InsideMicrosoft has posted an exclusive review of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Mobile 7 OS (codenamed Photon), scheduled for 2009, based on an internal MS document. In Windows Mobile 7, great emphasis is laid on Motion Detecion, Force Feedback and Finger Gestures based Navigation. And while it is primarily designed to be used using finger based directional gestures, similiar to Apple iPhone, OEMs would still be required to include a stylus.

The goals of Windows Mobile 7 include:

Touch, gestures, scrolling, and direct manipulation. Also, animations, transitions, motion gestures, and codenames “Phosphur” and “Starburst”. Hardware support will include devices with buttons, devices with buttons and touch screens, and touch screen-only devices.

I have picked some of the key highlights and examples of the new Windows Mobile 7 features and UI below:

+ Audio and visual feedback

+ Gestures for scrolling (horizontal and vertical), task and menu access, press and hold controls, list items, press and drag, and launching shortcuts. The device will be able to detect finger velocity, scrolling further if the user’s finger moves faster.The UI would also hide/unhide scroll bars when using gestures

+ There will also be motion gestures, where the user moves or shakes the device in certain directions to invoke commands. Unlike Nokia which utilizes an accelerometer, WM 7 will use the device’s in-built camera as a motion sensor.

+ Gestures in music or a slideshow will include shaking the phone left or right to go to the previous or next song or photo, and shaking the phone in order to shuffle it. When pressing the directional pad down in a full-screen media application, such as a photo application, you can move the device forward and backward to zoom in and out of the image.

+ Internet Explorer Mobile browser will incorporate gestures for back and forward actions. It will also feature tabbed browsing, used by gesturing through a series of graphical thumbnails.

+ Users would be able too shake the device to lock it or wake it up from sleep mode

+ The camera will also cause certain actions based on light sensitivity. For example, if you put your phone in your pocket or in a bag, it will shut off the screen, and can even make the ringer louder or put it on vibrate, as directed. It can also turn the screen on automatically when taking the phone out, trigger the timer on the phone’s camera when the phone is placed face down on a surface, automatically activate the camera flash based on available light, snooze the phone’s alarm when waving your hand over the phone’s camera, taking a picture when anyone walks past the phone (or any other desired action, like making a noise), or remotely connecting to other devices when the phone sees them.

+ Users will be able to flick their way through lists and swipe sideways for certain actions and pivoting views. Besides flicking up and down, the user will be able to pivot sideways between different hotlists. The user can swipe to pivot between each, tap a selection in the pivot wheel, or hit an arrow to launch a pivot selector for all available pivots.

+ Press N Hold UI elements include an application launcher and a quick scroller (for quickly moving through a list with a scrollbar and the first letter of list items).

+ There’s a list of gestures that are being explorer and may or may not make it into Mobile 7, including a gesture to dismiss an on-screen notification by shaking it off the screen, a gesture to automatically take you to a Smart Search notification panel, turning the phone like turning a key to unlock it, Pivoting by gesturing the phone sideways, moving through lists by shaking the phone up or down, switching the camera into black and white or other modes by shaking it down, adjusting camera aperture and shutter speed by rotating the camera, sending a file by “tossing” it to another device.