Term of the Moment
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Definition: Windows Phone
Microsoft's second smartphone platform. Superseding Windows Mobile, Windows Phone was introduced in 2010. Although very innovative and much loved by its users, Windows Phone faced huge competition from iPhones and Androids. BlackBerrys had also been around more than a decade. Even with Microsoft's clout, a fourth smartphone platform was considered too confusing for the user community, and Windows Phone was discontinued in 2017. Windows Phone users were very unhappy when Microsoft pulled the plug, and in a 2023 interview, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he regretted dropping it.
A Great Interface
Using the touch interface first deployed on Microsoft's Zune music player, Windows Phone (WinPhone) was a vast departure from the earlier Windows Mobile platform. The "live tile" interface displayed useful information on the home screen in real time. Nokia was so fond of the interface that it switched from its own extremely popular Symbian OS to Windows Phone (see Lumia). In 2013, Microsoft actually acquired Nokia's mobile phone division but sold it in 2017. See Windows Phone Store, live tiles, Windows Mobile and Symbian.
Integration of Office and Windows
A feature of Windows Phone was built-in support for editing Office documents, and messages from Facebook and Windows Live mail could be instantly viewed. In order to synchronize music, videos and photos, as well as update the OS, WinPhone required Zune software in the PC or connector software in the Mac (see Windows Phone Connector for Mac).
Windows 10 Mobile
Along with the introduction of Windows 10 in 2015, Windows Phone was renamed Windows 10 Mobile and featured more integration between desktop and mobile devices. See Cortana, Zune, Windows Phone Store, Windows Mobile, mobile compatibility and mobile device vendor control.
Windows Phone 7 Live Tiles
Windows Phone 8 (New OS)
Windows Phone Compatibility
A Great Interface
Using the touch interface first deployed on Microsoft's Zune music player, Windows Phone (WinPhone) was a vast departure from the earlier Windows Mobile platform. The "live tile" interface displayed useful information on the home screen in real time. Nokia was so fond of the interface that it switched from its own extremely popular Symbian OS to Windows Phone (see Lumia). In 2013, Microsoft actually acquired Nokia's mobile phone division but sold it in 2017. See Windows Phone Store, live tiles, Windows Mobile and Symbian.
Integration of Office and Windows
A feature of Windows Phone was built-in support for editing Office documents, and messages from Facebook and Windows Live mail could be instantly viewed. In order to synchronize music, videos and photos, as well as update the OS, WinPhone required Zune software in the PC or connector software in the Mac (see Windows Phone Connector for Mac).
Windows 10 Mobile
Along with the introduction of Windows 10 in 2015, Windows Phone was renamed Windows 10 Mobile and featured more integration between desktop and mobile devices. See Cortana, Zune, Windows Phone Store, Windows Mobile, mobile compatibility and mobile device vendor control.
WinPhone 7 (Windows 7 was then current) introduced "live tiles" and ran under the Windows CE operating system. In 2011, Version 7.5 added app switching, Bing search, social network integration and enhanced Office apps. See live tiles and Windows CE.
In 2012, Microsoft switched to a new OS. WinPhone 8 expanded the start screen and let users change tile size. In 2014, Version 8.1 added a notification center and other features. See Windows Phone 8. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Corporation).
Although programming code was shared by developers across Windows devices, the executable apps that ran on Windows phones did not run on Windows 8 or RT tablets.