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
Syncing over USB and WiFi
Anand talked earlier about Zune integration on the device, I’m going to expand a bit by talking about the Zune’s desktop sync integration on Windows. One of WP7’s most touted features is WiFi sync to desktop. If you’ve got the bandwidth and the wireless network, this really makes sense. The phone doesn’t sit in a dock next to the computer like early PDAs did, they sit (for me at least) on a nightstand or wherever there’s a free charger in arm’s reach. Syncing with the desktop then becomes just a routine thing that happens nightly without having to actually go plug the device in.
To setup WiFi sync, you need to first connect the WP7 device to your computer at least once. While it’s connected, inside phone settings is an option to setup wireless sync. The phone has to be connected to the same wireless network your computer is on.
The wizard is simple and just asks whether the network you’re joined to is the appropriate one. It’ll do a simple check which I assume is provisioning the phone to only try and sync over this network, and then tell you it’s ready to go:
Wireless sync takes place after 10 minutes of uninterrupted charging when you’re on the right wireless network. I say uninterrupted because the first time I set this up, I waited with the device plugged in and used the phone - sync didn’t happen. It has to be idle on your desk for 10 minutes, and then sync will happen automatically.
There’s also no way to manually trigger a wireless a sync from the phone or Zune interface. It just happens on this 10 minute schedule, and by appearances checks for changes every 10 minutes or so as well while plugged in. While the device is syncing, there's little indication that a sync is in progress unless you try and fire up the Zune hub or take a photo. Unplugging the device during wireless sync seems to halt the sync elegantly.
What’s best about this process is that all same data that gets synced over USB makes it over wireless. Photos, videos, music - it all happens. There aren’t arbitrary restrictions about file size, and it’s decently speedy.
By default, Zune takes copies of all your photos and videos and backs them up inside the pictures folder on the desktop. The folder is given the same name as your phone, and the entire camera roll gets stuffed inside. Remember, this is the only way to get videos off a WP7 device.
Music gets dragged from the collection pane into the phone, and syncs the next time the device connects.
I’m pretty impressed with how well wireless sync works on WP7, and it’s awesome to see this not requiring a hack or lots of effort to get working. It’s also decently speedy - I was on HTC Surround connected at 65 Mbps with an 802.11n network, and saw throughput of about 24 Mbps peak when syncing.
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Crono - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
A lot may not have been taken from the Kin One and Kin Two, but the square, multi page Start is the same concept that was implemented in the Kin phones.Looking forward to moving from my Kin One to the Surround. Microsoft is offering 3 months free Zune Pass for those who sign up to be notified about preorders.
heelo - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
You might be the only owner of a Surround.That thing has a "value proposition" that I'm really struggling to relate to.
peter7921 - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
I have to give recognition to Anandtech for another great review. I have been looking for a detailed review on WP7 and you guys delivered. Not only is it extremely informative but it's also very well written. I read through it all, not once feeling bored or skipping ahead.These types of articles are the reason Anandtech is my first source for all things tech!
Keep up the great work guys!
Confusador - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
OK, wow. I mean, even by Anandtech's unusually high standards that was intense. Just one thing I'm not clear on, though... am I reading this correctly?"WP7 calls presents its browser user agent as “Mozilla/4.0 ...""
If that's correct we've come a long way from the days I had to have Firefox masquerade as IE to be effective.
Guspaz - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
IE has *always* done this, including on the desktop. IE6 reports as as Mozilla/4.0 too. IE2 also did it (a different version of Mozilla, though). A quick search didn't turn up IE1 user agent strings, but I assume it also did.Spivonious - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Remember back when IE was introduced, Netscape was king. Netscape is based on Mozilla. That's the only reason it's in there - so pages made for Netscape would load correctly in IE.arturnowp - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
IT seems strange that WP7 cannot pass test, has very slow JavaScript engine but still pages are fluid and displayed porperly. Maybe Microsoft renders pages remotely and serves them to the phne?UCLAPat - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Wow! After reading this review, it makes all the other reviews look like previews. Definitely going to be considering WP7 when it's time to upgrade my phone. Still have time to burn on my current 2 year contract. By the time it's up, LTE should be up and running and Verizon will probably have a WP7 device for us to consider as well.Apps will come. But they're not a huge part of my life anyway. I want a rock-solid core experience for a phone. A smartphone has to nail the basic experiences first (calls, messaging, calendar, etc). I never liked the main screen completely filled with app icons. That reminded me too much of my old desktop computer before I cleaned up the desktop.
Belard - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
But very detailed... tells us pretty much everything anyone can ask.Thanks...
While I'm not exactly PRO-MS... its good to see good design.
I still like Google's a bit more and its shortcoming are easy to spot. Hopefully Android 3.0 will improve on its weaknesses.
The icon / naming is well thought out and is used by others... including Apple, but not on a phone.
silverblue - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
"...displays up to 8 tiles of people you’ve either recently communicated with or whose profiles you’ve viewed/stalked."LOL.