Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 Users Don't Need Cut, Copy And Paste
More specifically, Windows Phone 7 Series developers won't be able to move items around using copy-cut-and-paste from a clipboard, and the function won't appear in Microsoft's Office applications for Windows Phone 7 either.
First reported by Engadget's Chris Ziegler, Microsoft confirmed as much to several sources on Tuesday at MIX10 in Las Vegas. Writes Ziegler, "There is a data-detection service built into the text-handling API that will recognize phone numbers and addresses, but Microsoft says most users, including Office users, don't really need clipboard functionality."
As many have noted, Microsoft's decision to omit copy, cut and paste functionality from Windows Phone 7 units has historical precedent: it's the same decision Apple made for its original iPhone back in 2007. At the time, Apple also suggested that users wouldn't need cut, copy and paste, but eventually relented and added the functionality during a 2009 iPhone OS update.
The omission seems surprising, seeing as Microsoft is attempting to raise its mobile profile by pulling out all the stops for Windows Phone 7. As Microsoft confirmed to developers attending MIX10 earlier this week, Silverlight is the platform for native app development and XNA Framework is the gaming platform. Among design tools available are Visual Studio 2010 Express and Expression Blend.
According to Microsoft, it wants developers to get started on creating an app marketplace right away, even though Windows Phone 7 units won't be available until later this year.
Microsoft is facing an uphill battle as the company goes to battle with established mobile app heavyweights like Apple and iPhone and broad challengers like Google and its Android-based phones. So why, then, wade into a small yet obvious controversy by omitting cut, copy and paste from Windows Phone 7?