Windows Phone 7 OS review: From scratch

08 October 2010
A modern smartphone OS needs to be balanced with excellent cloud services and draw on the cutting edge of software. The Windows Phone 7 OS is nothing like Win Mobile. The new UI is trendy, with a magazine look, and is incredibly...

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  • r
  • remesh
  • Mfx
  • 11 Oct 2010

It seems that all OS-es are converging slowly, where only the looks are different. Be it Android or Windows phone 7 or Symbian, the features are almost similar, catering to the same needs. Android uses Google's products, Windows does the same through Bing and Zune, and Nokia/Symbian through Ovi. They just create more opportunities for mobile companies to come out with new models, which may not be really good for the customers though.

    • s
    • simple user
    • Sve
    • 11 Oct 2010

    as i thought last winter when wp7 was just announced it is essentially iOS but lagging with 2 years behind. Looks like MS (25 years later) still do copy apple ideas about OS. Which is unfortunately very stupid.
    Why MS abandons business users and goes with full throtle to iPhone killer market is 1 million dollar question. Actually more than a million :-)))

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • S6p
      • 11 Oct 2010

      Anonymous, 11 Oct 2010Looks interesting. I think it has enough going for it to be... moreI think stealing Symbian users will be just as hard as iOS or BB. Symbian is a very logical and organized OS with much superior features. I can only see S40 users switching to WP7, not S60. Most S60 handsets have superior specs too. 8Gb non-removable memory is so 2000's, barely enough for a person with modest needs.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • S6p
        • 11 Oct 2010

        They've tried to make a 'trendy' OS without knowing what the word actually means. The dude(tte)s who designed this look seem to think that copying a flashy magazine layout will automatically give them a fashion bonus.
        Wrong. The UI looks ugly to me. Of course there are a few that will like this, but it looks rather confusing. The fonts are small, thin and barely readable at arm's length. White on blue? Come again?
        And of course the liste of missing features is 'impressive'. They can be implemented later on, but for a much-hyped launch, MS falls quite a ways short of the mark. We'll see how it'll develop, but for now it's a no-go.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • mTW
          • 11 Oct 2010

          Looks interesting. I think it has enough going for it to be at least moderately successful. We should also not underestimate the strength of the Windows name. I see Windows Phone 7 probably stealing the most market share from Android and Symbian. Not sure if it has enough to pull too many iPhone or Blackberry users.

            • k
            • kiff
            • i5B
            • 11 Oct 2010

            Destined to flop. No multitasking, BT file transfer, copy/paste, no memory card support..what a joke.
            FAIL.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • psn
              • 11 Oct 2010

              WM6.5 was the last OS for people who knew how to work with computers. Now, we are only left with OS for noobs.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • sUw
                • 11 Oct 2010

                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



                PLEASE TELL ME THAN WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES WP7 DO?
                this shud b named the PURNESS OS instead of wp7

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • psn
                  • 11 Oct 2010

                  Max, 11 Oct 2010Admittedly, I didn't personally see this UI in action, only... moreYou said it all!

                    • M
                    • Max
                    • Mvv
                    • 11 Oct 2010

                    Admittedly, I didn't personally see this UI in action, only GSM Arena did. But based on their review, to say that I'm unimpressed is a huge understatement. It seems to me that Apple is good at pretty, Google is good at minimalistic/simple - Microsoft is good at neither. Oh, and the "feature" list? EPIC FAIL as far as I'm concerned.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • psn
                      • 11 Oct 2010

                      Before I start, let me say I own a WM6.5 phone and I quite like it.

                      Now, look a the list of main disadvantages of WM7. MS has to be sh*tt*ing me! Once you get rid of the fancy looks, WM7 is actually a downgrade from 6.5. The previous WM were OS for serious users. Before, if you wanted an OS to work with, you could choose WM, if you wanted an OS to play with you could choose iOS or any other. Now, we are only left with OS to play with. Sad, very sad.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 2Gm
                        • 11 Oct 2010

                        i like this os, i think its something new especcialy the UI.
                        So getting the omnia 7 or htc hd7

                          • A
                          • Alui
                          • Am9
                          • 11 Oct 2010

                          Seeing the comments section on N8 I expect that there will be even more customers for WP7 phones than for N8. This world is going down.

                            • A
                            • Alui
                            • Am9
                            • 11 Oct 2010

                            R2D2, 11 Oct 2010"I have been waiting for this OS for quite some time n... moreI understand why none of you mentioned Symbian:). Most apps on Ovi store work ONLY ON SOME NOKIA DEVICES with the same OS.

                              • X
                              • Xis
                              • upa
                              • 11 Oct 2010

                              Why do some people say that symbian cannot handle more than 360x640 resolution? I think they are the same people who said that symbian cannot handle more than 240x320 resolution 2 years back.

                                • R
                                • Raffa We
                                • xxN
                                • 11 Oct 2010

                                it looks so damn ugly, unbelievable... are those guys colourblind or something? and what about the Main Disadvantages section? terrible... so much important stuff missing on this system, just pathetic... I was hoping they would finally come up with a decent system since there are enough other systems out there to take a look at and take the best of all of them and create the future main OS, but Microsoft fails miserably at this...

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 25G
                                  • 11 Oct 2010

                                  Looking at the disadvantages section, it sounds no different frim iOS. FAIL. Now i dun care about WM7 anymore.

                                    • R
                                    • R2D2
                                    • v}2
                                    • 11 Oct 2010

                                    Woopher, 11 Oct 2010I have been waiting for this OS for quite some time now and... more"I have been waiting for this OS for quite some time now and i have to say that, in my opinion, it looks like crap. How can they think a bunch of squares (almost all the same color) is beautiful. Is this the first phone UI out there? haven't they looked? What were they thinking.
                                    Well at least they are in a new category.
                                    iOS (Crap that looks beautiful),
                                    Android (good OS that looks like crap)
                                    and now entering WM7 (Crap that looks like crap)"


                                    I totally agree with you in regard to the BUTT UGLY WP7 UI. It shows total lack of investment in UI design (Helvetica neue thin font??!! WTF!?! - those font are UNREADABLE AT ARM'S LENGTH!!!), The simple square looks UGLY and too simple, lack of any inspiration. Its like they put $0 dollar in the design and just use proxy graphics for the final product. Totally unappealing, its a total design fail.

                                    Now, about your statement :
                                    "Well at least they are in a new category.
                                    iOS (Crap that looks beautiful),
                                    Android (good OS that looks like crap)
                                    and now entering WM7 (Crap that looks like crap)"

                                    I agree with the last statement but not the first 2.
                                    Have you actually SEEN Android's OS? Its ghetto compare to iOS!! Its a crappily coded together piece of CRAP that's easy to break. iOS on the other hand while having its own faults, is far more developed and integrated than Android will ever be!! Android OS is basically and iOS v0.1 alpha with multi-tasking and other crap bolt on! Its underlying support and code is a MESS! Trust me on this.

                                      • A
                                      • Aryen
                                      • RBA
                                      • 11 Oct 2010

                                      Don't think to buy any phone which has more disadvantages than advantages

                                        • S
                                        • Segwayy
                                        • v}2
                                        • 11 Oct 2010

                                        What a bull ugly UI, and it looks like it's more trouble thumbing through it than Android or iPhone. This WP7 is destine to fail!! I give it 3 months (Like the microsoft Kin! HAHA!)