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
Settings
WP7 has a strong emphasis on keeping everything simple and largely abstracted away, and settings is no exception. It’s nicely Metro themed, and provides a unique combination of options and glanceability. Categories appear up top in larger white font, but what’s unique here is that the major setting appears down below. Under Wi-Fi for example, you get the name of the AP you’re currently connected to, under airplane mode ‘turned off.’
It makes it very simple to glance and change settings accordingly without diving deep into each category. I’ve gone through and taken photos of almost every setting and menu item inside, and for the large part there’s enough control so that nobody will be disappointed.
One of the few things I think users would really like is better cellular data control. I’m not talking about enabling or disabling data or roaming, but rather the ability to selectively enable 2G only data, 3G data, or both. Users that have security concerns about 2G GSM only want to transact data over 3G, and others that want to save on battery life only want to use 2G. Unfortunately, there’s no way to set a preference for either on WP7.
In other areas, I’d hazard an opinion that WP7 might expose too much. It’s cool that you can configure APNs directly and the SMSC number for messaging pretty quickly, but the majority of users don’t know what these are and don’t care, so why confuse? It just feels like some areas have tons of options, while others are overly minimalist.
There are two pivots in settings, one for applications, one for system. Under applications, most of the WP7 applications that are core parts of the OS have their settings duplicated here. Photos and camera is the one exceptions, with settings for sky drive and GPS tagging only existing here.
I’ve put together a gallery above with all of the settings menus, which you can check out if you want to see just what all you can change.
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soaringrocks - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
I find it amusing that for a 'phone' there is often little to no discussion on call quality, reception, and ability to maintain connection in a difficult environment. We know that all phones are not equal on that score...It's like you don't expect people to actually make phone calls.
beefnot - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Making phone calls with your smart phone is just so passe.strikeback03 - Friday, October 22, 2010 - link
They said they have reviews of the actual phones coming, that is the type of info that would be in a review of the phone, not the OS.thartist - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
sick amount of quality work. the only WP7 review on the web so far as it had to be done.Anand, keep that quality work that puts you so above from the rest.
softdrinkviking - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
The lack of "change on the fly" micro SD is a deal killer for me.It's a shame too, because I really like everything else about this phone.
Smilin - Monday, October 25, 2010 - link
Curious: Why do you need such a feature?softdrinkviking - Friday, November 5, 2010 - link
whoa, i don't know if anyone else, or even you will get back to reading this but...i use SD cards to store music on. i have a situation where i can't always sync with my home pc very often, and i can't always carry around a laptop, so bringing along a handful of different SD cards with a variety of tunes has been important to me.
what i'd really like is for card-swapping to get more convenient, like in cameras.
btdvox - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
In your review you guys say the LG Optimus 7 has a MicroSD slot that we can expand on, yet nowhere else does it say that on the web. Can you verify this? If it does than this phone is a clear winner for me, It's also avail in Canada btw. I'd hope we're just as important as Asia and Europse but I suppose were not haha.softdrinkviking - Friday, October 22, 2010 - link
the trick is that the microSD card gets treated like part of the built-in memory, and you cannot replace it without completely erasing your phone and starting over.so you basically have to choose a single SD card and stick with it, there is no changing on the fly like in android phones.
btdvox - Friday, October 22, 2010 - link
Wasnt really my question but thanks.But still unanswered is, I dont think LG Optimus 7 has a microsd slot, Engadget just reviewed it and stated it doesnt have a memory slot. Can you guys confirm this?