Gadget blog Engadget has leaked pictures and slides of an interesting Windows Phone coming this year from Dell called the Lightning. I wouldn’t call it the “ultimate” Windows Phone, as the hyperbolic site does, but it is nice looking certainly.
Here’s what the kids at Engadget have to say about this (minus a bunch of immature stuff):
The Lightning [is] a Windows Phone 7 portrait slider. That’s right — a portrait slider. The renders on these slides look slick … but they’re no match for the spec sheet, which looks even better: 1GHz QSD8250 Snapdragon processor, WVGA 4.1-inch OLED display, AT&T and T-Mobile 3G, five megapixel autofocus camera, 1GB of flash with 512MB RAM plus 8GB of storage on a MicroSD card (non-user-replaceable, we’re assuming), GPS, accelerometer, compass, FM radio, and full Flash support including video playback. Release date is pegged at Q4, so this is obviously a WP7 launch device, but here’s the real kicker — other slides in the deck indicate this thing is getting an upgrade to LTE in Q4 of 2011.
And here are links to the slides so you don’t have to visit the site. (You’re welcome.)
Lightning: Core Experiences – Specs
Lightning: Core Experiences – Ultimate Internet and Rich Multimedia Experience
Lightning Core Experiences – World Class Touch and Productivity Guru
Introducing Lightning – Target Audience, Promise, Differentiation
Thanks to Elliot P. for the tip. (And thanks to everyone else… I just noticed some other emails and comments too. Thanks guys!)
First, to Engadget: how can we tell if this is the “Ultimate” Windows 7 Phone device? It’s one of the only (if not, the only) one we’ve seen, and, there are just pictures and some information. I guess titles sell, or something like that.
Regardless, the phone does seem pretty cool. However, has Dell ever produced a phone device? I used to own one of their PDA’s (the first one actually, a Dell Axim X5), but they’ve since discontinued those devices. I was almost dumbfounded when I saw this… Dell + Phone, not sure what to think of it. I love their PCs and have almost always purchased Dell desktops, but a phone? Interesting to say the least.
I believe they are or will soon be selling Android-based phones in China.
Their Axim Pocket PCs were excellent. So, too, were their Dell DJ devices, which had wonderful mechanical buttons. Ah, the memories. :)
I think the biggest thing about this device is it’s 4.1 inch OLED display, will which look incredible. But of course, HTC will come out the next day and announce the HTC HD3 with Windows Phone 7 and a 4.5 inch OLED display with a 2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. : )
But anyways, this kind of partner support is excellent for Microsoft and the Windows Phone ecosystem. And on the bright side, at least we havent seen one under-powered and dated Windows Phone 7 device yet.
@jctierney In its simpliest form, a smartphone is just a PDA with a cell receiver and a dialer app. So if the Axims were good, I would hope they can just add a receiver and call it a day. More or less.
I had a Dell Axim as well and thought it was great. It’s all going to be about the price of a phone with those kind of specs.
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I wouldn’t call it the “ultimate” Windows Phone, as the hyperbolic site does, but it is nice looking certainly.
well have you seen the ultimate WP7 device ? :) :)
Personally I am not a big fan of portrait sliders, but the device does look nice
Awe don’t belittle Engadget. They just have that passion for all things shiny and silicon based that gets them over excited sometimes. I love their site a lot.
As for this device, WOW! That looks really cool. I’ve never envisioned a portrait slider with a screen that big before. I’ve never had my hands on a Pre, but I don’t think it’s screen is that big. Don’t get me wrong, there is ZERO chance I buy a Dell phone, but it is a nice attempt.
That’s an interesting image on the phone’s screen. It looks exactly like the Zune HD’s home screen. It even has the FM tuner, tuned to an HD radio station. From what I’ve seen of the Windows 7 Phone’s OS, it will be very similar, but won’t have that exact same home screen. I’m guessing they just needed a Zune-like image to throw on the phones screen.
The phone will be using a tiled (with no text) homescreen with side-swiping horizontal hubs, right?
Nice-looking phone though.
Pretty looking phone, but those tiny keys look painful for anyone with man-hands.
And whats up with full flash support including video playback? By the time this phone comes out, the mobile video sites will be available in forms other than flash. Better to say “for games”.
If this does come out, I think I am going to get it. Only two things are not great to me. Dell is coming out with a similar Android based phone too but it has a 8MP camera. Oh well, 5 is very good none the less. Another thing i wasn’t too happy about was no front facing camera. Wishful thinking?
I still have a Dell Axim X51v and it’s still running after all these years. Even with a Windows Mobile 6.1 Smartphone (Motorola Q9h Silver) I still occasionally need that touch-screen or higher-resolution screen (VGA) that comes with the Axim. I mean, it even has a 624 MHz Intel XScale processor. If I remember correctly, that puts it at least on par with the iPhone 3G S in terms of processing power. I’ve since upgraded it to WM 6.1, and the battery life is pretty much shot with about 40 minutes of runtime with WiFi on; but in a quick pinch, usually just long enough to check a website with NetFront Browser or watch a 30 minute show with SlingPlayer, it still serves its purpose.
I’ve been looking to replace it for some time, but the only thing that is near-capable of matching the Axim in performance is an iPod Touch. I already have AT&T, so I’d be stupid not to replace it with an iPhone instead anyway. Until now, minus the resistive touch screen, I considered the Axim more capable than an iPod Touch because it could do true, honest-to-goodness multitasking and it has an SD slot (and CF slot, if that brings back any memories of the early 2000s). I have yet to buy any Apple products, as I’m not really a fan of the “Apple attitude”. And I dread the day I’d have to manage my music with iTunes instead of Windows Media Player.
All that being said, this Dell phone looks promising. I can’t wait to see what Windows Phone 7 brings out of HTC also, but if HTC doesn’t deliver anything similar to this in specs by December I will seriously consider this phone instead of waiting any longer. I now know how people felt waiting for the iPad and iPhone to be released, as this seemingly never-ending wait for WP7 has made me ready to scrap my WM 6.1 devices and impatience has all but fully taken over. Every time I see a new video of WP7 in action I’m anxious for the future to arrive, knowing that it will still be at least 5-6 months before I’ll even be able to hold a WP7 phone in my hand and experience it in action in real life.
The phone looks drop dead gorgeous, the keys will be fine if they’re done right. I have a Pre and I’m way more accurate on that than a iPhone which I’ve used a lot more.
This phone looks amazing. If this is the harbinger of WinPhone7 devices to come, then I’ll be champing at the bit to buy one first chance I can.
There is one thing that concerns me, though: only 1GB (or 9GB) of storage? I’m not expecting a terabyte or anything, but c’mon, give us 32GB or 64GB. Lack of storage (among other things) is what killed non-iPod MP3 players and I would hate for these phones to suffer the same fate.
An easy, simple answer to that problem: Cloud Storage (ie. Windows Live Skydrive and My Phone back up for Windows Phone)
Not when it’s my music I want to put on the device. I’d like that locally, please.
For some reason, your last two posts appeared twice in the RSS feed.
Yeah, I had trouble getting WP to post that one for some reason.
Paul, just to let you know, Microsoft posted up videos of Office Mobile for Windows Phone 7 in their backstage section of windowsphone7.com. Check it out! It looks really cool and serious for enterprise/business users.
It should also silence those people who say Windows Phone 7 is just for consumers because Office Mobile on WP7 is looking incomparable to anything else on any smartphone platform.
Paul, what do you think about the Dell Lighning claim about full support for Flash and Silverlight?
Do you think they will ship with an app for that or that really (I hope) Microsoft is working for full native support?
Microsoft has only said that they will not be shipping Flash with Windows Phone. There’s no reason that Adobe can’t create a version of Flash that works with that system. That said, I think the Dell marketing materials are simply early internal documents, likely filled with a lot of reused boilerplate, and likely to change. Until Dell announces this officially, I wouldn’t take any of this at its word.