The Windows Phone 7 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on October 20, 2010 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Windows Phone 7
- Microsoft
- Mobile
OEM/Carrier Customization: One Part Apple, One Part Google
For the past couple of years we’ve had two options at the forefront of the smartphone race. If you want the ability to choose your own device, customize your OS and run virtually anything you want to: Android has you covered. If you want more of an appliance experience and don’t mind giving up freedom in hardware choice or OS customization, there’s always the iPhone. Apple will never sell iOS on non-Apple hardware, and until Android 3.0 Google won’t enforce a consistent UI across all partners. Microsoft falls smack in the middle. If you weren’t totally happy with either option, Windows Phone may be what you’ve been looking for.
The OS and user experience are pretty much off limits for carriers and OEMs to customize. Microsoft will not allow any custom skinning or replacement of default apps. While Android lets you switch out the virtual keyboard software, Microsoft takes a more Apple-like approach and instead delivers what it believes is the only keyboard software you will need. Microsoft wants all Windows Phones to look and feel the same from a UI standpoint, so custom UIs are out. Don’t expect to see HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz permeate Microsoft’s latest OS.
Even hardware specs are pretty well dictated by Microsoft. All first generation Windows Phone 7 devices must use a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC with Adreno 200 GPU, they must feature at least a 5MP camera and an 800 x 480 screen. A physical keyboard may be optional but all must implement Microsoft’s virtual keyboard via a capacitive multitouch screen.
There are three buttons that must be present along the bottom of the face of any Windows Phone: Back, Start and Search. The buttons must be present in that order, avoiding the confusion of reordered buttons we sometimes see on Android devices. The type of button is up to the OEM to decide: either capacitive touch or physical buttons can be used.
At the top left of any Windows Phone there must be a volume rocker. The top right has to have a power/lock button. The lower right has to have a physical camera button capable of waking the phone up from sleep and putting it directly into the camera app. Microsoft views the smartphone as the replacement for the point and shoot camera and thus Windows Phone needs to be able to function just as quickly as a P&S. Finally, all Windows Phones must have a 3.5” stereo audio out jack and support for headsets with three button integration. These are headsets similar to what Apple ships with the iPhone with button(s) on the cable itself.
Microsoft wants OEMs to compete based on hardware design. Windows Phones can take any shape and size, but they must meet these basic requirements. It’s Microsoft’s way of saying: feel free to differentiate, but don’t ruin what we’ve built.
With this approach Microsoft hopes to avoid the mistakes Google has made with Android, where there’s an inconsistent user experience going from HTC to Samsung to Motorola Android phones. It’s almost as if Microsoft is taking Apple’s approach and simply letting everyone build iPhones.
The OEMs are understandably nervous of what Microsoft is proposing. From what I’ve heard, Google is putting a lot of pressure on its partners to remain pro-Google. That combined with Microsoft’s unproven track record in this new smartphone world resulted in many OEMs shipping very conservative designs for their first Windows Phones. Many of these designs are recycled from previous phones. The Samsung Focus is a lot like the Samsung Captivate, and the HTC HD7 is very similar to the HD2. If Windows Phone gets enough traction, then (and only then) will we see riskier designs from Microsoft’s partners. If you’re wondering why there aren’t any truly sexy WP7 phones out at launch it’s just a matter of OEMs wanting to see if Microsoft really has a chance before committing to a more impressive design.
There’s also no carrier exclusivity here (although I suspect the Apple/AT&T deal is close to being over at this point). Microsoft is launching first in the US with AT&T, however T-Mobile and Sprint phones are forthcoming. Verizon is curiously absent, but if you paid attention to my Google pressure line above it’s not too surprising.
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serkol - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
"Flipping through pages upon pages of square app icons just isn’t the most efficient way to do it. Folders help reduce the clutter, but they don’t fundamentally address the problem."Try placing folders onto the iPhone dock. I've placed 4 folders there. Tap on the folder (in the dock), and it opens up the folder, then tap on the app. This look like 4 mini "start buttons" - very convenient, and looks very good.
bobjones32 - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
FYI Anand - there's a dedicated Facebook app in the marketplace that was posted today. Actually created by Microsoft, not Facebook. Any chance you can update this article or write another quick one once you have a chance to take a look? The screenshots in the Zune software look interesting, at least.Regenweald - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
The xbox live integration on this alone makes it a much more attractive platform that anything else out there.( i thought I was going to have to buy an xbox for the new plants vs zombies exclusive content, lol) I'm looking forward to WP8. Many persons have sold WP7 short without anything to actually go on, but now, it already seems like the most complete platform out there. Full windows integration, ZUNE, XBOX and Facebook.Dobs - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
All sounded great for me until IE mobile - What a let down.Basically a deal breaker. Other faults I reckon I'd be happy to live with until they fixed them.
My high hopes sunk :(
RetroEvolute - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
How did this let you down? The article didn't really have much of anything to say negative about the IE browser included in Windows Phone 7. Unless you're just one of those people who hate anything with the name IE or Internet Explorer...If you haven't already, try the IE9 Beta for Vista/Win7. It's a huge improvement from their previous versions, and you may just like it.
Dobs - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Did you read page 9 (Rebuilding a Brand: IE mobile)?The benchmarks, blocky text and..
"Slower page loading times aren’t as big of a deal anyways, since you can leave the browser and go do something else entirely while the page keeps loading."
This statement instantly reminded me of dial up internet - not a smart phone.
I don't open a browser to then go and test my multi-tasking or my patience.
Like I said - I'll wait for now. If IE mobile is fixed I'll seriously reconsider.
I don't currently have a smart phone and had been patiently waiting for win7 phone as I thought it might be The One - but it looks like I'll continue waiting.
And I don't think browsers for PC have anything to do with a phone review - Thanks anyhow.
B3an - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
I dont think the benchmarks matter that much if actual real world browsing is still good, which it is, and that sites are rendered correctly, which they are.Compared to the current state of many other phone browsers at the moment IE on WP7 seems atleast decent. Other browsers might have greater speed and specs on paper but they wont run as smooth and they often have trouble displaying certain pages.
B3an - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Just read the Engadget review and they also like the browser:"we've got to say that web browsing on Windows Phone 7 is actually a really pleasant experience. "
"Loading the desktop version of Engadget was just a hair slower than an iPhone 4, and just as importantly, rendering new parts of the page as you scroll is plenty fast -- not instantaneous, but fast enough so that you never find yourself consciously waiting for it to catch up. Zooming -- which is accomplished with a pinch gesture, of course -- is buttery smooth. The phone accomplishes this in the same way you're probably used to from other devices: when you first zoom in, it uses the same render resolution so that it can at least show you something without going blank, then it renders the appropriate level of detail as it catches up (Google Maps works the same way on almost every platform). It works well. Zooming in and out of a page -- even when still loading up content -- was super fast in our testing, and rendering happened in a split second, meaning hardly any time spent looking at jagged pixels. We're tremendously impressed with how well the browser works "
However they go on to mention that because of no Flash (yet, Adobe are working on it) that watching streaming video is out of the question for now as the browser also dont support HTML5 video.
MacGyver85 - Friday, October 22, 2010 - link
I was at the launch event in Belgium at the Microsoft HQ and had the chance to ask a few questions. One of which was if they'll be moving to the IE9 rendering & javascript engine once it is finalized. The answer was a resounding yes. The guy also said that they are already using some parts of IE9 as well in addition to IE7 and 8.ishbuggy - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
Does anyone know how WP7 will handle updates? I really hope they enforce updates across all the devices so you don't get stuck with old software versions months after new ones have come out like with android.