Tuesday, April 19, 2011

MIX11: Live blog about Windows Phone at 9am Wednesday

LAS VEGAS -- Good morning from Microsoft's MIX conference. The company will be talking about Windows Phone 7 in its day 2 keynote at 9am featuring corporate vice president Joe Belfiore. I will live blog the keynote here at 9am.

After his talk, come back and join us for a Seattle Times live chat at noon about Windows Phone.

9:01 a.m. DJ spinning tunes to warm up the crowd.

9:03 a.m. Preview video is showing. Thankfully not as loud as yesterday's.

9:04 a.m. Microsoft Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore just came on stage. First talking about why Windows Phone 7 update is delayed.

9:10 a.m. Belfiore said, "We felt it was better that when updates happen they would happen reliably" and that's why the copy-paste feature is later than the company said earlier.

9:12 a.m. Belfiore didn't apologize but he did say, "I know it's frustrating," and said, "We expect we're going to get these problems licked and have no problems in the future."

9:15 a.m. Windows Phone 7 will get a significant update later this year for existing and new phones.

9:16 a.m. Marco Argenti, head of developer experience for Nokia, just came on stage. "We are working hard right now to create Windows and Nokia phones." He gave no dates on when the first Nokia phone running Windows Phone 7 will start selling.

9:25 a.m. Belfiore is doing a demo of a Windows Phone 7 update coming later this year code named Mango. The app marketplace will have more search features.

9:30 a.m. Windows Phone 7 update coming in the fall will have Internet Explorer 9. Belfiore says it's significant because websites can be built with same code to run both on the PC Web and the mobile Web.

9:34 a.m. Belfiore just did a speed test between browsers on Windows Phone 7, Android phone and iPhone. Windows Phone won but Android was a close second. iPhone was slowest.

9:36 a.m. He's running through many new features developers can take advantage of -- ring tone customization, access to raw camera data, access to contacts and calendars. Developers are happy -- they are applauding.

9:39 a.m. Belfiore just showed a ringtone of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer chanting "Developers! Developers! Developers!" for Windows Phone 7.

9:42 a.m. Motion sensing coming to Windows Phone 7 that uses camera, compass and gyroscope in phone. Belfiore just showed an augmented reality app from Layer. He held up camera and it showed where (sample) tweets are coming from in the MIX audience.

9:46 a.m. Angry Birds is coming to Windows Phone 7 on May 25. Spotify and Skype are coming as well.

9:51 a.m. New Windows Phone 7 tools will also allow app developers to build deeper integration with tiles.

9:52 a.m. App builders can access new tools in May. "We are waiting on the delivery of unicorn tears to get the tools out to you," Belfiore said. He exits stage. Corporate Vice President Scott Guthrie now on stage to talk tools.

9:58 a.m. Guthrie is delving into more specific developer tools, such as monitoring performance of apps.

10:21 a.m. USAA, an insurance and financial services company for U.S. military, showing check deposit by camera on Windows Phone 7 app.

10:26 a.m. Guthrie just showed 3-D modeling of himself on Windows Phone 7 for app development. "I can touch myself," he said. "Sounds weird to say that." The shirtless version of Guthrie has a six-pack and back tattoos that say "Silverlight."

10:30 a.m. The first woman shows up on the MIX keynote stage, and she's a lieutenant for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The new website for the Angels is built using Microsoft's Silverlight software.

10:36 a.m. Here is the diversity report on the MIX keynote stage so far: 1 African American (non-speaking role), 1 Asian American, 1 woman, 10 white men.

10:45 a.m. Jeff Sandquist now on stage talking about Kinect. A Kinect for Windows developer kit is coming this spring.

10:53 a.m. Clint Rutkas just drove a recliner on wheels onto the MIX stage. He steered it with his hands using a Kinect motion sensor and a Windows laptop.

10:59 a.m. Microsoft researcher showed a "universe at your fingertips" application by mashing up telescope images with a Kinect sensor and a Windows PC. He was able to move through the solar system and time by moving his hands around.

11:02 a.m. Another Kinect demo was shown to help visually impaired navigate. One guy wore a helmet with a Kinect sensor on top with a laptop strapped to his back. The sensor recognized QR codes mounted to frames, and the laptop vibrated as he approached the frame and gave directions to turn right or left.

11:06 a.m. Every MIX attendee will get a free Kinect. (That does not include me. Seattle Times reporters do not accept giveaways.)

11:07 a.m. Keynote over. Come back for our live chat at noon to see photos from the keynote, ask questions, comment on what's coming out of MIX.

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