3 ms·
Maybe I'm less anti-Microsoft than most (disclaimer: I worked there for a summer), but since WPS7 will be out before my current iPhone/AT&T contract ends, my pl
by endtime 16y ago
Maybe I'm less anti-Microsoft than most (disclaimer: I worked there for a summer), but since WPS7 will be out before my current iPhone/AT&T contract ends, my plan is to switch to a Windows phone. I think the UI looks great (though practical usability is still in question), and I've always preferred Outlook to Gmail. My main gripe would be using an IE7-based browser, but as long as I can install Opera Mobile that shouldn't matter. I also wouldn't mind switching to the Zune platform - I've heard good things about the Zune desktop client, and iTunes has numerous problems. (I don't think Android offers any support for smart playlists, which would be a real pain for me.) I guess it might be obvious from the above that doing the core tasks well (email, browsing, music) is more important to me than how many googols of apps are available...plus, by using XNA as a dev platform, I suspect the learning curve for creating WPS7 apps will be lower than for iPhone/Android, because there are already tons of XNA devs.
Of course, this is all predicated on WPS7 meeting expectations, the pretty UI actually being usable, etc. Otherwise, Android. So I guess the point is that, at least in my case, Microsoft is still in the game, but they have only one chance to deliver.
- sausagefeet 16y agoInteresting you find the UI to be pretty. From the stuff I saw it looked very hacked together and disgumbled. I'm looking forward to seeing an actual phone though. I have no interest in switching (I just got an Android based phone and love it) but I'd like to see what the actual user experience turns out to be.
- endtime 16y agoAesthetics and UX are definitely linked; as you say, it's really hard to evaluate either until one can actually get a feel for the navigation, etc. But I think that as long as the UX is coherent, the visuals will be there.
- brandonkm 16y agoThe wm 7 ui is typography based with minimal visual flourishes and virtually no icons. Its very different than any mobile ui out there. I really enjoy the experience on my zune hd and that's a preview of what wm 7 will be based around. From what I've experienced (people who have never seen this type of ui before), people seem to be intrigued and curious by it. If the mobile team at microsoft is paying attention to details in the way the zune team did leading up to the launch of the zune hd, then a lot of doubts people have about this platform will be gone.
- apphacker 16y agoOpera Mini is a great app for reading news and such, but as your main browser? It doesn't execute 99% of JavaScript. You can't load any smartphone targeted websites with your smartphone. Not very smart.