Two months with Windows Phone 7

HAVING used a Nokia Lumia 800 (running Windows Phone 7.5) for about two months now, the overall experience has been pleasing to say the least, with the exception of a few vexing elements which I think prevents the operating system from being on par with the likes of Android and iOS.

One of WP7's biggest strengths is its aesthetic flair; the fluid motion of 'live tiles' offering a fresh change from Android's fancy and whimsical interface and the iOS' tired-looking home screen.

The use of large 'tiles' in place of icons or widgets, which display the icon, name of the app and live updates (for eg the SMS tile has a smiley face that becomes sad if there is no signal, and displays the number of unread texts) is what sets the WP7 apart from the rest; it gives the interface a simple yet sufficiently informative feel to it, without too much clutter.

With the 7.5 update (codenamed Mango), Microsoft added the ability to add extra dynamic content within the tiles. For example, a live eBay tile can display how much time is left on an auction that you are bidding for.

Power users of social media networks will also appreciate the addition of Twitter and LinkedIn support through the People Hub (previously only Windows Live and Facebook were compatible). The 'hub' approach, which syncs contacts from your address book and social media networks and displays them in one place that's easy to access, was improvised in 7.5 with the ability to filter contacts from various sources.

In the previous version of WP7 it wasn't possible to, for example, only show contacts with phone numbers. Now its possible to show contacts from an account that has all your phone numbers so you don't have to sift through a huge address book filled with contacts from social media networks that you hardly ever speak to.

However, despite Microsoft touting the People Hub as "groundbreaking", there is still no true quick contact search. Contacts may be pinned to the homescreen and the People Hub may be able to show you the most recent contacts you've interacted with, but simply typing someone's name on the dialler doesn't bring up a name as it will on Android or Blackberry.

Multitasking, an addition warmly welcomed by critics when 7.5 was rolled out in October 2011, is basic, if not decent at the very least. Holding down the back key brings up the five most recently opened apps, and you can scroll through them and tap one to switch back to it.

Another annoying quirk is the list of applications in the main menu, which is still arranged in alphabetical order. You'll have a very long list to scroll through if you have a lot of apps.

A wireless hotspot feature has been added to 7.5, but it will only be available on future devices, not current phones like the HTC HD7 or the Samsung Omnia 7 (and neither the Lumia 800).

When it comes to smartphones, battery life is a precious commodity. This is where the battery saver feature comes in handy. It can be automatically activated when the battery is low, but this will disable push e-mail or any push service from instant messengers such as Whatsapp, as well as multitasking.

The views expressed by the author are his own and do not reflect the views of The Brunei Times.

The Brunei Times