Youtube link for mobile viewing
Over the past little while we've seen plenty of portions of the Windows Phone 7 UI land on Android devices. The music player, contacts, app launcher and more have all made their move but now we're getting a look at the Windows 8 live tiles up and running on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 courtesy of the folks over at WP7Android. It's a preview of their upcoming app, WP7Lock with the rest being completed by ADW EX and a lot of time spent in Desktop Visualizer. In any event, it looks pretty cool if you ask us but what do you all think? Sound off in the comments.
Source: WP7Android; via WPCentral
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looks aawesome.. how do I get it ? O ya.. first!
i think this looks awesome, too, maybe will try this on my phone. i personally like this, just because i think the graphic design is pleasing and looks good. when i get sick of it, i'll change the theme. i'd like to try it, though!
Cool going to use this when i get my tab.
What's the big deal? It's just a bunch of huge, plain-looking icons, basically. Why do they call them 'live' if they just sit there looking dead?
They show information. You can't do it with Adroid due to it being an os thing but they can show the weather, tweets, email. its knida like widgets but they use less power.
FUGLY! I think you mean that the "Win8" interface stuff is, "knida like (poorly written) widgets, but they use less power". Widgets can do everything this stuff can do.
(Not just to @shingi_70...)
Sheesh! Let's go back to the DOS ASCII block button interface, but put it on the "cool gadget", smartphones, and call it new. What's the old saying, "What's old is new again!".
This is dumbing down UI's to the VERY lowest common denominator. Like Henry Ford's "you can have it any color you like, so long as it's black", this interface will let you do everything you want, except all the things you might want to do with these powerful (soon to replace netbooks, then laptops, then, possibly, even desktops) devices for everyday activities.
Face it, this MS interface is to force you into their world of how computers should work rather than allowing you to decide how you can make them work better for you.
Hey, if you want that, then get WP7 or even iOS products. However, if YOU want the choice, then stick with Android and find your own (or even someone else's) "better way"! That's choice that Microsoft and Apple won't let you have.
I love this rant. If you want choice, go android. However, you have to use the android UI, because if you choose to use something different, you should have bought something different. Fail argument.
I agree, the great thing (or one of the great things) about android is choice. If I CHOOSE to have a WP7-esque UI, I can. If I choose not to have it, I can choose that too. Choice, and completely open to anyone. Your locked down definition of choice reminds me a lot of other less open platforms
Thanks for showing you didn't understand what I was saying... or were intentionally misunderstanding it! Then again, you just strengthen my point.
I never said you can't CHOOSE to have this dumbed down WP7 interface. The opposite, in fact. However, if you buy into the Microsoft WP7 "tile", "DOS ASCII block", etc. copy from the 1980's, then you are locked into the limited version of UI's that MS wants you to use.
The fact is that MS makes the VAST majority of their money off desktop products and are not likely to EVER have the same level of control over smartphone/tablet/etc. devices. These are a direct threat to their desktop dominance.
Solution for MS? Limit what you can do on these devices so that you HAVE to go to the laptop/desktop (i.e. Windows) to do anything beyond the basics like email, browsing, etc. What's the WP7 motto? "Don't let the UI get in the way of using your PHONE"? You know, because you're only supposed to TALK on phones.
Good luck with moving along with the changing paradigm...
Ah.. you mean that "other" less-open platform that is never in the news every week about malware compromising that "open" Android platform? Is that the platform you're referring to?
Aw, what do you mean? Different colored blocks arranged like a kid's learning toy is the new "in" thing! Throw in some gaudy colors, make one block bigger than the rest for Google, and you have the hottest new interface on the planet!! The shocker for me is that someone took the time to port these Windows paint boxes over to Android with updating information in them. And that there's an actual presentation for it!!
Tiles do the same thing as widgets. The picture is not what uses battery life, it's the recieving of information that does. So no, I don't think they save battery. At least, the battery on my Focus is the same as on my captivate.
I'm a bit with you here. Even on WP7 phones I haven't been all that impressed with their tiles. Sure it's a clean look, but to me it looks rather dull. WP7 has it's pluses, but I've never been able to see why people clamor over the tiles so much.
Nice, but never really been a fan of mimicking another device... Also, I don't care for having tiles.. I like my notification bar/widgets/etc and having purty wallpaper...
I fail to see the appeal. Why would I want to make an Android device look like a WinMob device? If you like the WinMob UI so much, get a WinMob device.
I fail to see how you people can be so dumb. Do you have any idea what goes into a device? Do you have a concept that there are features under the UI? If you do, then you will realize that android has super tight integration with google services and all sorts of other features WP7 does not have. What UI you use to get to those features matters not.
If you don't realize that there is more to a device than UI, ignorance is bliss I suppose.
Meh, never was a fan of those tile things. They take up way too much screen space. And I want one-click access to other things like apps and shortcuts.
Until next year this is as close as anybody (winmob fanboys included) is going to get. If you have a tab then battery life is a concern. Kudos to those that spent the time developing this and shared it.
There is more to Windows 8 than just tiles... an x86 compatible processor from intel and Windows 8 means playing windows games ftw!
For those that didn't get that... imagine Direct X on a cheap tab... less than 700... most all high end games on android use opengl... so that means you don't have to wait for devs to port games/software.
Dont really need to imagine, its been tried before - and failed. And why wont this end up being any different? Shoehorning Windows on a tablet fails every time.
MS needs to not forget about context. A tablet is mobile, and it should be geared for that. No one but lower-order "geeks" is going to care about running 3DS Max, Crysis 2, or Eclipse on a 10 inch screen with worthless battery life while standing around in an airport or something. Ignoring that, just imagine running applications designed for 15+ inch monitor on something less than 10.
There is a reason why Android and iOS are popular in the mobile space - they aren't regurgitated versions of desktop OS's lazily put on a tablet or a phone.
I'm sure the windows mobile platform is getting better and will function and integrate well with the desktop OS, etc., but the look of the UI is absolutely junk. I just don't get where MS is going with this. I've heard others with the same opinion. And yes, I know, it's all a matter of preference, but sheesh, it's spot ugliness from the 60's (IMHO of course).
Funny, there are also massive amounts of people who love the UI. In fact, I rarely see hate for it outside of android websites.
Ha, I was thinking it looks like something a burnout from the 60's designed after getting on the morning's first buzz! Fired up Windows Paint and 5 minutes later came up with this.
Is this why Microsoft is suing Android device vendors and winning new Licensees? HTC is paying Microsoft $5 per device sold. My next Phone will not be an HTC. If I wanted to give Microsoft my money for a mobile platform, I'd have gotten a Windows Phone. I sure as heck don't want my Android Phone (EVO) to look like Windows Phone 7.
No, Microsoft has patents that supposedly cover some of the inner workings of android. It has nothing to do with launchers and apps.
Exactly, so no matter what android device anyone buys they'll still be giving Microsoft a piece of their wallet. Companies are finally starting to get smart and pre-emptively striking the licensing agreement with Microsoft before infringing on their patents. The ones who aren't (like Motorola) are either going through litigation or will be very soon. Much like that new ugly LG with the small screen splitting the keyboard in two. Microsoft owns that patent too. Yup I'm a Microsoft fan and I highly dislike Android but so long as them 500,000 devices per day keep getting sold that's more money in Microsoft's pocket. I have a laundry list of how and why Android sucks but I respect the fanboys and I perfectly understand how some platforms better suit the needs of some over others so I'd much rather not get into that.
I see Trillian! :-)
I prefer Android still.
O Wow. So basically it limits the amount of icons to like 5 or 6 per screen. It looks like one of those telephones or remote controls with the oversized buttons so your blind grandma can figure out how to use it.
I wish my overclocked Xoom on 3.1 was half as smooth as that. 8(
what's the point in getting themes that change your UI to look like iphone or WP7 phone. might as well get one of these devices and enjoy their real UI. I dont want my Atrix to look like iphone or wp7, I'm perfectly fine with Launcher Pro.
Windows tiles suck. I'm really not cool that they will be on the Windows 8 pc software as the touch interface.
A thousand Windows Phone themes, and not one good tricorder theme. Why????