Further to my previous post , I want to utilize this post reviewing my new Windows Phone 7. I bought myself a Samsung Focus, even though it meant moving my carrier from T-Mobile to AT&T. Some noble souls at Costco possibly along with some at AT&T and Samsung, had come up with a limited time offer wherein the Samsung Focus was offered free of cost. It was the last day of the offer and I was able to pick up one of the last 2 handsets in stock at Costco in Kirkland.
My reasons for choosing Samsung Focus over HTC HD7, in approximate order of decreasing importance, were:
1. Focus was much lighter compared to the HD7
2. Focus had a brighter screen (AMOLED display technology)
3. Focus, I assumed, would have better battery life due to slightly smaller screen than HD7
4. Word of mouth recommendation from one of my friends who was using the device (this could very well have been the most important reason from perspective of a consumer behavior specialist)
5. Focus was free for me, HD7 would have costed $100 odd. Least important reason, but a strong one coupled with 4 previous ones. Why would I pay $100 for a phone which I like less as compared to a phone I like more and was getting for free.
Those are the factors which led to the choice of hardware. Software did not have multiple choices, as it was pre-decided in my mind that my next smartphone (after Blackberry recently, and Windows 6.5 before that, and another Blackberry before that, each lasting 2 years of carrier contractual agreements) would be a Windows Phone 7, which November of 2010 saw entering the fierce battleground of two heavyweights namely iPhone and Android, that had already developed massive and mature ecosystems around their respective platforms. iPhone always felt like a fun, not work, phone to me, and Android seemed a bit complicated on the UI (though my wife uses one now and is apparently quite pleased with it). So Windows Phone 7 it had to be.
Windows Phone 7
Now really coming to the WP7 review, let me start with the bad, and I will end with the good. The BAD:
1. People hub – Microsoft has tried to integrate contacts from Windows Live, Facebook, Google etc but what ends up happening is that your contacts from 10 years ago also get downloaded and it becomes quite messy. Then you need to manually go in and link various contacts of the same person together. Also you cannot delete a Windows Live contact just from the phone without not deleting it from your Windows Live account completely.
2. The cursor – there is no easy way to position the cursor at a specific point on the screen. My Blackberry used to have buttons which I could press to maneuver the cursor up or down, left or right, but WP7 (and possibly all phones with on screen keyboards) require using the fingernail to position the cursor.
3. The Phone itself – the phone functionality on the device is not very convenient.
a) You first press the phone icon, then you press the small search icon, followed by keying in the first few letters of the name, then select the contact, then scroll up or down to find the phone number to call, and finally click on the number to make a call. That’s a lot of steps and this area of the interface could use a lot of simplification.
b) Further, after you have made the call, and you take the phone to your ear, there is a soft button called ‘end call’ that is placed such that it inadvertently gets pressed by your earlobe – ending the call even before you started to talk! So you need to be careful and keep the phone a little away from your ear.
c) If you need to put your phone on speaker or mute it, first you need to find and press a small soft button on the screen, which brings up the speaker phone or mute buttons. 2 key press for these functions should be reduced to 1 key press.
4. Many times the Bing search button on the bottom right corner of the phone gets pressed accidentally and brings up the Bing search screen when that wasn’t your intention.
5. When you are unlinking a contact, the context sensitive menu to unlink a particular contact does not come up until you press and lift your finger away from the contact. This is the only area on the phone where the action required to bring up the context menu is different from all the other areas, where you are required only to press the item in question for a few seconds to bring up the context menu. This observation calls for a big pat on my back for my attention to detail.
Coming to some of the good points:
1. Emails and calendars work like a charm. This is the best phone I have used till date in terms of the email and calendar interfaces. It has almost replaced my laptop, which now I don’t bring home sometimes.
2. Live tiles – though these are nothing more than a set of icons on the home screen, and its called live because it shows how many emails or missed calls you have, these are still better than similar notifications on the status bar in other phones including Windows Mobile 6.5
3. Touch response – the smoothness with which the UI moves around with a swipe of your finger is noteworthy.
This by no means is meant to be a comprehensive review, but just some of the top-of-my-mind points. Overall Windows Phone 7 has the potential to grow on you, like it did on me.
Side note: Today Microsoft and Nokia have announced a strategic partnership (all Nokia phones will now ship Windows) that led me to wonder if Stephen Elop’s departure from Microsoft as President of Business Division to join as Nokia CEO was a planned strategic move.