Pre-GDC: Microsoft Reveals XNA, Silverlight Support for Windows Phone 7 Series

At a San Francisco reception covered by consumer blog Engadget, Windows Home Server general manager Charlie Kindel revealed that the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series will feature support for the XNA and Silverlight development frameworks. The news follows the recent announcement that Windows Phone 7 devices will include Xbox Live support, adding avatars and achievements to Windows Phone 7 games. Microsoft's XNA toolset currently allows developers to create games and applications for the Zune HD and for the Xbox 360's downloadable Indie Games service. The Silverlight framework focuses on the creation of interactive web content. Windows Phone 7 devices will additionally include support for Microsoft's Windows-focused .NET Framework. Kindel also confirmed that existing Windows Mobile applications will not be compatible with Windows Mobile 7 devices. Kindel assures, however, that support for Windows Mobile 6.5 products will continue "for many years to come." More details regarding the Windows Phone 7 series will be revealed at next week's Game Developers Conference and at Microsoft's upcoming MIX10 event.