brandon watson

We're getting word in that Brandon Watson, no stranger around here at WPCentral, will be leaving Redmond for greener pastures.  In a recent Tweet he made (and a confirmation we received), he notes:

"The rumors are true. The team is in great hands. I'll miss working on #wpdev. I will the community, but won't be a stranger."

In a way, this should not be a surprise as his old Twitter profile even proclaimed "Entrepreneur on loan to Microsoft focused on getting our developer mojo back." That statement already read to us that this was a temporary job for him with a finite mission, one that looks to have finally succeeded.

No doubt, he'll leave quite a hole to fill as Watson had quite the presence in getting Windows Phone back on the map, working tirelessly to get the recognition it deserved and making devs happy.

Update: Watson is leaving for Amazon. In an email to ZDnet he mentions he'll be taking on the responsibility as Director of the Kindle Cross Platform team and “it was a hard decision, but the opportunity placed in front of me that was too big to pass up.”

Developing...

Good news for those of you like Viber (see site), the mobile VOIP solution that millions are using on the iPhone and Android these days, as the app is set to come to Windows Phone in early 2012.

Viber has an interesting history with Windows Phone. They lamented the "closed" system very early on, noting that they would not bring their app over simply because they could not due to the lack of codec support. In turn, they were quite public with their dissatisfaction with the Windows Phone development process.

Fast forward and guess who got involved? Yup, Brandon Watson. Back in July, Watson stepped into the Twitter conversation with Talmon Marco, founder of Viber. Watson simply asked "...Have you had a conversation with anyone on #wp7dev phone team yet? Can we start one?" which from what we understand, go the ball rolling.

Since the, the Viber team has worked with Microsoft and got the native access they needed for their codecs. In turn, with the increased market share for Windows Phone, means we should see a Viber client in the next few months, according to their Facebook page. Sounds like another win for Windows Phone and with Kik Messenger and WhatsApp, should bring some new folks over. It also demonstrates how Microsoft is flexible and willing to work with devs, who ask.

Source: Twitter, Facebook; Additional info via Gizmo Digit; Windows Phone Daily

Oh, so now we know Brandon Watson is using the just announced Samsung Focus S, sporting an 8MP camera, 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus screen and rocking 4G connectivity. He mentioned the phone, indirectly, before but now we have evidence.

In a photo just uploaded to TwitPic, the EXIF info reveals all, as can be seen above. The SGH-i937 aka "Kapua" aka Samsung Focus S shows up in the EXIF data along with it weighing in at 8MP. (Note: we busted Bill Gates before using this method)

Congrats, Mr. Watson. Clearly your job has perks.

Thanks, @Nin_jy, for the tip!

While the aftershocks from HP showing webOS hardware the door continue to ripple throughout the smartphone industry, Microsoft is extending a hand to webOS developers. Brandon Watson has extended an offer to any published webOS developer to provide them what they need to successfully transition to Windows Phone.

According to the tweet that includes phones, development tools and training. At last check the tweet has been re-tweeted 100+ times and has received several positive replies and interest from webOS developers.

Personally, I hope webOS finds a way to survive for sentimental reasons. But it's nice to see Microsoft extending a hand to the webOS community to give developers options.

source: @brandonwatson via: thenextweb

If you recall, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame was lamenting his iPhone and EVO 3D on Twitter and thus fell in to Brandon Watson's clutches. Watson famously offered Adams a $1,000 donation to his favorite charity if he would take Windows Phone for a spin and didn't like it.

Well, Adams received the phone and has written up a decent little review of it compared to his iPhone 3GS and HTC EVO 3D (Android). We'll just cut to the chase:

"The Windows phone has the best user interface experience, although the onscreen keyboard is problematic just as it is with the other phones I used. The Windows interface is intuitive, simple, and has a liveliness that I find appealing. Voice call quality was good, and battery life seemed good too. I declare it the winner compared to my iPhone 3GS with AT&T and my HTC EVO 3D with Android on the Sprint network."

..."If you want a smartphone that is easy to use, performs well, has a good battery life, and doesn't frustrate you, the Windows phone is the best choice of the three options I tested. All you give up is some hipster credibility and access to lesser-used apps."

Bam!

Now, having said that, it wasn't all gushing either. Adams did a neat breakdown of major features and gave pass/fail grades to all three devices. He confesses he's not a professional reviewer, nor a gadget geek like we in his write up, which we think is a good thing sometimes. Areas he didn't care for on the AT&T Samsung Focus running Mango:

• On-screen keyboard - yeah, he actually didn't like it. In fairness, he didn't like the iPhone's or EVO's either, so he's being consistent. Fact is, he just doesn't like soft-keyboards and you can't fault a guy too much for that (there's a reason why we like the Quantum, Arrive and Dell Venue Pro around here).
• "Intangible coolness factor" - this is pretty arbitrary but hints at a larger problem for Microsoft, namely they're just not cool. Yeah, we know, kind of a lame thing to judge the phone on, but lets face it, Microsoft has an image problem. It's getting better but they're still no Apple and that matters to consumers.
• Apps - "okay-ish". This has been the Achilles heel so far in reviews and while he notices the lack of some big name apps, he doesn't consider the whole phone a fail because of it.

Overall though, Adams seems impressed with Windows Phone, slamming the EVO on its clunky UI and terrible battery life (no argument there) and the iPhone 3GS gets bad remarks for reception and okay results for UI. So Watson, mission accomplished.

Source: Dilbert.com; Thanks, Paul, for the heads up!

We recently covered Brandon Watson offering Scott Adams with a free Windows Phone handset to try out and to get his opinion. Scott has been having issues with both iOS and Android, so Brandon offered $1,000 to charity of Scott's choice if he doesn't enjoy the WP7 experience. All he's looking for in the OS is to perform like a dumbphone (calls not dropping etc.), easy email management and good battery.

Scott Adams has taken up this offer and will provide his critique opinion in a few weeks time. This is perfect for both Microsoft and the platform with more exposure and some strong feedback, whether it be positive or negative. Using the recent satisfaction survey as base that put WP7 above Android, here's hoping Scott enjoys the Metro UI experience. He joins Molly Wood, who also accepted Brandon's offer.

Source: Scott Adams' Blog

We’ve been covering the exploits of the ChevronWP7 team for a couple of months. From the original release and the various applications released for unlocked devices, to Microsoft having a heart-to-heart with the team and the subsequent discontinuation of the unlocker, it’s been a busy couple of months.

The stated reason for ChevronWP7 development being discontinued was that Microsoft was interested in officially facilitating the homebrew community, saying that this is an important area for consumers. It looks like Microsoft is putting action to their words. In a couple of tweets Microsoft’s Brandon Watson states that he is looking forward to hosting the ChevronWP7 team next week. Brandon also confirms that the hole that ChevronWP7 found has been closed, and recommends that any ideas or questions on the subject of homebrew development on Windows Phone 7 be directed to the ChevronWP7 team to be discussed next week.

What are your thoughts on the homebrew situation? Have you been using ChevronWP7? Is it good that Microsoft is being proactive? Talk it up in the comments.

Source @BrandonWatson (Tweet 1, Tweet 2)

For some reason on Monday, the keynote on Windows Phone 7 at 2pm during WPC10 never aired--presumably "technical difficulties" but alas the video is now available to watch in its entirety right here or just click the 'Read the rest of this entry' below.

Some interesting tidbits of the nearly hour long video focus in on Office, Outlook, pictures, contacts, maps and basically the core aspects of the phone. What's real interesting is how much is done on the phone without "launching" any applications--so much of the foundational programs are just built in, linked to each other in an--to borrow their phrase-intelligent way.

Overall Windows Phone 7 looks incredibly easy to use without any fuss--just to the point productivity. Below are also a few screen grabs of their slides, nothing huge but still interesting.

Watch the full video after the break...

[Phone 7 via Reddit]

If you folks recall, a few weeks ago we summarized an interview with Brandon Watson, Microsoft's Director of Developer Experience. The video itself was very informative as Brandon was especially forthright in answering questions about Windows Phone 7. No PR spin here, just answers from someone who knows software development on the inside and what WP7 can and can't do.

Mobility Digest has graciously organized a Q&A with Brandon with various supporting sites, including our own.

How this works is simple: post your question about Windows Phone 7 in the comments of this post by Friday, 5pm EST.

Out of all of the questions, a total of 20 will be chosen from the participating sites to be answered by Brandon (since he can't possibly answer them all, plus there will no doubt be redundancy). In about a week, the results will be posted.

Now what we're going for here is new stuff--not the usual why no copy-paste or why is the OS the way it is kind of thing, but rather advanced, detailed questions that we haven't heard yet. So put on those thinking caps! As a good primer, maybe go watch/re-watch the interview with Brandon to get some ideas.