There has been a lot of talk recently about the Windows Phone 7, but after much talk and debate, it turns out that the Windows Phone 7 will not act as a hot spot after all.In a recent statement from a Microsoft Official it was suggested that it would be up to individual cell phone carriers whether or not to allow "tethering". However, Microsoft confirmed to CNET Friday that the Windows Phone 7 does not support the feature whatsoever. Microsoft also declined to mention if future versions of the phone will allow tethering or not.
This appears to be yet another technical setback in Microsoft's attempted re-entry into the mobile phone market. This can now be added to a list of features currently available on other devices including full multitasking and copy/paste functionality. Another setback for Microsoft is that the phones will not be available until next year for CDMA carriers like Sprint and Verizon.
Having fewer carriers is definitely a drawback, but it still remains to be seen just how large of an impact this will be compared to some of the other technical features that are missing. Tethering your phone to allow computers internet access is a powerful, albeit niche, use for a phone. Palm and Android have tethering support.Even the iPhone supported tethering for a while though AT&T only recently added the option for U.S. carriers.
As for some other limitations of the Windows Phone 7, it only allows for limited multitasking like playing music and running an application or using the calendar while talking on the phone. However, the operating system does not allow the full multitasking found on some other smartphone platforms.
If you are looking for one of the most technically advanced smartphones, then the Windows Phone 7 will undoubtedly give you pause. On the other hand, the early smartphone adopter isn't the exact target audience for Microsoft and their Windows Phone 7. Instead, the company seems to be aiming for the masses and could possibly have already hit their mark.
Even though the Windows Phone 7 lacks the mentioned features, reports have noted that the device performs elegantly and reliably. Most of us won't have to wait too much longer in order to make our own assumptions about the Windows Phone 7 as development of the project was wrapped up by Microsoft at the beginning of this month. There are even plans of trotting out the device on October 11, 2010 at an event in New York. Devices are set to go on sale, in Europe at least, later in October with U.S. availability hopefully in early November.
If you are one of those people out there who happens to own an iPhone 4 and you haven't already received your free case, then what in the world is wrong with you!? It's free! And the offer is ending soon! In less than three weeks Apple will cancel their offer. Why are they doing this you may ask? Well, the answer to that is simple. The antenna signal loss issue related to the iPhone 4's design apparently isn't as big as a problem as Apple originally thought.