Microsoft Offers HTML5 Windows Phone 7 Demo on iOS, Android
Do you have an iOS or Android device and would like to know what using Windows Phone 7 feels like? If you do, you’re in luck. Microsoft has launched a very interesting HTML5 demo to bring Windows Phone 7 into your mobile browser for an immersive experience. But just how immersive is it?
You can check out the demo, but only if you’re running an iOS or Android device. For those looking to input a short link to put into their device, Microsoft has provided the following: http://aka.ms/wpdemo.
- What it is: You get a feel for moving around in Windows Phone 7, see animations, notifications, contacts, social network integration and menus work. It’s a nice little tour of the entire Windows Phone 7 style and what the Metro interface has to offer in the way of information at-a-glance.
- What it isn’t: It’s not a virtualized Windows Phone. It’s essentially a step-by-step walk-through, which means no wandering around. You must follow the magical blue dot, which guides you through the tiles. In fairness, you can go through the majority of the operating system, but this demo is very much not a replacement for a display demo at your local big box store.
The irony about the demo currently sweeping the web is that you can’t actually run the demo on a Windows Phone 7 phone. But how many users will actually play with the interactive walk-through and decide they want to switch? I don’t think many. This is, however, a really nice look at what HTML5 can do for the mobile web, so that should be worth something, right?
Meanwhile, stay tuned for my review of Windows Phone 7 Mango, coming up soon.
