One thing about the Mix trade show that makes developers want to attend is that this is where they will hear about Internet Explorer 9 and the Windows Phone 7 Series. Developers should get enough information to start creating products for the new MicroSoft browser and mobile operating system.
This event kicks off on Monday, March 15, in Las Vegas. The expected discussion will first center on the new phone operating system. Following that, on Tuesday the talk will center on IE 9. While Microsoft is not saying, some rumors have it that actual code might be offered up for developers to review. The trick to IE9, expected to be incorporated into the Windows Phone 7 series, and which Microsoft is banking on, is the new hardware accelerator program under development for improved text and graphics rendering.
Microsoft has given some hints about the tools writing phone apps. Recently the XNA and Silverlight software development tools were announced as the means of developing software that works on the Windows Phone 7 Series devices. Those devices which have received a lot of attention are expected to reach consumers sometime at the end of the year.
MicroSoft has mentioned at the Game Developer Conference that writing XNA games for Windows Phone will require the new version 4.0 of the XNA Game Studio. So developers can expect to see that tools set.
Windows Phone 7 Series
While expectations are high about the upcoming Phone 7 series, mainly it is about whether it offers anything radically different than is out there already. iPhone, Blackberry, and a host of other mobile phones have carved out a niche that MicroSoft will have trouble competing against unless there is a reason for people to move to the new device. Existing mobile phone owners are unlikely to make the transition. New owners will come from the market segment that finds additional value in the MicroSoft product. They must also be convinced that this phone system will be better than the rest.
