Now that it's released, is WP7 worth it?

[recondo]

Please don't bash or hate...I'm just sharing my thoughts on moving to the HD7 from Android. I use what works for me...

I've been using my HTC HD7 since it was released. I fell in love with the phone after trying it out at a TMO store. The phone is physically beautiful. Ideally, I would love to have it dual boot so I could use Android and WP7 according to my "mood".

As everyone else mentions, the OS is smooth and fluid. It's also very simple. It does make it very easy to see FB updates, Twitter, music, pics, etc...

However, it does not have the ability to "dive" into the OS and customize the hell out of it. I'm coming from 2 years of heavy Android use/modding/flashing and I missed it so I got a Galaxy Tab to satisfy my modding and customization needs. Plus, there are some "must-have" apps I need for daily business not yet available on WP7. Prior to Android, I was all Blackberry and thought I would never get over loosing BBM, but I did.

However, using the HD7 as a phone, txt messaging and occassional informational update device, it works pretty damn nice! It's simple, smooth and just flows fluidly. I have not had one shut down, ab-end or "force close" in the 2 weeks of usage. However it does tend to loose 3G signal more often than my Nexus and MYTouch 3G&4G, Vibrant and EVO4G.

Things I miss from Android:
App Selection
Copy/Cut/Paste & Browser Text Reflow when pinching and zooming
Google Maps and Turn by Turn directions
Widgets & Sense
Dropbox, Google Voice & G-Talk
Flash & Ability to "Tweak" settings

Things I like in WP7 HD7:
Smooth Fluid User Interface
Simplicity
Graphical interfaces
Zune Wireless Sync
Netflix & Office One Note
Calendar Graphical Views & People Tile

Things I don't like in WP7 HD7:
Camera functionality
Predictive Dialer functionality
Does not natively act as a portable drive when connecting to PC via USB (simple mod though)

Actual Real Life Battery Usage:
Battery life suprisingly lasts me all day from 7am till 10pm. Ceteris Paribus, all my other Android devices got me through till about 5pm before I had to pop in my 2nd battery. Average usage includes about 2-3 hours of browsing, 200-300 text messages (sending & receiving), 20-30 minutes of telephone conversation, approx 30-45 minutes worth of FB & Twitter reading and updating(per 1 hour). I have 3 gMail accounts, 2 "Live" accounts and 1 Yahoo account setup and syncing calendar and mail.

Overall:
So far, I'm enjoying the experience but I have to admit I sometimes find myself wishing I could do certain things like turn by turn directions and even copy/paste. Maybe I'm enjoying my WP7 experience because I just turn to the Galaxy Tab when I need to do something more technical. However, as a phone and social/news media update device, it's very nice and I'm very happy. It's new and refreshing...

I am anxiously awaiting the "Jan 2011" SP update with the proposed new functionality but only time will tell. I'm not holding my breath, just simply hoping for MS to deliver cause I think this OS has potential for the general masses.

[Biggzz]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

It mirrors almost EVERYTHING about it. From the push notifications to the jacked up non expandable memory to the closed file system. They basically took a carbon copy of IOS and changed the interface to tiles and called it WP7. I mean you void your warranty by just changing the SD card for goodness sakes.. that has apple written ALL over it. Why do you think they'd go from winmo which was a pretty complex OS to an OS thats basically as locked down as fort knox? And ive toyed around with wp7 and im curious as to which areas it outshines IOS in. With everything being done via the "cloud" what happens when you're in a jacked up service area?

You are comparing things that are similar but because I use both devices it is my opinion that WP7 is way smoother. I use the Focus and the screen is more responsive then the ip4. If you use one and compare it side by side you will see the live tiles are awesome and Facebook is by far the best of all OS.

[demonlordoftheround]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

That is exacly why they went in that direction. The average user wants something simple. The average consumer thinks winmo is too complex.

[Paragon]

I have an HTC Surround WP7. I used it for two days before going back to my Desire and Android. Nothing compelling in WP7. It is bland, and boring, with many missing features, such as copy and paste (coming in next update) multitasking, turn by turn navigation, tethering, and horribly inflexible.

Dave

Is it worth it??? Hell yea

But answering a question like that takes much more than a simple yes or no. All us seasoned forum members are morons to not realize that NO first release OS will be released feature packed. We need a good foundation and work with that from the ground up. Did apple have multitasking when ios first came out? Apps? Copy paste? Did Android have the ability to forward a simple text in 1.0? Multitouch? The answer is NO.
They started with a good foundation and worked their way up and added everything when it was ready and properly tested and WP7 is no different. Is Microsoft late? Perhaps. But they laid a pretty powerful base to work with. Smoother than all the rest, Amazing UI, inmense developer support, xbox live, a FRIGGIN ZUNE EN EVERY WP7 DEVICE!!! they have the momentum that palm needed to get back in the game when they developed webOS and are handling it really well when it comes to advertizing and working with devs so i see WP7 to be a MAJOR player if not the one to beat come end 2011.

Now back to the question. Is it worth it? Yes

>>>BuT<<<

Is it worth it to switch from Android, IOS and such?? Not right now...

i have a HD7 and love it to death but even I recommend my friends to get an android device over WP7. Because its better? Not really. But i realize that its better for them to have what they need now rather than having them wait for it to be added later. As for me, i know what i gave up and am willing to grow with the platform because it showed me the potential, mindshare, and momentum to be a killer in the near future, and also i love the idea behind metroUI, hubs, tiles, and such so there is nowhere to go but up

[mindfrost82]

I completely agree with MikeElGiga23. Its a VERY good base for a 1.0 OS IMO. I can see it growing fast if MS keeps up with updates and features like Android/Apple. Having them in control of updates should help with this HUGELY.

With that being said, the productivity of a smartphone isn't really there yet. There's not a variety of apps like Android/Apple have, but its slowly getting there. Like I said earlier, there's a few that I miss from Android that I used everyday. Turn by turn nav is one thing. I have a dedicated GPS unit, but I don't carry it with me everywhere. This weekend I was out of town and was going to grab my phone for GPS, then I remembered I didn't have my Android phone with me. I was able to use Bing Maps to get directions, just not turn-by-turn spoken ones.

[nrfitchett4]

Originally Posted by TheShade001

Because it isn't out for CDMA i haven't met anyone who is running it. The look, alone, is enough to deter many. I am hopeful that once it comes to CDMA, it won't be long before someone figures out how to get custom roms on it. I switched to a Droid X a few months ago. I had a TP2 and flashed every other day it seemed like. Not being able to flash had me in culture shock! The word on the street was, because of efuse, the droid x and droid 2 were unhackable - meaning, "no rom for you! EVER!" After many people SWORE it couldn't be done, sure enough, a few months later we had a custom bootloader, lots of new roms coming out and now I'm disecting the crap out of the interface about to create a theme.

I am sure the same thing will eventually happen to WP7. I was sooo excited about WP7 until i found out that the HIDEOUS interface was not just experimental - it was actually their IDEA of a new, innovative experience! MS still hasn't gotten the hint either. Agreeing with the OP, how on earth can you say to yourself, "I've gotta have that!" when you want to throw up every time you look at it? I am a professional designer (my actual job) and our crew would litterally, get fired if we tried to put out crap like that. It is by far the absolute worse looking mobile interface to date.

As petty as it sounds, the crappy, bland, hubby-chubby garbage will keep me away for a while (and many others according to some posts). Once we are able to strip it down and customize it, i'll eagerly dive in. I'd be curious to see it perform though and to see what xbox features (gaming features) it might have.

Still can't get over how MS went ALL IN on the new mobile os, but didn't seem to get feedback on the look? I have not met one person who said, "ooo! i really like that!" It is usually the opposite. It really is a strange phenomenon considering that MS has been doing a lot right lately (the new Office is great, Windows 7, etc.).

Some people will find it ugly, others love the simplicity. I for one, hope that you are never able to alter the home screen. I'm worried that if that happens, it will slow the phone down and cause stuttering. Right now this is by far the smoothest scrolling, working device I've used.

Originally Posted by darren.wlsn1

it sux though that the tiles reload every friggin time you leave/comeback to home screen, its not a great idea and some of you will see what im talking about soon and agree and then starting a thread on"my battery life sux"

Gotta disagree. You were king of the wp7 gang, looks like you should give that crown up. Have you even used one yet? Phone updates when it is supposed to and my battery life is on par with my hd2.

Originally Posted by Musicman247

I think the only other things I can think of that don't sound good is no Smart Dial and that there is no unified Email Inbox. I'm used to to going to Mail and swiping left or right to get to my other inboxes, but it sounds like this is not possible with WP7.

I don't mind the nonunified inbox, because instead of that I am getting full html email with the ability to scroll around the email. Before, I'd have to download pics, then tap to scroll right.... Not anymore. I wouldn't mind arrows at the bottom to switch to the other emails, but it doesn't bother me. Maybe a 3rd party app can tie that together.

Originally Posted by BooDaddy

There doesnt seem to be much marketing hype around it. I have only seen a few commercials and that was before it launched. You would think MS would be marketing the heck out of it in order to regain that lost market share.

You must be living under a rock. The only winmo device I ever saw advertised before was tmobile and the hd2. For wp7, I'm seeing multiple ads everyday, esp. from at&t, but also microsoft "really" commercials.

Originally Posted by matty032

Agreed. I like the looks much better over apple, and googles. Google is just a copy of apples look. Just rows of icons, with some widgets occaisonally thrown in. Very bland.

I don't get why others don't think this. Stock android (nexus one style) besides having a pretty moving wallpaper, is just a bunch of app icons and maybe some widgets. Google took the IOS homescreen and improved on it, but it wasn't something different.
Google apps also look alot like IOS apps once they are opened.

Originally Posted by brownhornet

Uh... "google" looks nothing like IOS. If you're talking about SAMSUNG's interface thats one thing but vanilla android nor sense look anything similar. WP7 took more "notes" from the way Apple does things with this new OS... they just dont LOOK alike.

New Version of Google Phone (Nexus One) is Not Coming. Ever
http://www.techmixer.com/pic/2007/08...ginal-home.jpg

Look alike to me. the only difference is you can customize stock google.

Originally Posted by DavidinCT

I still want to see someone who uses a WP7 phone on a daily use for a business or something else. Day to day with push mail (with more than 1 account would be nice), texts, e-mail attachments (excel/word docs, etc).

Someone must be a hardcore user here who can give the real performace in the real working world...????? Also battery life with active tiles going all the time.

I'll admit, my TP2 is not the worse in this, I have push mail on 2 accounts (hotmail and exchange) and use it all the time, I just hate the speed of the device and over clocking helps but, it tends to lock up a little more than normal..

I use the phone everyday, emails, texts, but esp. multimedia. Office docs need to be able to be accessed through skydrive (currently only onenote has that function), but other than that, I think it can be a very capable business use device. Full suite of office programs available, you just have to email them to yourself currently to get them on your phone.
I like the ability of onenote to auto sync to skydrive, I'm sure other office docs will follow suit.
The nice thing is zero freezeups so far on my hd7.

Originally Posted by darren.wlsn1

too funny, and thats not my biggest gripe. that clutter free innovation updates all the time and just kills the battery even if your not using the phone.

once again, how about trying the phone before passing this off as fact.

Originally Posted by smoove21

Im still trying to figure out who the hell at microsoft approved the way text is displayed through the os. Why in the world isn't/doesn't the text automatically adjust to the size of the screen? Who doesnt hate scrolling to the left/right when trying to view/read pages on the internet? Now just to operate my phone i have to spend all day scrolling just to figure out where im at in the os? No wonder there's a grid (just as the iphone) of tiles a.k.a. widgets on the homescreen.

I haven't had any problems with text fitting the screen for sites I use. For forums, you need to use landscape, but for others, you can double tap the screen and the phone resizes it for you to fill the screen.

Originally Posted by smoove21

Lol that's a first. I never expected anyone to say the wanted to use a bland interface before. Still, i can understand someone wanting more of a 'close' experience with their phone. What i don't understand what makes you choose wp7 over say an iphone? Microsoft is basically mirroring the user experience behind what apple has created.

Microsoft integration I think is the big selling point. Having one account for everything. Email, documents, calender, music, gaming, all connected on the phone.

Originally Posted by brownhornet

It mirrors almost EVERYTHING about it. From the push notifications to the jacked up non expandable memory to the closed file system. They basically took a carbon copy of IOS and changed the interface to tiles and called it WP7. I mean you void your warranty by just changing the SD card for goodness sakes.. that has apple written ALL over it. Why do you think they'd go from winmo which was a pretty complex OS to an OS thats basically as locked down as fort knox? And ive toyed around with wp7 and im curious as to which areas it outshines IOS in. With everything being done via the "cloud" what happens when you're in a jacked up service area?

Because winmo wasn't selling? Because winmo is a laggy, buggy OS that didn't work properly out of the box? Because Apple has shown that most consumers just want a phone that works as expected out of the box and the experience is uniform across the platform.
As far as the cloud experience, how often do you use your phone for something that doesn't involve the internet these days? Text, email, music streaming, youtube, etc all rely on data.

For the OP, things I love:
1. Wireless syncing
2. Zune integration: great for music, videos, podcasts. Auto updates my podcasts to my phone. Most videos auto convert before you transfer them so they are ready to watch.
3. Almost flawless performance: best scrolling, functioning phone I have ever used. Performance is consistent across the device. Only had to soft reset twice in 2 weeks due to marketplace bug.
4. Netflix streaming is very nice time killer
5. Developers! third pary devs are actually writing programs for wp7. Can't say that about winmo anymore. And apps are all pretty cheap. Free to 2.99 for most apps, xbox live games can be a little more. Slingbox is still 30.00
6. Social integration: a contact updates their facebook, it shows on their live tile on the home screen. People tab also shows facebook updates and text messages, pictures uploaded.
7. Multimedia integration: all photos can be set to auto upload to skydrive. You can take a pic and send it straight to facebook. Facebook on my hd2 has been broken for a couple of months now.
8. After a few years of winmo and tweaking my phone more out of necessity then because I want to, the phone just works. Enter your live ID and you are pretty much set across the phone.
9. Metro UI is very cool, the panoramic scrolling is a neat innovation. All apps are supposed to follow this UI and so far, they all look very good.

Things I don't like or need improvement
1. All office docs need to upload to skydrive or allow zune to do it.
2. Better outlook integration for business users. I don't need it, I know Microsoft wants everyone in the cloud, but there will be resistance from alot of users about having to use the cloud.
3. Multitasking for twitter and all streaming audio. This is the only one that has bothered me. As stated by another poster, twitter doesn't save place on the timeline if you go out of it to open a url. Slacker, though it comes with the phone, it closes if you navigate away from it.

Overall, wp7 is an impressive OS that right now I think is the fastest out there. Some games take a little while to open, but everything else opens quickly, loads quickly and is smooth in doing so. I don't get wait cursor pauses while the phone tries to catch up. Microsoft seems determined to push out frequent updates. Since you will not have to wait for htc or samsung, or motorola to add their parts to it, it will get pushed straight to the carriers for release.
The big problem with android is there are still devices running 1.5 not getting updates. You are starting to see some complaints about it from developers such as rovio (angry birds) having to make a lite version that will run on lower end devices.
I don't see myself going back to winmo and never really liked IOS or android so I'm going to ride it out and see where it takes me.

[brownhornet]

That pic looks NOTHING like IOS... you're grasping for straws. Thats just the way THAT person has their icons lined up. Zune.... ha.

[NIKKG]

Normally when something new comes out, I always get excited and want to try it out. But for some odd reason, I just don't have that interest in WinMo7. I don't know, it just seems too boring, its like they marketed it heavily for Facebook users and I hate FB because of all the privacy issues it has.

Honestly, nothing M$ has now with WP7 is even remotely interesting. They should've atleast done something really different instead of just clone the iphone. We'll see what M$ has up its sleeves in 2011 and how they plan to compete with Android 3.0 and iOS5. It better be good thats for sure.

[nite732]

It was not a love at first sight thing but after playing with it like nine times I finally ordered one today, I also ordered the captivate. I love my iphone4 but now windows 7 is appealing to me.