Windows Phone 7 Will Lack Flash, Multitasking, CDMA at Launch

by Nicholas Kolakowski

Windows Phone 7 will appear first on GSM-based cellular networks such as AT&T’s, moving later to CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) carriers such as Verizon in the first half of 2011.

Microsoft executives confirmed in September that Windows Phone 7 will not support tethering, which would have made the smartphones a Web hub for any nearby devices.

At launch, Windows Phone 7 will apparently lack in-browser support for Adobe Flash. However, Microsoft and Adobe executives have suggested Flash support will come later.

Windows Phone 7 will initially lack a cut-and-paste function.

Windows Phone 7 will lack full multitasking at launch.

Unlike previous versions of Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 has been designed with finger touches first and foremost in mind. This means no need for a stylus.

Microsoft is keeping a tight rein on its manufacturing partners, dictating that Windows Phone 7 devices be restricted to a single, multi-touch-screen form factor. So (perhaps for the moment) alternate devices with features such as physical QWERTY keyboards will not be available.

At launch, Windows Phone 7’s marketplace will lack the hundreds of thousands of apps present in both the Android Marketplace and Apple’s App Store. However, Microsoft is hoping its app store’s size will rapidly increase in the months ahead.

Users will not be able to download third-party apps through any channel except for Microsoft’s Marketplace.

Windows Phone 7 will lack a mobile version of its upcoming Internet Explorer 9. Instead (again, at least for the moment) the platform will rely on a Web browser based on Internet Explorer 7.