HTC HD7: Now With NoDo
by Vivek Gowri on May 12, 2011 6:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Windows Phone 7
- Snapdragon
- Mobile
- HTC HD7
Somebody Forgot Donuts?
Windows Phone 7 Build 7.0.7390.0 represents the first upgrade for the WP7 platform. Codenamed “NoDo” because somebody forgot to bring donuts to a WP7 development meeting (I swear, I’m not making this up), the update brings improvements to Marketplace, faster app loading, general performance tweaks, and copy/paste (finally?)
My general impressions? It’s mostly the same. This isn’t an earth shattering update by any means, it brings about much needed copy/paste functionality and makes games that much less annoying to load. Otherwise, it’s the same Windows Phone 7 that we’ve all come to know and love.
The browser benchmarks show basically the same results pre- and post-NoDo (terrible JavaScript performance remains...), but the real winner in NoDo is the app load times. Everyone likes to make a big deal out of copy/paste, but it wasn’t a huge deal with iOS, and it’s not a huge deal here either. Convenient at times, but you can live without it. The difference maker on a daily use basis? Way faster load times for third party apps.
Normal apps are a few seconds faster, anywhere between 10 and 30% decrease in load time. The big reduction is in games. BlockBuster and Unite were well into the 20+ second range, but post-NoDo, load in less than 10 seconds. It’s huge. (Sidenote—the load times for Facebook and Twitter are pretty lengthy since I included the refresh time as well. I did that consciously because it better represented the amount of time between when you hit the icon and when you can really start using the app. The loading times for the apps sans-refresh were in the 5-6 second range and dropped by about 1.5 seconds each.)
In daily use, you do notice the changes, and the whole usage experience feels a bit peppier. Copy and paste work well, selecting text is similar to the method used in Gingerbread, but a little bit cleaner. The copy button appears next to the highlighted text, the paste button in a bar just above the keyboard. I don’t know why they took so long to release the copy/paste feature (they’ve been demoing it since before the WP7 launch party last September), but at least it works well.
But Mango is the one to really wait for. Slated to bring much fuller multitasking to the platform, in addition to a much improved IE9 mobile browser, and Twitter integration, amongst other things. Mango should go a long way towards bringing the WP7 platform to feature parity with Android and iOS, and as long as Microsoft gets it out on time and doesn’t delay the update like it did with NoDo, it’ll be a big step forward.
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damianrobertjones - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
I don't want a super resolution phone with S-lcd or two processors...What I DO WANT is a much, much larger battery. I'm sick and tired of charging the thing nearly every single day. Sure, I've lived with the situation since the Qtek days but the HD7 (and HD2) that's in front of me does take the biscuit.
Also, HTC, stop designing the back of your phones so the people in China can't make a suitable cover for their extended batteries. Either do it yourself or design well.
AggHhhhgghg
Crono - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
As a Dell Venue Pro owner/user, I have to agree with all the points in this article about Windows Phone 7.In one sense, Microsoft stepped forward with their new phone platform to come close to what Apple has done with iOS, even (dare I say) surpassing Apple with some features and elements of the GUI.
But they have done so by limiting the options available. It's as if Microsoft gave up the "Windows" aspect and really just went the Apple route, albeit in their own way. Microsoft has always been apt to learn from/copy the innovations of other companies, but it seems like they gave up a bit much in recreating a Windows branded platform over the ashes of the old Windows Mobile. I find it odd that Google's Android OS is more akin to Windows than WP7 is. I miss the "power" options that the Windows Mobile/CE phones and PDAs had, like the ability to close and switch between apps and the ability to overclock/underclock with an application, among other things.
Trefugl - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
I don't find it odd that Android is "more akin to Windows than WP7" assuming that you are referring to the openness/scalability and "power user" aspects. Google comes from a Linux mindset, and Linux has always been that way... what is amazing is that Google has managed to polish Android to the point that the average user finds it accessible (much like they do Windows).I always hoped that Microsoft could find a balance between Google and Apple's approaches, but they are still just too far behind. At this rate, Google will manage to provide an appropriately structured environment for their userbase before WP7 is relevant in terms of market share and features. (This comes from a guy who had high hopes for WP7)
Flunk - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
I have an HTC HD7 and I can see your point. Windows Phone 7 is more of an offshoot of Xbox and Zune than a successor to Windows Mobile. It's not designed to be the most flexible pocket computer it can be but instead focuses on doing common tasks well and quickly.I used to use Windows Mobile and I think this is the way to go for a phone. Sure I can't use it to code Java programs, but it's much better at things I normally use my phone for.
Stuka87 - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
For the Black level, isn't lower better? This graph seems to the opposite of the ones we normally see.Spivonious - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
I just wanted to point out that "NoDo" was done in January. It was carrier testing that has delayed it.For other readers, watch the videos from this year's MiX to see what Mango contains. If MS really puts some marketing muscle behind it, it really has a good chance of knocking the iPhone out of second place.
Stuka87 - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
You are aware that the iPhone is in first place right? Well, unless you compare all Android devices against the single iPhone device (rather than iOS devices).But even if you do measure it incorrectly like that, WP7 would need to have the single largest sales increase of any device in history to even get close to Android or iOS.
duffman55 - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
It's trivial to compare the number of users of an individual smartphone model, unless you're going to be holding some sort of smartphone popularity contest.What's important is the number of users of the OS. Developers are more likely to develop for a platform with more users.
You're right, WP7 does have a ways to go to compete with the likes of Apple and Google. It's going to be a while, but I think they'll get there eventually.
Vivek, I noticed "it's" was used where it should have been "its" a few times in the article. I don't mean to nitpick, just letting you know :)
VivekGowri - Friday, May 13, 2011 - link
Really? I'm usually better about that. Damn English grammar, lol.earle36 - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
I really have to disagree with part of the conclusion here... I have been using a Samsung Focus for several months and love the OS. I don't need custom ring tones - sure its 2011 and they don't offer custom ring tones - big deal. I'd rather they focus on ACTUAL core OS improvements rather than extras like custom ring tones. And mango will offer several improvements to the OS. Within one year they will have added copy paste, improved app loading, new browser, multitasking, messenger integration, and so on. That is huge. I understand that they are just playing catch up - but that's what happens when you release a completely new mobile OS. Several months ago Anandtech published reviews of the WP7 devices and and the WP7 OS - knowing full well what it did and didn't offer, and what the next year was to offer. The reviews were very positive when looking at the big picture. Fast forward to today, MS has delivered exactly what they said they would and (as of now) are on track to deliver some MAJOR improvements to the OS, and now its not enough? What changed?