Well, I never thought the first post would be about a Microsoft product as I'm considered to be an Apple fanboy. Anyways, let me make it very clear that I'm not a fan of Apple Inc., I just appreciate what they do, the fact that everything they do is appreciable is a different matter ;)
Coming to the point, the reason I'm writing about Windows Phone 7 is that it's apparently very impressive. I believe that no body has the right to write a review about product like this without an actual hands-on. So I waited and waited till I got to see a Windows device live in action, and this was at an AT&T at Menlopark mall, New Jersey.
My friend Ronak Bavishi and me did not talk for almost an hour after playing with the Samsung Focus. Spellbound, awestruck, dumbstruck or whatever you wanna call it. Stunning device and amazing software!! The reason we felt like that was probably we did not expect something like that from Microsoft that sucked for a while now in the Mobile OS space.
Adapting the Zune UI onto a mobile phone is smart, but the way they did it is neat. The interface is so slick and intuitive that it does not require a user manual just like the iOS. This together with Samsung's hardware makes use and navigation a breeze. The tiles concept is a very different and innovative way to use a mobile device and people bored with an iPhone would definitely love it.
Now, The Name. Windows Phone 7 eh? Sucks big time!! See how catchy these names are : iOS, Android, WebOS? Microsoft does have a strong marketing campaign with AT&T advertising Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround, the posters are all over the place, that with 'Buy one get one free' makes it look like a prospective good purchase but the name of the OS could have been better.
Multitasking.. Well this is a highly debatable topic. Apple claims to have multitasking but Android is the only successful mobile OS that has true multitasking, which actually makes it difficult for a naive user. Microsoft did a good job by leaving it to the software by performing pseudo multitasking almost similar to the iOS.
Hmm, coming to the App marketplace. With industry leaders iOS AppStore and Android' Market, Microsoft has a loooong way to go to establish itself. They are doing a good job attracting the developers now, as many have already signed up (Not sure of Angry Birds though!).
In a jiffy...
The Good:-
Navigation - Concept of tiles
Navigation - Concept of tiles
Fluid interface - almost no lag, credit shared by Microsoft and hardware manufacturer ( Samsung, HTC )
Brilliant display ( Samsung Focus )
Resources managed by software
Great mobile office suite
Obvious amazing Windows support
Xbox Live
The Bad:-
Limited number of apps/games on App Market
No cut/copy/paste
No support for flash
The Verdict:-
Windows Phone 7 : 7/10
Samsung Focus : 8/10
Samsung Focus : 8/10
HTC Surround : 7/10
LG Quantum : 6.5/10
PS: My buddy Devesh Guha (The first follower of this blog!) took my advice and purchased the Samsung Focus.. Very much appreciated !! ;)
After using Windows Phone 7 for 3 months, having used almost all the features that a smart phone user would use on a daily basis, I can say with confidence that this OS has an awesome UI, and nothing more which can differentiate it from any other smart phone out there. There are more reasons not to buy this phone, yet.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is its bloated with bugs everywhere. You can't even properly browse the market place and download an app. You would say "whats the worse that can happen? He probably might have to close it and reopen marketplace.". That's not all true. Once it gets stuck, it doesn't open until you restart the device. What can be more frustrating? Its just an app man. MSFT couldn't even fix an app without restarting the device. Probably MSFT will come up with a task manager in the software update. What can be more insulting for a company that claims to be a software gaint... They can't even make an app run without restarting the device... !!
And the quality of apps is another serious issue. There are many apps on the market place which can't perform the basic operations they claim to. One example of the most blatant bug I found was the facebook chat app. Some claim they can't even log in. I didn't face those issues. I was able to login. However, when I tried to initiate a chat, the keypad goes invisible. There is no keypad to type your message. I think after everyone criticizing MSFT of the bugs and BSOD of windows, they became impervious to any criticism. They are prepared to let anything get onto a user's device without even basic testing.
MSFT claimed it to be a social phone. Okay.. but I was never told being social means you can't chat. There is no chat application on the phone. The reason being there is no socket API in WP7. These are major flaws. Who will buy a device with which you can't chat.?
There is definitely a noticeable latency in the network access. However, I did not find this lag always.I could not conclude what might be wrong, the problem with the device or the access point. The email accounts added won't sync to the server immediately. First thing I do after I wake up is check my mails. Sometimes I noticed that the mails I deleted early in the morning were still being shown as unread when I logged in with my laptop at the office, an hour later. This can be related to the network access problem pointed earlier. Sometimes, I have to manually sync the mails early morning using the sync option. It would say that it last synced 8 hours ago. Since when are the smart phones sleeping at nights.. !!
MSFT comes into market 3 years after Apple. And, they couldn't get things right. I was waiting for the 'first major software update', as they call it, for nearly two months. I would be happy if it comes out before March.
This is definitely a phone for people who like the snappiness of it. I would say it has better responsiveness than the iPhone. But with respect to using the apps and features, I felt more comfortable on my iPod touch. If anyone is ready to shell 200 bucks, I would recommend to go for an iPhone.
Well, that's some good wisdom from a Windows Phone 7 user. It's true that MS has to work on it's app marketplace and Multi-tasking, latter of which is being very elegantly solved in the 'Coming Soon' update which is more on the lines of the cards interface of webOS. I am curious if the issues you mentioned about email sync and other network issues are specific to the Focus or other Windows phones too.
ReplyDeleteLet's see what try come up with the software update. I am eager to see the implementation of integration of XBOX Live!, flash, cut-copy-paste and other bug fixes.
Devesh... Keep me posted!!
The Camera is definitely one of the best I have seen. It sometimes feels it takes pics equivalent to my powershot. however, low light shots suck unless the object is kinda closer.. i think with a mobile phone cam, u shud expect that.. !
ReplyDelete