Windows Phone 7 Secrets E-Book

Paul Thurrott

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Secrets
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 576

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Written with unequalled internal access to the Window's Phone Team, thisbookwill reveal to you the inner workings of Windows Phone and how to make it work the way you want it to. Personalized notations, interior elements, and author highlights emphasize key content throughout the book, making it easier for you to navigate the book. The book begins by showing you to select and setup the right Windows Phone, then moves on to discuss integrated experiences, applications and hubs, games, and much more.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Pre-Flight Checklist:What to Do Before YouGet Your Windows Phone

Windows Live ID: One Online ID to Rule Them All

Using Windows Live ID to Access Your Social Networks and Other Services

Picking a Phone

Summary

Chapter 2: Unboxing and Getting Started

Unboxing Your Windows Phone

Windows Phone Usage

Summary

Chapter 3: Understanding the Windows Phone User Interface

The Way We Were: How Microsoft Screwed Up Mobile So Bad It Had to Start Over from Scratch

A New Beginning: Metro

Real-World Metro: A Whirlwind Tour of the UI

Hubs and Applications

Summary

Chapter 4: You and Your Friends: How to Connect with Others, Connect to the World

Managing Your Digital Persona

Being a People Person: Managing Your Family, Friends, and Other Contacts

Configuring the People Hub

Summary

Chapter 5: Digital Memories: Using the Pictures Hub and Camera

Using the Pictures Hub

Taking Pictures and Videos with the Camera

Moving Photos Between the Phone and Your PC

Sharing Photos and Customizing Your Phone

Configuring Picture Hub Options

Summary

Chapter 6: Zune to Go: Music + Videos

Using the Zune PC Software with Windows Phone

Enjoying Music and Video Content on Windows Phone

Why Zune Is Different

More Music: Pandora and Other Services

Summary

Chapter 7: Having Fun: Windows Phone and Games

Windows Phone: Great Mobile Gaming Platform

Understanding Xbox Live

Xbox Live on Windows Phone: Not the Full Meal Deal

Using the Games Hub

Playing a Game

Finding More Games in the Marketplace

Summary

Chapter 8: Browsing the Web

A (Short) History of the Mobile Web

Using Internet Explorer on Windows Phone

Configuring Internet Explorer

Summary

Chapter 9: Searching on the Go with Bing

Bing: A Different Way to Search

Using Bing

Configuring Bing

Summary

Chapter 10: Managing E-mail on the Go

Push It: A Look at Mobile E-mail

Understanding Accounts and E-mail

Using Mail

Configuring Mail and E-mail Accounts

Summary

Chapter 11: Tracking Your Schedule with Calendar

Connected Calendars

Glancing at Your Schedule on the Go

Using Calendar

Working with Appointments and Reminders

Configuring Calendar

Summary

Chapter 12: Getting Work Done on the Go with Office Mobile

Introducing the Tiniest Member of the Office Family

What You Can—and Can’t—Do with Office Mobile

Using the Office Hub

Accessing Online Documents

Configuring Office Mobile

Summary

Chapter 13: Making Calls and Using Voicemail

Configuring Contacts Accounts

Making and Receiving Phone Calls

Using Voicemail

Working with Bluetooth

Configuring Phone and Voicemail

Summary

Chapter 14: Text and Multimedia Messaging

Understanding Mobile Messaging

Messaging on Windows Phone

Configuring Messaging

Beyond Messaging

Summary

Chapter 15: Digging Deeper into Phone Configuration

Configuring What Happens When the Phone Is Locked

Configuring Sounds

Using Windows Phone on an Airplane

Configuring Accounts

Making Region and Language Configuration Changes

Wi-Fi Sync

Nuke It from Space and Start Over

Summary

Chapter 16: PC and Web Integration

You Can’t Get There from Here

Browsing and Buying in the Marketplace

Windows Phone on the Web

Updating Windows Phone

Summary

Index

Executive Editor: Carol Long

Senior Project Editor: Kevin Kent

Technical Editor: Todd Meister

Production Editor: Kathleen Wisor

Copy Editor: Mildred Sanchez

Editorial Director: Robyn B. Siesky

Editorial Manager: Mary Beth Wakefield

Freelancer Editorial Manager: Rosemarie Graham

Marketing Manager: Ashley Zurcher

Production Manager: Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher: Barry Pruett

Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel

Project Coordinator, Cover: Lynsey Stanford

Compositor: Craig Woods, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Jen Larsen, Word One New York

Indexer: Robert Swanson

Cover Image: © Chad Baker / Lifesize / Getty Images

Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed

Windows® Phone 7 Secrets

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-88659-5

ISBN: 978-1-118-00558-3 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-00661-0 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-00662-7 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010935564

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

To Stephanie, Mark, and Kelly, I love you all.

—Paul Thurrott

About the Author

Paul Thurrott, the author of over 20 books, is a technology analyst for Penton Media, the news editor at Windows IT Pro, and the majordomo of the SuperSite for Windows (winsupersite.com). He also writes a daily news column, “WinInfo Daily UPDATE,” a weekly editorial for Windows IT Pro UPDATE, and a monthly column called “Need to Know” for the Windows IT Pro print magazine. Additionally, he blogs at the SuperSite Blog (community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul) and the Windows Phone Secrets blog (windowsphonesecrets.com), and records a popular weekly podcast with broadcasting legend Leo Laporte called "Windows Weekly" (twit.tv/ww).

About the Technical Editor

Todd Meister has been developing using Microsoft technologies for over15 years. He's been a Technical Editor on over 75 titles ranging from SQL Server to the .NET Framework. Besides technical editing titles, he is the Senior IT Architect at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He lives in central Indiana with his wife, Kimberly, and their four brilliant children.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Stephanie for once again understanding the time crunch and high stress levels that are necessitated by this process and responding like the class act you are. This book could never have happened without you, and you are arguably more responsible for its on-time delivery than I am.

Thanks to Mark and Kelly for putting up with my months-long absence, even though I was just in the next room, screaming at my computer and wondering, aloud, why nothing ever works. When did you both get so tall?

This book couldn’t have happened without the support of Greg Sullivan and the Windows Phone team at Microsoft, and Lucas Westcoat and Jonathan Richardson at Waggener Edstrom, who provided me with very early access to prototype phone hardware, beta Windows Phone software, and many answered questions, all of which allowed me to begin documenting this exciting new platform. It was a wild, crazy, and all too quick ride. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t wait for v2.

Thanks to the amazing team at Wiley. I’ve been lucky to work with the same core group of people over several books now, and it makes a big difference. Thanks to Carol Long for working with me early on to figure out the right book to do next, Kevin Kent for his steady hand on both the direction and schedule for the book, technical editor Todd Meister, copy editor Mildred Sanchez, and production editor Kathleen Wisor. You are all amazing.

Thanks, too, to Rafael, my Windows 7 Secrets co-author, for the occasional, friendly reminders to rejoin the world, usually in the form of an “are you still alive?”-type IM. Yes, I am still alive. And I look forward to rejoining you on the next book.

Finally, thanks to my readers and listeners from around the world. I’ve always thought about my work as a conversation about technology, and that was never truer than during the development of this book, when I wrote about both Windows Phone and, for the first time, the process of writing a book from beginning to end. Let’s keep the conversation going: It’s this back and forth that makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Introduction

In early 2009, I infamously wrote an article called “Saying Goodbyeto the iPhone” (winsupersite.com/alt/iphone_goodbye.asp) in which I expressed my desire to drop Apple’s iPhone in order to adopt a device based on Microsoft’s then-current smart phone platform, Windows Mobile. The article was written more for my own benefit than anything else, and I was transparently using it as a prod to drop what was then the superior product—the iPhone—to use something dramatically inferior.

The reasons for this were many, but what it came down to was misguided pragmatism. I’m the Windows guy, after all, and had been writing about Microsoft technologies for over 15 years by that point, most notably via the SuperSite for Windows. Using and writing about the iPhone didn’t make much sense from a product coverage perspective. In isolation, Windows Mobile made plenty of sense.

There was just one problem. And boy, was it a doozy. Windows Mobile, to put it bluntly, was terrible. The version that was current at the time, Windows Mobile 6.1, was a stinker, with an underlying user interface that had roots dating back over a decade to the days of PDAs and tiny metal styluses. (Not surprisingly, Windows Mobile 6.1 phones still shipped with the little metal toothpicks. It was the only way to accurately press some of the tiny onscreen controls.)

In early 2009, there was an iota of hope that Microsoft would turn Windows Mobile around, and I clung to that hope like it was a virtual life preserver. That year, I went through several Windows Mobile devices, and while I won’t embarrass any of the companies or products by naming names here, suffice it to say they were all horrifically bad compared to the iPhone.

Microsoft’s plan, we were told, was to provide Windows Mobile with a multitouch-compatible user interface that would bring it up to speed with the iPhone. This interface would debut in Windows Mobile 6.5 in late 2009 and be accompanied by new services like Windows Marketplace for Mobile (an Apple App Store clone) and My Phone, a surprisingly decent way to synchronize and back up important smart phone data to the Web.

Windows Mobile 6.5 was big on promise but weak on execution. And while the details of why this release was so disappointing are almost too complicated to bother with, I’ll at least offer up a few relevant points here.

First, the initial batch of Windows Mobile 6.5 devices that shipped in late 2009 did not include an iPhone-like capacitive touch screen. Instead, they all shipped with inferior resistive touch screens. The difference is profound, and important. Where capacitive touch screens are silky smooth and easy to use, resistive touch screens require more pressure—causing you to press down on the screen harder than you feel is comfortable—and they are prone to mis-taps.

Second, while Microsoft did indeed provide an iPhone-like multitouch interface for Windows Mobile 6.5, this interface was only made available on the system’s lock screen, Start screen, and in a handful of apps, such as the updated version of Internet Explorer that shipped with that product. The rest of the UI was based on that horrible, old, stylus-based UI from 10 years earlier. And you didn’t have to navigate too far into the UI to reach these crusty, older bits, none of which were touch-friendly in the slightest.

Finally, Microsoft continued to bifurcate the market for its mobile platform by supplying two different versions of Windows Mobile, Standard and Professional, which ran on different kinds of hardware. Standard was designed for smaller, non-touchscreen–based devices, while Professional was aimed at more capable devices. Annoyingly, this strategy created a situation where apps written for one version often wouldn’t work on the other.

I could go on, but you get the idea. By the close of 2009, I had purchased and evaluated several Windows Mobile 6.x phones, and they were all horrible. Moving from the iPhone to one of these lackluster devices wasn’t going to be like taking a step back. It would be like taking a step back in time. They weren’t even close.

What I didn’t know at the time was that, internally, Microsoft had already given up on Windows Mobile. Yes, there was a half-hearted side effort to shore up Windows Mobile 6.5 with a few minor updates throughout early 2010. But for the most part, Microsoft was simply letting Windows Mobile run its course. Separately, and secretly, it was plotting a new mobile platform, one that would replace Windows Mobile and allow the company a rare mulligan, a do-over, a chance to finally right the wrongs and set its mobile wares down the right path. This new platform, which became known simply as Windows Phone, was like a sudden, bright shot of light in a dark room. And while it would take a year and a half, it allowed me to finally make good on my promise to abandon the iPhone. I’m not looking back.

Windows Phone is to the mobile industry what the iPhone was years ago, but is no longer: A new way of doing things, a better way of doing things. Windows Phone supports applications, or apps, like other smart phone platforms. But it also provides its users with a simpler way of doing things, a more visual presentation, and a more personalized and customizable experience. While Apple is busy cementing its position, Microsoft has been forced to retrench, and this necessity has resulted in a far more thoughtful platform, one that doesn’t copy what others are doing.

The older I get, the harder it is for me to become excited by new technology. I remember key products along the way that renewed my excitement and interest—things like Windows 95, Windows Media Center, Windows Home Server, and Windows 7. Windows Phone is such a product, and I hope my excitement is transmitted throughout the book. No technology is perfect—and Windows Phone is no exception, as I’ve tried to document here—but Microsoft’s new mobile platform has the right feature set and underlying capabilities to redefine the way we consume computing and online services on the go. I’m excited to be part of it, if only in a small way. I suspect you will be as well. Welcome aboard.

—Paul Thurrott

[email protected]

Who This Book Is For

This book is for people, average users, not technical experts. I assume you have at least a passing familiarity with mobile phones like the iPhone or those based on Google Android, but it’s not a requirement. I assume you use a Windows-based PC, and not a Mac. (Though I will at least point out that, despite the incongruity of using a device called Windows Phone in tandem with a Mac, it is at least possible for those who are interested in reverse switching. Yes, they’re out there.)

The book doesn’t need to be read from cover to cover. That said, I do recommend reading at least the first three chapters in sequence, since this is the foundation for understanding how the phone works and why things are the way they are. From that point on, feel free to cherry-pick as needed, and as you discover and wonder about specific new features.

What This Book Covers

Windows Phone is a brand-new mobile platform, and experience with a Windows Mobile device is no more relevant than iPhone or Android experience. For this reason, the book covers some background material related to the “whys” as well as the “hows” of Windows Phone before delving into specific applications and features. This background material is, I feel, very important to gaining an understanding and firm grounding in Windows Phone.

This book covers only those applications, hubs, and services that come with every Windows Phone. It is possible—no, almost a certainty—that Microsoft, device makers, and wireless carriers will bolster this base functionality with additional features, including custom applications and hubs, and more. It’s also as likely that the basic Windows Phone feature set will expand over time, and Microsoft is working to shore up the missing features that will be present at launch. It’s impossible to see the future, of course, but I will be covering any changes to Windows Phone over time at this book’s web site, Windows Phone Secrets (windowsphonesecrets.com), as well as at my main web site, the SuperSite for Windows (winsupersite.com). More so than any product I’ve ever covered, Windows Phone is going to change, and change a lot. It should be an interesting ride.

How This Book Is Structured

This book is divided into logical sections that should help you easily find what you need to know. As noted before, I recommend starting with, and reading through, the first three chapters in sequence, if possible. This will give you a firm grounding in Windows Phone.

From there, the book progresses through sections dedicated to integrated experiences, entertainment, Internet and online services, productivity, phone and messaging, and settings and configuration. There’s no reason to read these sections and chapters in order. Instead, treat Windows Phone Secrets as reference guide, referring to it as needed as you explore your own phone. Alternatively, you could use the book as an early exploration tool to find out about new features before you dive in yourself.

The point here is simple: For the most part, this book doesn’t need to be read cover to cover. Instead, you can read it in the order that makes the most sense for you.

What You Need to Use This Book

To use a Windows Phone, and thus Windows Phone Secrets, effectively, you will need a Windows-based PC, preferably running the latest version of Windows, which is Windows 7 at the time of this writing. You will need a Windows Live ID, as I discuss in Chapter 1. And you will need the latest version of the Zune PC software, since that software is the sole link between the phone and your PC.

Web Site Supporting the Book

This book is only the beginning: More secrets can be found online, and of course since Windows Phone will be evolving over time, there’s much more to come. For updates, errata, new information, and an ongoing blog with interactive discussions, please visit my Windows Phone Secrets blog (windowsphonesecrets.com). I will also be covering Windows Phone and related topics on my main web site, the SuperSite for Windows (winsupersite.com).

Features and Icons Used in This Book

The following features and icons are used in this book to help draw your attention to some of the most important or useful information in the book, some of the most valuable tips, insights, and advice that can help you unlock the secrets of Windows Phone 7.

Watch for margin notes like this one that highlight some key piece of information or that discuss some poorly documented or hard to find technique or approach.

Sidebars

Sidebars like this one feature additional information about topics related to the nearby text.

TIP The Tip icon indicates a helpful trick or technique.

NOTE The Note icon points out or expands on items of importance or interest.

CROSSREF The Cross-Reference icon points to chapters where additionalinformation can be found.

WARNING The Warning icon warns you about possible negative side effects or precautions you should take before making a change.

Chapter 1

Pre-Flight Checklist:What to Do Before YouGet Your Windows Phone

In This Chapter

Creating and managing a Windows Live ID to have the best Windows Phone experienceConnecting your ID to the social networks and online services you useJoining Zune SocialConnecting with Xbox LivePicking the right phone

Before you even set foot in a store and start thinking about which Windows Phone you want to buy, you need to do a bit of legwork. Don’t worry, it’s not painful. But if you put the right pieces in place before you buy a device, you’ll have a much better experience with Windows Phone.

The first step is to create and cultivate a Windows Live ID. Strictly speaking, you don’t need a Windows Live ID to use Windows Phone. But you’re going to want one regardless, because the Windows Phone experience is dramatically better when youdo have such an account. Windows Live provides an amazing variety of services, including integration with the social network and online services you really do care about,and integration with Microsoft’s numerous online services, including Hotmail, Zune, and Xbox Live.

Next, you need to understand which hardware features come with every Windows Phone, and which do not. By understanding what’s available, you can make more intelligent choices about the type of phone you’ll eventually buy. So bone up on the basics and then hit the stores better educated, and ready to get exactly the phone you want.

Windows Live ID: One Online ID to Rule Them All

Way back when the Internet was dominated by gray web pages with blinking text, Microsoft created a single sign-on service called Windows Live ID. The point behind the service was that you could create a single account, with a username and password, and use that one account to securely access multiple web sites. That way, you wouldn’t need to create and maintain multiple accounts, one for each web site.

NOTE Windows Live ID, like a certain underworld denizen, has gone by many names. When it was originally announced in the late 1990s, it was called Microsoft Wallet, because the software giant hoped it would prove popular with the budding e-commerce sites of the day. But it went through a series of other names over the years, including Microsoft Passport, .NET Passport, and even the awkward Microsoft Passport Network, before it settled on Windows Live ID.

Like many good ideas, Windows Live ID was a better theory than reality. Third-party web sites—that is, those sites not created and owned by Microsoft—ignored Windows Live ID for the most part, and while there are a few exceptions, this system is today used almost exclusively by Microsoft’s own web sites and services, such as Hotmail, MSN, Windows Live, Xbox Live, and Zune.

While a single web-wide sign-on would be nice, being able to access Microsoft’s many services via a single account is still pretty convenient, even more so if you’re heavily invested in what I call the Microsoft ecosystem. And if you’re going to be buying a Windows Phone, this single sign-on, or Windows Live ID, is the key to having the best experience. And while I hate to ruin the ending, this simple fact is arguably the most important secret in the whole book.

Having a Windows Live ID is essential to having a great experience with a Windows Phone.

Here’s why. After many fits and starts, Microsoft has recast its Windows Live service as a central hub of sorts, a way to “keep your lives in sync.” So instead of competing with the Facebooks and Twitters of the world, Microsoft is instead providing a way to link to third-party services, allowing you to access the third-party (read: non-Microsoft) accounts you already use, from Windows Live.

If you think about it, this is a sneaky way to achieve the original goal ofWindows Live ID. That is, since the world didn’t come to Windows Live ID, Windows Live ID has instead come to the world. Using that single sign-on, you can simply access all those wonderful third-party services from Windows Live. All you need to do is create an account—though you may already have one—and then configure it to access other services.

Every Windows Phone user should take the time to configure a Windows Live ID. And this is true even if you have no interest in using any Windows Live services directly. By creating such an account and configuring it properly, you will be able to turn on your new phone on day one, sign on with your Windows Live ID, and watch it automatically populate with all of the information that’s tied to that account. This means e-mail, contacts, and calendars. Photos and news feeds from you and your friends and family, no matter where they’re found online. And, as you will soon find out, so much more. This is the key to a killer Windows Phone experience.

NOTE Yes, you can use Windows Phone without having a Windows Live ID, but I don’t recommend it. And while this book does document how to configure your phone with other account types, I am assuming that you have a Windows Live ID. It’s that important. So please don’t skip the Windows Live ID creation and configuration steps if you want to get the most out of your Windows Phone.

Creating a New Windows Live ID

If you don’t have a Windows Live ID, you will need to create one. Note, however, that you may already have such an account. Any e-mail address ending in hotmail.com, msn.com, or live.com is a Windows Live ID, for example. If you’ve created an Xbox Live account or a Zune account, that’s a Windows Live ID too. So if you have such an account, skip ahead to the next section. If not, it’s time to make one.

NOTE It’s possible for any e-mail address to be used as a Windows Live ID, so if you don’t want to be stuck with one of Microsoft’s domain names, you can also use your own (including competitor accounts from Gmail, Yahoo!, and elsewhere). Many educational institutions also use Windows Live services on the back end, so if you’re a student, it’s possible you have a Live ID already as well.

There are many avenues for reaching Microsoft’s Windows Live ID sign up page, but the easiest, perhaps, is to just navigate to live.com. When you do so, you’ll see the screen shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: Here, you can begin your new online life with Windows Live.

If the Windows Live ID field on the right of this page is already filled out, this means you could already have an active Windows Live ID.So make sure you really intendto create anew account.

Click the Sign Up button to continue. The Create Your Windows Live ID page will appear. As shown in Figure 1-2, you will need to fill out a form listing information about yourself and pick a Windows Live ID, which will take the form of [email protected] or [email protected]. This ID will also be used for a Hotmail e-mail address.

Figure 1-2: You can check the availability of the name you want before proceeding.

In the Windows Live ID field, experiment with different ID names to find one that is available. Note that common names, such as Paul, were taken long ago, so you may need to get creative. The form will make suggestions or provide an advanced search box, shown in Figure 1-3, if you pick an ID that’s already taken.

Figure 1-3: Windows Live will help you find a good ID.

When you find an acceptable ID, the form will tell you that it’s available and you can proceed (see Figure 1-4).

Figure 1-4: Once you find a name you like, you can move on.

Already Have a Non-Microsoft E-mail Account?

If you already have an e-mail account with a different company, you can turn that into a Windows Live ID as well. There is one important difference between using a preexisting e-mail address and creating a new one with Windows Live, however: You won’t be able to use Hotmail for e-mail, contacts, or calendar management. Note, too, that when you configure an existing e-mail account as a Windows Live ID, you will need to create a password for this ID that is separate from the password you use to access e-mail from that account. I recommend just creating a standalone Windows Live ID and not using an existing e-mail account because it’s very easy with Windows Phone to access multiple accounts in a seamless way.

Fill out the rest of the form, paying particular attention to the password, which should be complex if possible and rated “strong” by the form. (It will rate your password as you type.) According to Microsoft, a strong password contains 7–16 characters, does not include common words or names, and combines uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

TIP There are some excellent tools online to help you create complex passwords for web services. I use and recommend a free tool called Last Pass (lastpass.com), which provides a plug-in for all major PC-based web browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari), allowing you to securely create, store, and manage the passwords for all of the services you use online.

When you’re done, click the button labeled I Accept. Windows Live will work for a bit and then display the Windows Live Home page (live.com), this time logged on with your new ID. This is shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5: It’s pretty sparse right now, but your Windows Live ID is up and running.

As initially configured, there’s not much going on with your new Windows Live ID. But that’s easy enough to rectify, and there are a number of things you can do to make this ID more valuable. You can start with the basics: initial Windows Live ID configuration.

Initial Windows Live ID Configuration

On that initial Windows Live Home page, you should see a link titled Edit Your Profile. Click that, or, if it’s not present, click the Profile link in the upper right of the page. Either way, you’ll be brought to your Windows Live Profile page, where you can configure your new ID. This is shown in Figure 1-6.

Figure 1-6: Windows Live Profile.

TIP You can return to your Windows Live Profile at any time by visiting profile.live.com.

If this is the very first time you’ve visited this page, there will be a handy—and important—box with the title "Welcome to your new profile." Here, you can very easily configure your privacy settings for Windows Live. You can of course change this later, but I recommend taking a moment to get this right before proceeding. Fortunately, Microsoft has made it simple with just three basic choices:

Public:

Everything you do—what Microsoft calls your activities—is available publicly on Windows Live, even to those people with whom you have no formal relationship. Furthermore, anyone can find you by searching on Windows Live and can view your profile. I’m not a privacy nut, but

I don’t recommend choosing this setting

, unless, of course, you’re a reverse voyeur. (They’re out there.)

Limited:

This is the default setting and the least restrictive option I think you should consider. Configured this way, only your friends—those people you’ve explicitly “friended” on Windows Live—can see what you’re doing via the service. But as with the Public setting, anyone can find you by searching on Windows Live and can view your profile. This is the setting to choose if you are concerned about privacy but do want others to be able to find you online.

Private:

With this most restrictive setting—and, for whatever it’s worth, the one I use—only your friends can view what you’re doing online, and only your friends can search for you or view your profile. This is the option you’ll want to pick if you’re concerned about privacy and don’t want other people to find you.

Once you’ve chosen a setting, click Save.

WARNING If you are at all concerned about your privacy online—and you should be—this isn’t enough. Please be sure to visit the Windows Live advanced privacy page (profile.live.com/Privacy) and then click the Advanced link to see a comprehensive form for really fine-tuning your privacy settings, as shown in Figure 1-7.

Figure 1-7: Spend the time to get your privacy settings exactly right. You can’t be too careful online.

From here, there are a wide range of options you can configure for your Windows Live ID. (Or not. Remember, it’s your choice.) Some of the more important ones include:

Personal information:

Click the Details link on the left side of your Profile page to access a page where you can edit your personal information, including your name, personal photo, contact information, work information, general information (gender, occupation, location, interests, and more), social information (relationship status, relationship interests, hometown, places lived, humor, fashion, and favorite quote), and education information.

Status:

At the top of the Profile page is a conversation balloon with the text, "Share something new." This is where you can type a personal note, similar to a Twitter post (or “tweet”) or Facebook status post.

You can also update your status on Windows Live with Microsoft’s instant messaging (IM) application, Windows Live Messenger. This app works as a front end of sorts to Windows Live on Windows-based PCs.

Importing Contacts from Other Services

After you’ve completed filling out your Windows Live ID, you may want to import contacts from other services, especially if you intend to use this account for e-mail or to communicate with others using Windows Live services and applications such as Windows Live Photos (photo sharing), Windows Live Spaces (blogging), or Windows Live Messenger. To do so, click the Add Friends to Your Profile link on the Profile page. (Or just navigate to profile.live.com/connect.) From this page, shown in Figure 1-8, you can add individual people to your contact list or import them from other e-mail accounts and online services.

Figure 1-8: Windows Live helps you import contacts from other services.

While adding single contacts at a time is pretty straightforward, it’s also monotonous, so I want to focus on importing. After all, you probably have contacts elsewhere, in an e-mail application (like Outlook), on a competing e-mail service like Gmail or AOL, or on other online services such as Facebook or MySpace.

Windows Phone works natively only with online accounts, like Windows Live, Gmail, and Facebook. You will not be able to sync information from a desktop e-mail client like Outlook to Windows Phone.

To import contacts, click the appropriate service or application. While the options vary slightly depending on which one you pick, there are three basic types of integration here:

Facebook and MySpace:

Thanks to deep integration with Windows Live, Facebook and MySpace contacts importing works quite differently from the other choices. In fact, these services are so special that I’m going to examine them separately in the next section, so hang tight. (Or skip ahead.)

Manual import:

Many of the other services, including LinkedIn, AOL Mail, Hyves, Google (Gmail), Hi5, and Tagged require you to log on to that service before you can import contacts. So when you select one of these options, you’ll see a page created by that service where you can log on in order to authorize the contacts copying. A typical screen of this type is shown in

Figure 1-9

.

Figure 1-9: Services such as Gmail require you to log on so you can transfer information to Windows Live.

Outlook and another Windows Live account:

To import contacts from Microsoft’s corporate-oriented e-mail and personal information management application, or from Windows Live, you will need to first export them in a format Windows Live can understand.

NOTE Interestingly, these options can be used to import contacts from Outlook Express (Windows XP), Windows Contacts (Windows Vista), Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail as well, as shown in Figure 1-10. Note that in any of these cases, you will need to have exported your contacts into an acceptable format first.

Figure 1-10: Hidden under the Outlook and Windows Live options are other import choices.

Don’t see your e-mail provider listed? Or maybe you just want a more seamless way to import contacts from your current e-mail provider. If so, visit the Windows Live TrueSwitch site (secure5.trueswitch.com/winlive/)and fill out the form. Voila!

Using Windows Live ID to Access Your Social Networks and Other Services

Once your Windows Live ID is properly configured, you can begin connecting it to the other online services you’re already using.

This is, in my humble opinion, the coolest feature Microsoft offers in Windows Live and indisputably the single smartest thing you can do in order to later have the best possible experience with Windows Phone.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably familiar with the fact that there are very popular services online, most of which aren’t made by Microsoft. (I know, it’s shocking.) In fact, you almost certainly use many of these services yourself: Facebook or MySpace for social networking; Pandora for music; Hulu for online TV shows; Flickr for photos; and many more.

There are literally dozens of valuable online services, but they all exist, in isolation, separate from each other. Each requires its own username and password, and to access content from each service, you need to manually visit each separately.

That’s where Windows Live comes in. Yes, some parts of Windows Live compete with some of these other services. Windows Live Photos is a direct competitor with Flickr, for example. But by making Windows Live open and extensible to other services, Microsoft has also made it possible for Windows Live users to utilize the service as a hub, of sorts, for their other services. It gives you a single place to access information from Facebook, Flickr, and Pandora (or whatever), without having to manually visit each place separately. And you can access not just your information, but also the information of your contacts—that is, your friends, family, and other acquaintances—from those services.

Later on, you’ll be able to connect your Windows Phone to just one service—Windows Live—but gain access to an unbelievable amount of content, instantly, thanks to these connections. It makes Windows Live even more powerful.

Neat, eh? Okay, time to get connected.

Finding and Examining the Available Services

To find out which services you can connect to Windows Live, you need to visit the Windows Live Services page. You do so by clicking the Add Web Activities link onthe Windows Live Home page (live.com) or by navigating directly to profile.live.com/services. Shown in Figure 1-11, this page provides a way to access all of the online services which you can connect to Windows Live.

Figure 1-11: Here, you’ll find the services that you can connect to Windows Live.

If you find the list too intimidating—it gets bigger all the time as more partners come on board—then you can use the Categories list on the left to filter it down. For example, you can click Movies and TV to only see video services.

Connecting an Online Service to Windows Live

For most of these services, you need to be a member—that is, have a user account at that service—in order to connect it to Windows Live. I’ll use the Flickr photo sharing site as an example of such a service since it’s very popular, but you can and should of course connect with whatever services you use.

To select Flickr, click Photos in the Categories list and then click the link for Flickr. You’re presented with a screen explaining what it means to connect to Flickr, as shown in Figure 1-12.

Figure 1-12: Before making the connection, Windows Live will explain what doing so means.

When you click the Add Flickr button, you’ll navigate to the Flickr web site and be prompted for your Flickr credentials. When you log on, the browser returns you to Windows Live, notes that you’re connected, and explains what the privacy settings are. (You can click the Change link to change this, of course.) Click the Connect button to complete the connection.

You’re returned to the Windows Live Services page, where you can pick another service to connect.

You’ll do that in a moment, but for now, return to Windows Live Home (live.com). You’ll see a note about the connection in your Messenger social feed—a list of "What’s new" items that carries across all connected services—and, if there are any new photos posted to Flickr, a link to that new content as well. This is shown in Figure 1-13.

Figure 1-13: As soon as you connect to a service from Windows Live, content from that service appears in your Messenger social feed.

NOTE Messenger social used to be called What’s New. I still think that was a better and more descriptive name. Microsoft renamed it to Messenger Social because this list is also available via Windows Live Messenger, the company’s IM application for Windows.

Okay, time to add one more service, and this time you’ll use a different type of connection. While most of the services you can connect to Windows Live require you to be a member, some do not. For example, you may have a favorite web site that provides regular updates. These types of sites typically use an RSS feed to alert people about updates, and Windows Live supports connecting to any RSS feed via a generic Blog RSS Feed connection. You can find this option at the bottom of the main Services page.

Technically speaking, the Blog RSS Feed connection works with both RSS and Atom feeds. They work similarly.

You’ll need the web site’s RSS URL (uniform resource locator, essentially its web address) in order to make the connection. While each browser does this is a bit differently, most work similarly. In Internet Explorer, navigate to the web site and notice that the Feeds icon in the Command Bar turns orange, indicating that a feed is available. To view the feed, click the button. IE will now display the feed provided by the web site, as shown in Figure 1-14.

Figure 1-14: Web browsers can display RSS feeds, which you can connect to Windows Live.

The RSS URL, or address, can be found in the browser’s Address Bar. Select this text and copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl+C works nicely). Then, paste it into the Blog URL on Windows Live’s Connect Blog RSS Feed to Windows Live page and click Connect. After a bit of churning, the web site’s feed will be added to your Messenger social feed as well.

Getting Around the Blog RSS Feed’s Big Limitation

The Blog RSS Feed connection has one very serious limitation: You can only connect it to one web site. That is, despite the fact that you probably have multiple sites for which you’d like to receive updates, Windows Live only lets you connect with one RSS (or Atom) feed. This is, of course, ridiculous. Is there a way around this? Yes, but it’s a bit convoluted. Using an RSS aggregator service such as Friendfeed (friendfeed.com), you can connect to all the web site RSS feeds you want, and then connect Windows Live to your Friendfeed RSS feed. Silly? You bet.

Be sure to spend some time and connect to each of the services you already use. You can view and edit your connected services via the Connected Services page, which you can access by clicking the Manage Services link on the Services page. (Or navigate directly to profile.live.com/Services/?view=manage.) As shown in Figure 1-15, this page lets you edit the settings for each connected service, including privacy, or remove individual services you’re no longer interested in accessing.

Figure 1-15: Manage connected services.

Viewing and Interacting with Content in the Messenger Social Feed

Once you’ve connected with all of your favorite services, it’s time to see why this is so powerful. If you navigate to Windows Live Home (live.com), you’ll see updates from all of your connected services appear in the Messenger social list. And that list could be quite voluminous, especially if you connect to some of the “chattier” online services, like Facebook.

What’s neat about this is that this list isn’t read-only. You can also perform certain actions on each update without having to go visit the service from which it came. So if you see a Facebook post, or a Flickr photoset, or whatever else you’d like to comment on, you can do so, right from Windows Live.

To comment on an update, click the Comment link that appears next to the update. When you do so, a new Comment interface opens up, as shown in Figure 1-16. You can type your comment and then add it to whatever service it originated from.

You can also perform other actions. If you mouse over one of the updates, a small gear icon will appear, as shown in Figure 1-17.

Click this gear and you’ll see a small pop-up menu (Figure 1-18). This menu lets you mark the update’s poster as a Favorite—which I’ll explain in just a bit—or hide updates from the service from which the update originated.

Figure 1-16: You can comment on updates from other services directly from Windows Live.

Figure 1-17: A small options icon appears when you mouse over individual updates.

Figure 1-18: Click the icon and a small menu appears with more options.

There’s also a More Options link that brings you to a very interesting page where you can manage the social updates from your friends or, more accurately, determine which Windows Live services will appear in your Messenger social feed. (You can manually navigate to this page by visiting profile.live.com/whatsnewsettings.) This page, shown in Figure 1-19, also lets you hide individual users, which can be very convenient. (Hey, we all have one of those friends, right?)

Perhaps by now the power of this system is obvious. But the real beauty of Windows Live, and its connections to the outside services you already use, is that once you do get a Windows Phone, you will simply log on to your Windows Live account, and all this stuff will propagate around the phone as makes sense. So your Windows Live Hotmail-based e-mail, contacts, and calendars will of course appear in the device’s Mail, Contacts, and Calendar interfaces. But updates from your connected photo services will also appear in the phone’s Pictures UI. And your Messenger social feed will show up in the phone’s People experience. And all you have to do is sign in once.

Figure 1-19: Selectively remove users and Windows Live services updates from this page.

TIP There is a lot more going on with Windows Live, of course. And while it doesn’t have all that much to do with Windows Phone, I do recommend that you download and install Windows Live Essentials (get.live.com), a set of useful and fun Windows applications that includes, among other things, the Windows Live Messenger application that also provides access to your Messenger social feed. It’s shown in Figure 1-20.

Music Lovers: Connecting to Zune Social

While setting up a Windows Live ID and connecting it to the third-party online services you care about is absolutely critical for anyone interested in Windows Phone, there are a few Microsoft online services that are particularly interesting and relevant as well. And since these online services are tied to your Windows Live ID, and can be used to populate your phone with content, it makes sense to get them set up now, before you get your Windows Phone.

Figure 1-20: Windows Live Messenger provides PC-based access to your Messenger social feed.

The first is Microsoft Zune. If you haven’t heard of Zune, or simply have never tried it, you may be in for a very happy surprise. Zune is an elegant and powerful digital media platform that encompasses a number of interesting components. These include:

Zune PC software:

This software can be used to organize and play digital media content, including music, videos, and photos, and to sync this content with various portable devices, including, yes, Windows Phones.

Zune Pass:

This subscription service allows you to browse, stream, and download all of the music you want, from Microsoft’s voluminous online collection for a flat monthly fee. With Windows Phone, you can even perform these activities, over the air, right to the phone, with no PC required.

Zune Social:

This online community provides a way to share your favorite and new music with friends, family, and others. (And yes, of course it links up to the Messenger social feed so you can share via your Windows Phone.)

Zune portable devices:

Before there were Windows Phone devices, Microsoft made dedicated digital media players, including the Zune HD, which could harness the power of Zune on the go.

Zune Marketplace:

This isMicrosoft’s online store for music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and more. It’s available from the Zune PC software (on Windows-based PCs), on the Xbox 360 (more on this later in the chapter), and, yes, on your Windows Phone as well.

Xbox 360:

Microsoft’s video game console includes Zune software for media playback, including Zune Pass streaming, and can interact with portable devices, including Zune players.

Bing music playback:

Using Microsoft’s search engine (at

bing.com

), you can find out more about your favorite musical artists. And thanks to an integrated Zune player, you can even play entire songs by these artists as you search around for more information. (If you have a Zune Pass, you get unlimited streaming too.)

If this seems like a lot of information, well, it is. But that’s why I discuss much of this in much more detail later in the book.

CROSSREF Check out Chapter 6 to see how you can use the Zune PC software with your Windows Phone. This chapter also includes a look at how the Windows Phone’s Zune software works right on the device.

For now, you can get started by connecting your Windows Live ID to a Zune account. You’ll use exactly the same underlying Windows Live ID, so it’s easy.

First, open your PC’s web browser, browse to zune.net, and click the Sign In link at the top of the page. Since you already have a Windows Live ID, you can sign in using that ID. And when you do, you’ll be prompted to create your Zune account, which will be connected to that ID. It will look something like the screen shown in Figure 1-21.

One of the options you’ll need to decide on right up front is whether you want to be part of the Zune Social. As noted previously, this is Microsoft’s online community for music lovers, and it provides you with a way to share your musical likes and dislikes with others online. If you’re unsure about this, just select Don’t Share; you can always join the Zune Social later. The point now is just to get your Windows Live ID connected to a Zune account.

When you complete this first part of the form, you’ll be prompted to create a Zune Tag. This is a name that will identify you to others in the Zune Social and, if you join Xbox Live as described in the next section, it’s the same name you’ll use for gaming endeavors as well.

Figure 1-21: Here, you connect your Windows Live ID to a Zune account.

Think It Over

I recommend not getting cute here. While many people create nonsensical Zune Tags, remember that this is the name you’ll use when you communicate with others. So rather than be known as Flatulent Fred or whatever, try to pick something that you won’t be embarrassed by later on.

A Zune Tag can consist of letters (A–Z, a–z), numbers (0–9), and single spaces. But it can’t start with a number. And it can be up to 15 characters long, maximum.

My Zune Tag, incidentally, is Paul Thurrott. Yeah, it’s boring. But people instantly know it’s me.

As with your Windows Live ID, your Zune Tag must be unique. That means you can’t pick a Zune Tag that’s already in use by someone else. So Paul Thurrott, obviously, is taken. So, too, I’d imagine, are names like Bob Smith. The sign-up wizard will let you know if the name you want is available, as shown in Figure 1-22.

Figure 1-22: And another classic Zune Tag is created.

When you’re done creating the Zune account, you can download the Zune PC software, join Zune Pass, or discover some of the other interesting and unique features of the Zune platform, which I discuss in more detail in Chapters 6 and 16.

Gamers: Connect to Xbox Live

If you’re a video gamer, chances are that you’ve already heard of Microsoft’s Xbox, which is known far and wide as the most powerful and capable video game platform on earth. As with Zune, Xbox consists of a number of components. These include:

Xbox 360:

The premier video game console features HD graphics, surround sound, and the best library of video games available anywhere. It also connects to an ever-growing library of online services, including Zune (music and video), Netflix (TV and movies), Last.fm (music), Facebook and Twitter (social networking), and more. The Xbox 360 isn’t just a video game console; it’s also a central hub for entertainment and communications.

Xbox Live Gold costs $50 per year per account. But you can also purchase a Family Pack for $100 that provides up to four Xbox players with a year of access and supplies critical parental controls functionality.

Xbox Live:

Inaddition to making a killer console, Microsoft also supplies the most popular video game service on earth. Xbox Live is available in a free version called Xbox Live Silver, and a paid version called Xbox Live Gold. Both provide access to free game demo downloads, HD movies and TV shows (via Zune), downloadable Xbox Live Arcade games, game add-ons, avatars (mini cartoon characters that represent you online), in-game voice and text chat, and photo sharing. But the Gold subscription adds online gameplay with friends, Netflix streaming (though you must also have a Netflix subscription), Xbox Live Parties, video chat, Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm access, and some other unique features.

TIP Microsoft also has a related service called Games for Windows – LIVE. This awkwardly named service is essentially Xbox Live for Windows PCs, so it uses the exact same Windows Live ID that you use for Windows Live, Zune, Xbox Live, or Windows Phone. You can find out more at gamesforwindows.com/live.

Xbox Live Marketplace:

Microsoft’s online store for gamers provides a way to purchase full games electronically, Xbox Live Arcade games (which tend to be smaller than full games), as well as free game demos and other content, game add-ons, and more. It’s analogous to Zune Marketplace, except that the focus here is gaming instead of digital media. (That said, the two stores are merging and a lot of Zune Marketplace content is available via Xbox Live Marketplace as well. As you can imagine, having a single ID to access all this content is pretty convenient.)

You don’t have to be a hard-core gamer to appreciate Xbox. In addition to expanding the audience for its gaming wares with the Kinect add-on for Xbox 360 (which provides Nintendo Wii–like motion sensing controls as well as voice control and opens the door to a new generation of more casual games), Microsoft has brought its Xbox Live service to Windows Phone as well. So you don’t even need an Xbox 360 to take advantage of Xbox Live. (I examine the Windows Phone gaming features in Chapter 7.)

To sign up for an Xbox Live account, visit xbox.com in your PC’s web browser and click the Sign In link at the top of the page.

If you already signed up for a Zune account, you will simply need to accept a new Terms of Use agreement. That’s because the Zune Tag you already created will be used as your unique Xbox Live identifier, which is called a Gamertag. (I discuss this more in just a bit.)

If you skipped the Zune account sign-up (and really, shame on you for that), you’ll need to fill out a form and create what’s known as your Gamer Profile. This is essentially your online game-playing persona.

This Gamer Profile consists of a number of attributes, some of which you’ll need to specify right up front. These include:

Gamertag:

This is essentially the name that will identify you to others while you’re playing games on Xbox Live. (And that’s true whether you’re playing games on the Xbox 360 console, a Windows-based PC, or via your Windows Phone.) This Gamertag is identical to your Zune account, so check out the previous section for information on the rules for creating this Gamertag and my suggestions for not getting too immature about it.

Gamer Picture:

Microsoft lets you use a small picture to graphically represent you to others online. There are a number of built-in pictures to choose from, and if you log on with the Xbox 360 console, there are more available (including some for purchase, believe it or not).

Gamer Zone:

Microsoft provides four general gamer types from which you can choose, including Recreation (casual gamers), Family (G-rated content only, please), Pro (hard core but polite), and Underground (hard core, no rules). I know you’re dying to know where I fall in this list. You may be surprised to discover its Recreation. Don’t worry. I’ll still take you down online, given the chance.

Once you create an Xbox Live Gamer Profile, you can visit your Xbox home page, where you can view information about this profile. (It’s at live.xbox.com if you can’t figure it out.) Since you’re just starting out, your home page is going to be pretty bare, as shown in Figure 1-23.

Figure 1-23: With your Xbox Live Gamer Profile created, it’s time to get online and get beat up a bit.

There’s a lot more you can do from here: Edit your profile, privacy settings, contact information, and other preferences, add friends, or sign up for an Xbox Live Gold account. (You are automatically given a Silver account when you create your profile.) But I examine gaming and the various Xbox Live features thoroughly in Chapter 7. For now, the important bit is just getting the account set up.

Picking a Phone

You may be surprised to discover that I consider properly configuring a Windows Live ID a far more important task than picking a phone. But it’s true: We live in an age of throwaway smart phones, and while you may choose to replace your phone every year or two, your Windows Live ID will stay with you for many years to come. So it’s important to get that right.

But you are eventually going to move on to the next phase in your Windows Phone adventure, and that involves picking the right phone. Of course, the phone that’s right for you may not be the phone I’d pick, as we all have our own wants, needs, and requirements. And let’s be clear: Just as with any smart phone platform, Windows Phone is going to evolve over time, and handset makers and wireless carriers will be coming out with new devices on a regular basis. So it doesn’t make sense to recommend particular phones. Instead, what I’ll do is highlight those features that will appear on all Windows Phone devices, and those that will be optional, so you can survey the market for available devices and make an educated decision when the time comes.

Understanding the Windows Phone Hardware Specifications