Mar 9

Written by:
3/9/2011 4:51 PM 

Shopping for a new phone? Consider the WP7 (Windows Phone 7) from Microsoft. I’ve had mine for a couple weeks, so I’ll provide my personal review.

There are a few different hardware choices out there, so I won’t say much on that. Microsoft has done a good job in enforcing a set of minimum requirements, so it really comes down to personal preference - like if you want a physical keyboard, how much memory, how big the screen is, etc. Here is what I found for the Good, Bad and Ugly.

The Good
What I really like and what Microsoft has done really well in, is the implementation of the home/lock screens. The home screen is different from anything else on the market (at least for now) and provides a great way to easily see how many text messages you have, as well as emails and apps that have updates via push notification, etc. You might have seen the ads - “a phone to save you from your phone.” The lock screen shows the date/time and any calendar appointments for the day, as well as notifications for email, text and phone calls. Phone and texting is standard and like any other smart phones out. Email and calendar are simply awesome on the phone, with one of the best features being the ability to have multiple email accounts and multiple calendars. I no longer clutter my work Exchange calendar with personal appointments. I have a Google calendar and a Windows Live calendar that shows with my Exchange calendar, completely color-coded so I can easily see what I have going on for the day, both business and personal. Internet Explorer is light-years better than the experience on windows mobile 6.5 and earlier, and the integrated Bing Maps is also exceptional. The People Hub is very cool and integrated with Outlook, Windows Live, Facebook and Google so you can see what’s new with your peeps very quickly. You can also add your favorite people to the home screen to have a live tile of a person to quickly get to their profile and see what’s new from that favorite person. If you are familiar with Zune, it's all incorporated now in the phone, and if you are not, it's one of the best subscription services for music on the market. I’m an Xbox gamer, so I love the Xbox Live integration, but even if you are not a hard-core gamer, you’ll love the games available to pass the time while waiting for that doctor's appointment. Of course, Microsoft Office is still there and even better than before with integration to SharePoint 2010. What makes smart phones so great are the applications, and as of this writing where Microsoft is late to the game. The development platform is a really good one, so expect this to rocket quickly.

The Bad
Here are some of the quirky things that I don’t like, and knowing this is just the first release, makes me realize it will only get better. If you add an Exchange account, you are required to have a password for your lock screen. I understand the security implications with having “work” emails on a device, but just don’t like it. The application list right now is just that; a long list of application titles to scroll thru. You can add your favorite apps to the home screen, but for those that don’t make it there, it's a little tedious to find it in the list. Along with that are long application titles that go off the screen and are truncated. There's no way to load ringtones yet, as location service is on or off and there's no central area to manage what apps have access to those services, however it is managed within each application. Camera settings are not persistent (at least on my phone, might be the manufacturer). MMS only supports pictures; no video support. The built-in radio is not HD. No support for Flash or Silverlight in the browser either. No low level internet communication support yet, so don’t expect any applications like Skype or video chat for awhile.

The Ugly
This is a first-generation device. First, Microsoft has gotten better with this, so a first-generation device is no longer a definite for hard-core MS junkies only. I have used plenty of applications on my wife’s iPhone 4 that crash, and those are up to individual developers, so if an application crashes on this phone, it is no fault of Microsoft. Except for the Marketplace... This is a built-in application. When I’m browsing applications in the Marketplace on the phone after some time (usually greater than 15 minutes), it will lock up. Microsoft has added this great feature of hitting the Windows button (or home button), and it will go to the home screen. Any application that is not responding will be terminated, but being a built-in app, it’s not really killed, so if you try and go back to the Marketplace, it will just crash. You have to reset your phone by re-booting, and then everything works fine again.

In Conclusion
Would I recommend this phone? For sure, and especially if you are a current Windows Mobile 6.x phone user (unless you have an application that is a must have that is not on WP7 yet). If you are unhappy with your droid phone – for sure! If you have an older version iPhone – for sure! If you currently have an iPhone4 – nope! AT&T periodically offers great deals, but if you aren't a fan of AT&T,  consider Verizon. 

More information…

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/default.aspx

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/windows-phone-7-launch-guide/

 

 - Jeremy Bonine, Software Developer II, December 2010

 

 

 

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