What are the selling points of Windows Phone OS? - Windows Phone 7 General

I'd really like to try out a Windows Phone 7, but It has to be on a Galaxy S2 version on TMobile. The Focus S would be perfect if it came to Tmobile. I'm a nut for that SuperAmoled Plus display. So while I wait and hope for the Focus S to come to Tmobile, what exactly are the big plans in the near future for this mobile OS? Will there be or are there advantages with having a Windows desktop and having a Windows phone? I currently have a SGS 4G and it's great on the current rom. But I have to admit I really love how smooth this Windows Phone 7 OS is.

Do you know that to toggle WIFI off and on they have released one big as* application that puts a one whole big box on your front screen taking all that space just to toggle WIFI off?? And the guy who is incharge of app scene some Joe Billfore something from twitter is encouring users to put four such large boxes on your front screen one each for BT, WIFI, Airplane Mode and Cellular??
He has been tweeting about it and everyone is raving about that application.. you know why? Because it LOOKS GOOD.. thats the only one selling point of WP7, nothing more than that..

That's the problem. Even with Mango, I can only think of a few selling points for WP7...and they're not enough to sway people away from the two 800-pound gorillas that are Apple and Google:
1) Facebook integration is second-to-none. You don't need an app at all!
2) The UI. It's smooth.
If I'm missing any others, please feel free to add to the list, but Microsoft has got A LOT of work to do if they even give a rat's ***sack about the platform.

Smooth reliable fast and full of unique features that are interconnected within the operating system.
Sent from my T8788 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Interface consistency. This is such a huge thing for me - it's great knowing that I can open an app and expect it to look the same as the rest of the OS. This is something Android lacks, IMHO.

killerb255 said:
1) Facebook integration is second-to-none. You don't need an app at all!
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Yes you do. Around 1/4 of my Facebook friends don't appear in my WP7 feed, due to them restricting privacy settings in FB. Also you can't delete items, fully see your "likes", see who's checked in to "places" etc. Also I can't get toast / push notifications without the official app. Sure my live tile will tell me when someone has said anything, but the phone won't buzz..
The FB integration is GOOD, but is it significantly better (i.e. a system seller) compared to say Xperia Facebook Inside on all new Sony-Ericsson Android phones?
killerb255 said:
2) The UI. It's smooth.
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NotTarts said:
Interface consistency. This is such a huge thing for me - it's great knowing that I can open an app and expect it to look the same as the rest of the OS.
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Both of these points also apply to the iPhone. This is the elephant in the room when it comes to WP7; most people on here and other forums defend WP7 by comparing it to the flaws in Android only..
This is a false victory, as most of the advantages that are constantly rolled out (smooth non-laggy UI, consistent UI in apps, good useful app-store without tons of shovel-ware or malware) also apply to iOS.
The most frequent advantage people state over Apple is that rows of icons is "old hat" (compared to an alphabetical app list? lol), that iOS feels old now (subjective), or that they hate Apple (fanboy-ism). Maybe I should start a new thread; "what are the selling points of Windows Phone OS compared to the iPhone", because no doubt this thread will again be 99% fully of Android comparisons (you'll see).

There aren't that many unique features in the OS, which aren't tied to Microsoft services, which is an issue. Many people don't like Microsoft Services (i.e. Windows Live). I think they're Fabulous, but there have been scandals all the up to 2009 (Hotmail Password Leak, Bad Account Security, etc.) and people are just fed up. Overseas Windows Live is really strong, but lots of Microsoft services aren't there yet (or aren't as good in the US i.e. Zune, Bing Maps, etc.).
Another issue is the phone doesn't have that many Unique features period. It's an Evolutionary OS, not a revolutionary OS. Everything Microsoft tried to market, people looked at their phones from early-mid 2010 and said "Oh, well... I can do that on my Android/iPhone/Symbian/whatever. Even things like Bing Maps which works flawlessly on Windows Mobile, is botched on Windows Phone 7.
Major Marketing points, common rebuttals:
Live Tiles - But they're just Analogous to Widgets on Android (which can be updated via Push Notifications) and Tickers on icons. Most Andorid phones coming out have resizeable Widgets, as well. Most Andorid users don't care about Live Tiles because their Notification system is superior to WP7's by far. Apple is copying Android's Notification system. Microsoft cannot depend on just Nokia and new smartphone owners. They have to siphon off users migrating from other platforms as well - as Android has so successfully done the past 2 year or so...
It's fast - WP7's UI has a lot of dead space, uses a hardware scaler (so graphics are rendered at a low resolution and then scaled up) and tons of text. That facilitates higher performance. Android also didn't have Hardware Accelleration across the OS until Gingerbread (though some OEMs like HTC did a lot of modification to enable it in some areas i.e. Sense Weather Animations on the home screen and things like that). Games generally run better on high end Andorid and iOS devices due to superior hardware.
An interesting tidbid is that the Launch WP7 devies record 720p at 25 FPS, while Galaxy S devices do 720p at 30 FPS. Things like BT 3.0, BT File Transfer, etc. are also missing from WP7 devices (but may be in Second Gen Mango devices).
SD Card Support - A couple of phones can play roulette to add more storage. Most phones don't even have an accessible slots and in most markets customers weren't even given a choice in storage sizes. Dell is the only US WP7 device with (apparently, really good) choice (8/16/32 GB variant of the DVP).
Integrated Social Networks! - This has been common on Smartphones since late 2009. The HD2 had it. All Samsung Galaxy S phones literally had a People Hub (WP7's version almost looks like a carbon copy by comparison). In the Galaxy S II:
Feeds - Can see all together, or filter down to only one Service. Also notice the Message Tab, which shows Messages from most services including SMS, GMail, Email, etc.
Ticker to show you how many Social Updates you have.
Skydrive Integration - Already on Andorid phones via the Preloaded Office applications, which apparently are superior to Office Mobile for Editing and integrate with DropBox and Google Docs. From GSM Arena Review:
Editing offers almost a full set of options – text style, justification, paragraph formatting, bullets, even creating tables (that’s a first). If you’re editing an Excel file, you get a formula wizard, resize rows/columns, border style, merge cells and so on. Even full-featured PowerPoint presentations are doable.
You can do practically anything with the app – it’s better than the other mobile editors we’ve tested, even better than the Windows Phone 7 one (which had many editing limitations).
The app doubles as a file manager and also integrates with Google Docs and Box.net.
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No Flash or Silverlight Support.
Notification System in WP7 is on par with iOS4. iOS5 will be on par with Android for Notifications. This is a particular sore point for me. I think their Toast Notifications are awesome. I think Live Tile Notifications are no different than those tickers in Android and iOS. But the lack of a Notification Tab is a really really big issue for me.
Visual Voicemail in Mango : Click on Voicemail Tab on a Galaxy S and it launches the VVM app, which launches in < 1 second.
Integrated FB/WLM Chat - Andorid has Google Talk (with Video Chat) basically built-into the OS. Most users on iOS/Android don't care since they buy clients like Trillian or BeejiveIM to access all the chat networks they use in one application.
You can do group chat in those applications, and you can send more than just photos in some of them as well. WP7 Mango uses MMS to thread group chats (SMS), so some carriers are disabling the MMS because it's expensive in areas where unlimited MMS is not common or where the carrier infrastructure isn't as good. In that case, the group SMS won't be threaded properly. Replies form different contacts will be in their own threads.
I don't think App Count means anything, personally. As long as the big players get on WP7 as soon as they can it won't be an issue. They seem to be jumping aboard, so WP7 is good there.
The biggest issue I see is:
1. Hardware doesn't attract attention (when it does, it's not positive attention).
2. There really isn't any real Flagship phone, and it's almost impossible to have one due to hardware requirements imposed by Microsoft (no one can go above and beyond, except Nokia?)
3. It's not really a revolutionary OS. It's just Evolutionary, and barely that. All it does is take existing functionality and wrap it up in a different user interface/user expeirence.
Whether users choose WP7 over Android and iOS will not depend on functionality, since (esp IRT Android) those OSes do much of that, anyways... It will be because they prefer the WP7 user experience (and UI style) over those competing OSes. It won't be because WP7 hardware is better either, since Microsoft has made that impossible with their strict hardware specs.
Microsoft needs to get WP7 up to feature parity ASAP. The main selling point is not their services or one or two supposed killer features (like Bing Audio). It's the User Experience.
And when what you can do with the phone is so limited, it completely kills that story.
I think Mango is a huge step forward. I think the next year will be pivotal, espcially as Android and iOS update to ICS/iOS5 as there is likely to be a reopening of part of that rift again.
I don't think Windows 8 will entice many users to get WP devices, just as XBox Live didn't entice many of them to buy into the platform.

N8ter said:
Live Tiles - But they're just Analogous to Widgets on Android (which can be updated via Push Notifications) and Tickers on icons. Most Andorid phones coming out have resizeable Widgets, as well.
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I agree; live tiles are nice, but they're not as good as widgets (which can have a lot more functionality).
Also relying on a "flip" animation to notify the user is actually worse than putting a little counter on the icon to show new notifications, as it doesn't really allow "glance and go" (one of the big selling points of WP7!).
N8ter said:
It's fast - WP7's UI has a lot of dead space, uses a hardware scaler (so graphics are rendered at a low resolution and then scaled up) and tons of text.
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Indeed, this is a point I always make when talking about the metro UI; it's great...as long as you love looking as long lists of white text on a black background.
I was playing with a Sony Xperia Ray the other day, and the amount of eye-candy in their custom Android build is astonishing. Widgets zooming out and wibbling around, a FB ticker that whizzes through your FB friends profile pics as well as their updates, and a photo album app where pictures fly together then split apart. Maybe metro is more useable in the long run, but cool flashy stuff like that is how you sell a phone..
N8ter said:
Games generally run better on high end Andorid and iOS devices due to superior hardware.
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It's not down to the hardware; iPhone 3GS out-performs most WP7 games on 2 year old hardware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111945
N8ter said:
Notification System in WP7 is on par with iOS4. iOS5 will be on par with Android for Notifications. This is a particular sore point for me. I think their Toast Notifications are awesome. I think Live Tile Notifications are no different than those tickers in Android and iOS. But the lack of a Notification Tab is a really really big issue for me.
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Toasts still disappear forever after 15 seconds don't they? That means if you miss one, you might as well have never got it. Also no toasts for basic stuff, like email or the social media integration; toasts are poorly implemented IMHO.
N8ter said:
I think Mango is a huge step forward. I think the next year will be pivotal, espcially as Android and iOS update to ICS/iOS5 as there is likely to be a reopening of part of that rift again.
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Mango is a huge step forward *for existing WP7 users*. For other smartphone users, it just puts Windows Phone roughly on par with the current versions of iOS and Android. Unfortunately though, the Mango rollout coincideswith the launch of iOS5, iPhone5 and Android ICS; so again Microsoft will find themselves 1 generation behind. Can Wp7 honestly compete? Without some seriously new unique selling points, I don't think so.

Below is a link to a pretty good sized and unbiased review of Windows Phone Mango. Also, a link to the PC World series "30 Days with Windows Phone 7".
Unfortunately, threads like this in the WP7 forums turn into the same thread over and over again. You're going to have bias for, unsurprisingly, and bias against, surprisingly, in this forum.
Mostly you have people who purportedly dislike and/or hate the OS constantly lurking around a forum dedicated to a mobile OS they dislike and/or hate waiting for threads like these for their opportunity to continue bashing it.
Follow the links then find you a Tmobile store that actually has a working display of an HD7 or ATT store with a Focus and check it out yourself. Although, you'll probably run into sales rep bias there. Heh.
Hmm. Another theme in these type threads is that the OP makes the one post and then never comes back. Baiting perhaps or maybe just run off because of the ensuing brawl. Good luck.
http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/the-ultimate-windows-phone-7-mango-preview
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239405/30_days_with_windows_phone_7.html#tk.mod_rel

Social Hub in the Contacts app on my Vibrant. Twitter integration in June 2010...

Wyn6 said:
Unfortunately, threads like this in the WP7 forums turn into the same thread over and over again. You're going to have bias for, unsurprisingly, and bias against, surprisingly, in this forum.
Mostly you have people who purportedly dislike and/or hate the OS constantly lurking around a forum dedicated to a mobile OS they dislike and/or hate waiting for threads like these for their opportunity to continue bashing it.
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I'm confused by this post; where does "bias" come into play in this thread?? Can you explain the basis of these accusations? If you don't agree with the opinions here, rebut them with evidence; posting positive reviews as a rebuttal is odd and seems to show some sort of weird positive bias..
This is funny thing about posting on WP7 forums; if someone posts something positive, lots of posters will agree happily. But negative posters are accused of having some sort of grudge..?! I just don't get it..

Wyn6 said:
Below is a link to a pretty good sized and unbiased review of Windows Phone Mango. Also, a link to the PC World series "30 Days with Windows Phone 7".
Unfortunately, threads like this in the WP7 forums turn into the same thread over and over again. You're going to have bias for, unsurprisingly, and bias against, surprisingly, in this forum.
Mostly you have people who purportedly dislike and/or hate the OS constantly lurking around a forum dedicated to a mobile OS they dislike and/or hate waiting for threads like these for their opportunity to continue bashing it.
Follow the links then find you a Tmobile store that actually has a working display of an HD7 or ATT store with a Focus and check it out yourself. Although, you'll probably run into sales rep bias there. Heh.
Hmm. Another theme in these type threads is that the OP makes the one post and then never comes back. Baiting perhaps or maybe just run off because of the ensuing brawl. Good luck.
http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/the-ultimate-windows-phone-7-mango-preview
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239405/30_days_with_windows_phone_7.html#tk.mod_rel
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And we see why. It's because some people can't have a discussion with people who disagree with them. Instead of showing others what they're talking about, they break out the rhetoric and veiled assaults on those people instead.
The reason why the threads turn into flame wars, and you're free to have a look, is because in 90% of cases Pro-WP7 posters troll people and bait them into arguments (some of them quite petty). It's been going on for almost a year in this forum. I stopped posting for about 2+ months and just lurked (prolly made a post or two in the Vibrant forums in that time) and nothing changed at all.
Most people who post here have WP7 devices. Whether they like it or not is their business. However, this forum should be open to both positive and negative feedback.
Unless you can show obvious and provable inaccuracies in someone's post, it's good to keep the flamebaiting in Notepad on your own personal computer and off the forum. When you post it you do just as much harm as they do when they reply to it. I know what it's like, cause I see some people continue to further the argument ever after they've basically said "you were right" for no reason other than they don't like what someone else has to say. I'll leave names out of it this time.
The 30 days with Mango thread about Molly's review was a pretty decent example of that. The woman was personally attacked just for having a different opinion, with people nitpicking parts of her blog post that really had no big impact on the outcome of the review.
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Aphasaic2002 said:
I'm confused by this post; where does "bias" come into play in this thread?? This is another funny thing about posting on WP7 forums; if someone posts something positive, lots of posters will agree happily. But negative posters are accused of having some sort of grudge..?! I just don't get it..
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Lol, we posted basically the same thought the same exact minute.
JINX!!!
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Also, the idea that you can pick "the phone that fits you" from plaing with it in a carrier store probably < 1 hour makes absolutely no sense, especially when you cannot link your account to the device (Android, iOS, or WP7) and see what it actually functions like in real world use.
Reception Issues, GPS Performance, Battery Life, etc. Those are just 3 obvious things that simply cannot be tested in a carrier store, and if you're ready to spend cash any rep will tell you all of those are fine... Why wouldn't they?
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Aphasaic2002 said:
It's not down to the hardware; iPhone 3GS out-performs most WP7 games on 2 year old hardware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111945
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Terrible example. The 3GS has a HVGA resolution so there is much less pixels to render. The better hardware in high end Android/i4/iTouch still give better performance than WP7, though.

No doubt, someone will now post that they love their WP7, and if we don't like ours we should sell it and move to Apple or Android. This type of post happens at leats once in response to *any criticism*.
Personally I'm happy with my HTC Mozart Windows 7 phone. But I can see obvious flaws in the current OS, and in Microsoft's long term strategy. It is possible to like an OS and see issues with it, I still don't see where "bias" comes into play!
N8ter said:
Terrible example. The 3GS has a HVGA resolution so there is much less pixels to render. The better hardware in high end Android/i4/iTouch still give better performance than WP7, though.
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As I pointed out in the thread; simple games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds run noticeably slower with a lower frame-rate on my Mozart. This is not related to the screen resolution, as they render in 2D.

I thought this was a "Selling Points of WP7" thread and not another "Android rulez them all" thread. WP7 has a different interface. Completely unparalleled compared to any other. That's why most people like it, is because it doesn't look like other phone OSes.
I still have yet to see a phone with such tightly integrated services. iPhone may have iTunes and all of these stores with it, but I still have yet to see so many big name titles for games on other phone platforms than WP7. Same for Office, too. Word processing is one thing, but the fact you can use a variety of cloud sharing techniques for documents is something I haven't seen being used by others. Facebook chat integration with your SMS inbox is brilliant as well.

Wow, I can see people are really divided on this as much as Android vs iOS. Since I use a Windows desktop and laptop, I was hoping there was some kind of advantage moving to a Windows Phone OS. I don't know anyone that has one, but since playing with one at Best Buy, I was attracted to how smooth and solid the OS felt. I appreciate all the input.

Aphasaic2002 said:
As I pointed out in the thread; simple games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds run noticeably slower with a lower frame-rate on my Mozart. This is not related to the screen resolution, as they render in 2D.
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This is a silly assumption to make. Even the iPhone 3G can play Angry Birds at 60fps, and Windows Phones have shown they can handle relatively complex 3D games (Tentacles, ilomilo, The Harvest, etc). The real reason games seem to run slower than their iPhone counterparts is due to XNA being locked to 30fps - something that is rectified in Mango and has nothing to do with the capability of the phones.
Tempott said:
Wow, I can see people are really divided on this as much as Android vs iOS. Since I use a Windows desktop and laptop, I was hoping there was some kind of advantage moving to a Windows Phone OS. I don't know anyone that has one, but since playing with one at Best Buy, I was attracted to how smooth and solid the OS felt. I appreciate all the input.
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I posted this in another thread but I think it applies here, too:
When I started my plan, I had the choice between the Samsung Galaxy S and the Omnia 7. I did all the research, I looked through forums like XDA, trawled the internet for reviews, tried it out in the store, etc, but ultimately I chose the Omnia 7 because everything just works. No need to fiddle with settings or customise it to suit me. Unlike the rest of XDA, it seems, I don't enjoy tweaking or hacking. I just do what I need to do with the phone and that's it. I gave up everything the Android ecosystem offers - customisation, features, app catalogue - for the ease and consistency of Windows Phone, and after two months I haven't regretted it since.
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People will argue and say that the iPhone provides all this, but no, they can't be compared at all because the iPhone is still currently one of the most expensive phones on the market. My Windows Phone Omnia 7 cost me $348. The iPhone 4, in comparison, costs $1150 - almost 4 times as much - on the same plan.

Over8ted said:
I thought this was a "Selling Points of WP7" thread and not another "Android rulez them all" thread. WP7 has a different interface. Completely unparalleled compared to any other. That's why most people like it, is because it doesn't look like other phone OSes.
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If you had actually read the thread and not jumped to conclusions, you'd see that I stated that quite directly.
I still have yet to see a phone with such tightly integrated services. iPhone may have iTunes and all of these stores with it, but I still have yet to see so many big name titles for games on other phone platforms than WP7. Same for Office, too. Word processing is one thing, but the fact you can use a variety of cloud sharing techniques for documents is something I haven't seen being used by others. Facebook chat integration with your SMS inbox is brilliant as well.
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Android phones have superior service Integration to WP7 devices. It's not hard to see.
Everything is pushed to Google's apps on Android and this is achievable because their C2DM design is superior to the PUSH Notifications on WP7.
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The main selling point to WP7 is the user experience. It's not competitive from a functional point of view, but the user experience is compelling enough that it's addictive to a certain subset of smartphone users. It's up to Microsoft to either cash in on that experience or work feverishly to close the functionality gap between it and other smartphone OSes.
Also, "completely unparalelled compared to any other" is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? Especially given thoughts on user interfaces is 100% subjective...
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NotTarts said:
This is a silly assumption to make. Even the iPhone 3G can play Angry Birds at 60fps, and Windows Phones have shown they can handle relatively complex 3D games (Tentacles, ilomilo, The Harvest, etc). The real reason games seem to run slower than their iPhone counterparts is due to XNA being locked to 30fps - something that is rectified in Mango and has nothing to do with the capability of the phones.
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The fact that the game is complex doesn't mean the quality of the graphics in the game is on par with other phones. In the Adreno vs. SGX540 benchmark link I posted in another thread (that Adreno is the Second gen, not the first gen that current WP7 devices use) you can clearly see the Hummingbird's graphics quality is wildly superior to the Scorpion's. Microsoft is pushing the fact that WP7 uses a HW scaler to developers so that the developers can use low res assets and have the HW scale it up to keep performance up.
It's no secret that the GPU in launch WP7 devices is very weak compared to Hummingbird, nevermind Tegra 2 and esp TI or Exynos GPUs.
Dungeon Defenders has GPU bottlenecks on the Galaxy S phones. The WP7 devices would probably melt trying to run that game at the same level.
And like I said earlier, the scalar and the fact that Metro is a minimalist UI design has a lot to do with WP7's apparent performance. When running benchmarks which tax the hardware it doesn't keep up. However, it's ironic that the UI is touted as being flawless when you can't even scroll a list without it jumping here and there, and that won't be fixed until Mango is released for most of us.

NotTarts said:
This is a silly assumption to make. Even the iPhone 3G can play Angry Birds at 60fps, and Windows Phones have shown they can handle relatively complex 3D games (Tentacles, ilomilo, The Harvest, etc). The real reason games seem to run slower than their iPhone counterparts is due to XNA being locked to 30fps - something that is rectified in Mango and has nothing to do with the capability of the phones.
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As an end user, I don't care what the technical reason is - the games just appear to run worse. It's not just me, my girlfriend (the definition of a casual gamer, and a big fan of Angry Birds) noticed it too. She has now been left with the impression that iPhone runs games better than WP7.
By the way, I now have official Mango running on my HTC Mozart, and the framerates of the above games haven't changed. So Mango is not some magic fix; the developers have to re-build and re-release the games with 60fps support.

Also, let's try to keep it Civil. Too many threads getting locked lately.

N8ter said:
The fact that the game is complex doesn't mean the quality of the graphics in the game is on par with other phones. In the Adreno vs. SGX540 benchmark link I posted in another thread (that Adreno is the Second gen, not the first gen that current WP7 devices use) you can clearly see the Hummingbird's graphics quality is wildly superior to the Scorpion's. Microsoft is pushing the fact that WP7 uses a HW scaler to developers so that the developers can use low res assets and have the HW scale it up to keep performance up.
It's no secret that the GPU in launch WP7 devices is very weak compared to Hummingbird, nevermind Tegra 2 and esp TI or Exynos GPUs.
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I'm not entirely sure, but I think the Adreno 205 is roughly equal to the SGX 540:
G2 is Adreno 205 (2nd gen WP7 devices), Nexus One is Adreno 200 (current WP7 devices), and the Epic 4G is SGX540. Doesn't seem to be 'wildly superior', but maybe you were talking about a different benchmark.
I agree though, WP7 devices are underpowered compared to the competition. I misread his post and thought Aphasaic was claiming that the iPhone 3G had better hardware than Windows Phones, but I can see that's not what he meant.

Related

GSMARENA is a ..beeeb.. . Pigs!

Hey!!! Just see new GSMARENA review about Windows Phone 7 that published Today:
http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_7-review-521.php
i think a noob kid write this review:
Main disadvantages:
No system-wide file manager
No videocalling
Limited third-party apps
No Bluetooth file transfers
No USB mass storage mode
No memory card support
No multitasking
No copy paste
Too dependent on Zune software for computer file management and syncing
No music player equalisers
No Flash or Silverlight support in the web browser
No sign of free Bing maps Navigation so far
No DivX/XviD video support
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from today, nobody will trust gsmarena
lol talk about being a noob, why not take the time to refute his points instead of slobering all over the keyboard?
just a thought
They also said a lot of good things about WP7. Don't forget that.
There's nothing to refute about these points. Absolutely awesome, amazing review! GSMArena know their business.
Final Words
Windows Phone 7 is a great OS. Windows Mobile tried to squeeze a desktop-like OS in your pocket but that never quite worked. The seventh iteration of Microsoft’s mobile operating system takes a different approach – instead of loads of features through a complicated (and not very well thought out) user interface, it puts simplicity and usability first and then tries to add as much functionality as possible without making a mess out of the whole thing.
And it has worked – Windows Phone 7 looks like nothing we’ve ever used before, yet we never felt lost or confused. The most obvious thing works 80% of the time and the few tips sprinkled here and there taught us nice but not so obvious tricks without getting in the way.
Speaking of looks, Windows Phone 7 has unique aesthetics. Parts of it are absolutely gorgeous. It stays away from the faux 3D look for interface elements and instead keeps things flat but visually appealing. It’s the kind of look you’d find in a magazine or a well designed minimalist web site.
Sure there were some of us that didn’t like it. All the superfluous animations, UI elemnts flying in or out, they seemed too much at times. Not to mention those big headings that never did fit on a single screen.
Well, for those of you that feel attracted by the new Windows Phone looks, we’ll just say you’d be glad that it not only looks good but it’s also really simple to use. All the UI elements are designed so that the essential things draw your eye in while less important bits and pieces are smaller to avoid distraction.
But this level of simplicity is also limiting. Sure, you can do most things alright but some things are just out of reach. Copy and paste for one, even the limited number of colors for highlighting in Word, the inability to manage files that the phone doesn’t support and so on.
It’s not just the UI limitations though – the OS has limits too. We couldn’t even connect the phone in mass storage mode and the lack of Flash or Silverlight in the web browser was disappointing. To get rid of multitasking after all these years is a questionable move too, but not necessarily a deal breaker. It didn’t get in the iPhone’s way to success, did it?
Hubs are a great idea that will reduce the dependence on multitasking – a hub will aggregate related content from different apps, so there’s no need to switch between them. However, we’re a little worried that they might go the way of the Live folders in Android. They were another great UI idea, but most vendors and app makers tend to keep their content to their own apps.
The same thing might happen to Windows Phone 7 and its hubs – there are plenty of reasons for app makers to want you to use their app rather than have it share a hub with multiple others apps (brand recognition, ads, you name it).
If Microsoft was to put Windows Phone 7 on phones of the Kin kind, they would have been a hot sale. Great interface with seamless Facebook integration sprinkled with a few other handy services like the Zune Marketplace and SkyDrive.
However, the imposed minimum hardware requirements for a phone to qualify for WP7, practically guarantee that each and every one of them will be an expensive high-end phone.
And if you’re paying big, you’d expect high-end functionality. But Windows Phone 7 falls short of expectations on several occasions – Android 2.x and iOS 4.x will wipe the floor with it as far as power users are concerned.
For Facebook, web browsing and music though it’s the cream of the crop. There are no WP7 phones officially unveiled yet so we can’t be certain of pricing, but carrier subsidies will probably be a must.
And while 1GHz CPU and a high-res screen command a high price right now, Microsoft has its eye on the future. In a couple of years those minimum requirements will move to the mid range and Windows Phone 7 will have had time to make its name as a guarantee for a solid user experience.
So, in the short term WP7 won’t overshadow Android or iOS, but it will be big in the future. Some market analysts even predict that it will push Microsoft’s mobile OS market share to iOS levels by 2014 (with 2010 all but gone, that’s just 3-4 years in the future).
Now we just have to sit tight and wait for the official WP7 unveiling event this upcoming Monday, on 11 October, 02:00PM, London time. You can bet we’ll be covering it for you.
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anhyeuemmaimai said:
lol talk about being a noob, why not take the time to refute his points instead of slobering all over the keyboard?
just a thought
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The OS will ship with thousands of apps and it's only dependent on the zune software when it comes to media.
Maybe it was just me but I thought there review was excellent... I mean it was 7 pages long and picked every little thing about the OS apart. Whenever I want a review that is almost completely unbiased and very well done, I always go to gsm arena. If you look at most of their cons, they are pretty valid points. You don't have to agree with them that they're big enough to make you want to not buy the phone, but they are valid cons.
crow26 said:
There's nothing to refute about these points. Absolutely awesome, amazing review! GSMArena know their business.
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dear. 95% of gsmarena's readers are not professional...
noob users just see first page and say: wow! windows phone dont have copy and paste! wow . windows phone 7 don't have multi tasking. i hate it
this is xda and alls are professional... but...
i am moderator in bigest irani forum about mobile.(mobilestan . net) .. after this review all noob users say: "hmmm i hate windows phone because it dont have copy paste and multi tasking and video calling and .... ! so we migrate to android.... "
who say that windows phone dont have copy paste and multi tasking and ... ?
these are lie
well... whats wrong with the review.. it is the obvious truth.. isnt that what a review is all about. Tell all good and bad... and let ppl decide.. good on ya GSM..
I thought it was a great review. I'd also love to see the platform hit 25% user base, that'd be a nice load of apps.
I'll tell you what, if you told me a year ago that I'd be an avid Bing user, migrating most of my Gmail actions to Hotmail, and being absolutely pumped about the idea of a Microsoft phone, I'd have slapped you and called you crazy. I dig Microsoft's direction lately.
Honestly, it's one of the best reviews ever.
Great and correct review.

comparing wp7 to release versions of ios and android justified

I have seen a lot of people on here comparing wp7 to ios and android launches only to be followed by a stew of haters saying you cant compare with software hardware from years ago. If that was all it was i would be inclined to agree. But when we compare the launches in comparison to what was around at the time it is very justified.
When Apple launches the iphone it was 2g no mms unable to do custom ring-tones could not be tethered etc yet we had phones like the N95.
I don't know much about the original Android so i wont comment specifically but only to say it was a similar situation from what i do remember.
The thing to also remember with these is how long it took them to put it right and bring them up to speed MS has a massive update in 3 months to bring it up to speed yet it took apple 3 generations (3gs) before it actually had anything worth talking about.
My point if i have one is that when we compare to launches its in relevance to the time much in the same way you would look back at an old movie. Anyway i think I got what i wanted to say across, I'm not to great at making points.
Discus .
I agree.
But it won't change anything.
Comparing RTM Releases is more than valid, becaue in every case the OS was so far behind what was already on the market (Android/iOS vs. WinMo/Symbian) that it wasn't even funny.
WP7 isn't anything near as far behind Android/iOS as those platforms were compared to the aformentioned upon release. It has nothing to do with hardware, either.
Don't want someone to make another post with big pictures in it
N8ter said:
I agree.
Don't want someone to make another post with big pictures in it
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yes i think you have seen the post that pushed me to start this thread lol.
lumpaywk said:
I have seen a lot of people on here comparing wp7 to ios and android launches only to be followed by a stew of haters saying you cant compare with software hardware from years ago. If that was all it was i would be inclined to agree. But when we compare the launches in comparison to what was around at the time it is very justified.
When Apple launches the iphone it was 2g no mms unable to do custom ring-tones could not be tethered etc yet we had phones like the N95.
I don't know much about the original Android so i wont comment specifically but only to say it was a similar situation from what i do remember.
The thing to also remember with these is how long it took them to put it right and bring them up to speed MS has a massive update in 3 months to bring it up to speed yet it took apple 3 generations (3gs) before it actually had anything worth talking about.
My point if i have one is that when we compare to launches its in relevance to the time much in the same way you would look back at an old movie. Anyway i think I got what i wanted to say across, I'm not to great at making points.
Discus .
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Yes. When both iOs and Android were introduced, they were immediately compared to everything else.
Whatever IS released on market, out of Beta and RTM - should be compared.
Whatever is sold to customer.
And trust me, that is what MS wants too. Compare and eventually win.
And very valid point - as well as Apple and Google were having DEBUTS on the market,
MS was on the market for 10 fuc....ng years.
I wait to judge finally for the first upgrade.
You know what is the thing with WP7?
It gives such a big promise it creates huge frustration for some.
I want it but only if I will not loose any of the things I need in my live.
Id be inclined to say Android left its beta stage with the release of 2.1. Before that, it didnt even support multitouch. The interface is still nowhere near that of wp7 or iphone in terms of smoothness. WP7 is way too polished to be a beta, but there are just a few things I wish it had to make it perfect. Android was launched over 2 years ago and it was a dud until verizon picked it up.. an unpolished one at that. I still dont understand why people want to use it other than verizon didnt have the iphone at the time.
OK OK OK I see we are in denial.
Apple launched its very first platform in 2007. Google launched its very first mobile in 2008. Palm launched in 1998.
You're telling me that its fine to compare WP7 today with Palm of 1998?
I can guarantee you no one is doing these types of comparisons but you guys.
Fact:
This is NOT Microsofts first attempt at a mobile OS.
No big pictures this time.
Not a hater, i just wont accept mediocrity.
being in the industry and starting over are two separate points... yes it should be compared to today's standards, but people shouldn't look at it as an iteration of windows mobile, but as a new line. so yes, whilst they have been in the smart phone industry, they did hit the restart button to build from the ground up again. it should still be compared to what's out in today's market, but it should also be considered as a brand new product. get this through your heads...
and this is how MS sees it as well, and they'll spend the next few years updating it frequently to get it up to and beyond what is out now.
palm's current OS is not their first attempt at a phone os either.
but whats the point in comparing the different OS .. if it meets your needs then its good ... if it doesn't then it needs work ...
The Gate Keeper said:
being in the industry and starting over are two separate points... yes it should be compared to today's standards, but people shouldn't look at it as an iteration of windows mobile, but as a new line. so yes, whilst they have been in the smart phone industry, they did hit the restart button to build from the ground up again. it should still be compared to what's out in today's market, but it should also be considered as a brand new product. get this through your heads...
and this is how MS sees it as well, and they'll spend the next few years updating it frequently to get it up to and beyond what is out now.
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Good point about it being a new brand, I think one of Microsoft's biggest mistakes is branding of Windows Phones. In my opinion they really should have tried to distance themselves from Windows Mobile as WM has a stigma associated with it seems.
But I still think there's plenty of room in the market for Windows Phone to do well. Even if sales aren't great now, I think Microsoft has a great product and if they continue to build on it I don't see why it wouldn't do well. Remember; 70% of people in the US don't own smartphones yet.
Either way, why do we need to compare this launch feature-to-feature with previous launches? Does that matter when considering a new phone? If you like the phone, buy one. If not, don't.
yeah I agree, comparing an RTM now to over 3 years ago is just inane.
They've had that time to see how to build a successful OS and they opted to use an iOS model that's closed off and tailored for people who don't want too many choices, just easy access to facebook and texting and such.
no copy/paste is pretty stupid I don't care what year it is...
but yeah, comparing an RTM now to then is a world of difference. iOS now does a lot more than WP7, and we all knew the limitations of WP7 months ago, plenty of time for MS to fix this stuff, they have no excuse.
vetvito said:
OK OK OK I see we are in denial.
Apple launched its very first platform in 2007. Google launched its very first mobile in 2008. Palm launched in 1998.
You're telling me that its fine to compare WP7 today with Palm of 1998?
I can guarantee you no one is doing these types of comparisons but you guys.
Fact:
This is NOT Microsofts first attempt at a mobile OS.
No big pictures this time.
Not a hater, i just wont accept mediocrity.
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Click to collapse
How long have you used WinMo???
Really, when has that experience been anything but frustrating out of the box???
I think vetvito just has terrible reading comprehension.
When Android was launched, it was missing enough features compared to WinMo/Palm/Symbian to make another successful mobile platform. There's nothing wrong with comparing RTM WP7 with RTM iOS/Android so that we can see how those platforms stacked up against the competition when they were introduced.
We all know the success or WP7 is dependent on competition these days. But we want like to look back at those platforms and see how they were scrutinized based on the competition that existed back then, as well as what the feature disparity was.
WinMo and Symbian still exist, with largely the same features sets - still unmatched by any other mobile OSes. We don't see anyone in the Android forums *****ing and moaning about it being mediocre because it doesn't have WinMo/Symbian-level features, and trust me, it's missing more than a few compared to those OSes.
By all accounts, Android is still mediocre in more than enough ways (Exchange Support, User Interface, Performance, Battery Longevity is below mediocre compared to other mobile OSes, etc.). Look at the Android forums. People are still asking about basic stuff that is either missing of mediocre in the OS (SD Card Encryption, Exchange Support, Battery Life, etc.). We aren't here to go over Android's many issues. Android is still tryin to get out of Beta status, AFAIC, but that's not surprising. Google is well known for their endless Betas.
There's a ridiculous amount of double standard going on in this forum, and a much higher level of trolling than in the other forums.
N8ter said:
I think vetvito just has terrible reading comprehension.
When Android was launched, it was missing enough features compared to WinMo/Palm/Symbian to make another successful mobile platform. There's nothing wrong with comparing RTM WP7 with RTM iOS/Android so that we can see how those platforms stacked up against the competition when they were introduced.
We all know the success or WP7 is dependent on competition these days. But we want like to look back at those platforms and see how they were scrutinized based on the competition that existed back then, as well as what the feature disparity was.
WinMo and Symbian still exist, with largely the same features sets - still unmatched by any other mobile OSes. We don't see anyone in the Android forums *****ing and moaning about it being mediocre because it doesn't have WinMo/Symbian-level features, and trust me, it's missing more than a few compared to those OSes.
By all accounts, Android is still mediocre in more than enough ways (Exchange Support, User Interface, Performance, Battery Longevity is below mediocre compared to other mobile OSes, etc.). Look at the Android forums. People are still asking about basic stuff that is either missing of mediocre in the OS (SD Card Encryption, Exchange Support, Battery Life, etc.). We aren't here to go over Android's many issues. Android is still tryin to get out of Beta status, AFAIC, but that's not surprising. Google is well known for their endless Betas.
There's a ridiculous amount of double standard going on in this forum, and a much higher level of trolling than in the other forums.
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"Android" battery life is not an issue. Certain devices have issues, and especially because we can actually modify the kernel but take any Hummingbird device out the box and I think it will outlast a WP7 snapdragon.
Also, how is the UI in Android below any other OS? You can make the UI do anything and look like anything. Even now there are themes that make it look just like WP7 but with better tiles!
exchange support in Android is just fine and enhanced with 3rd party apps.
"Performance" not sure what you mean by that. Sure a WP7 device will smoke a myTouch 3G, but take any MSM android device and it will outperform any of the QSD WP7 phones out there.
Any time you give options in an O.S. it will introduce some complications. Android gives you choice. With WP7, you get no choice on anything, but you do get that fluid streamlined experience.
Honestly, WP7 looks pretty interesting to me, it's a Microsoft iPhone basically, and I think if MS just adds some more features and advertises better the poor sales will pick up in 2011.
But comparing an RTM from right now to one that is years old isn't really practical.
SMH at N8ter, yet again with the personal attacks. How about staying on topic.
N8ter said:
There's a ridiculous amount of double standard going on in this forum, and a much higher level of trolling than in the other forums.
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You spoiled most of threads with hate to the people who have different views than yours, and with your forceful promotion of WP7.
Just let other's speak. Why do you flame here all the time?
We can discuss here what we don't like, can't you just accept it?
If it's too hard, just start yor won thread.
When the iphone os debuted, we ALL (including me) in the XDA community laughed at it and proceeded to compared it to the current iteration of WM6: We have c/p, they don't. We have MMS, they don't. We have 3G, they don't. We have a filesystem & expandable memory, they don't. ETC.
So why, when people want to compare RTM WP7 to the current iteration of ios or android, do you some of you say, "no, you must compare to the android rtm and ios rtm"? If we were to be fair, we would have been comparing iphone os 1.0 to WM2003.
I'm a WP7 user who hasn't even glanced once at 6.5 since I've moved over but I definitely think it's MORE than fair to compare RTM WP7 to current ios and android.
fb401 said:
When the iphone os debuted, we ALL (including me) in the XDA community laughed at it and proceeded to compared it to the current iteration of WM6: We have c/p, they don't. We have MMS, they don't. We have 3G, they don't. We have a filesystem & expandable memory, they don't. ETC.
So why, when people want to compare RTM WP7 to the current iteration of ios or android, do you some of you say, "no, you must compare to the android rtm and ios rtm"? If we were to be fair, we would have been comparing iphone os 1.0 to WM2003.
I'm a WP7 user who hasn't even glanced once at 6.5 since I've moved over but I definitely think it's MORE than fair to compare RTM WP7 to current ios and android.
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That's a good point.
orangekid said:
"Android" battery life is not an issue. Certain devices have issues, and especially because we can actually modify the kernel but take any Hummingbird device out the box and I think it will outlast a WP7 snapdragon.
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I have owned a Captivate and a Focus, one is Hummingbird the other is Snapdragon. I get atleast 20% more battery life with the Focus than I did on the Captivate. I don't remember if the Captivate had a smaller battery though, the Focus is 1500mah
orangekid said:
Also, how is the UI in Android below any other OS? You can make the UI do anything and look like anything. Even now there are themes that make it look just like WP7 but with better tiles!
exchange support in Android is just fine and enhanced with 3rd party apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The UI on Android seems like Windows XP in a Windows 7/OSX world to me. It's not bad, but it is definitely not as "slick" or "fluid" as WP7 or iOS.
Exchange support on Android is getting better, but it is still pretty basic. Even with 3rd party apps, it is less than perfect. The 3rd party apps do not integrate contacts with the phone address book very well.
orangekid said:
"Performance" not sure what you mean by that. Sure a WP7 device will smoke a myTouch 3G, but take any MSM android device and it will outperform any of the QSD WP7 phones out there.
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If you want to compare Apples to Apples, then the X10a (with generic ROM and all bloat removed) vs the WP7 devices is the best comparison to make. I have an X10a (a=North America version) and the Focus. The Focus is definitely snappier. This is on essentially equal hardware, so it appears the WP7 is more optimized than Android 2.1. I have not used 2.2 on the X10a (mostly because there is no NAND loadable version yet) so it may be more on par with 2.2.
orangekid said:
Any time you give options in an O.S. it will introduce some complications. Android gives you choice. With WP7, you get no choice on anything, but you do get that fluid streamlined experience.
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To say there is no choice on anything is not 100% true. You do get to choose which live tiles to use (essentially like widgets) but you are stuck with the as-designed home screen. This is in my opinion a good decision by Microsoft. As much fun as it is to tinker with different home replacements on Android, it is not something that is good for most users. The UI should be consistent across devices so that the overall experience is consistent.
orangekid said:
Honestly, WP7 looks pretty interesting to me, it's a Microsoft iPhone basically, and I think if MS just adds some more features and advertises better the poor sales will pick up in 2011.
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Agreed!
orangekid said:
But comparing an RTM from right now to one that is years old isn't really practical.
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I think the comparison is more about how those releases compared to their time vs how WP7 release compares to it's time. In that case, the comparison is valuable. It shows that even with some missing features, the potential and market share can be obtained.
"Android" battery life is not an issue. Certain devices have issues, and especially because we can actually modify the kernel but take any Hummingbird device out the box and I think it will outlast a WP7 snapdragon.
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Click to collapse
Maybe in some fantasy world where the only people who use smartphones are XDA forum posters.
HD2s get better battery life than Vibrants out of the box (I had both and used both for months before I sold the HD2 - actually used the HD2 more since all my media and documents were stored on it) and it has a smaller battery. There are Efficient ROMs for WinMo devices, IIRC, which give better battery life (I use only stock ROMs).
An Android handset cannot even compete with a Nokia for battery life. WP7 gives better battery life than Android.
I think the comparison is more about how those releases compared to their time vs how WP7 release compares to it's time. In that case, the comparison is valuable. It shows that even with some missing features, the potential and market share can be obtained.
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Click to collapse
I've already said this more than twice in two different threads. I've tried saying it in different ways. I can say it in French if they want, my French is respectable...
I still don't think they'll get it, though...
These types of comparisons are made all the time.
Exchange support on Android is not *fine*. If you think it is, then you have not used an WinMo, iPhone, or Symbian phone against an Exchange server, especially on a device used for business. Exchange ActiveSync has existed for almost a decade... To have such poor support (compared to competing products) after being on the market 2 years... Well, it's terrible. TouchDown and other clients are buggy or have unacceptable workarounds for some of the shortcomings in the Android OS. They are not usable in all use cases - not to mention they're expensive as hell.
Better off just getting an N8 and buying SPB Mobile Shell. You'll get more bang for your buck, that way, IMO (due to better Business features, battery life, and support for more DRM and Media Types + offline navigation capabilities on top of a pentaband radio).
Captivate has a 1500mAh battery. Battery life on Android is worse than on other platforms. That is why Google is still trying to make improvements IRT battery life.
The user interface on Android is terrible compared to WP7 and iOS, especially when it comes to applications. Go to http://www.TweetDeck.com and compare the Android and iOS user interfaces. As far as the OS user interface... It's worse than 3rd party replacements like SPB Mobile Shell, and the reason why there's a market for this is because the Android UI is terrible. If it was "fine," then Manufacturers wouldn't spend the kind of cash and resourecs they do defacing it as if it was another version of Symbian OS or Windows Mobile.
The Sony Ericson devices probably the the most attractive Android skins on them. I was in Best Buy on Black Friday playing around with one. I didn't even know what the hell it was until I dug around in the menus, either. It was very attractive, performant, and intuitive. Unfortunately, only a minority of Android devices have this sort of user experience.
N8ter, I hope none of that was directed at me. I am in almost complete agreement with your statements.

Review : XBox Live For Windows Phone.

As posted on L337Ware
Function : Provide gaming hub for Windows Phone.
Pros : Many of the features of XBox Live on the 360 are here such as text messaging amongst live subscribers, avatar customization, achievements, and leader boards.
Cons : Well to put it bluntly it's a little bit of a tease. Voice messages and voice chat are clearly absent though well within the capabilities of the phones. The avatar marketplace is a no show. True multi player gaming is pretty much non existence here. No access to videos and additional content available on the 360. No support for themes. No option to choose placement of apps outside of the hub.
Recommendation : You really don't have a choice here. If you want to game on a Windows Phone or even use certain applications that are even mildly related to gaming you will end up dealing with this hub. It's a severely crippled version of the Xbox Live you've come to know and love on the XBox. The glaring lack of functionality to include the lack of multi player titles and social tools inside of the games themselves are pretty unforgivable considering appearances of such features in games on other platforms. In the end I can't say I'm not left simply disappointed at this take on the Xbox Live brand.
L337Ware said:
As posted on L337Ware
Function : Provide gaming hub for Windows Phone.
Pros : Many of the features of XBox Live on the 360 are here such as text messaging amongst live subscribers, avatar customization, achievements, and leader boards.
Cons : Well to put it bluntly it's a little bit of a tease. Voice messages and voice chat are clearly absent though well within the capabilities of the phones. The avatar marketplace is a no show. True multi player gaming is pretty much non existence here. No access to videos and additional content available on the 360. No support for themes. No option to choose placement of apps outside of the hub.
Recommendation : You really don't have a choice here. If you want to game on a Windows Phone or even use certain applications that are even mildly related to gaming you will end up dealing with this hub. It's a severely crippled version of the Xbox Live you've come to know and love on the XBox. The glaring lack of functionality to include the lack of multi player titles and social tools inside of the games themselves are pretty unforgivable considering appearances of such features in games on other platforms. In the end I can't say I'm not left simply disappointed at this take on the Xbox Live brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I got you wrong, but just tap and hold any icon in the games hub will bring up the menu where you can choose to pin it to the homescreen.
Did you just buy your phone? Because we've all been saying that for 6 months now and there are threads about it. Unless you just need traffic...
Sent from my Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
I've been playing Game Chest: Logic Games Chess against my wife over XBox live for months now. I play my moves on my WP7 and she plays on XBox.com in a browser-based copy of the game.
Isn't that multiplayer XBox-Live? Or am I missing something?
Actually, voice messaging/chat isn't well within the capabilities of the phone. Until Mango is released all network traffic is done thru HTTP which adds way too much lag to use for live voice chatting. Messaging would work, but why re-invent the wheel when full socket support is coming later this year?
The lack of true multiplayer gaming is due to the same reason - http just isn't a viable alternative to raw sockets. The best you can really do at the moment is turn-based games, and they do exist.
Adding content to the home screen is, as someone else already pointed out, as easy as long pressing the title and selecting pin to start.
This is one area where I can truly appreciate peoples comments about this being v1 of a new OS - no other mobile platform has done this already and what's already on WP is pretty damn good considering the current platform limitations.
Remember, all we've seen of Mango at Mix 11 was the developer-centric stuff. MS have yet to announce all the consumer-centric goodies and I bet XBox-live multiplayer realtime will be a part of that.
I'd really like to see a multiplayer Halo game on WP7, controlled by a bluetooth XBox-controller.
The HD7's kickstand would enable use of that while the phone is stood on a table (e.g. when on the train)
How cool?
Jim Coleman said:
I've been playing Game Chest: Logic Games Chess against my wife over XBox live for months now. I play my moves on my WP7 and she plays on XBox.com in a browser-based copy of the game.
Isn't that multiplayer XBox-Live? Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is called turn based not multiplayer
Sent from my Bionix powered Vibrant
lqaddict said:
It is called turn based not multiplayer
Sent from my Bionix powered Vibrant
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Click to collapse
Or more accurately "turn based multiplayer" you still have more than one player which makes it multi, even if that isn't quite what you wanted in multiplayer.
Can I just point out that the "hub" isn't the "Xbox Live" hub it's actually called the "Games" hub.
I also want to say that while I tend to agree that it is vital to the success and pricing of Live titles to incorporate more features, I whole heartedly believe that they are coming sooner than later. People continuously call me a fan boy, but I'm more of a realist in the case of this OS, and realize that Rome wasn't built in a day. I see the effort, and if you don't, you're blind. And I see the potential. So much has been said about the lack of updates, and "oh, I'm God, so I demand updates on my schedule in small packets or I'm going to Android" that nobody has realized the reality here. Features, like the ones discussed here, are going to be so tightly integrated it's going to be amazing. Just watching MIX, you see WHY they haven't released small updates yet, and I've said this in other threads. One feature links in 13 different areas, it's all integrated. So we see this with the socket support, and multitasking, and the ability to control background processes... When these are released, I think we are going to see a wave, and I mean WAVE, of new applications which will completely revolutionalize WP...
^ maybe you're right. However, if and when Microsoft introduces true multiplayer gaming in 2012 or later. It will more than likely be for Windows Phone vs Windows Phone only.
vetvito said:
^ maybe you're right. However, if and when Microsoft introduces true multiplayer gaming in 2012 or later. It will more than likely be for Windows Phone vs Windows Phone only.
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I disagree, I see no reason why someone on an XBox shouldn't be able to play against someone on a WP7 in realtime. This is going to be killer, MS will not miss this opportunity to outdo iPhone (for which there is no equivalent games console) and Android (closest thing is Xperia Play which is a bit poo).
I don't see any logic in your prediction.
^ maybe you're right. However, if and when Microsoft introduces true multiplayer gaming in 2012 or later. It will more than likely be for Windows Phone vs Windows Phone only.
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Click to collapse
<br />
<br />
I disagree, I see no reason why someone on an XBox shouldn't be able to play against someone on a WP7 in realtime. This is going to be killer, MS will not miss this opportunity to outdo iPhone (for which there is no equivalent games console) and Android (closest thing is Xperia Play which is a bit poo).<br />
<br />
I don't see any logic in your prediction.
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Click to collapse
Yeah they WP with Kinnect. However my point is in the mobile world. WP vs iPhone or WP vs Android, as we already have iPhone vs Android games(they're awesome).
Since the Xbox Live brand is involved I'm sure the chances of WP vs anything not Microsoft related are slim to none.
If you haven't noticed 360 users haven't been running in droves to purchase these phones. The average 360 user isn't of contracting age.
vetvito said:
Yeah they WP with Kinnect. However my point is in the mobile world. WP vs iPhone or WP vs Android, as we already have iPhone vs Android games(they're awesome).
Since the Xbox Live brand is involved I'm sure the chances of WP vs anything not Microsoft related are slim to none.
If you haven't noticed 360 users haven't been running in droves to purchase these phones. The average 360 user isn't of contracting age.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to disagree there, especially considering that playing online on a 360 console actually costs money, and usually requires you be an adult... I have no idea where this misconception comes from that all Live players are kids, or even that half of them are... I'm assuming from people who have never played a day online.
I also don't see this phone as just "Live" services, there are other games that will go cross-platform... Has Apple developed a game that interacted with Android users? How about Google with iPhone? All the games are third party, aren't they? The Live games will interact with other Live games, obviously, I don't see why there would be any surprise or negative feedback there... But I do see third-party, real time multiplayer coming sooner than 2012, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them get released once Mango goes live, as they would have been developing for a few months by then.
I don't get why people are so negative about things, as it is now, developers have pushed the available apis to their limits, why would that suddenly stop with a larger user base and greater access? I expect these sorts of post from certain biased users, but not users that appear to have brains most of the time.
I would also take the time here to note that if Google, or any other random developer, released a brand new desktop OS at this moment, version 1.0, would the same retards in this forum who are so Anti-Microsoft/Pro-Google be quick to say "this is trash because it doesn't live up to Windows 7 of today" or would they be hypocrites and label it a first release and state it has more features than Windows 95 did? Because I guarantee you it would be the latter, as we saw when Android was released in its G1 form far behind iOS.
Version 1 where is it? Please show me version 1. Get over it, this is a continuation.
I'm not being negative, just realistic.
How much do you want to bet Microsoft wont allow third party multiplayer games? They will have to go through Xbox LIVE.
Xbox LIVE users are different than the average 360 user/owner. Matter of fact I haven't met a person on Xbox LIVE who knows what WP7 is. Get on there and ask people yourself.
vetvito said:
Version 1 where is it? Please show me version 1. Get over it, this is a continuation.
I'm not being negative, just realistic.
How much do you want to bet Microsoft wont allow third party multiplayer games? They will have to go through Xbox LIVE.
Xbox LIVE users are different than the average 360 user/owner. Matter of fact I haven't met a person on Xbox LIVE who knows what WP7 is. Get on there and ask people yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't specifically talking about you, but this isn't a continuation, nowhere near it, and as long as you guys continue to paint it as one, you'll have ignorant, biased opinions...
And you're making assumptions, they allow games like AlphaJax right now to utilize what they can, I don't see why they wouldn't in the future. You guys create these scenarios where a lot of users come, think you know what you're talking about, and believe this bs... I can't keep track of how many people said that most of the features announced for Mango would take 2 years to implement...
A lot of people had no idea what Android was until Verizon joined the party, and even still, 8 out of 10 people will call any Android phone a Droid, and tell you that their Droid Does... Expecting overnight success isn't realistic, and neither is making assumptions when you have no idea what you're talking about, or have any type of track record to go off of...
I also only brought up 360 because you made the point of the user age... I don't see many people buying it just because of that from a platform standpoint because this isn't called "Xbox Live Phone" it's called Windows phone... I know a crap load of Live players who own Macs...
By the end of this year, I think we'll be looking at these devices entirely different. Both from a gaming standpoint and functional standpoint. Though, the phone is more than functional 99% of the time for me.
What number comes after 6?
I'm ignorant though.
vetvito said:
How much do you want to bet Microsoft wont allow third party multiplayer games? They will have to go through Xbox LIVE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would they not allow it? They allow you to make them today and will obviously continue to do so once there is raw socket support. They are however rolling out more support for indie developers to gain access to XBL as well, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more and more of the great games we have today become XBL games with achievements and whatnot - this does command a minimum price of $2.99 however.
vetvito said:
Xbox LIVE users are different than the average 360 user/owner. Matter of fact I haven't met a person on Xbox LIVE who knows what WP7 is. Get on there and ask people yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Don't know who you've been speaking to, but everyone I've gamed with knows very well what it is. Hell, you must be a real ignorant bastard not to know it considering they've been showing loads of WP commercials on the 360 dashboard since launch.
--edit--
Oh and come on, WP7 is obviously a v1. Sure, it's built ontop of the same old WinCE kernel (well, an updated one) but it has absolutely nothing in common with the previous Windows Mobile versions. You couldn't even take a native WM6 app and run it on WP7 without heavy modification - and that's not just because of the locked down nature of WP.
Well done guys, insults are the way to go. I wonder more and more how old people on this forum are.
Sent from my Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
vetvito said:
What number comes after 6?
I'm ignorant though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 is version 1.

30 Days With Windows Phone 7

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239405/30_days_with_windows_phone_7.html
Great series!
Yeah Molly Wood should take a look at this................. Maybe she will get some pointers on how to post a blog..
nodo review? meh
i find not good serie.iphone user test wp7.ridiculous.very objective
Saux64 said:
nodo review? meh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read past page 2 you will see that he reviews mango...
---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------
Dante187 said:
i find not good serie.iphone user test wp7.ridiculous.very objective
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and why not he dosnt like android so what else is there? blackberry?
you've misunderstood me. I think the test is not good because it tests a iphone user. he will find his iphone always better.But it is not what I find. I've meant.
i love my wp7.
greetings
in summary
Users shouldn't have to buy smartphones or mobile platforms that are still knowingly under development, and vendors like Microsoft shouldn't expect users to support a half-baked platform, or pay for the privilege of beta testing it. When Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" devices hit the street, Windows Phone 7 will finally be what it should have been before Microsoft launched it in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shounds fair in my opinion
Dante187 said:
you've misunderstood me. I think the test is not good because it tests a iphone user. he will find his iphone always better.But it is not what I find. I've meant.
i love my wp7.
greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read. The. Article. Give it a chance, I find that he's pretty fair in addressing the strengths and weakness of WP7.5. That's more than most and if you don't think every OS has something to improve or work on this article or, well let's face it, reality isn't really for you.
I'm glad you love it. I love my girlfriend but she takes a wicked dump sometimes. Nothing is perfect.
Some good points/snippets for general users.
1.Windows Phone 7 lets me pin not
only apps , but contacts, and even
websites to the start screen. In a
word, this is "awesome".
Why? Because, it makes the
smartphone both more
customizable- -enabling me to make
the start screen into exactly what I
need it to be, and more functional--
giving me simple one-tap access to
the apps, contacts, and sites I need
most.
2. So, while it is impressive that Apple
has more than half a million apps,
or that Android has more than
250,000 apps, and it may seem like
Windows Phone 7 can't compete
with its measly 30,000 apps, the
reality is that 30,000 is way more
than I will need. As long as
Windows Phone 7 has the 10 or 20
apps I actually use, it will be fine. But, for the new kid on the block it
seems to be progressing nicely, and
it offers an app shopping and buying
experience that is at least equal to
its rivals, and in some ways it's a
little better.
3. That brings me back to the
Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.
With Windows Phone 7, I have the
option to either "try " or "buy" a
given app in most cases. Many paid
apps offer a trial option as well. If I
click on "try ", a free trial version of
the app installs and I can check it
out and see if it works as advertised,
and that it meets my needs before I
decide whether or not to spend the
money to actually buy it.
4. I prefer the
Samsung Focus over the HTC HD7S .
I didn't have any problems with the
HTC during the week or so I have
been using it, but the Focus just
feels much more comfortable in my
hand. I also ran some side by side
trials and found the Focus to be
noticeably faster than the HTC
HD7S .
5. The "Me" tile gives me simple, one-
tap access to post messages to my
various networks.It turns out that it
is not quite as narcissistic as it
seems at face value. The same way
having a live tile for my wife lets me
have quick, one- tap access to
communicate with her through
whatever means are available, the
"Me" tile gives me quick, one-tap
access to post messages, check in to
locations, or review notifications
from my various services and social
networks.
6. The
Windows Phone 7 Marketplace has
only a fraction of the apps available
for iOS. Some of the tools I use
regularly are just core apps that
come pre-installed in Windows
Phone 7. Things like Alarms,
Calculator, Calendar, and Camera
are already there, so I don't need to
find replacements. I frequently use
my smartphone to look things up on
the Web, and Windows Phone 7 has
the Internet Explorer browser pre-
installed, so I am all set there.
7. When it comes to entertainment, I
rely on apps like the Kindle app
from Amazon, the Netflix app, the
YouTube app, and other tools like
Fandango and IMDB. All five have
Windows Phone 7 apps , and all five
are free. So far, I am doing pretty
good and haven't spent a penny.
For productivity on the iPhone I
have the Apple iWorks apps- -Pages,
Numbers, and Keynote-- as well as
Documents To Go. With Windows
Phone 7, I have Office Mobile apps
installed with the OS, and integrated
with cloud- based file storage on my
SkyDrive, so I don't need to replace
those apps.
8. Out of the gate, Windows Phone 7
lacked copy and paste, third-party
multitasking, SD memory card slots,
Wi-Fi hotspot tethering, Adobe
Flash, and a variety of other
capabilities that Microsoft knew
users would expect. It is like the
Windows Phone 7 developers were
working in a basement sequestered
away from following any tech news
and completely oblivious to what
rival mobile operating systems like
iOS and Android were going
through.
So, now Windows Phone 7 has copy
and paste, and lets you do custom
ringtones, and has some form of
multitasking, and many of the other
features and capabilities it should
have had when it launched. There
are still some notable exceptions
like Adobe Flash, and SD memory is
only available on some Windows
Phone 7 smartphone models.
9. There were things I liked about
Windows Phone 7 out of the gate,
but overall I wasn't very impressed .
With the launch of the "NoDo"
update, WP7 got significantly better.
With "Mango", it is finally a mobile
OS worthy of going head to head
with iOS and Android .
10. Angry Birds is still Angry Birds. I
don't really see any difference
between launching birds at pigs
hiding in structures regardless of
platform. But, I played Need for
Speed on both phones (Need for
Speed: Shift on the iPhone 4 , and
Need for Speed: Undercover on
Windows Phone 7) , and the
animation seemed smoother on
Windows Phone 7 with more
vibrant detail.
11. you're a speed nut (and who isn't ?),
you might appreciate that Mango is
running a full desktop version of
the IE9 browser, not a mobile
variation.
Microsoft demonstrated this IE9
capability in Mango in April for
Windows Phone developers, who
cheered when a browsing speed test
favored Windows Phone over
phones running Android ,
BlackBerry and iOS. Again on
Tuesday, a speed test favored
Windows Phone on Mango and IE9 .
Professor Simon Peach said:
in summary
shounds fair in my opinion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think he is done as of yet as the title reads "30 days" and he is only on day 17 so we have not gotten his conclusion as of yet..
Saux64 said:
nodo review? meh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read day 2, they sent him a Mango device....(did not get till day 6)
Read up to day 16, def an iOS fan, so from their view in 1/2 way through the 30 days, it's a good read over all.
I think it points more about the flaws in WP7 that iOS does better than the major of the good things. Also, he brings up problems that could be turned off by a simple switch.
I guess if you were a true iPhone lover and thinking about going to WP7, it might be a good read, as the writer loves his iPhone and it would give you a view from that.
He's giving it a fair shake and really likes a lot, but it's just his opinion
My big beef, is the same I had with Molly. I LIKE the touch for instructions functionatlity of the mango navigation. However, I agree, it should be an option, IN ALL NAV SYSTEMS.
I don't want to sound rude or blunt, but your opinion is kind of irrelevant here.
There is only one reason Microsoft implemented it the way they did, and it wasn't because they thought it was better. If there had not been a licensing issue, the option you prefer would not exist. They would have implemented a fully automated nav system.
And to be brutally honest, if a standalone nav system were to be released that used this mechanism, I would never even give it a second look. It is completely pathetic. It could easily become the cause of auto accidents, and using it may even be illegal under some US states' anti-texting / distracted driving laws (where hands-free nav systems are allowed, since they prevent interaction when the vehicle is in motion).
They should have licensed the data form an entity that would allow them to deploy a decent navigation integration, then. How about, the same entity they use for Bing Maps on Windows Mobile.
And yes, using a WP7 device with that Navigation would get you pulled over on the interstate here, and you'd get a ticket. They are very strict with texting laws, and there was even an attempt to ban cell phone use in cars, period.
They can do what they want. I have two phones and on my Android both the preloaded TeleNav and Google Maps have free TBT with Voice Guidance in them.
The #1 issue I have is safety. It just boggles my mind that this idea was allowed out of the discussion room, nevermind onto users' devices. It's just irresponsible, IMO, on a very severe level.
---------- Post added at 02:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:27 AM ----------
DavidinCT said:
Read day 2, they sent him a Mango device....(did not get till day 6)
Read up to day 16, def an iOS fan, so from their view in 1/2 way through the 30 days, it's a good read over all.
I think it points more about the flaws in WP7 that iOS does better than the major of the good things. Also, he brings up problems that could be turned off by a simple switch.
I guess if you were a true iPhone lover and thinking about going to WP7, it might be a good read, as the writer loves his iPhone and it would give you a view from that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you guys seriously going to counter every bit of percieved negative criticism of this OS by claming the reviewer is a fan or fanboi of another OS.
Is it possible not to be? I mean, it's not like WP7 has been out since 2007 or 2008/9...
Professor Simon Peach said:
in summary
Users shouldn't have to buy smartphones or mobile platforms that are still knowingly under development, and vendors like Microsoft shouldn't expect users to support a half-baked platform, or pay for the privilege of beta testing it. When Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" devices hit the street, Windows Phone 7 will finally be what it should have been before Microsoft launched it in the first place.
shounds fair in my opinion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, it looks like I'll restart reading PCWorld after years. That's pretty much the most accurate 2 line review I've seen so far.
Best part is that it's also valid for the dev publishing process
Edit: nm, he's reviewing mango. it's all good

The Perfect Windows Phone Ad?

There are rumours this will be turned into an ad campaign, time will tell.
The "really" ad was true to life and not a rigged survey like this one is, but hey, we're talking marketing soooooooo... it should get interesting.
ohgood said:
The "really" ad was true to life and not a rigged survey like this one is, but hey, we're talking marketing soooooooo... it should get interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get your point at all. How are the "really" ads more true to life than this? This is not a survey, these are real life scenarios, have you even watched the video?
ohgood said:
The "really" ad was true to life and not a rigged survey like this one is, but hey, we're talking marketing soooooooo... it should get interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's rigged dude...
Nope. MS should just watch iphone ads and copy them
For example: an iphone ad will be something like "with the iphone you can do, x, y, z" with video on how to do them all in the ad.
With WP7 ads sometimes even I have no idea what they are trying to do, or even then how to do it (the guy shopping with his kids typing in a document in skydrive). Keep it simple and to the point.
pillsburydoughman said:
Nope. MS should just watch iphone ads and copy them
For example: an iphone ad will be something like "with the iphone you can do, x, y, z" with video on how to do them all in the ad.
With WP7 ads sometimes even I have no idea what they are trying to do, or even then how to do it (the guy shopping with his kids typing in a document in skydrive). Keep it simple and to the point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with copying what Apple does, it's just great and Google has started doing it too (for non-Android services) but the above video is still miles better than all the generic stuff Microsoft has been doing so far.
cool video. It wasn't rigged but the contestants were obviously not prepared.
First test the guy could have stopped the app and it would have found the song.
The others didn't make use of their widgets, instead they went looking for the app.
Nice try though.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Well you're right, but the whole point of the contest is to show how on WP7 you don't have to look for a way to do things faster (like stopping soundhound).
vetvito said:
cool video. It wasn't rigged but the contestants were obviously not prepared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
First test the guy could have stopped the app and it would have found the song.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't the WP7 guy as well? Wouldn't a fair test be both to run its course?
The others didn't make use of their widgets, instead they went looking for the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Again, not prepared. I was shocked the iPhone beat the WP7 with its straight to camera ability. But then I remembered iOS5.
Nice try though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love this campaign. It has more meaning than the "really" one which is entertaining but does not really show anything. The one great thing about the iPhone/iPad ads are they fully demonstrate the products' capabilities. The Macs take that entertaining approach.
Has my thumbs up.
nicksti said:
I was shocked the iPhone beat the WP7 with its straight to camera ability. But then I remembered iOS5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To Me the WP won if it was based on who said uploading first now as far as the completed task there are many other variables like which image was larger thus taking longer to post to twitter.
rruffman said:
To Me the WP won if it was based on who said uploading first now as far as the completed task there are many other variables like which image was larger thus taking longer to post to twitter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either way, this campaign drives the message home:
"Get in, get out, get on with your life."
Peew971 said:
I don't get your point at all. How are the "really" ads more true to life than this? This is not a survey, these are real life scenarios, have you even watched the video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "really" ads showed people staring at their phones, walking into doors, refusing sex, etc which is true to life.
The survey is neither scientific nor prepared users other than the surveyor offering a $100 bet. He decides the task, instead of an impartial third party. Give an impartial third party the opportunity to decide random tasks, it will be very different and less dramatic.
^ this is why I said its marketing, soooooo you know.
LOL, everybody on here that's mad and complaining got smoked by a Windows Phone.
sinister1 said:
LOL, everybody on here that's mad and complaining got smoked by a Windows Phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now that's funnay, sigline updated !
nicksti said:
Agreed.I was shocked the iPhone beat the WP7 with its straight to camera ability. But then I remembered iOS5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We'll see:
http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-applies-for-patent-on-locked-mode-camera-access-in-smartphones
I seem to remember some iFan reporting on iOS 5 and how one of the reasons it was so much better than Windows Phone was because you could access the camera from the lock screen. He was oblivious that WP7 had done this first, and a year earlier, and would have had serious egg on his face if anyone had ever bothered correcting him.
drokkon said:
We'll see:
http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-applies-for-patent-on-locked-mode-camera-access-in-smartphones
I seem to remember some iFan reporting on iOS 5 and how one of the reasons it was so much better than Windows Phone was because you could access the camera from the lock screen. He was oblivious that WP7 had done this first, and a year earlier, and would have had serious egg on his face if anyone had ever bothered correcting him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a nokia something or other years ago that did this. Not that it matters who was first, its an awesome feature reguardless !
The ads were interesting and did prove some points, but too social network-centered. Come on, you don't choose a phone just because it allows you to quickly post stuff to Twitter. I don't facebook and post to Twitter twice a month, so this is hardly useful. And cameras on most Windows phones suck, especially first-generation models.
No mentions of
- integrated Office
- contact grouping (Android 4 does something like this, but WP7 is better)
- best-of-class email (reading large emails is much better in WP7 than Android)
Now if they did some other real-world scenarios:
- Use turn-by-turn navigation without distracting (Android navigation is a lot better)
- Load an Ajax-heavy page over a crappy network connection (Opera Mini obviously wins)
- Use a non-facebook online messenger, such as Google Talk or ICQ, or a non-integrated social network
- Uploading a bunch of documents for later reference with a USB cable instead of using Skydrive or email
- Identifying a random object (sorry, Bing Vision is pathetic compared to Google Goggles)
- Making a Skype call
- Switching between third-party apps without them losing state
that would make the competition a lot more interesting!
Or if they offered contestants to propose the challenge instead of the predefined scenarios.
ohgood said:
The "really" ads showed people staring at their phones, walking into doors, refusing sex, etc which is true to life.
The survey is neither scientific nor prepared users other than the surveyor offering a $100 bet. He decides the task, instead of an impartial third party. Give an impartial third party the opportunity to decide random tasks, it will be very different and less dramatic.
^ this is why I said its marketing, soooooo you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I have walked into doors or been refused sex - so don't seem like that's a real life situation for me!
Anyways, if you did read about the 'survey' which was a challenge as a matter of fact - you would have known. The 'survey' wasn't meant to be scientific or wasn't meant to compared the 'cores' of phones. We know the hardware boasting of android is much above par. Dual cores, nearly 2ghz sorta processor etc etc.
What the challenge was to show that, yeah whatever funky hardware you carry in your pocket, let's just do something we do daily and we will see who can do it faster. Yes the incentive was $100. But it is completely wrong to say that 'he chose' the tasks. The tasks were mutually agreed by both and generally the task that the challenger thought he does daily with his phone and is happy doing it was performed as a challenge. For example if someone was so much into tweeting all the time on his dual core high end Android phone, he was challenged to do so against Windows Phone and get smoked!
Ideally if I was challenging WindowsPhone I wouldn't want a random dude to tell me what I should try. Instead asking the user to do what he does daily is scientifically even more challenging. You are not only challenging the cognitive brain but also challenging the routine co-ordination the user has already mastered on his phone. Thus the users who tweet regularly would ideally have the 'widget' somewhere pinned down. If they din't it's sad. But then it shows how the users are used to going into the 'app drawer' even for things they do daily or very frequently. Whereas a WindowsPhone user can pin it in a similar way as any other OS user too. But the fact that is very clear is - Only a few Pinned Live tiles covered ALL or Majority of tasks that any other OS user performed routinely. Thus, you don't need to clutter you screen with widgets, but live tiles (few) will let you do a plenty!
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------
zlogic42 said:
The ads were interesting and did prove some points, but too social network-centered. Come on, you don't choose a phone just because it allows you to quickly post stuff to Twitter. I don't facebook and post to Twitter twice a month, so this is hardly useful. And cameras on most Windows phones suck, especially first-generation models.
No mentions of
- integrated Office
- contact grouping (Android 4 does something like this, but WP7 is better)
- best-of-class email (reading large emails is much better in WP7 than Android)
Now if they did some other real-world scenarios:
- Use turn-by-turn navigation without distracting (Android navigation is a lot better)
- Load an Ajax-heavy page over a crappy network connection (Opera Mini obviously wins)
- Use a non-facebook online messenger, such as Google Talk or ICQ, or a non-integrated social network
- Uploading a bunch of documents for later reference with a USB cable instead of using Skydrive or email
- Identifying a random object (sorry, Bing Vision is pathetic compared to Google Goggles)
- Making a Skype call
- Switching between third-party apps without them losing state
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn-by-turn navigation on WP7 is much less distracting than Googles one. You only hear the annoying woman when you tap and need it. Else it smoothly shows the directions to you. But probably that was no possible anyway unless they go on driving from CES to McD and then to CES!
Do you load Ajax-heavey pages daily? I think loading documents will be done easily and quickly via email. The task for fixed, not the method. So if aim was upload documents - WP7 would have done much faster and safer way using the hotspot connectivity they had. Certain third-party apps like skype, googles and many google services would have surely made WP7 stumble but obviously they could come back with - Ok let's get your XBOX achievements on your android phone? Or let's play assassin's creed or any WP7 only app/games on your phone? - that doesn't look like would have worked!
drupad2drupad said:
Do you load Ajax-heavey pages daily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do, every day. Reading news on the bus/train, while most websites include tons of widgets (Facebook like, Tweet this, +1 etc), ads and inefficiently formatted HTML makes surfing the web with a real browser (instead of Opera Mini) unusable, especially in non-3G areas. I don't need AJAX features, but they do use a lot of traffic and not all websites provide a decent mobile-friendly version. Even forums without tons of AJAX still load much faster in Opera Mini. Online stores, cinema sites, forums - all load slowly, sometimes even on a 3G connection.
If you need to search an answer for something that's not integrated in WP7's Bing features, it's going to be so slow over 2G that most people give up and call a friend to google it on a regular computer.
IE on WP7 however is a very good browser UI-wise, I'd call it the best I've seen on a smartphone.
I do agree with your other points, but the ads could've shown much more features - like voice recognition (in cases where both phones support it), making a call, sending a text or email with the restaurant address. No mentioning of the live tiles or lockscreen displaying the number of unread messages, or the next appointment. Something like 80% of the ads displayed taking a picture and/or posting to social networks. Both Android 4 and iOS 5 already made taking a picture easy right from the lockscreen and posting stuff to social networks right on the spot is not a top priority for most people. It's a nice feature, but email/text is much more important in real life.
Damn the hate on this forum even extends to this competition. I don't remotely see how this was rigged, this was all stuff I do on a daily basis: post to twitter, take pictures and upload them to twitter/fb, etc... Not to mention, the image sizes had nothing to do with this, as the taste was completed when the picture was submitted, not when the upload completed. And, both basically took identical pictures of each other.

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