11 ms·

Windows Phone 7: The Ars Review

65 points by cubicle67 16y ago

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Actually Android isn't open, haven't you been paying attention ;-)
- greendestiny 16y ago
  I don't know that phone vendors have really wanted the kind of work that they have to do with Android. I mean HTC have embraced it, but most of the other manufacturers would rather have more work done by the OS. Once you get pegged as an 'x' phone, be it Android or Windows 7 then that's what user expectations are. Android is developed like a white label operating system but Google is marketing it like a consumer one and I don't think it works.
  - stcredzero 16y ago
    Google can't market as well as Apple. What Google is good at is making software that works better at a particular task. Very occasionally, something they make catches on.
- cubicle67 16y ago
  I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. From the sounds of it it's nice to use, is fast and responsive and generally does what most people will want quite well. I can see many many people being more than happy with a Windows phone
  - spot 16y ago
    He didn't dismiss it, or speculate at all on how other people would be happy with it. He said it lacked a feature important to him.
- endtime 16y ago
  >It is the openness of Android that has helped it to attain a large market share and I feel that MS by using a semi-open strategy will soon land Windows Phone 7 into the deadpool. I agree with until this part. I actually think that MS is trying to get the best of both worlds (the controlled user experience of iOS with the choice/variety of Android) and as far as I can tell, it's working.
aresant 16y ago
Summary for those not in the mood to read 18 pages: "Microsoft doesn't often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed." He loves the interface, says SMS is the only feature MSFT screwed up, dev tools are good but could create sloppy UI in apps if MSFT doesn't address. His major complaint is missing features, says the features that are there are executed brilliantly. Play by Play: - "The styling is uncompromising. I love it." Smoothness major cool factor. - "Hubs" feature is major differentiator, applications can data share - example facebook data / photos imported into contact list. - Built in apps are solid, email client is "very, very good". - "correction and completion mechanism is good" better than iphone, maybe not as good as android. - Browser is good, HTML5 support is lacking. - Music is just like ZUNE. - Maps is a "solid, well thought-out application" but lacking turn-by-turn GPS. - Camera itself will change by OEM but the interface " works well, and it's particularly pleasing when you've taken a picture" - Office itself not much of an update from 6, nothing exciting to see there. - Games integration is lost on the author (not a gamer), the avatar integration was the only thing on the phone that felt "sluggish" - "The SMS application is the one area where I think the platform really falls short" - he says SMS functions are lacking inbox style sorting, no message counter, etc. - Marketplace is easy and straightforward to get new apps. Not a lot of apps, but apps there work and have integrated into the design style. - Syncing is done over the air, even for small firmware updates. - Mac syncing gets a "alpha-quality sync client" - Windows Live support lets you do fun things like lock the phone, wipe it, geo-locate it, etc. but no SMS backup. - Before launching into complaints he says ""I have grown to like Windows Phone 7 a hell of a lot, and I'm certainly going to be using it from here on out." - Complaints: Can't take screenshots on the phone itself, no copy-paste until early 2011, no multi-task, no manage files, no connect to VPN, no transfer files over bluetooth, no sharing 3G over Wifi etc, no ability to act as mass USB storage. - He counters his complaints with "I would imagine that. . . Microsoft has serious plans for multitasking, tethering, VPNs, and corporate security policies, etc" - Microsoft's communication on missing features is making early purchasing decisions difficult, they could stand to improve communication. - Some interface issues he doesn't like, in particular BING search doesn't search phone in its entirety. - "The integration of Facebook and Windows Live is fantastic". - Media management isn't awesome, highlights major problem with the integrated HUB is that MSFT must choose to support apps and standards which means most apps wont work, notably twitter not integrated yet. - Curious that there's no native windows chat client. - Windows 7 Mobile dev tools are good, but not great. Notably lacking ability to access camera, and compass, bigger concern is that the cool Windows 7 interface cues are missing forcing devs to recreate, making some apps look clunky and could cause repeat of Windows app clunkiness. - He thinks the naming strategy is stupid, should have gone with ZunePhone, too tied to single release but clearly piggy backing on Windows 7 desktop success. - Major complaint is missing features, features there executed brilliantly. - "Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use." Phew.
cubicle67 16y ago
Found the second half of this paragraph quite amusing (from page 16) When the phone is locked, the camera button still works. This is by design: it's so you can take a quick snapshot of something that's exciting without having to unlock the phone. It's certainly a sound idea—after all, I don't have to unlock my DSLR if I want to take a photo. Unfortunately, it also resulted in me taking a bunch of pictures of the inside of my pocket and some random dude on the bus, as I happened to sit in such a way as to trigger camera mode. And because I configured the phone to upload pictures automatically, they got sent to Facebook. It's like a whole new kind of pocket dialling; pocket photographing
- po 16y ago
  This sounds like a nightmare feature: you're having a nice quiet night home alone with your girl... You accidentally press the shutter button on your phone as you are plugging it into your nightstand charger... you've just invited everyone you've ever met into your bedroom. Keep in mind that there's no way to permanently delete images on facebook: http://www.techspot.com/news/40662-facebook-keeps-photos-after-deletion-wont-clear-chat-history.html http://www.techspot.com/news/40662-facebook-keeps-photos-aft...
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
rogermugs 16y ago
18 friggin pages? what am I? Some kind of safari reader user?
mahmud 16y ago
Developers, the future of mobile computing is in your hands. Code across platforms, sell across platforms, and don't let anybody corner you into supporting just their platform. Plurality, my friends. Support WP7, Android, iOS and Symbian. And if you still have time, others as well. Screw the segregationists.
- jan_g 16y ago
  Actually, the situation is pretty bad for developers. Making a client for all major platforms (iOS, Android, blackberry and now wp7) is difficult. Every client must be built from ground up. Different languages, different tools. Not bad in the sense of plurality and choice, of course, and I love learning new stuff. But it is difficult and time-consuming.
  - emehrkay 16y ago
    Well too bad MS once again is lacking on the browser side. Devs cannot even target WP7 on the browser, I will not develop non-HTML5 mobile sites. Fuck that, WP7 phone users will not be able to use my sites.
    - stcredzero 16y ago
      "Take care of the customer, or someone else will!"
  - DeusExMachina 16y ago
    Moreover for little startups or single developers might be impossible. I was a Mac developer and now I am an iPhone developer because I already knew and liked the language and the frameworks. For the project I'm working on right now I have to develop an iPhone app and an iPad one, plus a server to handle data, a Mac app to create the particular content we need and a Mac client to upload and handle the data on the server. I am already overwhelmed by work (and I have a day job too) and in no way I can learn/program on another platform right now, especially because our app will be animation intensive and there is no easy way of doing this at least on Android. In the future, if we are successful, we might move to other platforms as well, but for now I will just leverage the platforms I know.
mikeklaas 16y ago
The design aesthetic in the WP7 OS is probably the single coolest thing I've seen from microsoft. It makes me seriously reevaluate my opinion of the company to see that they let it emerge unscathed (bing was a huge step in the right direction, too).
AndrewDucker 16y ago
I believe it's still the case that you can only install apps from the marketplace. Which is a deal-killer for me.
risotto 16y ago
I'm quite glad WP7 is looking like a real contender. Viable competition raises the bar for all phone companies, and consumers ultimately win. This is a really fun time to be a a gadget lover -- Microsoft, Google, Apple, Nokia, etc. are bending over backwards to give us the coolest toys ever invented. I'll wager that in a year from now, all of these phones will be nearly perfect experiences in their own way.
stcredzero 16y ago
it's arguably good for consumers, as it means that they can buy a Windows Phone 7 phone with confidence—if you know your way around one Windows Phone 7 phone, you know your way around them all. It may, however, be bad for the OEMs, who may find themselves with little ability to differentiate and distinguish themselves from each other. How about the carriers distinguish themselves by providing good network service and good customer service instead of loading up the phone with crap hardly anyone ever wants? (Manufacturers can distinguish themselves on price/quality as they see fit.)

65 points by cubicle67 16y ago

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

kenjackson 16y ago
Actually Android isn't open, haven't you been paying attention ;-)
greendestiny 16y ago
I don't know that phone vendors have really wanted the kind of work that they have to do with Android. I mean HTC have embraced it, but most of the other manufacturers would rather have more work done by the OS. Once you get pegged as an 'x' phone, be it Android or Windows 7 then that's what user expectations are. Android is developed like a white label operating system but Google is marketing it like a consumer one and I don't think it works.
- stcredzero 16y ago
  Google can't market as well as Apple. What Google is good at is making software that works better at a particular task. Very occasionally, something they make catches on.
cubicle67 16y ago
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. From the sounds of it it's nice to use, is fast and responsive and generally does what most people will want quite well. I can see many many people being more than happy with a Windows phone
- spot 16y ago
  He didn't dismiss it, or speculate at all on how other people would be happy with it. He said it lacked a feature important to him.
endtime 16y ago
>It is the openness of Android that has helped it to attain a large market share and I feel that MS by using a semi-open strategy will soon land Windows Phone 7 into the deadpool. I agree with until this part. I actually think that MS is trying to get the best of both worlds (the controlled user experience of iOS with the choice/variety of Android) and as far as I can tell, it's working.

aresant 16y ago

Summary for those not in the mood to read 18 pages: "Microsoft doesn't often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed." He loves the interface, says SMS is the only feature MSFT screwed up, dev tools are good but could create sloppy UI in apps if MSFT doesn't address. His major complaint is missing features, says the features that are there are executed brilliantly. Play by Play: - "The styling is uncompromising. I love it." Smoothness major cool factor. - "Hubs" feature is major differentiator, applications can data share - example facebook data / photos imported into contact list. - Built in apps are solid, email client is "very, very good". - "correction and completion mechanism is good" better than iphone, maybe not as good as android. - Browser is good, HTML5 support is lacking. - Music is just like ZUNE. - Maps is a "solid, well thought-out application" but lacking turn-by-turn GPS. - Camera itself will change by OEM but the interface " works well, and it's particularly pleasing when you've taken a picture" - Office itself not much of an update from 6, nothing exciting to see there. - Games integration is lost on the author (not a gamer), the avatar integration was the only thing on the phone that felt "sluggish" - "The SMS application is the one area where I think the platform really falls short" - he says SMS functions are lacking inbox style sorting, no message counter, etc. - Marketplace is easy and straightforward to get new apps. Not a lot of apps, but apps there work and have integrated into the design style. - Syncing is done over the air, even for small firmware updates. - Mac syncing gets a "alpha-quality sync client" - Windows Live support lets you do fun things like lock the phone, wipe it, geo-locate it, etc. but no SMS backup. - Before launching into complaints he says ""I have grown to like Windows Phone 7 a hell of a lot, and I'm certainly going to be using it from here on out." - Complaints: Can't take screenshots on the phone itself, no copy-paste until early 2011, no multi-task, no manage files, no connect to VPN, no transfer files over bluetooth, no sharing 3G over Wifi etc, no ability to act as mass USB storage. - He counters his complaints with "I would imagine that. . . Microsoft has serious plans for multitasking, tethering, VPNs, and corporate security policies, etc" - Microsoft's communication on missing features is making early purchasing decisions difficult, they could stand to improve communication. - Some interface issues he doesn't like, in particular BING search doesn't search phone in its entirety. - "The integration of Facebook and Windows Live is fantastic". - Media management isn't awesome, highlights major problem with the integrated HUB is that MSFT must choose to support apps and standards which means most apps wont work, notably twitter not integrated yet. - Curious that there's no native windows chat client. - Windows 7 Mobile dev tools are good, but not great. Notably lacking ability to access camera, and compass, bigger concern is that the cool Windows 7 interface cues are missing forcing devs to recreate, making some apps look clunky and could cause repeat of Windows app clunkiness. - He thinks the naming strategy is stupid, should have gone with ZunePhone, too tied to single release but clearly piggy backing on Windows 7 desktop success. - Major complaint is missing features, features there executed brilliantly. - "Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use." Phew.

cubicle67 16y ago

Found the second half of this paragraph quite amusing (from page 16) When the phone is locked, the camera button still works. This is by design: it's so you can take a quick snapshot of something that's exciting without having to unlock the phone. It's certainly a sound idea—after all, I don't have to unlock my DSLR if I want to take a photo. Unfortunately, it also resulted in me taking a bunch of pictures of the inside of my pocket and some random dude on the bus, as I happened to sit in such a way as to trigger camera mode. And because I configured the phone to upload pictures automatically, they got sent to Facebook. It's like a whole new kind of pocket dialling; pocket photographing

po 16y ago
This sounds like a nightmare feature: you're having a nice quiet night home alone with your girl... You accidentally press the shutter button on your phone as you are plugging it into your nightstand charger... you've just invited everyone you've ever met into your bedroom. Keep in mind that there's no way to permanently delete images on facebook: http://www.techspot.com/news/40662-facebook-keeps-photos-after-deletion-wont-clear-chat-history.html http://www.techspot.com/news/40662-facebook-keeps-photos-aft...
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]

rogermugs 16y ago

18 friggin pages? what am I? Some kind of safari reader user?

mahmud 16y ago

Developers, the future of mobile computing is in your hands. Code across platforms, sell across platforms, and don't let anybody corner you into supporting just their platform. Plurality, my friends. Support WP7, Android, iOS and Symbian. And if you still have time, others as well. Screw the segregationists.

jan_g 16y ago
Actually, the situation is pretty bad for developers. Making a client for all major platforms (iOS, Android, blackberry and now wp7) is difficult. Every client must be built from ground up. Different languages, different tools. Not bad in the sense of plurality and choice, of course, and I love learning new stuff. But it is difficult and time-consuming.
- emehrkay 16y ago
  Well too bad MS once again is lacking on the browser side. Devs cannot even target WP7 on the browser, I will not develop non-HTML5 mobile sites. Fuck that, WP7 phone users will not be able to use my sites.
  - stcredzero 16y ago
    "Take care of the customer, or someone else will!"
- DeusExMachina 16y ago
  Moreover for little startups or single developers might be impossible. I was a Mac developer and now I am an iPhone developer because I already knew and liked the language and the frameworks. For the project I'm working on right now I have to develop an iPhone app and an iPad one, plus a server to handle data, a Mac app to create the particular content we need and a Mac client to upload and handle the data on the server. I am already overwhelmed by work (and I have a day job too) and in no way I can learn/program on another platform right now, especially because our app will be animation intensive and there is no easy way of doing this at least on Android. In the future, if we are successful, we might move to other platforms as well, but for now I will just leverage the platforms I know.

mikeklaas 16y ago

The design aesthetic in the WP7 OS is probably the single coolest thing I've seen from microsoft. It makes me seriously reevaluate my opinion of the company to see that they let it emerge unscathed (bing was a huge step in the right direction, too).

AndrewDucker 16y ago

I believe it's still the case that you can only install apps from the marketplace. Which is a deal-killer for me.

risotto 16y ago

I'm quite glad WP7 is looking like a real contender. Viable competition raises the bar for all phone companies, and consumers ultimately win. This is a really fun time to be a a gadget lover -- Microsoft, Google, Apple, Nokia, etc. are bending over backwards to give us the coolest toys ever invented. I'll wager that in a year from now, all of these phones will be nearly perfect experiences in their own way.

stcredzero 16y ago

it's arguably good for consumers, as it means that they can buy a Windows Phone 7 phone with confidence—if you know your way around one Windows Phone 7 phone, you know your way around them all. It may, however, be bad for the OEMs, who may find themselves with little ability to differentiate and distinguish themselves from each other. How about the carriers distinguish themselves by providing good network service and good customer service instead of loading up the phone with crap hardly anyone ever wants? (Manufacturers can distinguish themselves on price/quality as they see fit.)