WP7 - Close but no cigar

[andycam82]

I've had my Samsung Omnia 7 for coming up to a year now and I am on the whole am very happy with my phone. I could have picked up an iPhone 4 or a decent spec. Android but I took a gamble and bought a WP7 device.

I was sold purely on the design and feel of the GUI - there wasn't much else going for it at the time. It had hardly any apps at launch, no copy & paste, multitasking, facebook integration was basic, etc etc. The only other bonus it to me was Zune pass which I still really like.

iOS and Android can't compete on this front but in my opinion are far superior in other ways. The list below are just some of my pet peeves and are why I can't say that WP7 is perfect!

1. Apps, Apps and more Apps! There is literally an app for everything on the iphone. Yes, there is a lot of crap but I am always envious of my wife who has excellent apps coming out of her ears! Would anyone agree that MS should spend money subsidising apps that are popular on the iphone so that they are on WP? There is an issue of time as well. Whilst I agree that the appstore is growing well organically I can't help but feel that it could be better. Alot better.

2. Facetime/Skype. Microsoft really need to pull their finger out with this. They have bought skype and I would imagine would want to integrate it seamlessly into Windows 8, XBox and windows phone. If they do as good a job as they have with facebook then it will be amazing but crucially they need to do it quickly.

3. Hardware - why the **** have microsoft made it mandatory to have some kind of docking system? I would love (and I doubt I just speak for myself) to be able to dock my phone on a DAB radio, on something like the B&W Zepplin or even just on a bog standard dock in the office. Its absolutely crazy and very disappointing that MS didn't think it important enough to incorporate in their hardware requirements. Also why no SD card slot?

4. My WP is great for personal use but why is MS not pushing for more businesses to use. Every professional services firm I work with use blackberries. If MS realised that people only want one phone. I hate the idea of carrying round a blackberry AND my phone. Checking my work email on my phone and having all the office programs to edit is a huge benefit. Imagine getting a free windows phone through work!!!

It would be interesting to see what you guys/gals think or whether it is just me being very critical. I really dont think I am being and all of the above is well in the capabilities of Microsoft!

 

[willied]

1 and 2 are definitely going to be answered in time, 3 and 4 I'm not so sure about...

The only thing I'm envious of on the iPhone is the aftermarket support.

 

[theman60099]

1: iPhone doesn't have as much integrated features that wp7 has and is more of an app launcher.

2 and 3 will definitely be resolved once those phones with FFC are coming out. HTC also has a couple of phones coming out that will support being docked.

 

[andycam82]

I totally agree that apps will come and skype will be integrated but the big queston is when?!

In order for windows phone to pay for R&D, marketing and make it worthwhile for Microsoft it needs to grow its market share. Without the apps coming quickly and iphone beating features (eg Skype) slow to arrive I doubt iphone or Android customers will be won over to the WP platform.

I've got another year on my contract but have to say the lack of apps, facetime equivalent and accessories such as docks would seriously tempt me to the dark side. My only hope is that Microsoft speeds things up with content delivery and invests significantly upfront
in WP.

 

[theman60099]

my gosh get a grip and be patient. the WP marketplace is growing at a faster rate than the others and honestly how many apps did iOS have in its first year? the Skype app/integration is coming really soon.

 

[doublebullout]

Without the apps coming quickly and iphone beating features (eg Skype) slow to arrive I doubt iphone or Android customers will be won over to the WP platform.

As a (mostly loyal) iPhone user and former Palm evangelist, the apps are not that important to me. I'd really like to have a good wifi network analyzer, but overall the thing about WP7 Mango that is most attractive to me is that Microsoft seems to understand that the OS needs to enable the user to be productive. Android comes close with its widget capability, but misses badly on the quality of the user experience. iOS has a great user experience, but relies too heavily on 3rd party apps. Neither Google nor iOS can truly satisfy the market that made Palm and RIM so successful. Both are built primarily as platforms for other developer's apps whereas WP7 Mango is a more complete "system." WP7 Mango includes almost everything a solid PDA should have for business users: fast, efficient PIM apps that sync with Outlook effortlessly, solid e-mail, and document support. All of this is included, straight out of the box. I wish Apple's calendar was as nice as Mango's. I wish Apple's contact manager was as good as Mango's. I do still prefer iOS's e-mail app over WP7's, but Mango is a big improvement over NoDo in that regard. So far, I've actually been disappointed in the notification support in WP7. I could, however, see myself sticking with WP7 if iOS 5 doesn't significantly improve my iPhone's ability to help me stay on top of things at work. (The notification and reminder improvements are the primary reasons I'm looking forward to iOS 5.) By the end of this month, I expect to be able to get off this fence. WP7 Mango could be tough to beat. Before Mango, WP7 was not robust enough to give me a good reason to switch from my iPhone. Mango is the single most important reason for my change in attitude towards WP7.

 

[WayneDiesel34]

Technically no OS is perfect. When android first came out with the G1, it too was close but no cigar. Look at the OS now. But still it is not perfect.

You just have to be patient. If you can't, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

I personally see this OS going leaps and bounds over android and iOS in the upcoming years.

 

[11B1P]

I've had my Samsung Omnia 7 for coming up to a year now and I am on the whole am very happy with my phone. I could have picked up an iPhone 4 or a decent spec. Android but I took a gamble and bought a WP7 device.

I was sold purely on the design and feel of the GUI - there wasn't much else going for it at the time. It had hardly any apps at launch, no copy & paste, multitasking, facebook integration was basic, etc etc. The only other bonus it to me was Zune pass which I still really like.

iOS and Android can't compete on this front but in my opinion are far superior in other ways. The list below are just some of my pet peeves and are why I can't say that WP7 is perfect!

1. Apps, Apps and more Apps! There is literally an app for everything on the iphone. Yes, there is a lot of crap but I am always envious of my wife who has excellent apps coming out of her ears! Would anyone agree that MS should spend money subsidising apps that are popular on the iphone so that they are on WP? There is an issue of time as well. Whilst I agree that the appstore is growing well organically I can't help but feel that it could be better. Alot better.

2. Facetime/Skype. Microsoft really need to pull their finger out with this. They have bought skype and I would imagine would want to integrate it seamlessly into Windows 8, XBox and windows phone. If they do as good a job as they have with facebook then it will be amazing but crucially they need to do it quickly.

3. Hardware - why the **** have microsoft made it mandatory to have some kind of docking system? I would love (and I doubt I just speak for myself) to be able to dock my phone on a DAB radio, on something like the B&W Zepplin or even just on a bog standard dock in the office. Its absolutely crazy and very disappointing that MS didn't think it important enough to incorporate in their hardware requirements. Also why no SD card slot?

4. My WP is great for personal use but why is MS not pushing for more businesses to use. Every professional services firm I work with use blackberries. If MS realised that people only want one phone. I hate the idea of carrying round a blackberry AND my phone. Checking my work email on my phone and having all the office programs to edit is a huge benefit. Imagine getting a free windows phone through work!!!

It would be interesting to see what you guys/gals think or whether it is just me being very critical. I really dont think I am being and all of the above is well in the capabilities of Microsoft!

1. Apps. Over-rated. There probably won't be more than a dozen you will use on a daily basis, and that's being generous. If you can't find an app that you need right now, give it time, it will come. Besides, the WP7 apps are deeply intergrated with the other features of the phone.

2. Facetime/Skype. Sorry I don't use or even need either one. I'm sure we will see more integration in the future.

3. Docking station? I'm lost with what you're talking about. For updates through Zune? For audio/video playback?

4. The one thing BB has over everyone else is the availability of camera-less phones. Where I work, camera phones are not allowed. Until the companies offer camera-less phones, BB will always excel in this area.