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View Full Version : New Pocket PC MSN portal coming soon


Jason Dunn
02-19-2002, 02:15 AM
I've received some interesting information about some upcoming changes to the MSN mobile portal that I think you'll be excited about, especially if you have a wireless connection for your Pocket PC. I'll be posting a follow-up message in the discussion forum with more photos and information. Special thanks to the anonymous birdie that sent me the information! :-)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn1.gif" /><br /><br />"The MSN Mobile team is putting the finishing touches on a new portal for web-enabled devices. This will be MSN Mobile 5.0...and the first .NET enabled version to store zip codes, addresses, alerts etc. The working timeframe for release is April...coinciding with US availability of Pocket PC Phones. (the main issue needing to be resolved at this time is Hotmail availability...which requires work to be done on many fronts...from the Passport team, the MSN Hotmail team, the MSN Mobile team, and a special crack "MSN Integration" team.) <br /><br />Following right on the heels of MSN Mobile 5.0, is MSN Mobile 6.0. Specifications for the follow-up release are already set, and include such items as real-time traffic & weather updates, special "wideband" entertainment for GPRS/CDMA 1X RTT users (the specs specifically mention a partnership w/ Verizon Wireless on marketing that aspect), Xbox Online support (via the MSN Gaming Zone...they are developing a massive online community service that will allow other members to interact with each other on a level unseen today. Say your uber-competitor just logged on and challenged you to a match of some 4-person multiplayer game. You're comrade-in-games isn't online right now. So, you send him a page via Xbox Online. Depending on the personal settings your comrade has, the system will send an appropriate (form-factor appropriate that is) page wherever he is. All powered by .NET of course. And the first integration with .NET My Services."

Jason Dunn
02-19-2002, 02:18 AM
Here's some further information from my anonymous pal who sent in the information. What do you think?

"Features of v5 include a revamped desktop-based user interface for http://mobile.msn.com, advanced .NET Alert functionality (including esteemed partners like Monster.com, Weather.com (blizzard warning alerts anyone?), Ebay etc.), and finally fully-functional SMS support. Users will be able to send & receive MSN Hotmail email via SMS capable phones, as well as access .NET Messenger Service contact lists so users can send & receive instant messages. In anticipation of the busy week ahead in Europe in the Pocket PC arena, MSN markets there have already released updates Pocket PC portals:

MSN UK: http://pocketpc.msn.co.uk/
MSN Germany: http://pocketpc.msn.de
MSN France: http://www.msn.fr/pocketpc/

MSN US & Canada are still plain jane...for now."

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn2.gif
This is the MSN Mobile channel.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn3.gif
Detailed stock information.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn4.gif
ESPN's Pocket PC homepage.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn5.gif

MSN Entertainment's Lottery page. Location provided by .NET Passport account data w/ MSN Mobile.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn6.gif
MSN YellowPages

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn7.gif
MSN Travel by Expedia.com

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/msn8.gif

JonnoB
02-19-2002, 02:33 AM
My ongoing complaint has always been that there were too few site with mobile users in mind and MS being a culprit. I think they need to lead by example and these screenshots look like a great example to follow. I hope more portals follow suit.

BTW, Jason - how comes it with these boards being mobile enabled?

Jason Dunn
02-19-2002, 02:47 AM
BTW, Jason - how comes it with these boards being mobile enabled?


Patience grasshopper. 8)

Daniel
02-19-2002, 04:30 AM
Patience grasshopper. 8)

You must walk before you can run Grasshopper... ;)

What an amusing show that was, although I would have preferred Bruce Lee in the role a lot more than David Carradine, after all, Bruce was a little more authentic than David...

daniel

James
02-19-2002, 05:43 AM
Patience grasshopper. 8)


Patience is for the bugs ;)

I'll reservce judgment til we hear how well all this works.

disconnected
02-19-2002, 08:01 AM
Well, portals can be handy, I guess, but I hope this doesn't distract Microsoft from the more important task of improving Pocket IE. The 2002 version seems much worse than the 2000 version. It's much slower, can access fewer web sites, and has apparently given up any attempt to fit to screen.

Jason Dunn
02-19-2002, 08:19 AM
Well, portals can be handy, I guess, but I hope this doesn't distract Microsoft from the more important task of improving Pocket IE. The 2002 version seems much worse than the 2000 version. It's much slower, can access fewer web sites, and has apparently given up any attempt to fit to screen.


All this work is done by the MSN team, not the developers who work on the Pocket PC OS. It's simply not a factor...

st63z
02-19-2002, 10:49 AM
I'm waiting for my free copy of VStudio.Net from my campus seminar. I'm still undecided between Java and .Net (unlike many of my friends, I'd like to mostly stay with MS tools but this thing's too new and I don't have a good handle on it yet)...

Daniel
02-19-2002, 02:07 PM
I'm waiting for my free copy of VStudio.Net from my campus seminar. I'm still undecided between Java and .Net (unlike many of my friends, I'd like to mostly stay with MS tools but this thing's too new and I don't have a good handle on it yet)...

Forget Java! .net is very powerful, fast and it is actually fun to use! I'm telling you, I've been using it from tech preview and it is the best. I have written in Java before, the main difference is multiple inheritance, otherwise they're practically the same in terms of programming. The biggest benefit with .net is that you're not writing code that will have to slog along in a mind numbingly slow JVM.

MS have said that they are in the process of writing a FreeBSD version of the .net framework. the CLI (Common Language Interface ?) and C# are at ECMA which is at least one step better than Sun who refuse to standardise Java.

Anyway, I go a bit over excited there, sorry... :oops:

daniel

James
02-19-2002, 04:25 PM
MS have said that they are in the process of writing a FreeBSD version of the .net framework. the CLI (Common Language Interface ?) and C# are at ECMA which is at least one step better than Sun who refuse to standardise Java.


I think you meant the CIL (Common Intermediate Language). CLI is Command Line Interface. The CIL, CLR (Common Language Runtime), and the rest of the Framework are being ported to FreeBSD first - I'd imagine we'll see support for a large vendor *nix (Tru64 most probably :() before long as well.

spg
02-19-2002, 05:24 PM
Wow, very nice looking. This is a great example of the power .NET has. I think we will see more and more of his poping up around. Let me tell you from a developers standpoint, .NET is very, very, very, cool! 8)

Kre
02-19-2002, 06:52 PM
I love technology. :)

adamz
02-19-2002, 07:31 PM
These screenshots make the new MSN Mobile look awfully image-intensive. Is it really practical to design a pocket PC optimized site as such when GPRS services will cost about 10 cents per KB? And are those advertisements I see?!
The UK's version of the new MSN Mobile seems more well designed for pocket PC applications than the ones shown here. The logo is very small, and other images are primarily content related.

Dave Conger
02-19-2002, 08:45 PM
I love technology. :)


We all do...hence us being in places like this!

JonnoB
02-19-2002, 10:21 PM
These screenshots make the new MSN Mobile look awfully image-intensive. Is it really practical to design a pocket PC optimized site as such when GPRS services will cost about 10 cents per KB? And are those advertisements I see?!
The UK's version of the new MSN Mobile seems more well designed for pocket PC applications than the ones shown here. The logo is very small, and other images are primarily content related.


Let's take advantage of our color PDAs darnit! I hate the anemic Palm/WAP type mobile sites. I agree that graphics can be overdone, especially for mobile, but simple cached images are fine. These are colorful, but are likely very small images.

Dave Conger
02-19-2002, 10:47 PM
Is it really practical to design a pocket PC optimized site as such when GPRS services will cost about 10 cents per KB?

I think I would be nice to see a little rate change. Though I know MSN's new design isn't really something to make this change happen, but since we have devices that can support something like the new portal, it would be nice to see a wireless solution that would be favorable to more multimedia rich content.

James
02-20-2002, 01:50 AM
Is it really practical to design a pocket PC optimized site as such when GPRS services will cost about 10 cents per KB?

I think I would be nice to see a little rate change. Though I know MSN's new design isn't really something to make this change happen, but since we have devices that can support something like the new portal, it would be nice to see a wireless solution that would be favorable to more multimedia rich content.


Any data plan with anything other than flat rates fails in my mind. I'm certainly not about to pay for a service where I have to monitor how many bits travel around.

Daniel
02-20-2002, 02:07 AM
Any data plan with anything other than flat rates fails in my mind. I'm certainly not about to pay for a service where I have to monitor how many bits travel around.

Yeah, it can be a little tedious too. Not to mention impractical when you are paying for data that other people send you (IM). I think people would burst out laughing if I suggested a flat rate here.

daniel

James
02-20-2002, 03:15 AM
Yeah, it can be a little tedious too. Not to mention impractical when you are paying for data that other people send you (IM). I think people would burst out laughing if I suggested a flat rate here.


Bummer. The only thing I've bought lately that wasn't flat rate is my cell phone - and it's got enough minutes on it that if I ever use 'em all, I'll probably have something growing out of ear the next month!

Dave Conger
02-20-2002, 04:34 AM
Any data plan with anything other than flat rates fails in my mind. I'm certainly not about to pay for a service where I have to monitor how many bits travel around.


I am not even going to consider wireless until there are decent flat rates. I still am hesitant to buy a cell phone because, except where there special deals, usually I feel the plans don't provide enough for the cost (the cheaper plans at least). With the new wireless products coming out, somebody needs to create a moniter so you can see how much data you have been transfering.

James
02-20-2002, 04:59 AM
I am not even going to consider wireless until there are decent flat rates. I still am hesitant to buy a cell phone because, except where there special deals, usually I feel the plans don't provide enough for the cost (the cheaper plans at least). With the new wireless products coming out, somebody needs to create a moniter so you can see how much data you have been transfering.


It took me awhile to settle on AT&T Wireless for my service after trying a few providers. My current plan isn't perfect, but it beats the others I've looked at. The missing piece is data, but since data would be metered, I ain't paying for it and I don't miss it. AT&T's GSM rollout was one of the other wins - VoiceStream and Cingular are the only others with GSM that I know of, and their networks aren't well covered. AT&T is doing a complete layover nationwide.

helloboys
02-20-2002, 03:03 PM
Checked out the UK site ... not bad. Only problem is that linked articles aren't mobile friendly -- they just take you to the desktop version.

Chances of ninemsn in Australia implementing this -- virtually nil :(

Kre
02-20-2002, 06:58 PM
It took me awhile to settle on AT&T Wireless for my service after trying a few providers. My current plan isn't perfect, but it beats the others I've looked at. The missing piece is data, but since data would be metered, I ain't paying for it and I don't miss it. AT&T's GSM rollout was one of the other wins - VoiceStream and Cingular are the only others with GSM that I know of, and their networks aren't well covered. AT&T is doing a complete layover nationwide.


I know Cingular and AT&T dont have good coverage at all with gsm. They plan to, but theyre just getting started with it. And right now, as far as gsm gprs prices, AT&T costs way too much. I dont know about Cingulars prices.

But I didnt think that Voice Streams gsm network was all that good either, and Ive heard this from many others as well. But I got into a conversation with a guy on this board by the name of Carlos, and he said that Voice Streams network has great coverage. He said that he travels all over quite a bit, and that he frequently would have coverage with VS when his co workers under Verizon and Sprint would not. I havent verified this yet. But I thought Verizon had much better coverage on the cdma end of things than Voice Stream had on their gsm network. Can anybody here verify how good VS really is? Im aware that VS has gprs, but am I right thinking VS`s coverage isnt all that good nationwide, or is it?

adamz
02-22-2002, 04:35 AM
I'm all for graphics and colorful designs in PDA optimized website design, but the graphics in the screen shots here take up over a 3rd of the entire screen real-estate and they don't offer ANY content other than the title of the section you're in. You have to scroll quite a bit (and download a significant amount of useless data) before you get to the actual content.
The UK MSN site, on the other hand, is well designed for PDA form factors.. it's colorful, and it matches the desktop version of MSN. Yes it does have it's flaws where the links it points to are not PDA optimized, but that's not really their content anyway so you can't blame 'em for that.

The screen shots for the US version don't seem to take into account usabilty design conventions for low-bandwidth/high-cost internet access.