already here.

      • Depends on use case. Arguably, phones are given simpler UIs allowing quick access to services you might need while on-the-move. The bigger the format, the less you're likely to use while moving. Therefore, there is less of a need for simpler UIs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mlts ( 1038732 )

        IMHO, it falls on what the device's role is going to be. For example, a Surface Pro, even though technically a tablet, can do a full desktop role if plugged into a port replicator.

        Some Motorola phones also fell into that category as well. The Atrix and Atrix 2 offered a Linux distribution and basic desktop functionality, although it required a special docking station to do this.

        I'd probably say the definite answer would be to have the device have a hypervisor. If one is using it as a phone, a VM with a p

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It is fortunate that Torvalds had the foresight to design an OS specifically for smartphones in 1991.

      If only there were some way to adapt the frontend of a mature OS so it worked on different devices :'(.

      • Linux is a kernel. An operating system includes a user interface, and this makes up the bulk of what changes between desktop and mobile operating systems. The UI of a phone OS is more likely to have certain features related to the phone environment than a UI of an OS designed for desktop PCs. These include large, squarish controls, multitouch gestures, an on-screen keyboard by default, an "all maximized all the time" window management policy designed for 3 to 6 inch screens, technical measures to prevent us

    • I for one am very much not happy with Android on my Phone. My current Android Phone is only running version 2.3 even though I bought it 6 months before Android 4 came out. The lack of upgrades on Android is appalling. I'm due for a new phone in the next month (yay 3 year contracts!) and I'm seriously considering just getting a cheap phone or waiting it out to see what happens with Windows 10. The only Android Phone in my price range that I like is the Moto G, which currently doesn't have the update to And

      • I've bought a few apps and I'm used to the way that Android works, so I really don't want to abandon it, but the lack of updates seriously makes me want to avoid them in the future.

        Just buy a Nexus phone then

        • So my only choices are to have a 6 inch phone, which is basically a tablet, or to go with the older model Nexus 5, which is still quite large, and doesn't even have an SD Card slot? The specs are decent for the price, but the phone is still a little high end for me. I like to be able to take my phone hiking or on a bike ride, and I don't quite see the appeal with carrying a $350 computing device while doing those activities. Getting updates shouldn't be a status symbol. It should be available to all Andr
          • I didn't like the android OS after dropping iOS. I decided hey, I used a windows phone for a couple of weeks, lets get one again. I like it alot, sure it's missing some apps, but not having them hasn't bothered me at all. But I'm an adaptive person.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Rob Y. ( 110975 )

            And you think a sub $350 Lumia is going to be upgraded to Windows 10? Today's Moto G stands a much better chance of future upgrades than whatever cheap Windows phones are out there today. And if Moto doesn't do it, there's always Cyanogen...

            • Which is why I said I will probably end up getting something really cheap or try to make my current phone last until we see what happens with Windows 10. If Windows 10 turns out to be a huge flop, I can still get an Android phone. If Windows 10 turns out to be great, I'll get a Windows 10 phone.

      • Perfect for You (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Right now, AT&T or T-Mobile have the "pay as you go" Nokia 635. I got mine for $55 at Best Buy. It's running 8.1 out of the box, so it's eligible for Windows 10 and has been included in the list of devices that will be updated.

        As an IT guy, I like nice phones as much as the next guy, but I'm not willing to spend a large outlay on a device, so I get a new Windows Phone once or twice a year at this price point. I keep relatively decent hardware and updated software for little money. Win win.

        The 635 has in

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Rob Y. ( 110975 )

        Windows phones since 8+. So you mean a single point release from 8.0 to 8.1? That's a track record? And that following on the heels of the 7.5-7.8 dead end?

    • So stick with your android phone.

  • I find it interesting that Microsoft has chosen to use the lower tier Lumia line for the launch of their Insider app for Windows Phones. They have left out their power user base completely. I own a Lumia 928 which certainly has better hardware than all the phones currently available to use the Insider program. Lets hope Microsoft can expand its program quickly before users start to feel alienated.

    • Re:As a Windows Phone user (Score:5, Informative)

      by Kultiras ( 2589819 ) on Friday February 13, 2015 @11:12AM (#49047023)
      They didn't make the choice to exclude anybody, there is a technical limitation. The reason this first release is only compatible with those six devices is because they are the only six on the market with system partitions large enough to handle the in-place upgrade process. The higher-end devices have less free space on the system partition. They have a solution for this problem, but it is not ready for deployment yet.

      Some context on why we chose these and not higher end phones like the 930/Icon or 1520: We have a feature that will be coming soon called “partition stitching” which will allow us to adjust the OS partition dynamically to create room for the install process to be able to update the OS in-place. Until this comes in, we needed devices which were configured by mobile operators with sufficiently sized OS partitions to allow the in-place upgrade, and many of the bigger phones have very tight OS partitions. Note that this doesn’t mean that Windows 10 will take more disk space than Windows Phone 8.1, it’s just a function of the upgrade process at this point. Once the partition stitching feature is completed, many more devices will be supported.

      Source: http://blogs.windows.com/blogg... [windows.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by wjcofkc ( 964165 )
      If I had mod points I would reward you just for admitting to being a Windows Phone user around here. But then again, so am I. My phone is on the list of phones eligible for the insider beta test, however, after doing research beyond the scope of the linked to articles, I find that the trade off in features is currently unacceptable. For example a slightly crippled Cortana among other things. Perhaps in another month. I have been on board with the Windows 10 Tech Preview since day one and the current builds

  • I see what you did here (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    marketer: What are you up to?
    engineer: We're working on Windows Phone 10.
    marketer: We're going to drop "Phone". It's just "Windows" now.
    engineer: But it's not the same OS.
    marketer: Ok we'll call it "Windows 10 for Phone".
    engineer: ...

    • It will support running the same "Apps" as Windows 10. This is actually a nice thing about the way Windows is headed. I can write a single app, and have it run on XBox One, Windows PCs, Windows Tablets, and Windows Phones. Sure it doesn't support legacy software, but it makes a lot more tempting to write Windows apps if they will run on so many devices with very little extra work. If they were really smart they'd adopt similar technology to what Xamarin has and allow the C#/.Net code you write to run on An

      • This is actually a nice thing about the way Windows is headed. I can write a single app, and have it run on XBox One, Windows PCs, Windows Tablets, and Windows Phones.

        But how much does it cost to get an app approved for sale for Windows tablets, Windows phones, and especially Xbox One?

        • Well, it's only $19 for an individual to register to make Apps for Windows App store (PCs and tablets) and the Windows Phone App store. You can't yet publish Windows 10 apps on the XBox, but I can't see the price going up a lot when they do add that functionality.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by unity ( 1740 )
          Last I checked they did not charge for the approval process. And you could get a developer account for free if you agree to develop an app within 3 months or something. Otherwise the developer account was 19/year for an individual or 99/year for a company.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tepples ( 727027 )

            Otherwise the developer account was 19/year for an individual or 99/year for a company.

            Does that cover only one of Windows Store and Windows Phone Store, both of them, or all three?

  • If this didn't add that support, then Google users are still left out in the cold.

  • With all the GUI churn Microsoft is going through lately, it really seems like it would be more practical to design a base set of services and a command line interface that changes little, and then put a separate GUI as an application on top of that. Then they could change out the GUI as CEOs come and go, without having to redesign the base. They could hide the underlying layer by disabling the ability to boot to command line, except for debug purposes.

    Oh, wait...

  • Unfortunately with MS taking WMC out of WIndows 10 it is making it very difficult (ie: not possible) for many to upgrade to windows 10. This is almost as ill-thought of as the PS4 taking out DLNA or Vista UAC. I realize that the article is about the phone OS, but the path they are going with this makes it very difficult to "Trust" the MS eco-system... it would be like if Apple suddenly decided that it would no longer support AirPlay on its next OS release....

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