Windows Phone 7 techland review

[Kabob]

Techland's Windows Phone 7 review.

They like it quite a bit, although I don't think it'll take much of the market from Android or iOS.

 

[I Never Intent]

The only thing for me that WP7 has over Android is updates straight from Windows, and the core apps. It sounds like Gingerbread offers both of these. Unless Windows does something substantial soon, it doesn't look like WP7 is going anywhere.

 

[Bramsy]

UI is fugly to me.... other than that it seems pretty decent of a phone!

 

[ashykat]

I like the UI initially, but then I wonder how it's gonna be once you have a ton of apps loaded on it and can only pin so much to the start screen before it's an infinitely long list. I think grids are really more efficient.

 

[MJM128]

I like the UI initially, but then I wonder how it's gonna be once you have a ton of apps loaded on it and can only pin so much to the start screen before it's an infinitely long list. I think grids are really more efficient.

It looks like a grid to me....just an uglier one. Everyone is saying oh wp7 will kill android/ios or it won't. How about just waiting, people haven't even tried it yet and people are passing judgment. Personally i'd never buy another windows mobile device, but that's just me.

Time will tell how things turn out I guess. I'm pretty happy in the android camp though.

 

[Bramsy]

I like the UI initially, but then I wonder how it's gonna be once you have a ton of apps loaded on it and can only pin so much to the start screen before it's an infinitely long list. I think grids are really more efficient.

Elaborate on how you think its more efficient.
Curious

 

[ashykat]

Elaborate on how you think its more efficient.
Curious

Well this can go a few ways. On one end you have the tile system, which does at least give you information at a glance. How many e-mails, how many messages, your next calendar appointment, etc. The hubs can open up areas which have more options, so that's not entirely inefficient either. But, some of us have so many apps on our phones that even the things we use on a regular basis could turn into a very long list of tiles on the WP7 start screen. Then you go over to your app list because you're not expected to pin all your apps, and it's just a long alphabetical list. I just wouldn't call that as efficient as how many apps you can fit using the iphone/android grid system.

It's still kind of a refreshing new UI (with a buttload of animations) which I think will pull some people at first, and it's gotten me interested, but I think people may end up bored with it. It's a lot of eye candy but time will tell if it's really a good, stable system. I don't miss having to tweak a WinMo phone so that it won't freeze 6 times a day, and I'm definitely waiting to see how WP7 pans out before risking it. Who knows though, I may end up giving it a shot.

 

[Vihzel]

I wouldn't mind the tiles being smaller. You would be able to see more that way and still avoid it just looking like an app drawer. I want WP7 to succeed because Microsoft has been through some really tough sh*t with Windows Mobile. It would be nice for once for them have some good news.

 

[ashykat]

It would be nice for once for them have some good news.

Other than the fact that they've sold more than 240 million Windows 7 licenses so far and Windows' overall share of the computer OS market is 91.08%? That CEO Steve Ballmer is number 16 on Forbes 400 richest americans this year with a net worth of $13.1 Billion, which is more than twice that of Steve Jobs $6.1 Billion? I don't think any of us need to worry about Microsoft.

 

[Vihzel]

Other than the fact that they've sold more than 240 million Windows 7 licenses so far and Windows' overall share of the computer OS market is 91.08%? That CEO Steve Ballmer is number 16 on Forbes 400 richest americans this year with a net worth of $13.1 Billion, which is more than twice that of Steve Jobs $6.1 Billion? I don't think any of us need to worry about Microsoft.

I meant on their mobile platform front. They've been getting a beating for how long now? hehe I feel the same for Palm and now RIM for the future.

 

[dan330]

Other than the fact that they've sold more than 240 million Windows 7 licenses so far and Windows' overall share of the computer OS market is 91.08%? That CEO Steve Ballmer is number 16 on Forbes 400 richest americans this year with a net worth of $13.1 Billion, which is more than twice that of Steve Jobs $6.1 Billion? I don't think any of us need to worry about Microsoft.

you would think .... with all that...... they would do much better with their phone OS!

 

[ashykat]

I meant on their mobile platform front. They've been getting a beating for how long now? hehe I feel the same for Palm and now RIM for the future.

Lol yeah I know they've been taking a beating, I just feel like with all the pie they have they don't need another slice. I'm really, REALLY, pulling for Palm though. WebOS is such a good operating system and I'd really like to see it put on some great hardware and get the developer support it needs to succeed. RIM I don't feel quite the same for, if only because they've made the smallest strides. It seems like they don't want to change.

 

[ashykat]

you would think .... with all that...... they would do much better with their phone OS!

I think they were in denial for a very long time. I remember Steve Ballmer making comments that Apple would never succeed in the mobile phone market. That it was impossible to just jump right in. Boy was he wrong. I think it took that being ripped away to make them want to actually reinvent their mobile OS. I'm just surprised it took them so long.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Yikes... Zune for WP7 sounds even less user-friendly than Itunes on iOS and that's always been my biggest gripe with Apple devices.

 

[ashykat]

Yikes... Zune for WP7 sounds even less user-friendly than Itunes on iOS and that's always been my biggest gripe with Apple devices.

This review speaks to the contrary. The link is to the page specifically about the music player. The Windows Phone 7 Review - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

[Bramsy]

Yikes... Zune for WP7 sounds even less user-friendly than Itunes on iOS and that's always been my biggest gripe with Apple devices.

Have you dealt with Zune?

Last time I used it, I dropped my mp3 in my music folder and it showed up in my software. Easy and nice.

Zune is great for me.

They've ready implemented Zune on xbox360 so I think that this could be cool

 

[GeorgeinLA]

Still trying to figure out the difference between a tile and a widget . . .

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Cheers for the Zune info. No I have not used it yet the only MP3 players I use these days are SanDisk clip ones. Cheap, efficient, small for running and hiking. Drag/drop is my friend.

 

[ashykat]

At this point I'm heavily considering trying out the HD7 come November 8. My G2 keeps restarting itself and shutting off, including in the middle of the night rendering my alarm clock useless. I'm very tempted to get the new MyTouch coming on November 3 but Android does unfortunately leave me wanting a bit when it comes to both multimedia (music player) and games (not really into the emulators, I want games made for my platform). WP7 does look like it will excel in those areas, so I guess we'll see what happens.