I've been eyeing WP7 devices for some and waited for Verizon to get something new, but they didn't release anything, so picked up a used Trophy from eBay. Did a lot of research/playing prior to buying so not too many surprises, but I still want to verify some of the "gaps" I see in the current WP7 OS or be proven a noob that there is a way to do x, y, and z.
1. No manual configuration of the 802.11x IP addresses - Kind of surprised I couldn't do this as it seems fairly simple to implement a screen to set this information. Probably a little over paranoid, but use a hidden WPA network without DHCP. Ended up just creating an IP reservation for my Trophy's MAC address to get around this.
2. Can Live Tiles not act as simple toggle buttons? - One thing I liked on Windows Mobile and Android is that I could just tap a button/icon and it would toggle the wifi or flash light on and off.....no need to open up an app. It seems all of the WP7 apps are simply shortcuts to the app and it has to load up and I have to close. Is there something I a missing? (wifi, BT, GPS, screen brightness, and flashlight are the items I would like to have quick access to with a one button push direct toggle.) Seems like such a simple thing that MS could just shove something out that did this.
3. No mass storage mode - I knew this one going into it and had already registered and voted for this feature on MS's WP7 suggestions site. This was/is an extremely useful feature for any phone to have. WP7 is about streamlining and efficiency, yet without this feature, they are ensuring I always have to carry a thumb drive around for work/travel/family support.
4. Apps closing by themselves - Does WP7 have a limit on how many apps it can have open at one time? I would have thought that with 512 MB of RAM I could have more than 4 or so 1 MB applications open at a time. However, it seems that eventually the apps close out even though I don't exit them (hit the window key, not the back button).
5. Battery % in the status bar - I know they aren't the most accurate, but there is a big difference to me from having 49% battery and 26% battery. Even Android and WM6.5 doesn't have this option stock and it baffles me as to why I had to load custom ROMs or files to get this feature. WP7 seems to follow suit.
6. No immediate resume of games nor ability to disable buttons during game play - I can understand why it is implemented this way, but playing a game and accidentally hitting the search key or what not is annoying. I also would have expected the resume to be damn near immediate, but it seems a state is saved and the program has to reload in order to resume play. Like I said, not a big issue, but kind of annoying.
7. Limit of 20 people to a group - I was surprised they impose such restrictions on your group size. I basically have to now divide my family into separate groups now....and that doesn't seem right. Same way with my various friends groups.
8. DLNA support - I thought I read or saw a commercial for WP7 supporting DLNA, yet I don't see anything mentioned on the forums/manual/documentation I have. So does WP7 support or going to support DLNA?
9. 3rd party keyboard - I was a "gotta have physical keyboard" guy back in the day. I hate typing on a screen. Well that was until I got Swype for Android installed and WOW does that make a difference in speed and to lessen frustration. I surely hope MS will allow a Swype type keyboard soon. Don't get me wrong, the current keyboard is one of the better ones I have used, but Swype is still better IMO.
<start rant - as in I know it's not supported, but just voicing my opinion>
R1. Menu button - I was disappointed that Android went the path of removing the menu button. I would much rather have a menu button instead of a search button if I had to choose. Not having a menu button means that menus are not always activated/found in the same manner/places from app to app. It also forces the app developer to waste space by leaving a location where the user can touch activate a menu.
R2. No side loading of applications - I blame Apple for this one. I had no problem searching the web to find the applications I needed/wanted for my phone, but since Apple's closed/integrated business model, everyone has their own app store and won't allow others to play. MS is partially there with the Chevron thing, but that is hit and miss if even available and only allows limited installs. I do some hobby programming and would have been nice to not pay a developers fee to unlock my phone for a hobby....but understand they can't give everything away.
R3. Separate volume controls - WM6 and Android have this option to set media at one volume and ringer at another. I to feel that it should be that way. Granted it isn't hard to change the volume, but it is hard to remember to turn it back after you change it.
<end rant...for now>
Overall I'm glad to have a such a responsive phone. That was really my only complaint about WM6 was the speed. I could do everything the iPhone could do, but it just took a lot longer for things to open/transition. The lag on Android was really annoying as well, but you don't really notice it anymore with the latest versions of software/hardware..... I was so close to buying an HTC Rezound...that screen/resolution = <drool>.
1. No manual configuration of the 802.11x IP addresses - Kind of surprised I couldn't do this as it seems fairly simple to implement a screen to set this information. Probably a little over paranoid, but use a hidden WPA network without DHCP. Ended up just creating an IP reservation for my Trophy's MAC address to get around this.
2. Can Live Tiles not act as simple toggle buttons? - One thing I liked on Windows Mobile and Android is that I could just tap a button/icon and it would toggle the wifi or flash light on and off.....no need to open up an app. It seems all of the WP7 apps are simply shortcuts to the app and it has to load up and I have to close. Is there something I a missing? (wifi, BT, GPS, screen brightness, and flashlight are the items I would like to have quick access to with a one button push direct toggle.) Seems like such a simple thing that MS could just shove something out that did this.
3. No mass storage mode - I knew this one going into it and had already registered and voted for this feature on MS's WP7 suggestions site. This was/is an extremely useful feature for any phone to have. WP7 is about streamlining and efficiency, yet without this feature, they are ensuring I always have to carry a thumb drive around for work/travel/family support.
4. Apps closing by themselves - Does WP7 have a limit on how many apps it can have open at one time? I would have thought that with 512 MB of RAM I could have more than 4 or so 1 MB applications open at a time. However, it seems that eventually the apps close out even though I don't exit them (hit the window key, not the back button).
5. Battery % in the status bar - I know they aren't the most accurate, but there is a big difference to me from having 49% battery and 26% battery. Even Android and WM6.5 doesn't have this option stock and it baffles me as to why I had to load custom ROMs or files to get this feature. WP7 seems to follow suit.
6. No immediate resume of games nor ability to disable buttons during game play - I can understand why it is implemented this way, but playing a game and accidentally hitting the search key or what not is annoying. I also would have expected the resume to be damn near immediate, but it seems a state is saved and the program has to reload in order to resume play. Like I said, not a big issue, but kind of annoying.
7. Limit of 20 people to a group - I was surprised they impose such restrictions on your group size. I basically have to now divide my family into separate groups now....and that doesn't seem right. Same way with my various friends groups.
8. DLNA support - I thought I read or saw a commercial for WP7 supporting DLNA, yet I don't see anything mentioned on the forums/manual/documentation I have. So does WP7 support or going to support DLNA?
9. 3rd party keyboard - I was a "gotta have physical keyboard" guy back in the day. I hate typing on a screen. Well that was until I got Swype for Android installed and WOW does that make a difference in speed and to lessen frustration. I surely hope MS will allow a Swype type keyboard soon. Don't get me wrong, the current keyboard is one of the better ones I have used, but Swype is still better IMO.
<start rant - as in I know it's not supported, but just voicing my opinion>
R1. Menu button - I was disappointed that Android went the path of removing the menu button. I would much rather have a menu button instead of a search button if I had to choose. Not having a menu button means that menus are not always activated/found in the same manner/places from app to app. It also forces the app developer to waste space by leaving a location where the user can touch activate a menu.
R2. No side loading of applications - I blame Apple for this one. I had no problem searching the web to find the applications I needed/wanted for my phone, but since Apple's closed/integrated business model, everyone has their own app store and won't allow others to play. MS is partially there with the Chevron thing, but that is hit and miss if even available and only allows limited installs. I do some hobby programming and would have been nice to not pay a developers fee to unlock my phone for a hobby....but understand they can't give everything away.
R3. Separate volume controls - WM6 and Android have this option to set media at one volume and ringer at another. I to feel that it should be that way. Granted it isn't hard to change the volume, but it is hard to remember to turn it back after you change it.
<end rant...for now>
Overall I'm glad to have a such a responsive phone. That was really my only complaint about WM6 was the speed. I could do everything the iPhone could do, but it just took a lot longer for things to open/transition. The lag on Android was really annoying as well, but you don't really notice it anymore with the latest versions of software/hardware..... I was so close to buying an HTC Rezound...that screen/resolution = <drool>.