Windows Phone 7.8 - the last CE based system for the consumer

I just updated my Samsung Focus Windows Phone to the latest 7.8 release!

Not much has changed: mainly just the Start screen works like Windows Phone 8 (more width, and quarter tiles), and more theme colours.

Oh, and when you boot the thing it has the new Windows logo

Plus it is now a sharing device in Windows 8, so you can sync music through the music app, or any third party app. You can still use Zune software on the desktop, but you don't have to anymore.

I'm not sure if there are any future updates it will still go through Zune?? Hopefully Windows 8 can update it as well; that is if there will be more updates at all.

OS version is 7.10.something, probably the very last CE system for the consumer, unless MS makes more CE core releases for those GPS or PMP devices? doubt it...

Perhaps you guys will one day buy a WP7.8 just for collection completion purposes hahaha

Is that phone of yours an ARM based device? Can you run any of your old HPC software on it?

I'm interested in that too.

It is ARM based, specifically the first gen Snapdragon from Qualcomm, at 1GHz.

No it cannot run HPC software, or any PPC/WM software for that matter. The "Metro" interface wouldn't work well with it

Windows Phone 7 forward uses a different type of executable format (.xap). If someone could figure out a way to convert that to .exe and back then we'd have something.

Check this out. http://mobiputing.com/2012/02/wml-emulator-brings-classic-windows-mobile-apps-to-windows-phone-7/

"The folks at the Dark Forces Team are working on a new project called WML which allows you to load Windows Mobile in an emulator window on a Windows Phone 7 device."

Cool, but the other way around would be cooler. We might have a shot at running some of these apps on core CE 6 and/or Windows Embedded Compact 7 devices.

other way around as in WM6/Pocket PC/H/PC running Windows Phone 7 apps?

Well, you might be able to "run" it via VNC client/server. Just my thoughts.

Edited by stingraze 2013-02-11 9:58 AM

Windows Phone 7 is still Windows CE. In theory, adding some missing components back may allow these devices to run more P/PC and H/PC software just as is done with the CE.net H/PCs. There has already been some success getting the Pocket PC versions of Opera Mini and Mobile running on it. Also, DFT may port WML to core CE 6 or 7 if there is enough demand for it. It's actually not what I expected. It's more than just an aygshell. It seems to be some kind of virtualization layer that runs a whole CE 5 kernel on top of CE 6/7.

Edited by TFGBD 2013-02-11 8:02 PM

Very cool info! Maybe someday I'll buy a WP 7 device for experiment.

Edited by stingraze 2013-02-12 3:18 AM

So maybe there's still hope for us H/PC diehards.

Nice to hear from you again, TFGBD.

Just got two more updates (in a row) for the phone Yep, still need to use Zune for that!

Still love my Omnia 7 just had 2 more updates to sort live tiles on 7.8 (feels snappier as well)...

WM was fine but I find WP much more productive and useful as a phone and data/media consumption device productivity is served up by other devices but WP does job to read and quick edit office docs as well when needed.

Hopefully WP8 brings an ecosystem where apps will work in 8 & 9 or 8 updates to 9 with just hardware functions missing like in IOS as this provides a bigger and longer market for applications and it means people will think hmm good I can hand my phone down to my kids and it still works with new apps .

John

Microsoft never learns...they are a far distant 3rd behind Google and Apple when it comes to phones. They cater to businesses...not people.

It's not that the phone isn't great, it is. The problem is that it is not competitive in the mass market. It is only a matter of time before Apple is swallowed up by Android...just as Google bought out Motorola, just as Blackberry is history...so will the others will follow.

Just my opinion...

Actually the way it is now, if you write a WP app, you just have to build separate versions for 7 and 8. Sure it would be nice if the same version works on both, but with technologies nowadays it's hard to keep backwards compatibility - same for iOS and Android.

I am actually surprised by the number of new apps that support both WP8 and WP7 (for example, WhatsApp). But at the same time still wish I could have those WP8 only apps/games, or those that have better versions on WP8 (even Skype ffs)