Cyberspace is abuzz with news of extensive information about WM7 that was purportedly leaked by a Microsoft insider. The document is hundreds of pages long with details, designs and images. All very interesting, of course. It appears that we will see devices with WM7 by 2009.

Also, WM6.1 is set to be announced at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona next month.

Here’s the consensus thus far on what WM7 will be like if the document is to be believed. From the looks of it, WM7 will be Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone interface because most of the changes revolve around full touch-based navigation and motion gestures controls. Unlike most motion based phones, WM7 will not use an accelerometer but it will use the front camera to detect any movements. Hence to order the device around, you can shake, twist and turn it.

The OS is rather multimedia-centric. The document reveals that Windows Media Player and photo gallery are vastly improved. Also, the mobile IE has a minimal design and supports tabbing where you can change tabs by shaking the device. Pretty neat, huh?

The user interface is also said to be intuitive because it minimizes and maximises option and menus for an accurate response. It can also detect how fast your fingers move, so if you touch faster, the document is able to scroll faster.

When your screen is locked and you are feeling bored, it allows you to draw doodles which will disappear once you unlock the screen. You can also apply certain special camera effects by toggling to phone. Of course there are more things to talk about as the leaked documents are very long.

For more information the original full article is here (http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/archives/2008/01/06/exclusive-windows-mobile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/).

2008 has just started and we have something to look forward to in 2009. Cool.