Eriq Cook
08-14-2011, 01:44 AM
Hey all,
While I haven't had much time to see WP7 Mango in action (except with someone @ Microsoft store briefly), based on the many recent reviews and feedback I've compiled a list of still much needed features that weren't addressed in the Mango update (by category):
PEOPLE HUB, EMAIL, CALENDAR AND MESSAGING:
•No Category support - A very important feature. Even Blackberry's have this, but I guess Microsoft (who invented "Categories") doesn't think people need to categorize things any more (who does that in 2011??? Let's just jump everything together, LOL) Seriously, with 800+ contacts in my phone and multiple types of calendar appointments (business, personal, etc), I miss the ability to filter my contacts by specific categories or add a category to a calendar item that syncs with Outlook/Exchange. Tasks (in Mango) should also support categories. Windows Mobile 6 and earlier could do ALL of this.
• Inability to show more than one upcoming calendar appointment on the home screen / calendar tile (and lock screen) - Drives me nuts not being able to see a quick glance of day from the home or lock screen.
• Inability to click on SHORT numbers in a text message or email and call it - For example, if I receive a text message that says "You have a new voicemail. Dial 123", I can't click on "123". This is silly!!! Windows Mobile 5 & 6 could do this easily. Windows Phone 7 however is only programmed to link standard telephone numbers. It doesn't auto-link numbers that are fewer than 7 digits.
• Address book/People Hub entries don't appear in the dialer as you manually dial- In other words, if you start to dial (702) 895.....and a contact entry with that phone number ALREADY exist in the phone, it doesn't appear for you. You must still type the complete number to dial it. Even dumb $50 cell phones today have the feature that allow you to simply select an address book entry that's already in the phone after typing in the first 2 numbers. Windows Mobile 6 and earlier also had this capability and it was a huge time saver.
• Inability to copy/paste text from applications into new email/text messages - So if I want to copy a string of text (quote, sentence, etc) from say a Bible app, why can't we paste it into a message?
• Inability to access DRAFTS folder - This seems like a no brainer and surprised that we cannot access messages located in Drafts folder for Exchange users.
• No Reply/Forwarded status indicator - If I've replied to or forwarded an email message before, I should be able to see this noted somewhere when I open an email message.
• Inability to send a contact card
CONNECTIVITY:
• No tethering support - I do understand carriers may have some say about this now, but it would be nice to connect my laptop to my WindowsPhone device for Internet access when no Wi-Fi is available in area.
SYNC & UPDATE:
• Lack of backup - The Zune software does NOT allow you to make backups of your WindowsPhone device. You can only restore it to factory install settings. Apple iTunes can backup iPhones. Why can't Zune (which is much better than iTunes) provide a simple backup solution for WindowsPhone devices???
OTHER FEATURES MISSING:
• Voice control features do not support calendar - For example, you can't ask "What are my upcoming appointments" (a standard feature of Windows Mobile 6 w/Voice Command).
• Remote Desktop Connection - A standard and useful feature (yes, for us more technical people) that was available since the Windows CE days.
• File/Folder structure that we can access and save to - It would be very nice to be able to access and save files to custom folder locations directly on the device, WITHOUT needing to use Live/cloud services.
• "Separate the volume for System, Ringtone, Media and Alarm - I don't think I want to have single volume setting only, when I listen the song and decrease the volume, I don't think I need to decrease the volume of my ringtone and alarm also. If yes, how can I hear my ringtone and alarm??"
I appreciate that Windows Phone 7 Mango has included many much needed features, but the platform in general still has a ways to go before it can become the PERFECT phone for business and power users (people who truly need to stay connected from their smartphone, and EASILY). The problem I see is that Microsoft CAN do this and do it very soon, but more than likely they won't. We shouldn't have to wait for the platform to mature another 2+ years before we see these features reintroduced.
In terms of available features and options, Windows Mobile 6 was much better than WP7. WP7 has the best user interface. If Microsoft can marry the best of WP7 with the feature set of Windows Mobile 6 + more, Microsoft will have THE BEST mobile OS in the market, hands down.
What are your thoughts?
While I haven't had much time to see WP7 Mango in action (except with someone @ Microsoft store briefly), based on the many recent reviews and feedback I've compiled a list of still much needed features that weren't addressed in the Mango update (by category):
PEOPLE HUB, EMAIL, CALENDAR AND MESSAGING:
•No Category support - A very important feature. Even Blackberry's have this, but I guess Microsoft (who invented "Categories") doesn't think people need to categorize things any more (who does that in 2011??? Let's just jump everything together, LOL) Seriously, with 800+ contacts in my phone and multiple types of calendar appointments (business, personal, etc), I miss the ability to filter my contacts by specific categories or add a category to a calendar item that syncs with Outlook/Exchange. Tasks (in Mango) should also support categories. Windows Mobile 6 and earlier could do ALL of this.
• Inability to show more than one upcoming calendar appointment on the home screen / calendar tile (and lock screen) - Drives me nuts not being able to see a quick glance of day from the home or lock screen.
• Inability to click on SHORT numbers in a text message or email and call it - For example, if I receive a text message that says "You have a new voicemail. Dial 123", I can't click on "123". This is silly!!! Windows Mobile 5 & 6 could do this easily. Windows Phone 7 however is only programmed to link standard telephone numbers. It doesn't auto-link numbers that are fewer than 7 digits.
• Address book/People Hub entries don't appear in the dialer as you manually dial- In other words, if you start to dial (702) 895.....and a contact entry with that phone number ALREADY exist in the phone, it doesn't appear for you. You must still type the complete number to dial it. Even dumb $50 cell phones today have the feature that allow you to simply select an address book entry that's already in the phone after typing in the first 2 numbers. Windows Mobile 6 and earlier also had this capability and it was a huge time saver.
• Inability to copy/paste text from applications into new email/text messages - So if I want to copy a string of text (quote, sentence, etc) from say a Bible app, why can't we paste it into a message?
• Inability to access DRAFTS folder - This seems like a no brainer and surprised that we cannot access messages located in Drafts folder for Exchange users.
• No Reply/Forwarded status indicator - If I've replied to or forwarded an email message before, I should be able to see this noted somewhere when I open an email message.
• Inability to send a contact card
CONNECTIVITY:
• No tethering support - I do understand carriers may have some say about this now, but it would be nice to connect my laptop to my WindowsPhone device for Internet access when no Wi-Fi is available in area.
SYNC & UPDATE:
• Lack of backup - The Zune software does NOT allow you to make backups of your WindowsPhone device. You can only restore it to factory install settings. Apple iTunes can backup iPhones. Why can't Zune (which is much better than iTunes) provide a simple backup solution for WindowsPhone devices???
OTHER FEATURES MISSING:
• Voice control features do not support calendar - For example, you can't ask "What are my upcoming appointments" (a standard feature of Windows Mobile 6 w/Voice Command).
• Remote Desktop Connection - A standard and useful feature (yes, for us more technical people) that was available since the Windows CE days.
• File/Folder structure that we can access and save to - It would be very nice to be able to access and save files to custom folder locations directly on the device, WITHOUT needing to use Live/cloud services.
• "Separate the volume for System, Ringtone, Media and Alarm - I don't think I want to have single volume setting only, when I listen the song and decrease the volume, I don't think I need to decrease the volume of my ringtone and alarm also. If yes, how can I hear my ringtone and alarm??"
I appreciate that Windows Phone 7 Mango has included many much needed features, but the platform in general still has a ways to go before it can become the PERFECT phone for business and power users (people who truly need to stay connected from their smartphone, and EASILY). The problem I see is that Microsoft CAN do this and do it very soon, but more than likely they won't. We shouldn't have to wait for the platform to mature another 2+ years before we see these features reintroduced.
In terms of available features and options, Windows Mobile 6 was much better than WP7. WP7 has the best user interface. If Microsoft can marry the best of WP7 with the feature set of Windows Mobile 6 + more, Microsoft will have THE BEST mobile OS in the market, hands down.
What are your thoughts?