So what do you think of WP7?

[iharper]

@Rico,

Fair enough.
Though you'd think that MS would have enough resources to at least give the impression that their whole world didn't stop functioning while they work on '7'. Clearly there's nothing going on w/ 6.x, as you can see by the crack wemexperts staff posting 10:1 on androidcentral. Oh, the 417th weather app for WM reviewed? Fascinating. Meh, etc.
Some recent article somewhere mentioned the targetting of 6.x for 3rd world carriers. Not a bad flanking maneuver, but also a thinly veiled admission of defeat, which is bad business.
Also, you can argue that the linux v. Win war was a desktop thing with it's own specifics, but I'll argue that this is the 'same' battle that's being fought now, and MS is on the mat. Here's a strategic example for you:
For years, MS did the menu/interface for cable set top boxes, many manufactured by Motorola. Now enter Android, and Motorola's motoblur. Did you read recently that Moto is implenting android as their set-top box menu/interface? Did you also read that VZW has an app that turns your android phone into a remote for your set top box? 4g on the way? Um, media convergence? Now once these brainiacs figure out that customers 'could' use their 4g android phones to provision/PPV media 'from' their phones to their tvs... How many more paying customers have cable boxes than give a damn about facebook or xbox? Um...MS? Hello?
"Wonderfully fresh interface!" "The metaphors are amazing!" Fine, i'm only suggesting that this is all disappointingly shortsighted. I'm just waiting for Motorola to build a gaming system into their set top boxes. Those kids have the big picture!

You know this reminds me of when McDonald's initially released the 'McChicken' sandwich. People loved them. And could you get a McChicken sandwhich at a 'Chicken' restaurant? No. So, why did a non chicken place make the first chicken sandwich? Did that make the chicken folks look bad? Hmm.
"Linux is on more (integrated!) devices". Android=McChicken.
And hey, i'm a MS guy. This just makes me feel so bad for them.

 

[Rico]

@iharper:
Good for Android. Motorola would likely gone with some other Linux variant if Android wasn't available. i'm sure the PVR integration will come to WP7 with time, but it's not something i would expect at launch. Social network integration makes sense because it's relatively easy to implement. i'd imagine roughly the same of Xbox Live given it's inhouse, albeit a different division. i'd also wager that built in integration of Xbox Live, Zune, Facebook, Flickr, Myspace, Twitter, Hulu, Youtube, Pandora, RSS feeds, and other sources would interest early adopters moreso than PVR integration.

Also, i'm really not sure why or how you claim that MS is shortsighted when the bulk of the information regarding WP7 came from MWC, and that was basically a UI coming out party. i'm sure there's a lot MS has that they're working on that will be revealed with time. Not only would showing their hand now be bad against their competitors who are in a better position to act than they are, it would mean they'd have nothing to keep the interest in the platform going surrounding and in the months after launch.

 

[Old No. 7]

Hmm...terribly disappointed. Looks like it'd be great if you're trying to find stuff on someone ELSE'S phone. Really, is all the 'fluff' really necessary? I'm pretty sure that all the page flippy animations and 'junk' would get old as soon as you leave the store. A competing 'toy' i don't need. I guess I'll give android a shot.

I would imagine the animations could be disabled somehow. And Android isn't that great. It's fun for a while but gets boring fast. Had a Droid since Christmas and am pretty bored, and completely fed up with the email situation on it.

Done with Google for good after this contract is up... in 21 months *sigh*

 

[dougsyo]

It shows a good deal of promise for feature-phone upgraders.

I'm inclined to switch to Android next time - if I wanted a "walled garden" I'd go to Apple's, not Microsoft's.

Doug

 

[ullal]

Initial release seems mediocre

Unfortunately, I come from the traditional world of smartphones i.e. Palm...where one took a pda and added a phone to it.

The definition of smartphone appears to have changed to music/video player, camera with flash and browser with phone capabilities (dropped calls are okay too as long as phone has fingerprint free surface and looks "well-built" to all the non-engineers in the audience).

I find it shocking that WP7 like the iPhone may not have synchronization for tasks and notes with exchange. That the iPhone after 4 generations does not have a built-in task app that syncs with Exchange is shocking. Also, the 3rd party apps have been rendered useless by iOS4.

So while I like the general idea of WP7 it seems like I will have to stick with my awful Samsung Epix 6.1 in the meantime. So many choices but apparently nothing for someone in the minority like me.

 

[jh20001]

I'm curious to know if there are any updates for this thread as the phone slowly launches around the world.

 

[Dusteater]

I'm curious to know if there are any updates for this thread as the phone slowly launches around the world.

It won't be out in the wild until I believe Oct 21st in some European countries, but no where quite yet.

 

[jfa1]

Well windows Mobile Experts seems to have morphed into WP central like the new design and kudos to your coverage of todays event. Exciting times ahead!

 

[jfa1]

Unfortunately, I come from the traditional world of smartphones i.e. Palm...where one took a pda and added a phone to it.

The definition of smartphone appears to have changed to music/video player, camera with flash and browser with phone capabilities (dropped calls are okay too as long as phone has fingerprint free surface and looks "well-built" to all the non-engineers in the audience).

I find it shocking that WP7 like the iPhone may not have synchronization for tasks and notes with exchange. That the iPhone after 4 generations does not have a built-in task app that syncs with Exchange is shocking. Also, the 3rd party apps have been rendered useless by iOS4.

So while I like the general idea of WP7 it seems like I will have to stick with my awful Samsung Epix 6.1 in the meantime. So many choices but apparently nothing for someone in the minority like me.

Things have changed with windows phone since your post in June The os is smooth. It may not have all the bells and whistles but the core is there and improvements will come at a much quicker pace than in the past it would seem.

 

[ving]

To owners of WP7,

What do you think of Windows Phone 7?

 

[RussST24]

Hi,
I have an HTC HD7 on O2 in the UK.
I also own and Iphone 3gs and Samsung Galaxy S (My current phone).

Good.
OS is nice and fast (iPhone fast) and very slick and bouncy.
Mail client is fast and fully featured (although its not working with Lotus via mNotes at present)
Zune integration is nice and converts video etc.(Also Zune pass subscription is available)
XBox scorecard is nice if you like XBOX.
Quick access to camera is a very useful feature even if phone is locked.
Camera for stills is good and dual LED flash is OK.

Bad.
Lack of Apps in the market (but this will change quickly I am sure)
Camera for video is very poor due to constant autofocusing (HTC need to fix that one)
Video camera keeps setting itself back to 640x480 rather than HD recording everytime you close it.
Can only sync primary calendar from any added accounts (i.e if you have 3 google calendars its tough you only see the first one for sync)
No custom ringtones/notifications
Lack of multitasking is a pain, but some apps do resume so I think its a coding issue for the developers to embrace.
Max volume on this device is ok but not Loud, and with no custom sounds you will miss notifications of SMS etc.

Overall its a nice device and a solid start for Windows Phone 7 OS. As long as they keep pushing and update it I think it will be strong overall.

Russ

 

[Pete6#WP]

First post here. I'm a mod over on CrackBerry and a big BlackBerry fan.

BUT I really want a Windows Phone.

My current choice would be the Dell Venue Pro when it is released.

 

[Johnny]

Not business friendly, Dell just adopted it for all their employees and ditched RIM, I think it is
business enough