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Windows Phone

Windows Phone
An example of a custom Start screen on Windows Phone 8.1
DeveloperMicrosoft Mobile
Written inC, C++, Assembly Language, C#[1]
OS familyMicrosoft Windows
Working stateDiscontinued[2]
Source modelClosed-source
Initial release
  • WW: (2010-10-21) (2020-01-14)October 21, 2010 – January 14, 2020
    (9 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)
  • US: November 8, 2010
Final release8.1 Update 2 (8.10.15148.160)[3] / June 2, 2015 (2015-06-02)
Available in130 languages[4]
Update methodZune Software (Windows Phone 7), Firmware over the air (Windows Phone 8+)
Package managerWindows Phone Store[5]
PlatformsQualcomm Snapdragon (based on ARMv7)
Kernel typeHybrid (Monolithic in Windows Phone 7)
LicenseCommercial proprietary software
Preceded byWindows Mobile, Zune
Succeeded byWindows 10 Mobile
Official websiteArchived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
Support status
Unsupported, see § Versions for details

Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued[6] mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile[7][8] and Zune.[9] Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design language. Unlike Windows Mobile, it was primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market.[10]

It was first launched in October 2010 with Windows Phone 7.[11] Windows Phone 8 succeeded it in 2012, replacing the Windows CE-based kernel of Windows Phone 7 with the Windows NT kernel used by the PC versions of Windows (and, in particular, a large amount of internal components from Windows 8). Due to these changes, the OS was incompatible with all existing Windows Phone 7 devices, although it still supported apps originally developed for Windows Phone 7. In 2014, Microsoft released the Windows Phone 8.1 update, which introduced the Cortana virtual assistant, and Windows Runtime platform support to create cross-platform apps between Windows PCs and Windows Phone.[12]

In 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 Mobile, which promoted increased integration and unification with its PC counterpart, including the ability to connect devices to an external display or docking station to display a PC-like interface. Although Microsoft dropped the Windows Phone brand at this time in order to focus more on synergies with Windows 10 for PCs, it was still a continuation of the Windows Phone line from a technical standpoint, and updates were issued for selected Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

While Microsoft's investments in the platform were headlined by a major partnership with Nokia (whose Lumia series of smartphones, including the Lumia 520 in particular, would represent the majority of Windows Phone devices sold by 2013)[13] and Microsoft's eventual acquisition of the company's mobile device business for just over US$7 billion (which included Nokia's then-CEO Stephen Elop joining Microsoft to lead its in-house mobile division), the duopoly of Android and iPhone remained the dominant platforms for smartphones, and interest in Windows Phone from app developers began to diminish by mid-decade.[14] Microsoft laid off the Microsoft Mobile staff in 2016,[15] after having taken a write-off of $7.6 billion on the acquired Nokia hardware assets,[16] while market share sank to 1% that year.[17] Microsoft began to prioritize software development and integrations with Android and iOS instead,[18] and ceased active development of Windows 10 Mobile in 2017.[19]

  1. ^ Lextrait, Vincent (February 2010). "The Programming Languages Beacon, v10.0". Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Windows Phone dies today". theverge.com. July 11, 2017.
  3. ^ "New software update for Lumia 640 & Lumia 640 XL: 02177.00000.15184.36xxx/8.10.15148.160". answers.microsoft.com.
  4. ^ Petersen, Palle (June 20, 2012). "Windows Phone 8 announced today: will support 50 languages". Microsoft Language Portal Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  5. ^ Warren, Tom (February 11, 2014). "Windows Phone 8.1 includes universal apps and lots of feature updates". The Verge. Vox Media.
  6. ^ Reilly, Claire (October 8, 2017). "Windows 10 Mobile gets its final death sentence". CNET. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  7. ^ Koh, Damian (February 18, 2010). "Q&A: Microsoft on Windows Phone 7". CNET Asia. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  8. ^ Ziegler, Chris (March 4, 2010). "Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  9. ^ Bell, Donald (February 16, 2010). "Zune services going global with Windows phone". CNet.
  10. ^ Bright, Peter (March 16, 2010). "Windows Phone 7 Series in the Enterprise: not all good news". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  11. ^ Hollister, Sean (September 26, 2010). "Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21 launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?)". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  12. ^ Warren, Tom (February 11, 2014). "Windows Phone 8.1 includes universal apps and lots of feature updates". The Verge. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. ^ Rivera, Jaime (October 18, 2013). "Nokia owns 90% of the Windows Phone market share". PocketNow. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Warren, Tom (October 23, 2015). "Windows Phone has a new app problem". The Verge. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Warren, Tom (May 25, 2016). "Microsoft lays off hundreds as it guts its phone business". The Verge. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Warren, Tom (July 8, 2015). "Microsoft writes off $7.6 billion from Nokia deal, announces 7,800 job cuts". The Verge. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Warren, Tom (May 23, 2016). "Windows Phone market share sinks below 1 percent". The Verge.
  18. ^ Warren, Tom (October 3, 2018). "Microsoft is embracing Android as the mobile version of Windows". The Verge. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnet-winmobile-byebye was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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