Microsoft has lifted the lid on their highly-anticipated Windows Mobile 7 and have allowed a few people in the know to have a proper play and here is what they have had to say about the new mobile operating system, which will launch in October. Now the phone in question is a test model and will not see the light of day. So take all the below with a pinch of salt as things will no doubt change over the next few months. But if you're PC you'll have probably decided already.
Hardware
The baseline for the new hardware is pretty high - demanding a minimum of a 3.7"³ 4-point capacitive multi-touch display, 5 megapixel camera, 1GHz CPU, dedicated graphics chip, and three hardware buttons on the front. Which are the back, Start, and search buttons.
There maybe a lower phone spec but according to a 200-page document – this is the mid-range spec for a phone running Window Mobile 7.
User Interface
To say the new operating is minimalist, you'd be on the money. We know these phones can do everything from being a diary to controlling your TV from Mars. But it needs to start with a very simple design - just look at the iPhone’s one button interface. Microsoft has gone for a Start, Back and Search buttons. And it would seem that they are trying to re-invent the mobile phone homescreen and for those of you who are more than comfortable with the Apple and Android way of life you may not like their attempt at re-designing the wheel.
All information regarding signal strength, battery level and time - are all hidden away for the most part. And a quick tap will show you them in a flash.
Another annoying gripe is there is no way to navigate directly to the home screen with click of a button, just simply navigating back, back, back, doesn't really cut it, and every day use this would become more than a bit annoying.
Home Screen
Microsoft's attempt to aggregate all your app data into a clean and fluid homescreen is commendable - although it looks a bit plain and simple - hubs are something important to Microsoft, but do they have enough wow factor to take on Apple and Android were not sure they do.
You could argue the homescreen is the most important part of current Smartphone's, and in our view Microsoft really falls short here. It's definitely dynamic at times, but it's underwhelming for the most part and it sort of cheapens the other positive areas of Windows Phone 7.
Zune Music
Microsoft wants to make Zune a big part of their new mobile operating system and they have certainly trumped Android and RIM, but have fallen a little short of Apple's iPod. It contains everything you'd want in a music player nowadays, like video / music video support, podcasts, a built-in radio, and the Zune Marketplace. It's great to see a phone that is just as focused on multimedia as it is on say, email.
The Phone
It would seem that some monkeys in Redmond designed the phone calling side. Apparently is harder to simply dial a number and make a call than re-entering the earth's orbit with no power. The phone side of the phone is a little annoying and you could say it would be the easiest thing to remedy, so we won't dwell too much on it.
As huge Microsoft Office fans, using the email app on Windows Phone 7 is nothing short of fantastic. It's simple, easy to use, feature-packed (especially if you're on an Exchange 2007 or 2010 server), and really enjoyable. It's one of the only default apps to use a white color scheme instead of black, and it really looks great. Emails are organized in the hub very cleanly, with all, unread, flagged, and urgent sections that are flickable.
Social
Social aspects of WM7 is very important and you'll be able to link your Windows Live, Facebook, and Exchange accounts as you glide through the first time set up process. Windows Live, Facebook, and Exchange contacts are all integrated together in the main people view. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to control what shows up here, or limit it. We're sure this will be changed in time for launch and sadly their looks like there is no twitter support - yet.
Conclusion
For a mobile operating system that has been designed from the ground up and has had the foresight of it's competitors WM7 need to come along way before it can be a serious competitor to Apple and Android. There's no killer application of functionality. Sure you can check your Xbox live account, but it's hardly a game changer. For a phone that was made from scratch and started on after the first iPhone was introduced, and for a phone that's not even at market yet, it falls short. There's practically no real innovation we can see with Windows Phone 7. Let's hope the manufacturers raise their game and release some handsets with the WM7, which could trump Apple's Smartphone monopoly. Although this does seem unlikely maybe we'll have to wait until WM8. It would seem Microsoft are too late to the party and hasn't brought enough innovation.