With all my predictions for Windows Live Wave 4 I have been quite about Messenger only because I have had no idea what the team would be likely to do to improve the client, there were things I had wanted to see such as greater integration between social media and emails within the software but doubted such things would come in Wave 4. Well today Neowin kept their promise and showed us some screenshots of the new Windows Live Messenger and Writer. There wasn’t any more info to accompany the pictures but a few things did strike me.
There are a couple more screenshots on the Neowin post.
Messenger Meets Zune
The first thing that I noticed was the navigation in Messenger is very much like the Zune navigation, obviously with different titles.
You can see that the main sections are categorised in the same way with filters of specific types below, a navigation style that is simple and easy to use.
Another area where the Zune software design can be seen is for the list of contacts where a similar design is used for lists of media collections in the Zune software; small, uppercase and bold text.
Perhaps we will see other aspects of the Zune Software within the Messenger client and the Windows Live suite, I know a MixView of friends would be a good way to browse friends and see how they know each other.
I am also thinking that we can expect a refresh to the online services that will bring a similar look and feel to the internet, as Messenger is the only application that looks like the online services.
Messenger’s Additions
I have read a few tweets about what people seem to think about the screenshot of the new Messenger and it seems a lot of people don’t like the fact that there is a lot more width to the client. I am not bothered by the additional width so long as the SOCIAL and FRIENDS feeds provide plenty of interesting and engaging content; I am not a big fan of the current What’s New feed from Windows Live only because most of my friends haven’t bothered to link their various accounts to provide with new information. I would guess that is possible to make the new Messenger look just like the current version so it doesn’t taske up too much screen space.
Several ways this additional field would be useful would be if emails and other social media updates directed at me showed up here, rather than having to use another application to access the information. This might not be such a ridiculous wish when you notice the little icon down in the bottom right hand corner.
Looks to me that we will be able to add many more feeds and connections to Messenger, maybe we will be able to chat to our Facebook Friends and get updates from Twitter within the Messenger client. I wonder if Microsoft is attempting to create an application that combines the Seesmic and Digsby to provide a single place for people to go to keep updated and connected.
As always this is probably only wishful thinking but with the most magical time of the year nearly upon us could it happen?
