Thus far, Microsoft hasn’t really opened up Windows Phone for OEM customization. Apart from some apps which may come pre-installed with a device from a carrier — which can be easily uninstalled should you not want them — Windows Phone is pretty much stock. This may change, however, as the company may be opening up the platform for additional “customization and differentiation”.
Netbook News obtained the agenda of an Apollo summit that the company is hosting in Reading, UK, and one of the primary topics that will be discussed is “customization and differentiation opportunities”. While the report doesn’t reveal anything beyond the topic titles themselves, this topic in particular is highly suggestive of more carrier/OEM customization to come.
Tom Warren thinks that the integration will be seamless and executed well enough to not be interpreted as bloatware by the user. One implementation he notes is the integration of Rich Communication Suite-enhanced services within Windows Phone 8. He reported that Microsoft will allow operators to integrate their own (or third party) voice and messaging solutions seamlessly into the OS within the People hub. VOIP may even be integrated, with VOIP calls looking like normal voice calls when received over Windows Phone 8.
I wouldn’t mind seamless integration of that nature. However, if this allows for even more bloatware, or perhaps customization that makes Windows Phone look like an OS developed by AT&T, that would be terrible. Here’s the complete list of topics that Microsoft will reportedly be touching on during the summit:
- Apollo Review
- Windows Phone Schedules and release plans/processes
- Customization & Differentiation opportunities
- New Windows Phone 8 application development capabilities
- What’s new feature review of Apollo
- Connectivity and APN management
- Better together with Windows 8