- Though Windows Phone 7 supports multi-tasking...developers won't have access to it in the initial release.
- Native applications are not permitted on Windows Phone 7 devices.
- Developer access to Microsoft SQL Server Compact, a free SQL Server embedded database, is not part of the initial release..."isolated" local storage based on XML files and cloud-based storage are alternatives
- Windows Marketplace is intended to be the sole means of finding and downloading phone applications
- ..fast and open process for certifying Windows Phone applications and deploying them to Windows Phone Marketplace
- With features like push notification service, WP7 is carefully engineered to minimize battery use (Source: ComputerWorld)
- Windows Phone 7 mobile OS will not include a clipboard capability for copy-and-paste operations - at least not in the first version. (Source: ComputerWorld)
- The Windows Phone 7 Series supports programs written for either Silverlight or XNA but mixing them up & combining Silverlight & XNA in the same program is not possible for now.
- WP7 Series OS exposes classes defined by the .NET Compact Framework
- At the present time, C# is the only supported programming language
- Windows Phone 7 is "cloud-ready"
- A Windows Phone 7 can only two possible screen sizes - 480 X 800 or 320 X 480 pixels
- For better power efficiency, Windows Phone 7 displays will likely use OLED ("organix light emitting diode"). Designing screens with black backgrounds can conserve power.
- The screens incorporate capacitance-touch technology, which means they respond to a human fingertip but not to a stylus or other forms of pressure. Windows Phone screens are required to respond to at least four simultaneous touch-points.
- WP7 supports both speech synthesis & speech recognition through classes that are also part of .NET 4.0 (Source: “Programming Windows Phone 7 Series” book by Charles Petzold - 6 Preview chapters available for free download)
Silverlight 4 & Windows Phone Developer Tools