Here are two possible “facts” that I have found about Windows Mobile 7. I found the first while looking at a slide entitled “Personalizing Mobile Technology To Enhance Learning And Organizational Skills” and it indicates that Windows Mobile 7 will support gesture control via it’s front-facing camera. The presenter of the slide, a Mr. Neil Milliken, is the Head of Mobile Development of a British company, so he may well have this high-level information handy.
If you remember a while back, the ‘required specs‘ that Windows Mobile 7 purportedly has includes an optional 2nd camera under the Peripherals. This could foretell hand gestures being able to control the device, as opposed to just hand and vocal interaction and would put Microsoft ahead of Google and Apple in user interaction, as the iPhone and Android OS only support voice and mult-touch input.
The second finding is of a resume I found. In it, it states that-
• Enablement and bring up of Windows Mobile 7 (for Smart phones) on chipsets with the scorpion processor, which have ARMv7 architecture.
Again, pointing back to the leaked spec sheet for Windows Mobile 7, it states that it will run on ARM v6+ chipsets and above, which would mean ARMv7 is a viable solution for WM 7. Looking at the information ARM provides about it’s ARMv7 processor, it is below the performance of the all-conquering ARMv8 processor, but does “includes the NEON™ technology extensions to increase DSP and media processing throughput by up to 400 percent, and offers improved floating point support to address the needs of next generation 3D graphics and games physics, as well as traditional embedded control applications.” This could be an indicator of a lower rung of WM 7 devices, such as a business-oriented device that does not require the HD-level graphics support ARMv8 includes.
As the MWC inches closer, expect to hear a lot more news, rumors, and analysis by your PPCGN news staff about Windows Mobile 7!