Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Last week I had a rare opportunity to speak with someone (who requested to remain anonymous) that works for a company (also remaining anonymous) that is involved in handset hardware design for some of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices.

After asking him tons of questions about the upcoming OS, he agreed to let me take a quick look at a particular LG model.

He wasn't sure what the name of this device will be when released, but maybe some of you guys who are following the announcements can identify it:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...n/IMAG0452.jpg

It has a slide out keyboard, and what appears to be a front facing camera, implying that this might be a European market model (since most US phones don't have front-facing cameras unless they say "Apple" or "Evo" on them- more on that later).

From what I gathered in my short time with the device:

- 5 Mpix rear camera
I'm fairly certain the rear of the unit said "5 mpix" on it, however it was hard to tell since prototype units don't get the rear faceplate (you kind of have to hold the battery in, or put it down on a surface).

- Slide out QWERTY
It has one. I like that. Unlike devices such as the Moto Droid, the keyboard is wide, nearly the width of the entire device, making the keys spaced-out and easy to use. I didn't like that the numeric keys are part of the top row instead of their own row (guess I'm spoiled by my rhodium), but I suppose I'd rather have larger keys over all since I don't use the number keys as much as the letters.

Here's a quick pic:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...n/IMAG0453.jpg

- Screen is very responsive and supports multi-touch with pinch zooming
I think we all saw that one coming. Pinch is now ubiquitous with touch screen interfaces. Screen seemed rather bright, but I think it is still LCD (not AMOLED) judging by how the "black" pixels seem to still be lit.

- Device feels like a decent size, not too small
This won't win any thin contests against the Nexus One or iPhone, but I guess that's the price you pay for a slide out KB. I took the back off my Touch Pro 2 and compared them side by side- The LG seems a hair thinner, but otherwise very similar proportions.

- Windows Phone 7 is smooth.
I've actually been rather bitter about MS starting over with a whole new OS dropping support for my 10+ years of current Pocket PC apps, but I can see why they did it now. This OS will appeal to the masses in a way that the current complex Windows Mobile UI can't.
I've played with a Zune HD and been rather impressed with it, and my initial impression of the UI here is similar. Everything seems to be integrated in a way that makes sense... the demo videos we've all seen online don't do it justice. I'll admit, after watching their press event a while back and the demo videos online, it felt kind of cluttered to me. But when you actually try to use it, it really does start to make sense.
While I question how versatile and powerful it will be compared to the open architecture of our current OS (copy/paste, native code, custom UI elements, etc), it clearly has the potential to compete with the other big OS names out there. I could see my friends wielding iPhones being impressed with this. Microsoft really did a bang up job integrating cloud services into the interface, everything from bing to Xbox (which has been up and down as the services are being tested now, I actually didn't get a chance to try anything with that) and social networking.

------
I did notice one thing that kind of concerned me- the main screen, which I guess is called the "tabs" screen, didn't rotate when I opened the keyboard:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...n/IMAG0454.jpg
My contact said that there are still bugs being worked out, and that this phone didn't even have the latest version of the software on it yet... in fact, he said it was in some kind of debug mode so he can monitor error logs, so the final product might be a little smoother than the one I played with.

Now, I assume this particular model is the Euro one because of the front facing camera. My contact wasn't sure, and admitted this *could* be a US market phone, but I'm cynical since virtually all Euro 3G handsets have front cameras for video calls, and hardly any US ones do without making a significant deal about it.
Why don't I assume LG plans to make a big deal about this one?
Well, that leads me to my next topic:
I think LG's model here looks pretty entry-level. Its not all that flashy looking compared to other modern handsets, and I don't think this is going to be a big flagship media-coverage launch device. The camera on the back appears to be about 5Mpix (good compared to my Rhodium, but again kind of on the lower standard for upcoming handsets), the keyboard seems adequate as is the screen, however nothing here really seemed amazing. In fact, I think the only remarkable thing about this device is the OS.

That may also explain why I was allowed to see/touch this one, but not the "others". I was told there is also a Samsung device in prototype there, but the security on that one is tighter.

As far as I'm concerned this is a good thing- If they want WP7 to be adopted on a large scale, they need to offer high end devices as well as low end entry level ones. I believe what I saw was a lower end affordable model. But, as always, only time will tell.

I think that about covers it... and I hope I'm not getting anyone in trouble for posting this!

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Great write up, and I look forward to my own Windows Phone 7 experience when a good model comes to Sprint... of which there damn well better be a good one! :lol:

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Looks like the LG GW910

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/l...ndows-phone-7/

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

The phone you were reviewing is called panther ;)
Great review btw!

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Ah, it would appear the GW910 / Panther are the proper names for this device. I wasn't sure where in the new OS to find the device info, and I didn't get a chance to see the first boot like that video aleki posted.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

WP7! :occasion5:

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

nice phone...crap os & UI. i can only hope we can port android to some of these devices.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Why would you want to port android to a WP7 device? There are plenty of android phones already out there to choose from.

It's not like Sprint SERO customers who were pretty much stuck having to use WM6.1/6.5 devices who sought to port android since they couldn't otherwise use it.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Is it me, or is everyone just dumb? I mean I know I havent used WM in a year, but Widnows Phone 7 is ugly. It looks like something that is completely unfinished.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Will WP7 be backwards compatible? Will you be able to install WM 6.x apps (.cab) on WP7? If not then there is a FAIL on WP7...

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

I'm not too happy about it either. It looks too Kin'ish, and boy was the Kin such a dissapointment to use. I just hope M$ allows us to mod the UI. On a positive note, I do like the flow. Seems like the device doesnt suffer from skipping or pauses.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

The OS looks very boring and bland. The icons look like a child made them, hell a child could probably do better!! I have used windows mobile for years and I am now on Android and I don't see myself switching. I think Microsoft is done when it comes to mobile OS's, I think WM7 wil be a big waste of time they are to far behind everyone else.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

+1 I'll stick with my Hero and Android 2.2. Hands down the fastest, and most stable ROM I have ever seen. WM will have to come up with something much better than what I've seen to make me come back.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

They should work more on WP7 and hold the release but release a WM7 (enhanced WM6.5 and capacitive touch screen compatibility)

I am quite happy with my WM6.5 (HTC Touch Pro2) but it lacks devices (CDMA) with snapdragon (1ghz) and capacitive screen...

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

did you just say that the perfect flowing OS with active tiles look boring in comparison to a grid of icons? seriously?

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

microsoft has gone in a different direction to actually CHANGE the look of mobile devices. apple and google has gone the same direction palm/handspring did 10 years with grids of icons.

talk about unfinished... how many updates has android had? every 2 months they try and finish a product that is unfinished. apple keeps adding MS ideas ever time MS announces something.

it's you

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

that home screen is Fugly! Are there any other screens that we could see? If this is what we are waiting for.... yawwn. :)

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

I guess you didn't realize you don't have to buy one?

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

A browser video comparison http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/e...ser-comparison

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

No, I think we all already know that the new OS is NOT backwards compatible- I mean, the classic WM/PocketPC framework contains elements of the UI that don't exist in WP7 (scroll bars, menu bar on top, background threading while apps are jumped into/out of, etc). Remember- don't think of the new OS as the next Windows Mobile version, rather think of it as the first ZUNE PHONE combined with some features people expect in a Windows branded device (Office, Exchange, etc). I think even IF you managed to find some code written for a previous version of CE that would actually run on the new CE core (which in it of itself isn't so simple I think), the UI elements missing would either make it display improperly or just crash.

That's assuming we managed to copy the files manually into the device because it does not support .cab files natively. So, I didn't really try it (not sure how I could, really) but I'm fairly certain the answer is a resounding NO.

Yes, yes... I've been the biggest critic/opponent of 7 since the press releases. We'll all seen the demos and media presentation from a few months back... and it looked awfully cluttered to me. But let me ask you something- have you ever used a ZuneHD?
I touched one for the first time recently, and actually found the UI extremely intuitive. There's a reason people actually LIKE the Zune now (something I never expected to hear when the first Zune was released)...
Meanwhile, using WP7 in person was admittedly much nicer and less cluttered than the demos I saw.

I think it has to do with all the crap they populated it with for the demo- pictures of people and social networking contacts that aren't relevant to you, so it just seems like a big mess of stuff.
But when you see it clean, you see how simple it actually is- then if you start adding contacts and networks to sync, you start to see how the integration offers what is relevant to YOU in a way that is surprisingly elegant. I can't explain it really unless you've tried it.

I'm not saying its for all of us- I'm still not really interested in it personally for my own phone (Windows Mobile died with 6.5 as far as I'm concerned), however don't dismiss it too quickly. Its actually not half bad.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

I am a WM fan but... not for nothing but the Android phone's browser seemed faster than the WP7 in scrolling, surfing and redraws and it came out already. Only hope that WP7 speeds it up a bit if they are going to have Flash and newer technologies that slow it down..

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

This is another one of those "Me too" products from microsoft. Still don't see anything compelling that would make me leave my EVO for WP7. What's the difference between this and other OS? Xbox live integration? Bing? I hope thats not that only thing they are using to set themselves apart. I don't have an xbox live account on the principle that they charge for something that Sony provides for free. So live is actually a disadvantage to me. I'm still waiting to be impressed.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Im hunting down an EVO myself (on craigslist and ebay) but they are mad pricey still. Too bad I can't get it on Boost, I might just switch to the $69.99 Sprint plan... For $99.99 a month I think Verizon is coming out with a new play unlimited everything, I would pay the extra $30 for Verizon in a heartbeat..it's supposed to be a "test" campaign..lets see if it gets approved for an actual plan. Still waiting for economy to get better and hopefully I finish my MCPD next 2 months and get a decent job.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

hero might look better but its junk plus wp7 will have sense and theres a link with info. in my wp7 thread or google it. i will take ugly ass wp7 over a hero anyday of the week.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Why are there so many negative WM/WP7 comments? I'm actually looking forward to the new offerings from MS. I want full working two way MS Office integration like I had with my TP2. My Evo/Android is still lacking all around common video codec support, it's still not as easy to play all the various file formats I could on my TP2, not to mention 2.2 f-ed up my Slacker sound quality even with the "fixes" it still sounds too hollow and tinny. As for WP7, maybe they really should have named it Zune Phone but in any case the Zune HD is extremely fluid and intuitive. I like the proposed WP7 interface based on my SPB MS 3 themes I ran on my TP2 which ran fast and were really easy to use. Aesthetics is nice but functionality is more important to me. I'll admit that it does kinda suck our old software probably won't natively run on WP7 but oh well just buy some new stuff you like or try to figure out how to port it if possible.

Android is new, I like it. At least there is the app store to get most of what's missing by default in it like a file explorer (Root Explorer for me) All in all I don't really care what OS I run as long as it does what I want it to do, same goes for hardware maker. I just want a powerful portable all in one device for apps(utilities/games), cam/vid and multimedia, surfing/email and communication. Last year it was the TP2, right now it's the Evo, soon it will be the Epic to get back full landscape use and have a keyboard, then later this year, depending on Sprint's offerings, it may be a new WP7 handset. I wish there were some high end WP7 choices right now to give WM another chance but I will probably burn my new phone credit on this Epic soon. Good review/early look, I'm just tired of seeing constant bashing before they even give it a try.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Let me say this to all of you, I don't know why you keyed in on the fact I have a Hero, but I never said it was a great device. Even though I do believe otherwise. I am getting the Samsung Epic, and when's the last time MS actually had a big hit? O that's right, the HTC Vogue, my old smartphone. Some may say the Touch Pro 2, but people had more issues and problems with that phone then any other I've dealt with.

As well, you said Android is constantly updating and MS isnt?!?!?!?! Are you serious??? I was a chef for the Vogue, and every 2 or 3 days there was a new build for 6.1 and 6.5. It was never finished. WP is the buggiest software ever made. It will never be finished. The reason why there are chefs is to finish what WP started, and that's still nearly impossible. WP7 looks like a child's play thing, and their phone they are releasing for WP7 are crap. Tell me when they release a phone play can play 55 frames per second and run smoother then a babies bottom?

O btw, Android is open source....so everything they add just comes from the users. In Froyo the things added was, Apps 2 SD and Mobile Hotspot. And guess what, I'll inform you that Android is working on 3.0 now. It's going to be made for high end phones only. Sounds like WP7 right? WRONG. Google is almost done with 3.0, and WP7 still is and will always be in development. It took 1 and half years to leak about a device coming with WP7. Heck, I remember last year when people were talking about if the Touch Pro 2 will get WP7. Now it's a thing of the past. Get real...MS and WP are nearly dead, and WP7 will prove it once people realize the lack of support for it.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

I did not intend for this thread to become a Microsoft vs Android flame fest. That being said, I disagree with many of your points.

First of all, you're complaining about bad hardware and calling it Microsoft's fault. If the TP2 is really buggier than the Vogue (and that subject is highly debatable), it would be HTC's fault, not Microsoft. In fact, if anything, the biggest problem with Windows Mobile has been the fragmentation, the lack of MS's involvement in the actual hardware, and the "too many cooks spoil the broth" syndrome. By the time you buy a handset, MS wrote the OS, HTC wrote their UI "enhancements", and the carrier branded it / crippled it / added their services, to the point that it is so far removed from the original intended interface.
If you followed the long history of Pocket PC (since before they were phones), you'd have seen this first hand and understood where this is all coming from.

Microsoft has had plenty of "hits" in the past, dating back to Pocket Pc / Windows Mobile. The problems have been more recent, where there has been a paradigm shift within the company that sort of left the smaller subdivisions of MS unorganized in their efforts. The result is that many of the teams working on Windows Mobile / CE were not really on the same page as the other divisions (their acquisition of Danger is a prime example of this, as is the crack team assigned to release incremental 6.x updates while they figure out where to go with 7).

That, I can say, is a thing of the past. After Windows Mobile 6 was released (crossbow), the mobile space was already heating up, and it was pretty soon thereafter that MS realized they are losing their foothold in the market.
After seeing that the original planned Windows Mobile 7 ("Photon", google my article on MoPocket for more info on that) was not going to be enough to revolutionize anything, they canned it, went back and decided to focus on something completely different- something they have never done before, tapping the consumer market team specialists who are responsible for the Zune HD and Xbox.

The result is decidedly very un-Windowsish, and much more consumer friendly. And like the ZuneHD and Xbox, they appear to not be cutting any corners on the polish this time, even cracking down on hardware and software requirements for 7 to discourage the fragmentation problems between hardware manufacturers and developers (can you imagine if Xbox came from a choice of hardware manufacturers and branded by local game stores? You'd have bugs and compatibility issues up the wazoo! No- like a page from Apple's playbook, MS needs to step in to the hardware game a little as well- or at the very least, be way more specific about the requirements and NOT just license to the OS to anyone).

Meanwhile, they had to release SOMETHING to keep Windows Mobile in the arena, even if only half @$$ed, so they developed 6.1, 6.5, and 6.5.x. Microsoft did not invest too many of their resources on those releases, as was apparent even in their name- in the history of Windows Mobile/Pocket PC, you never saw this many incremental releases in the same generation of OS.

You appear to be judging a LONG history of a very powerful OS dating back to over a DECADE with just what you've seen from the vogue until now, which we can all clearly see has been much of a turning point for them. That's not really fair, and seems awfully short-sighted.

I already mentioned that this model is a no-frills one. The others are not. Samsung has a really nice one, in fact!

As for performance... um, I take it you haven't touched a ZuneHD, have you? Its about as smooth as mobile devices get these days, and the games yield a solid fps. This, even as a "no frills" model, can easily perform as well, especially with the minimum specs required for it to run the Xbox tab. Have you even SEEN the demoed games?

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

There is a flaw to your whole arguement. The bugs are in the software, not the hardware. The hardware works perfect. Its up to the software people to make sure it work with the hardware. And that my friend is MS. HTC does make a face for the software they are provided with from MS though. So HTC can only do with what they are given.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

There are some flaws in your sentences lol. You don't have to like wp7 and there is no point in trying to discourage people who want to try it.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Just trying to save them money. Why not get a device that is moving forward then one that is moving backwards?

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Actually, most of the bugs are in the drivers and HTC enhancements.
If you use a professional grade Windows Mobile device (such as point of sale handhelds or inventory devices) you'll find them surprisingly stable and bug free.
In fact, the NSA-approved military grade smart communication devices (which where all over the blogs when it was rumored Obama would have to give up his blackberry due to security concerns) almost ALL run Windows Mobile. By default, the OS is stable, secure, and EXTREMELY powerful.

Its just not "cool" like the other OSes currently, and when a manufacturer like HTC tried to make it something its not, the result is often unstable.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

I hope you're not talking about android. If its so great why do I have root to do anything fun or useful? The browser is the only thing I really care about on the evo and it would suck nuggets to if wasn't for the dragon. I can't wait for my wp7.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

thanx for looking out trying to save me money but where were you when i bought my hero(junk) and evo? evo is nice but had dust under screen as did hero plus other issues most of which i see other threads about. most people are ok with managing there cash w/o you.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Rep, upped

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Actually... android is a kids toy. What kid need mobile word, excel or PDF reader. Or a how about a decent email client that receives email b4 outlook? I had a droid for about 2 weeks and un-hesitantly took that back due to the fact that it had everything i didn't need. I'm not not pay for a stupid app to open my Office docs. When i can get it for free with WinMO. If you want a phone that has cool little apps that are pointless... then good for you. Get an Android or an Iphone. But for us who use our phone as a mobile office we need the functionality and practicality of WM.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

It is 100% Microsoft's fault, you just are over complicating things. Microsoft owns 100% of the licensing rites to Windows Mobile. They could have done ALMOST everything that they are doing now, except leaving the OS OPEN and not treating us like iPhone users.

They could still have a store, that checks to see if an app is rogue or not, but still allow users to sideload apps and have access to the filesystem and registry if THEY need it. Here is the worse case scenario MS could have implemented and still made me happy, if you want the ability to sideload apps or have access to the file system and registry, you need to be a development customer and you will be emailed a jailbreak code. Yes, I would actually pay a coulple of bucks extra for this privilege. This way you protect the majority of the idiots out there but you still make the rest of the users happy. They can dictate to the manufactures that IF you want a Windows device license the following items MUST be met.

All Microsoft needs to be responsible for is making sure the phone itself is stable both OS and hardware wise at release. They do NOT need to close the OS and treat all of it's old loyal customers like Apple chooses to do. They screwed over both the consumer and the programmers by making these changes.

And even after the proverbial "eff you" M$ gave us, people are actually still excited over WP7, instead of resisting Microsoft and trying to get them to bend somewhat on taking away most of the choices we JUST had.

You'd think that in 2010 I could buy a device that could do EVERYTHING that I want it to do so that I don't have to carry multiple devices around with me. Leave it to Microsoft to still make me need a computer, laptop, netbook and phone.

Can someone please explain to me how this is progress? Sure doesn't seem like it to me.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

1 word. Certificate. WE decide to take that checking mechanism off our phones in order to install apps written by Joe Blow. Just my .02

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Windows phone 7 is ugly in the video, but ive heard that with W7 HTC devices u will be able to still use Sense, or the Sense look.Also this is an LG device. I personally only use HTC devices anymore and have only used HTC devices for more than 2 years.I find that HTC devices offer more user customizable options on almost every aspect of their devices,from customized UI's to custom roms, and everything in between. The Windows 7 HTC device i looked at had the regular ugly looking windows 7 screen weve all seen, but in an RSS feed article from HTC they talk about a Sense 2.5 looking homescreen skinned to Windows 7 and with all the new options available for Windows 7 it should be very nice. So i think that the look of Windows 7 after HTC and other device manufacturers get ahold of it will be improved upon, especially by HTC and if they can skin the Sense 2.5 look already imagine what they will do in the future. Everyones got to remember that Windows is starting from the ground-up on a completely new and different system. I imagine that after Windows 7 has been available for about 6 months that there will be so many new homesreen shells, new UIs, and lots of new look options and customizations.Give it a chance, but i do agree, Windows 7 is ugly in the video.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

And your telling me WM never had major flaws either? Hero never had any issues except for the end button chipping and the Evo has a screen issue yes, but dust does not get under the screen, that has already been proven.

Let me go through the list of WM phones
Vogue - power button crack, flawed drivers, verizon never even officially release the GPS drivers for it
Diamond - Idk, i didnt pay attention
Touch Pro - Keyboard's flex cables went bad constantly, and the software was horrendous
Touch Pro 2 - LCD screen failed on numerous occasions. the phone constantly locked up on the stock roms, 6.1 and 6.5
HTC HD - Screen split issue, just like Evo
HTC HD2 - Camera had pink spots, GPS never locked
HTC Mogul - Every piece of hardware on every carrier had problems at one point or another.

Idk anything about the European phone, but I know they had problems too. Android phone rarely have problems with their software. It is very very rare they do. And if they do...a fix is released promptly unlike WM which took a year or more, sometimes a fix never came.

Android continues to get better due to it being open source. So they just include stuff developers make. Such as Wifi tether, Apps2SD, Import/export contacts, and most important text to speech and speech to text.

Let me see MS put that in their ROMs, well besides the appstosd, cause they already have that.

Re: Upcoming prototype WP7 device from LG - quick hands on impression!
 

Lies. Take a Samsung moment or Intercept out for a spin. The user reviews claim the software locks up at least once a day.

The Evo and Hero are quite a bit better, but only because HTC has better smartphone experience (dating back to the first PDA phones) than Sammy does.

Bottom line- you can't judge the stability of the OS by a single manufacturer. The one thing Apple did right, is design both the hardware AND software in house. Too many cooks spoil the broth, you know.