Hands-on with Windows Phone 7
To compete with Apple's iPhone and the Android army, Microsoft needed to pull out all the stops to sell Windows Phone 7 to the masses. Windows Mobile has a miserable reputation as being not user-friendly and slow. Throw in the Microsoft Kin failure, and you've got a lot of skepticism surrounding Thankfully, Microsoft completely ditched the often frustrating, always sluggish Windows Mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 is a brand-new OS and Microsoft deserves a clean slate.
Wed, October 20, 2010
PC World — To compete with Apple's iPhone and the Android army, Microsoft (MSFT) needed to pull out all the stops to sell Windows Phone 7 to the masses. Windows Mobile has a miserable reputation as being not user-friendly and slow. Throw in the Microsoft Kin failure, and you've got a lot of skepticism surrounding Thankfully, Microsoft completely ditched the often frustrating, always sluggish Windows Mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 is a brand-new OS and Microsoft deserves a clean slate.
Slideshow: Windows Phone 7: Images, Tech Specs on 10 Upcoming WP7 Smartphones
For the most part, Microsoft succeeds in delivering a user-friendly, socially-connected operating system. Windows Phone 7 nicely balances business and fun with Office, XBox Live and Zune integration. But the exclusion of copy/paste and universal search are annoying oversights. I'm also not thrilled with the fact that Microsoft opted not to go with third-party multitasking. This instantly puts them behind Android, which does support third-party multitasking.
Getting Started
To get the full experience of Windows Phone 7, you'll need a Windows Live ID. Your Windows Live ID will be your one log-in for your XBox Live, Zune and Hotmail or MSN accounts if you have them. You'll also need to make sure that the Windows Live IDs associated with your Zune account and XBox live accounts match or else you won't be able to use all of the features on your phone. I already had a Zune account, but I don't use Microsoft's e-mail services nor do I own an XBox. Setting all of this up under one XBox Live account took a bit of time and in a weird way, I felt like I was signing myself over to Microsoft.
The Lock Screen provides a useful at-a-glance view of any new activity on your phone. New voicemails, text messages and e-mail messages will show up here. The Lock Screen is also the only place on the phone where you'll be able to set a wallpaper image.
Swiping up brings you to your Start screen. I have to admit, the Start Screen isn't the most attractive homescreen in the world. Your screen is made up of what Microsoft calls "Live Tiles," which are constantly updating with new content. For example, the People tile shows pictures of your contacts while the Calendar tile displays new appointments. The XBox Live tile shows your avatar bouncing around. Overall, it is a unique way to display updates and information on your phone.
