Windows Phone 7 has been in development for nearly two years, but it is finally almost here. With the recent surge of Android phones and the release of the iPhone 4, the Windows 7 phone has a lot to live up to. There are still a few months left to make the final touches, but a majority of the key information about the upcoming Windows device has been released.
The user interface is generally the same as Windows Phone 6.5 but there are many new smart features. There are homepage “tiles”, which make the phone easier to navigate. The Windows phone has a very accurate virtual keyboard. It can be compared to the iPhone’s keyboard. Instead of a contacts folder, there is a People Application, which allows users to scroll through their friends to see their information and even their Facebook status updates. Users can also create People Lists, which allows them to quickly access their favorite friends. The browser is fast and user friendly. The Windows Phone 7 will also have access to a comprehensive marketplace, which a wide range of apps. There will also be a voice search option, like the iPhone, where users can say a word and have Bing automatically look it up on its search engine.
Two key new features of the Windows Phone 7 are its integration with Zune and Xbox Live. These two features are going to be one of the main draws to the phone. The Zune integration is seamless and easily syncs with PCs. Users can add their Xbox Live account to the Windows 7 phone. They can also get their avatar on the phone.
Windows 7 OS in a Samsung Phone
The updated camera has zoom and flash features. After taking a picture, users can modify it with image effects, saturation, exposure and more. These modification features even work for the video camera on the phone. There is a Pictures application which allows users to instantly sync photos to their Facebook account or Windows Live SkyDrive account.
Windows 7 Phone will be business friendly as it will have tight office integration, allowing on-phone document and viewing experience. There are editing capabilities, a spell checker and Microsoft Office and Excel integration. The Windows 7 Phone will also support SharePoint servers. It automatically synchronizes to the user’s Windows Live SkyDrive account, which is useful because it backs up everything. There will also be Microsoft Bing Maps integration, which is handy for business users who travel and need GPS access. The Windows 7 phone even provides a list of directions once the destination has been established. There will be pedestrian and car modes available for the GPS directions.
Some drawbacks of the phone are that it does not copy and paste or allow third party app multitasking. Also, zooming in on the internet pages does not work well. PowerPoints cannot be created on the phone, which could be a drawback for many business users.
There is still room for improvement as Microsoft has until November of this year to make the final tweaks on the Windows 7 mobile operating system. There are many innovative and new features, but will they be enough to take down the Android and iPhone devices? Only time will tell. To check out a video previewing the Windows 7 mobile phone, look below (video courtesy of Engadget.com). To find out more about the Windows 7 mobile device, go to Microsoft’s website.
[Photo courtesy of free3d.]