Summary for those not in the mood to read 18 pages:
"Microsoft doesn't often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed."
He loves the interface, says SMS is the only feature MSFT screwed up, dev tools are good but could create sloppy UI in apps if MSFT doesn't address.
His major complaint is missing features, says the features that are there are executed brilliantly.
Play by Play:
- "The styling is uncompromising. I love it." Smoothness major cool factor.
- "Hubs" feature is major differentiator, applications can data share - example facebook data / photos imported into contact list.
- Built in apps are solid, email client is "very, very good".
- "correction and completion mechanism is good" better than iphone, maybe not as good as android.
- Browser is good, HTML5 support is lacking.
- Music is just like ZUNE.
- Maps is a "solid, well thought-out application" but lacking turn-by-turn GPS.
- Camera itself will change by OEM but the interface " works well, and it's particularly pleasing when you've taken a picture"
- Office itself not much of an update from 6, nothing exciting to see there.
- Games integration is lost on the author (not a gamer), the avatar integration was the only thing on the phone that felt "sluggish"
- "The SMS application is the one area where I think the platform really falls short" - he says SMS functions are lacking inbox style sorting, no message counter, etc.
- Marketplace is easy and straightforward to get new apps. Not a lot of apps, but apps there work and have integrated into the design style.
- Syncing is done over the air, even for small firmware updates.
- Mac syncing gets a "alpha-quality sync client"
- Windows Live support lets you do fun things like lock the phone, wipe it, geo-locate it, etc. but no SMS backup.
- Before launching into complaints he says ""I have grown to like Windows Phone 7 a hell of a lot, and I'm certainly going to be using it from here on out."
- Complaints: Can't take screenshots on the phone itself, no copy-paste until early 2011, no multi-task, no manage files, no connect to VPN, no transfer files over bluetooth, no sharing 3G over Wifi etc, no ability to act as mass USB storage.
- He counters his complaints with "I would imagine that. . . Microsoft has serious plans for multitasking, tethering, VPNs, and corporate security policies, etc"
- Microsoft's communication on missing features is making early purchasing decisions difficult, they could stand to improve communication.
- Some interface issues he doesn't like, in particular BING search doesn't search phone in its entirety.
- "The integration of Facebook and Windows Live is fantastic".
- Media management isn't awesome, highlights major problem with the integrated HUB is that MSFT must choose to support apps and standards which means most apps wont work, notably twitter not integrated yet.
- Curious that there's no native windows chat client.
- Windows 7 Mobile dev tools are good, but not great. Notably lacking ability to access camera, and compass, bigger concern is that the cool Windows 7 interface cues are missing forcing devs to recreate, making some apps look clunky and could cause repeat of Windows app clunkiness.
- He thinks the naming strategy is stupid, should have gone with ZunePhone, too tied to single release but clearly piggy backing on Windows 7 desktop success.
- Major complaint is missing features, features there executed brilliantly.
- "Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use."
Disagree strongly with ZunePhone as a name. People who've actually owned a Zune seem to quite like them, but the general buzz is pretty negative (a bit like Vista?)
WP7 isn't great, but it doesn't have the negative connotations 'Zune' has. It may remind people of Windows Mobile 6 however, but I think so many years have passed that most of us have been able to repress those memories
I don't remember why Zune has a bad name, but I suppose the early models weren't as good. The 2nd gen Zune that I owned was a great mp3-player, definitely up to par to the iPod. And if WP7 has a Zune-player built in then that is a selling point.
Zune has a bad name because it sold poorly. Even from day 1 it was a good MP3 player. But it got a name as being an MS device that sold poorly compared to the iPod. It was a market failure, but for people that used it was/is a great device.
I have a 1st gen Zune (black, not brown), and I think it's great. It doesn't have some of the flashy stuff or a touch screen like the newer models have, but it's never crashed on me. It's solid. I've dropped this thing a bunch of times (sometimes the "drop" was a bit more of a launch across the room, whoops) and it's not even scratched. Plus MS still supports it with almost all the new features, like Zune Pass--which is currently my favorite music service. (I wish the channels were updated more often, but they're still decent.)
The only reason I haven't upgraded to a new Zune is because this thing just works so well.
Windows 7 Mobile dev tools are good, but not great. Notably lacking ability to access camera, and compass, bigger concern is that the cool Windows 7 interface cues are missing forcing devs to recreate, making some apps look clunky and could cause repeat of Windows app clunkiness.
Definitely agree with this (so far). I've been fiddling around with the Windows Phone 7 SDK for the past few days and I'm finding my app isn't nearly as cool as the default apps, because of the missing animated transitions between pages, menus, etc. I'm also new to Silverlight, so perhaps I'm just overlooking the magic property that makes them work, but I'm quite sure you have to recreate them.
Still, the Visual Studio IDE is brilliant and I find myself using the design view quite a bit - something I never do with .NET WebForms or .NET MVC, so they really got it right.
I kind of laughed at the Zune when it came out, but I've recently started to rethink it. There's been a convergence of electronic devices lately - phone, camera, web browser, handheld game device, music player, etc. Every company in any of these markets needs to realize this is happening, and either specialize and focus on their niche (high high end cameras) or be able to make an adequate showing on all the features.
Apple realized that music was going on to phones, and they made the iPhone - very smart play getting ahead of the game. Microsoft didn't realize this early enough, and had to rush something to market to catch up, so of course it wasn't going to show as well. Apple had been building and refining music players for a few cycles at that point, so it's unsurprising the Zune wasn't as nice. But they had to do it, because the convergence of music player, phone, computer, browser, camera, gaming, etc. demands it. While the Zune showed poorly, it laid the groundwork for them to eventually have a quality music player. And actually, it might even be possible to pass Apple in music in the near future, because Windows iTunes is really a second citizen. I like my iPhone, but I hate iTunes. I mean, really, really hate it. It's overwhelmingly the most unpleasant and headache-generating software I use.
So - I laughed at the Zune at first, but I'm now realizing it was a necessary play. Also, as only one feature on a consolidated device, it doesn't need to be as good as the iPod - only "good enough" at music while some other key features exceed.
Are you using iTunes on Windows? It's not the greatest on SL either, but I can still get behind the spreadsheet paradigm, and the performance isn't too bad.
If the Zune software comes out for mac, I'll definitely try it, though.
"Microsoft doesn't often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed."
He loves the interface, says SMS is the only feature MSFT screwed up, dev tools are good but could create sloppy UI in apps if MSFT doesn't address.
His major complaint is missing features, says the features that are there are executed brilliantly.
Play by Play:
- "The styling is uncompromising. I love it." Smoothness major cool factor.
- "Hubs" feature is major differentiator, applications can data share - example facebook data / photos imported into contact list.
- Built in apps are solid, email client is "very, very good".
- "correction and completion mechanism is good" better than iphone, maybe not as good as android.
- Browser is good, HTML5 support is lacking.
- Music is just like ZUNE.
- Maps is a "solid, well thought-out application" but lacking turn-by-turn GPS.
- Camera itself will change by OEM but the interface " works well, and it's particularly pleasing when you've taken a picture"
- Office itself not much of an update from 6, nothing exciting to see there.
- Games integration is lost on the author (not a gamer), the avatar integration was the only thing on the phone that felt "sluggish"
- "The SMS application is the one area where I think the platform really falls short" - he says SMS functions are lacking inbox style sorting, no message counter, etc.
- Marketplace is easy and straightforward to get new apps. Not a lot of apps, but apps there work and have integrated into the design style.
- Syncing is done over the air, even for small firmware updates.
- Mac syncing gets a "alpha-quality sync client"
- Windows Live support lets you do fun things like lock the phone, wipe it, geo-locate it, etc. but no SMS backup.
- Before launching into complaints he says ""I have grown to like Windows Phone 7 a hell of a lot, and I'm certainly going to be using it from here on out."
- Complaints: Can't take screenshots on the phone itself, no copy-paste until early 2011, no multi-task, no manage files, no connect to VPN, no transfer files over bluetooth, no sharing 3G over Wifi etc, no ability to act as mass USB storage.
- He counters his complaints with "I would imagine that. . . Microsoft has serious plans for multitasking, tethering, VPNs, and corporate security policies, etc"
- Microsoft's communication on missing features is making early purchasing decisions difficult, they could stand to improve communication.
- Some interface issues he doesn't like, in particular BING search doesn't search phone in its entirety.
- "The integration of Facebook and Windows Live is fantastic".
- Media management isn't awesome, highlights major problem with the integrated HUB is that MSFT must choose to support apps and standards which means most apps wont work, notably twitter not integrated yet.
- Curious that there's no native windows chat client.
- Windows 7 Mobile dev tools are good, but not great. Notably lacking ability to access camera, and compass, bigger concern is that the cool Windows 7 interface cues are missing forcing devs to recreate, making some apps look clunky and could cause repeat of Windows app clunkiness.
- He thinks the naming strategy is stupid, should have gone with ZunePhone, too tied to single release but clearly piggy backing on Windows 7 desktop success.
- Major complaint is missing features, features there executed brilliantly.
- "Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use."
Phew.