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Development of Windows Phone Devices at Fujitsu

Development of Windows Phone Devices at Fujitsu

Development of Devices at

 Satoshi Nishimura  Akinobu Ueda

Fujitsu achieved a world’s first in applying the .5 as a platform and marketing a running this OS. In a smartphone market dominated by iPhone and Android devices, Fujitsu, in addition to developing Android products, began from early on to investigate the development of Windows Phone devices that take advantage of the innova- tive features of this OS. It is now developing its own of this type on the basis of a common understanding with on policies governing product development and the application of original technologies. In this development, Fujitsu is implementing original specifications on top of Windows Phone while achieving impressive performance, power-saving features, and operations stability (quality). It is satisfying Microsoft requirements and evalua- tion criteria for smartphone peripheral devices and interfaces and ensuring software stability and the robustness of security measures. This paper describes Fujitsu’s approach to developing and expanding a third smartphone platform as an addition to Android and iOS.

1. Introduction Fujitsu is working to ensure the superiority of Windows In the current smartphone market, the lineup of Phone technology. products based on the Android platform is expanding In this paper, we describe specific technical fea- rapidly. These products boast high affinity with the tures achieved in the course of developing products Internet and high multimedia performance as well as running Windows Phone 7.5, explain how the Windows larger screens, all of which are driving end users away Phone platform differs from the Android platform, and from phones with conventional features. touch upon next-generation Windows Phone products Against this background, Fujitsu placed the first slated for future release. smartphone in the world to run Windows Phone 7.5 on the Japanese market in August 2011 through KDDI 2. Windows Phone features Corporation. Named the “IS12T,” this smartphone com- The user experience provided by Windows Phone bines the functions provided by Windows Phone is centered about the service concept of a “hub.” With 7.5 with compelling functions and features that distin- Windows Phone, the user can select Hub, guish this smartphone in the market. These include Pictures Hub, Office Hub, Music+Videos Hub, Games high-end hardware features such as a 13.2-megapixel Hub, or Applications Hub depending on what he or camera, 32 GB of built-in memory, and a water- she would like to do. Each of these hubs enables the resistant, dust-resistant structure as well as Fujitsu’s user to access and download all information related to proprietary audio technology. that hub’s category from a single screen (“one place”) The smartphone market is currently dominated using intuitive operations. These hubs are summarized by Android and iPhone devices, but there are expecta- below. tions that Windows Phone will become a third major 1) People Hub platform owing to the advantage of being linked with People Hub (Figure 1) integrates and displays the accumulated assets of the Windows PC platform. contact information for multiple e- accounts such

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as mail () and Outlook.com (formerly 2) Pictures Hub Hotmail) and information from social media accounts Pictures Hub can display photos and videos stored such as and . When the user is check- on the smartphone as well as those on a PC and on ing mail received from friend A, for example, the People the Web, all in one place. Photos and videos stored Hub will display updated information for that person in folders on the smartphone, on a PC (within folders from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media plat- on a Windows machine), and on the Web (Microsoft forms all on the same screen. The user can therefore SkyDrive) are all tied together through an integrated obtain the latest information for that friend from vari- ID called ID. This makes it possible to ous available sources. With conventional services, the browse one’s photo/video collection from a single only way for a user to check all of the latest information screen (hub) instead of visiting each photo/video stor- for friend A is to separately open individual applications age location one at a time. Pictures Hub also enables such as e-mail and Twitter and make the rounds of the user to upload photos and videos to a social net- each. People Hub, in contrast, provides the user with working site (SNS) from a single screen. a mechanism to check all information for friend A from 3) Office Hub one place. With Offi ce HubFigure ( 2), the user can view and edit Offi ce fi les and use Offi ce tools like OneNote for taking notes even with photos and audio clips in- cluded. This hub handles Offi ce fi les in such a way that they are always synchronized after an update regard- less of where they are stored. 4) Music+Videos Hub Music+Videos Hub (Figure 3) enables the user to view and play back photos and videos captured with the smartphone, to play back music fi les and , and to listen to FM radio. By synchronizing the smart- phone with a PC (Windows or Mac OS machine) running Microsoft’s client software, this hub enables the

Figure 1 user to manage from a single screen a music/video usage People HubFigure screenshots. 1 and playback environment that is always up-to-date. People Hub screenshots.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint

OneNote

SharePoint document library can be updated without using a VPN

Figure 2 Offi Figurece Hub. 2 Office Hub. FUJITSU Sci. Tech. J., Vol. 49, No. 2 (April 2013) 203 S. Nishimura et al.: Development of Windows Phone Devices at Fujitsu

PC

Wi-Fi Access Point

Music, videos, photos Wi-Fi Sync

WP7 Zune video

Figure 3 Music+Videos Hub. Figure 3 Music+Videos Hub. 5) Games Hub set of specifi cations that include support for 50 lan- Games Hub enables the user to connect to guages, including Japanese. Microsoft provides the OS Microsoft’s Xbox Live and play games and to use Xbox and Adaptation Kit (a set of standard Microsoft applica- 360 games too. tions) in binary form to makers. Development work at 6) Applications Hub a maker is therefore limited to hardware-related drivers Applications Hub acts as a gateway to Microsoft’s (which can be developed in either kernel space or user application (app) store called Marketplace. space depending on the application) and to applica- tions and running on top of the OS. 3. Development of Windows Phone What this means is that a device maker cannot devices independently extend or replace OS internal opera- Mobile devices running Windows Phone must tions or functions of standard applications. However, be developed in conformance with Microsoft’s “chassis as refl ected by the support provided for 50 languages, specifi cation” specifying hardware requirements. This Windows Phone has been developed for mobile phone specifi cation stipulates requirements and performance operators doing business throughout the world, and targets in relation to the chipsets supported by the OS for this reason, Microsoft allows makers to customize and the peripheral-device functions that the smart- some OS operations and standard applications. A de- phone must have. vice maker can therefore support a variety of services Only Qualcomm chipsets have so far been sup- while satisfying common specifi cations by setting the ported. In the time between completing development menu items and initial parameter values supported by of a Windows Phone OS and releasing it to device mak- the destination mobile phone operator at the time of ers, Microsoft performs thorough testing by combining factory shipment. the OS with basic chipset software provided in the form Turning to the Windows Phone (UI), of a board support package (BSP). This process ensures Microsoft has placed the highest priority on achieving a that Windows Phone functions are complete and sta- stress-free user experience by providing intuitive opera- ble, which means that a device maker can concentrate tions that anyone can perform. its resources on developing features and functions that Up until now, most mobile phones and smart- will differentiate its smartphone products from those of phone menu items like “Save” and “Quit” have been competitors. expressed in text form. Windows Phone, in contrast, Windows Phone is based on a globally common adopts a text-free design, making use of universal

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design symbols. This is similar to the way major sub- The IS12T Windows Phone developed by Fujitsu is way systems in the world, such as those in the United a highly cloud-oriented smartphone that is thoroughly Kingdom, France, and Japan, use specific colors and adept at using cloud services. It can immediately send symbols to make their information and guidance dis- images captured with the phone to other people via plays easy to understand regardless of language or age Twitter or share them on SkyDrive. group. This is why Windows Phone is said to have a “” UI. Additionally, a Windows Phone user may ar- 4. Development tools for Windows range application “tiles” as desired on the . Phone apps Specifically, each tile may be fixed somewhere on the Windows Phone apps may be developed by screen as if attaching it with a pushpin, and each ap- anyone and distributed for worldwide use from the plication can be called by simply tapping its tile. Marketplace app store managed by Microsoft. Much importance has also been placed on pro- Microsoft provides the Windows Phone Software viding a pleasant sensation when making transitions Development Kit (SDK) 7.1 free of charge for develop- between menus or when performing finger-based flick ing Windows Phone apps. This SDK includes a complete operations by providing smooth and slick representa- development environment with all of the tools needed tions of those actions. to develop apps, as listed below. In addition to the above, Fujitsu is designing and • 2010 Express for Windows developing its Windows Phone devices with an empha- Phone sis on crisp, stress-free operations achieved by using a • Windows Phone Emulator variety of techniques. These include heightening the • Windows Phone SDK 7.1 Assemblies sense of interaction by tracking finger movement as if • Silverlight 4 SDK and Developer Regression Tests the touchscreen was “biting” into the finger, optimizing • Windows Phone SDK 7.1 Extensions for XNA Game the response of button operations to eliminate stress, Studio 4.0 and shortening the phone’s power-up/boot time. • Microsoft Expression Blend SDK for Windows Fujitsu’s “Super HAKKIRI VOICE (super-clear voice) Phone 7 3” audio technology and “Milbeaut Mobile image pro- • Microsoft Expression Blend SDK for Windows cessor”1) were implemented for the first time as original Phone OS 7.1 add-on functions in the IS12T Windows Phone for KDDI. • WCF Data Services Client for Windows Phone The Super HAKKIRI VOICE 3 technology makes • Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows Phone it easier to hear the other party’s voice in a crowded A Windows Phone app must be described in a environment. It has been used extensively in Fujitsu’s development language called Silverlight. A developer FOMA mobile phones and ARROWS series of Android can visit the Microsoft Development Network (MSDN) smartphones. technology portal to learn about various techniques The Milbeaut Mobile image processor performs for developing Windows Phone apps, view develop- quick high-resolution image processing and makes it ment samples, and obtain guides for porting apps from easy for users to take high-definition still pictures and iPhone and Android. video using the 13.2-megapixel camera mounted on The SDK comes bundled with an emulator that the IS12T phone. can be run on a PC for debugging apps under develop- The most outstanding feature of Windows Phone is ment. This emulator enables the developer to perform that it provides a smooth communication environment app testing centered about a for people who want to converse with others using the without having to use an actual device. However, People Hub or Pictures Hub as a starting point. Yet, as game apps that require communication or sensor func- described above, Windows Phone also provides basic tions must be tested on actual equipment. functions that are intuitive and easy to use, basic op- To distribute apps from Marketplace, a developer erations that are crisp and pleasant, telephone calling must obtain a developer account through a 12-month in which voices are easy to hear, and stress-free, high- MSDN subscription. Apps may be created in a free or performance picture taking and video capture. paid format while advertisements may be embedded in

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apps and games. A developer may submit an appli- Up to and including release 7.5, Windows Phone cation for registering an app on the Marketplace from has been using Windows CE as its core, embedded the Windows Phone Dev Center, and a user may directly OS, with a smartphone-oriented shell and application download a registered app to his or her Windows Phone suite constructed on top of that OS. In this way, it has device from the “Marketplace” menu on the phone. evolved to its present form, linking basic smartphone There are currently more than 100 000 registered functions with Microsoft-provided apps (Office Mobile) apps that can be downloaded from Marketplace,2) and and services (Windows Live, Zune, Bing). the number has been increasing dramatically since The OS, which was released in October the beginning of 2012. This rapid increase in avail- 2012, incorporates the Metro design used in Windows able apps parallels the transition from Windows Phone Phone 7.5. Furthermore, apps for Windows 8 PCs will 7, which was sold in only limited regions in 2010, to be distributed through Microsoft’s Marketplace app Windows Phone 7.5, which is targeted for sale in about store in addition to apps for Windows Phone 7.5. 50 countries. These developments reflect how differences Windows Phone apps are linked with users’ between the PC and Windows Phone OSs are increas- Windows Live IDs for the sales region of those apps. ingly disappearing in terms of both the user interface Among the many apps that can be downloaded with and provided services. We expect successors to the the Windows Live ID for Japan, there is still only about Windows Phone 7.5 OS to be increasingly integrated 1000 that have been converted to Japanese, with most with the PC. of the rest being apps in English. There are therefore a great number of fine, overseas apps that can be easily 7. Conclusion used by Windows Phone users in Japan, but the stage Fujitsu was the first mobile-phone maker in the is set for a genuine expansion of Japanese-language world to develop a Windows Phone 7.5 device. Windows apps. Phone 7.5 is known for its stable and high-speed op- eration and diverse services called “hubs.” Fujitsu has 5. Trends at other companies provided an attractive and compelling smartphone by Smartphones running Windows Phone can only adding a variety of proprietary technologies such as be developed and sold by device makers allied with power-saving technology, imaging technology, audio Microsoft, and the only Japanese maker currently al- technology, “human-centric” elemental technologies, lied with Microsoft is Fujitsu. Overseas makers that are and water-resistant/low-profile technologies. Fujitsu developing and selling Windows Phone devices include has also designed this smartphone to support net- , Samsung, HTC, Motorola, DELL, and ZTE, and work services specific to a carrier’s 3G network, thereby none of them are selling Windows Phone 7.5 devices in satisfying individual specifications not covered by the Japan as of December 2012. worldwide standard specifications of Windows Phone Among these overseas makers, Nokia is making 7.5. This means an even more convenient smartphone a major contribution to expanding the Windows Phone product. market. According to a forecast from International Data A key advantage of Windows Phone is that Corporation (IDC), an American market research firm, Microsoft has solidified the foundation of its OS in con- Windows Phone looks to surpass iOS in market share junction with the chip-set maker, which frees up device in 2016.3) This is because IDC expects Nokia, with a makers to concentrate their efforts on developing origi- foothold in emerging markets, to help expand the pen- nal add-on functions. etration of Windows Phone especially in China, India, Windows Phone is a platform providing worldwide and Indonesia. common specifications, a high level of performance, and attractive services. Fujitsu provides new value 6. Future outlook for Windows Phone to this platform by adding commercially appealing, The next generation of Windows Phone is ex- human-centric functions and technologies in which pected to represent an evolution in functions and the company excels. Looking forward, Fujitsu plans to features, far beyond what has come before. monitor worldwide trends in next-generation Windows

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Phone devices with an eye to applying popular smart- 2) R. Blandford: 100,000 apps published to Windows phone features that it has refined for highly demanding Phone Marketplace, All About Windows Phone, June 5th, 2012. domestic users to devices aimed a wide array of over- http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/news/item/ seas users. 14960_100000_apps_published_to_Windo.php 3) IDC: Android Expected to Reach Its Peak This Year as References Mobile Phone Shipments Slow, According to IDC, IDC– 1) S. Komatsu et al.: Milbeaut Image Signal Processing Press Release, 06 Jun 2012. LSI Chip for Mobile Phones. Fujitsu Sci. Tech. J., Vol. 49, http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23523812 No. 1, pp. 17–22 (2013).

Satoshi Nishimura Akinobu Ueda Fujitsu Ltd. Fujitsu Ltd. Mr. Nishimura is engaged in the coordina- Mr. Ueda is engaged in the system inte- tion of smartphone development. gration (SI) of smartphones.

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