Got my HD7!

[RussST24]

Hi Everyone,
My HD7 arrived today and I have started to set it up etc. (I am in the UK)
Any questions you want to know fire them at me.
I am coming from a Galaxy S so it does seem a tad limited for now until the apps catch up.

So far I have noticed the following oddities.

OS based Issues MS need to fix

Video player does not play audio via A2DP. (music does)
Bluetooth settings lack any options for type (Headset/Stereo) settings (no real issue)
Mobile IE does not render Toodledo/slim well so not sure about other sites.
Zune software - Podcast section does not appear in market in UK have to add rss feeds manually to the app.
No custom ringtones/other sound settings
No option to connect to WIFI with hidden SSID
Only syncs main calendar from any source not any additionals.
Media HUB only remembers the location of the last video in the play list that is "paused" once you move to other items of music or other videos it forgets the place.

Other issues not OS related. (all will be fixed over time with good apps)
Lack of apps is a real issue on day one. This should change.
No TODO app with push notifications available! big issue for me.
YouTube App just loads the m.youtube.com so its really just a player engine once you pick a video from the site.

Videos get converted on the fly during sync which makes this a slow process. Should kick off the conversion as soon as you say sync to phone.

Other than these points the phone itself is really nice and fast, no lag at all.
Takes some getting used to but I am trying hard to make it all work.

Russ

 

[RussST24]

Here is a pic for size comparision.

Bold 9700 , HD7, Galaxy S, Palm Pixi Plus

Russ

 

[electricbopeep]

Thanks for that list of issues. I've only heard about the custom ringtones elsewhere. The rest of the issues are things that reiewers gloss over or don't catch; they seem small but can be a real problem for many users.

Hardware - how is the build quality?
Photo quality (esp in low light, is the flash any good?), video quality?
How does the screen compare to the galaxy's? Is losing super amoled worth gaining .3 inches?
Battery? My friend had to get an extended battery for the evo. I know the screen is very taxing but i'm wondering if wp7's performance is less intensive on the battery?

Does the hd7 have an led indicator? If so, i'm guessing there's no customization for it?

Software - is there haptic feedback? Specifically, is there haptic feddback for the music controls (i hate the idea of having to give my full attention to the phone to skip a track)? My current phone (htc touch pro) vibrates when i dial and when a call is connected.

Camera and video interface? Is it easy to use, is there a good selection of controls?

How is the stock alarm app? Can you snooze at varied intervals?

Do voice commands work over bluetooth? Do voice commands work when there's no data connection? (I think Belfiore said something about voice commands being handled by a remote backend rather than locally on the device)

Can the connections be toggled on/off from the status bar at the top or do they have be accessed from settings? Iirc, the galaxy s allows for wifi, gps, etc to be toggled directly from the status bar.

These are probably more subjective and prone to change over time: Do the transition animations in wp7 seem overdone or like they would be bothersome after a while?
Are the htc apps more fluff than substance? Do any of them add value to the user experience?

There's other minutiae that I'd like to ask about but probably won't occur to me until I start using wp7 myself.

 

[RussST24]

Hi, thats a lot of questions, let me answer what I can.

Hardware - how is the build quality?
Rock solid. Feels nice and well built.

Photo quality (esp in low light, is the flash any good?), video quality?
Picture quality is fine and flash works well in low light.
TBH I am disapointed with the video camera. Seems to constantly be focusing and the video shears when moving around.

How does the screen compare to the galaxy's? Is losing super amoled worth gaining .3 inches?
Screen is OK but does not have the black depth of the Galaxy. I can live with it but if you have never had the Galaxy you wouldnt know it. so dont worry.

Battery? My friend had to get an extended battery for the evo. I know the screen is very taxing but i'm wondering if wp7's performance is less intensive on the battery?
Too early to answer only had 24 hours and been hammering it.

Does the hd7 have an led indicator? If so, i'm guessing there's no customization for it?
Yes it does but so far it seems to only show for charging and low battery.
someone else mentioned it flashes for missed call. No customisation and no flashing for email or SMS.

Software - is there haptic feedback? Specifically, is there haptic feddback for the music controls (i hate the idea of having to give my full attention to the phone to skip a track)? My current phone (htc touch pro) vibrates when i dial and when a call is connected.
No haptic feedback from the device apart from the soft buttons at the bottom.

Camera and video interface? Is it easy to use, is there a good selection of controls?
Easy to use and getting into the camera is SUPER fast! Limited control.

How is the stock alarm app? Can you snooze at varied intervals?
No custom snoozing. Very basic, can set repeats etc. Seems to snooze at 5 minutes.

Do voice commands work over bluetooth? Do voice commands work when there's no data connection? (I think Belfiore said something about voice commands being handled by a remote backend rather than locally on the device)
Not tested this yet, seems to work over bluetooth but not tried disconnected.

Can the connections be toggled on/off from the status bar at the top or do they have be accessed from settings? Iirc, the galaxy s allows for wifi, gps, etc to be toggled directly from the status bar.
NOPE, its all digging into the menus. Tapping at the top just pops down the status indicators, nothing else.

These are probably more subjective and prone to change over time: Do the transition animations in wp7 seem overdone or like they would be bothersome after a while?
Are the htc apps more fluff than substance? Do any of them add value to the user experience?
The phone is very Slick and smooth, no lag and very nice transitions. I dont find them an issue they are very fast so I dont think they will bother you.

Hope that helps.

Russ

 

[electricbopeep]

Thanks for answering my many questions! (I'm very excited about wp7, to say the least)

Re: custom ringtones- on another forum, a poster claimed that all songs can be made into ringtones

Go to the music hub. Open Zune player. Open
the volume controls. Notice the little bell
shaped icon in the upper right that says
"RING?"

I'm a bit skeptical, as Microsoft hasn't corrected the "no custom ringtone" allegations. Anyways, if that poster is right, I won't be complaining.

 

[RussST24]

The RING is always there when you click the volume control, it appears at the top and just toggles from RING to VIBRATE.
Just tried it in the zune music and it didnt do anything else.

Russ

 

[aseddon130]

yeah that custom ringtone thing is BS, there is no way of doing it, which is too bad but i can live with it.

Battery life is about the same as any other smartphone these days, i've been getting around a day of life but it was only today that i discovered how to switch 3G off which i assume is the main culprit of killing my battery so il see how long it lasts with it switched off.

i got the HTC Mozart btw...