It's All About The Interface (And That's Where WP7 Shines)

[Brad Wasson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/why-i-dont-want-an-iphone-any-more-50006257/?tag=mncol;txt' target='_blank'>http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/why.../?tag=mncol;txt</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"One company makes a beautiful, intuitive, elegant interface, and the other makes a dated, clunky interface. But now it's Microsoft showing off the thing of beauty, and Apple that's behind the times. Microsoft is the underdog and Apple is the monolithic, restrictive monopoly. Has the world gone mad?"</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1322621771.usr110171.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>Rich Trenholm, over at CNet, doesn't want an iPhone any more. It's not because they are not impressive phones, and it's not because the iOS app store isn't big enough. It's primarily because he believes there are better smartphone interfaces for him to work with, ones that make him more productive without having to wade through the icon metaphor of the Apple iOS devices. His preferred interface? The Windows Phone 7 Metro interface. His editorial goes into more detail about the reasons why he prefers the WP7 interface, and it's quite interesting reading. The Read link has the complete story.</p>

[Don Tolson]

I have a similar experience to the writer. I've used iPhones (of various types), Android phones (of various versions of the O/S) and WMobile. They all have their strong points, but after working with WP7.x, it's become the one I keep coming back to and comparing other systems with.

Recently, I got a new phone with Android 2.3.4... It was an OK phone, but I struggled to get things working and to 'find' stuff I wanted to do. And the Market was chock-a-block full of what I would consider useless apps. It was clearly the 'wild west' when it came to finding tools that would actually do the job I wanted them to.

I finally gave up, put the phone in the drawer, and went back to WP7.5...

I think MS got it right. It all just 'works'.

[whydidnt]

Well, I have to disagree with the premise..it's not just about the interface. The interface is a very important part of the equation. But it's about the total experience. If it was just about the interface, everyone would have switched to a Mac along about the Windows ME days. So far Microsoft has done well with the interface, but the overall experience still lacks both the iPhone and Android as far as I'm concerned. Part of this is due to their partners treating it as a 2nd tier device and not matching up hardware wise. But the other part is the the lack of depth or choice in applications, often coupled with poor third party app performance. The OS is still somewhat limited for my tastes.

Microsoft still needs to move FASTER if they are going to be considered a major contender in mobile phone space.

As far as Android is concerned, my wife, who is anything but technical (seriously more than one remote for the entertainment system and she just gives up), moved from a feature phone to Android with little issue, except trying to use the onscreen keyboard. A quick install of a third party keyboard resolved that issue. I'm sure WP7 would have worked equally as well for most her needs, but she would not have had the option to load a third party keyboard if the WP one was difficult. The point is that Microsoft seems to be pointing towards this "new user" market and touting the interface experience..but these new users that don't want to do a lot with their smart phones really don't have a lot of problems using any of Android, WP, IOS or even RIM for that matter; for the things they want to do. It's just not that hard on any of them. They all have easy access to email, the web, and social networking.