Microsoft has reportedly decided to emulate Apple and eliminate multitasking support in its upcoming Windows Mobile 7 operating system.
“Rumors [indicate] that applications can ‘pause’ instead,” explained Thom Holwerda of OS News.
“To me, that sounds like quitting the applications but saving their state, so that when you relaunch them, you can continue where you left off.
For example, if you were busy editing a Word document, then Pocket Word would save the state when it quits.”
According to Holwerda, Microsoft may also crack down on application distribution, with installation and downloads limited to an official Marketplace.
“You won’t be able to ‘side-load’ applications onto the device. This seems like a major step backwards to me, but hey, it worked for Apple, right?” wrote Holwerda.
“[However], I doubt this part of the rumor is true – there will probably, hopefully, be an advanced switch or something.”
Finally, Holwerda noted that Microsoft will likely unveil a Windows 7 Mobile interface known as Metro – which “borrows heavily” from the Zune UI.
Other expected features include full Xbox Live integration, a “fast” browsing experience (currently without Flash support) and Zune software for efficient synching.
