Microsoft Gets Windows Phone 7 Strategy RightMicrosoft Gets Windows Phone 7 Strategy Right

Starting over with Windows Phone 7 Series - Anyone that has seen the new platform knows that from a user standpoint, the only thing that WinPho 7 shares with earlier versions of Windows Mobile is the name "Windows." Given how fast and far WinMo has fallen from its heights of popularity in 2005 or 2006, there really isn't much about WinMo 6.x that makes the owner of an iPhone, Pre or Android device envious. The full blown reboot is indeed a good thing.

Cutting the ties with old apps - As the article notes, Microsoft made a tough decision. The new UI was of the utmost importance to give the user an enjoyable experience. That meant that old apps wouldn't work. Softkeys, menus, stylus based interface, etc. all would have required too many compromises, so MS walked away from them. Again, this is a good thing, but all is not lost when it comes to millions of lines of code that exists today.

Support for .NET, XNA and Silverlight - Apps written in .NET should work on the new platform with some reworking of the UI and maybe some changes to API calls. By supporting all three, it gives developers a rich set of tools to use, and those skills will work with Windows 7 and X-Box too. Engadget posted pics a few days ago of a single game running on all three platforms. The possibilities here are huge and if MS pulls it off, it is an advantage that cannot be easily met by the competition since no one else has all three mediums to work with.