Windows Phone 7 hit the U.S. Market just over thirty days ago with the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround landing at AT&T and the HTC HD7 hitting the shelves at T-Mobile. The new Windows Phone lineup would eventually be joined by the Dell Venue Pro at T-Mobile and the LG Quantum at AT&T. As far as hardware is concerned, the new Windows Phones have their own strong points but what about the OS?
Microsoft choose not to upgrade Windows Mobile, instead deciding to start with a clean slate and build a new OS. We saw more design and development controls were put in place to bring uniformity to Windows Phone 7.
So how does it look after thirty days? Are you satisfied with what you've experienced so far with Windows Phone 7? Did Microsoft hit the nail on the head and exceeded all your expectations? Or do you feel the need to run screaming back to Windows Mobile or another system all together?
Feel free to share your thoughts on the first thirty days with Windows Phone 7 in the comments sections. After the jump, you can see some of our thoughts on the first thirty days with Windows Phone 7.
Tim Ferrill: In My Thoughts on Windows Phone 7, I mentioned the fact that I would have to use the Metro UI for a couple of weeks before I could form an opinion. After using the Samsung Focus for the last month, I can confidently say that I am more than happy with Metro. The amount of time that Microsoft spent on making common tasks quick and easy really shows. In Windows Mobile, getting to my email client and managing my email took at least 4 or 5 taps just to get to the point where I could start selecting multiple emails for deletion. In Windows Phone 7, it’s a single swipe and a tap. Contacts are easy to get to, and uploading pictures couldn’t be much easier. I’m thoroughly sold on the Metro experience.
If there is a killer feature for Windows Phone 7, it has to be Xbox Live. I know that it doesn’t do all of the things that one would hope for from a mobile extension of Xbox, but for my money it’s still the most complete mobile gaming platform on the market. The game selection will expand over time (I’m still waiting for Splinter Cell Conviction) as will the feature set and capabilities of the platform in general.
My only real complaints at this point are the basic features that are still missing, and some of these are coming in January. Copy and paste, multitasking, custom ringtones, OTA podcast downloads (please!), and Flash support are all on my Christmas list.
George Ponder: After reading about the development of Windows Phone 7, I was eager to get my hands on the new system. I had my reservations about the lack of customization and the controls Microsoft had put in place. Those reservations were quickly dismissed by the overall performance of Windows Phone 7. I grew to like the straight forward presentation of the new OS and the noticeably faster, more reliable, stable performance. Overall though, from live tiles to vastly improved power management, I think the Windows Phone now operates with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
I really can't put my finger on one standout feature with Windows Phone 7. I think it's successful due to the collective or sum total of it's features. I like the multiple exchange clients, linking contacts, and straightforward settings. I like the strong integration with Xbox Live, Twitter and Facebook. Windows Phone 7 seems to be a more complete package than Windows Mobile.
There still room for improvement. We need a camera application that remembers its settings, vibration alerts for new messages, a screen capture utility, and that pesky cut/paste feature. Hopefully, with each update improvements will be made that will address some of these issues and more while maintaining (or improving) the current level of efficiency and effectiveness.
