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The "Metro" user interface is in full force here, displaying blocks of images and text in a very 2D effect. Actually it still can't be termed exactly 2D because Microsoft has used the layering technique where the interface utilizes multiple layering on a single page to give a depth and detail to the page. During scrolling the menus you get a parallax effect like the ones we used to get in the 16 bit side scrollers. The cut-off text feature is still here which attracted quite a number of critics even before due to obvious reasons which come into more highlight when using the Office Hub. Take a simple example that when you open the office hub the Power Point will look like it reads "Power Poin".
Speed and Responsiveness of the OS is impressive, not just simply impressive but probably the best in the field for touch response for iOS4. It is almost accurate to the perfect levels and gives you the feeling of a perfected technology. You won't feel an slackness while operating a mobile with this software and the short time it takes to jump on the next command is satisfying for a comfortable overall experience though it would have been nice to provide the functionality for switching it to high performance mode where we can just skip the animation of watching the tiles spinning away.
Reviewing the Windows phone 7 get around to reviewing the three major sections of the OS:
The tiles of homepage linking to updates, your favorite apps, people or friends you are following or just some information.
Application list in alphabetical order
Hub pages
The navigation of Windows phone 7 is intuitive inspite of the fact that the launch of quite a number of in app menus and options can be accessed after a long press on the icon. Though this you won't notice this functionality after some usage but till then you might just get a bit annoyed. This is working just like a skeleton key which gotto press to see the application's functionality. Unlike iOS and Android were we get the menu applications in a grid form, Windows has placed the application launch icons in a long list of tiles and applications. Though Microsoft has provided this list in alphabetical order it would have been really helpful if they also provided a universal search option like found in iOS, Android, BlackBerry 6 and even the simplest mobile phone OS these days. Once you start using it its absence is quickly and easily noticeable and one thing you don't really expect a company like Microsoft to miss. Multiple homescreen facility is not available and there is not much space for customization since most of the space is occupied by the tiles. As a result you end up scrolling up and down for finding the right app or hub -- this is extremely contrasting to even the middle edged mobile phone OS nowadays, leave aside Android, BlackBerry or iOs which provide the feature of setting up multiple home screens where you can easily organize you work, home or outdoor homescreens which provide you a smooth work interface to enjoy. It would be nice to have at least three to four rows of tiles to make navigation efficient.
Notifications in Windows phone 7 OS are shown as drop down menu with a shade similar to
Android mobiles. While playing the media player you can view the controls by just tapping on the volume button on the top. Something that is strange here is that the same place is also being used up to show other things like Wi-Fi signal strength, battery meter and the information is available as a drop down when you swipe or tap that part of screen but in some apps like image viewer these options are not visible at all.
Just like many online interfaces nowadays like Google and Yahoo which show a series of dots to show to the user that you request is being processed Windows Phone 7 interface has also added such animations during loading or syncing. A great emphasis has been given to keep the screen cluster free while working so that the user and the content remain in complete privacy unless user decided to summon the plethora of options.
When I earlier heard about the Windows phone 7 OS features and functionality I was a bit disappointed to hear that copy-paste function won't be available for out of the box usage and the other more troubling was that there was no support multitasking by third party apps.
With respect to the first drawback I have heard that Microsoft is dealing with it in form of a update to be soon available this year, that is 2011. But the point that Microsoft forgot it in the first place was surprising enough.
The other has not still been solved and though I have read that Microsoft has promised to look into it but they have not given any timeframe. Add to the fact that first-party apps have full access to background processes like web-mail, internet info loading, background audio it feels like that Microsoft doesn't have much mood for it because when you have already given such allowances to first party apps it doesn't requires much to extend it to the third party apps too. When almost all companies including Apple which is very laggard in this context, has provided such support it was just totally mean of Microsoft to do so.
You might not understand this drawback until you use it. Not only there is not background support but in case you are running a third party app and you phone locks the keypad then on unlocking you must reload the app. It will be definitely frustrating if you were using some slow loading app like any game, not only you would loose your games (if it not saved) you will also have to wait again for its restarting.
Overall, the work by the folks at Redmond in the UI is good. The Microsoft phone 7 OS feels like a full package keeping aside the occasional sluggishness and freezes and of course the no-support for this party apps.
Speed and Responsiveness of the OS is impressive, not just simply impressive but probably the best in the field for touch response for iOS4. It is almost accurate to the perfect levels and gives you the feeling of a perfected technology. You won't feel an slackness while operating a mobile with this software and the short time it takes to jump on the next command is satisfying for a comfortable overall experience though it would have been nice to provide the functionality for switching it to high performance mode where we can just skip the animation of watching the tiles spinning away.
Reviewing the Windows phone 7 get around to reviewing the three major sections of the OS:
The tiles of homepage linking to updates, your favorite apps, people or friends you are following or just some information.
Application list in alphabetical order
Hub pages
The navigation of Windows phone 7 is intuitive inspite of the fact that the launch of quite a number of in app menus and options can be accessed after a long press on the icon. Though this you won't notice this functionality after some usage but till then you might just get a bit annoyed. This is working just like a skeleton key which gotto press to see the application's functionality. Unlike iOS and Android were we get the menu applications in a grid form, Windows has placed the application launch icons in a long list of tiles and applications. Though Microsoft has provided this list in alphabetical order it would have been really helpful if they also provided a universal search option like found in iOS, Android, BlackBerry 6 and even the simplest mobile phone OS these days. Once you start using it its absence is quickly and easily noticeable and one thing you don't really expect a company like Microsoft to miss. Multiple homescreen facility is not available and there is not much space for customization since most of the space is occupied by the tiles. As a result you end up scrolling up and down for finding the right app or hub -- this is extremely contrasting to even the middle edged mobile phone OS nowadays, leave aside Android, BlackBerry or iOs which provide the feature of setting up multiple home screens where you can easily organize you work, home or outdoor homescreens which provide you a smooth work interface to enjoy. It would be nice to have at least three to four rows of tiles to make navigation efficient.
Notifications in Windows phone 7 OS are shown as drop down menu with a shade similar to
Android mobiles. While playing the media player you can view the controls by just tapping on the volume button on the top. Something that is strange here is that the same place is also being used up to show other things like Wi-Fi signal strength, battery meter and the information is available as a drop down when you swipe or tap that part of screen but in some apps like image viewer these options are not visible at all.
Just like many online interfaces nowadays like Google and Yahoo which show a series of dots to show to the user that you request is being processed Windows Phone 7 interface has also added such animations during loading or syncing. A great emphasis has been given to keep the screen cluster free while working so that the user and the content remain in complete privacy unless user decided to summon the plethora of options.
When I earlier heard about the Windows phone 7 OS features and functionality I was a bit disappointed to hear that copy-paste function won't be available for out of the box usage and the other more troubling was that there was no support multitasking by third party apps.
With respect to the first drawback I have heard that Microsoft is dealing with it in form of a update to be soon available this year, that is 2011. But the point that Microsoft forgot it in the first place was surprising enough.
The other has not still been solved and though I have read that Microsoft has promised to look into it but they have not given any timeframe. Add to the fact that first-party apps have full access to background processes like web-mail, internet info loading, background audio it feels like that Microsoft doesn't have much mood for it because when you have already given such allowances to first party apps it doesn't requires much to extend it to the third party apps too. When almost all companies including Apple which is very laggard in this context, has provided such support it was just totally mean of Microsoft to do so.
You might not understand this drawback until you use it. Not only there is not background support but in case you are running a third party app and you phone locks the keypad then on unlocking you must reload the app. It will be definitely frustrating if you were using some slow loading app like any game, not only you would loose your games (if it not saved) you will also have to wait again for its restarting.
Overall, the work by the folks at Redmond in the UI is good. The Microsoft phone 7 OS feels like a full package keeping aside the occasional sluggishness and freezes and of course the no-support for this party apps.
