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Kenny
Two years ago I got an iPhone 3Gs. Currently have the Infuse 4G (Android), and am currently considering the HTC Titan. I'm definitely not an iOS fan, and need a few rudimentary questions answered about WP7 before jumping ship.
1. Does it require syncing to a computer? Android gets this right.
2. What "major" apps are missing? Specifically, I know about Audible (which is atrocious), but are there other big names I need to be aware of? Kindle? Cut the Rope? Google+?
3. How often is the OS updated? Android fails on this (I know it's the manufacturer's responsibility, but it ends up being Android's reputation).
4. How easy is it to use Google services such as Gmail, Google calendar, Google Docs? I'm deeply invested in these.
5. How is Outlook integration? Specifically, can I create meetings from WP7 with invites? While I use Google for the majority of my services, Outlook simply can't be beat, in my opinion.
6. Does battery life suck as badly for WP7 as it does for the others?
7. What advice would you have for someone migrating from Android to WP7?
Thanks!
Answer
1. As far as I know, Android still requires you to sync to a computer. For Windows Phone Mango, this is minimal. Things like getting apps, emails, contacts, calendar events, and even Office documents are all cloud-based. Only things like transferring local music and videos requires you to plug-in your phone. Even so, there's Zune Music Pass which lets you listen to a wide range of music for a monthly fee. Mango also supports "wireless sync" with your computer, so when you're in your home WiFi network you don't even need to plug-in your phone to USB to sync your music and videos.
2. Kindle is available on WP7. There is now over 350,000 apps on the marketplace, and quite a bit of "major" apps are now available. New ones are added everyday. Google+ is of course not there yet, given this is not Android (a Google product). But given it is a new platform, it does lack some big name apps on the Apple App Store and Google's Android market.
3. Major updates to the OS comes every half a year (mind you the platform has only been there for one year). With Mango update ALL existing Windows Phones can get the update at the same time (gradual roll out over a month's time to ensure quality though), regardless of carrier or manufacturer. This is because Microsoft controls and rolls out the update.
4. Mango allows you to sync your Gmail, Google contacts and Google calendar events to the phone directly over the cloud. For Google Docs, unfortunately it's not supported, but I'd recommend you check out SkyDrive (and Office Web Apps) instead - it's supports in Office 2010 directly too, and it will allow you to sync docs over the cloud and share/collaborate with others too.
5. By Outlook I'm assuming you mean Exchange in corporate environments? In that case it is fully supported (given it is a Microsoft product!), including creating meetings and invites. If you're using Outlook at home for personal use (without connected to Exchange server), WP7 don't sync via USB to Outlook, so it depends which e-mail service you're using. WP7 supports syncing emails, contacts and calendars with Hotmail, Gmail, Y! Mail, and any email services that supports Exchange ActiveSync and POP3, over the cloud, and even in this scenario it supports creating meetings/invites directly on the phone.
6. Battery life is definitely better in my experience compared with Android. For iOS, while battery life is quite good, the downside is I've heard most of my friends that within 1.5 years the battery life deteriates quickly, and there's no way to replace it. But it really depends on how you use your phone.
7. Bear in mind it is a new platform (only one years old), so there is definitely less apps than Android. But do get prepared for a much better integrated experience not found in iOS or Android, especially the way services are all integrated in the People and Messaging hub. If you do get WP7, you do need a Windows Live ID (i.e. Hotmail or Xbox LIVE account) to take advantage of some of the people-centric features on the phone though.
1. As far as I know, Android still requires you to sync to a computer. For Windows Phone Mango, this is minimal. Things like getting apps, emails, contacts, calendar events, and even Office documents are all cloud-based. Only things like transferring local music and videos requires you to plug-in your phone. Even so, there's Zune Music Pass which lets you listen to a wide range of music for a monthly fee. Mango also supports "wireless sync" with your computer, so when you're in your home WiFi network you don't even need to plug-in your phone to USB to sync your music and videos.
2. Kindle is available on WP7. There is now over 350,000 apps on the marketplace, and quite a bit of "major" apps are now available. New ones are added everyday. Google+ is of course not there yet, given this is not Android (a Google product). But given it is a new platform, it does lack some big name apps on the Apple App Store and Google's Android market.
3. Major updates to the OS comes every half a year (mind you the platform has only been there for one year). With Mango update ALL existing Windows Phones can get the update at the same time (gradual roll out over a month's time to ensure quality though), regardless of carrier or manufacturer. This is because Microsoft controls and rolls out the update.
4. Mango allows you to sync your Gmail, Google contacts and Google calendar events to the phone directly over the cloud. For Google Docs, unfortunately it's not supported, but I'd recommend you check out SkyDrive (and Office Web Apps) instead - it's supports in Office 2010 directly too, and it will allow you to sync docs over the cloud and share/collaborate with others too.
5. By Outlook I'm assuming you mean Exchange in corporate environments? In that case it is fully supported (given it is a Microsoft product!), including creating meetings and invites. If you're using Outlook at home for personal use (without connected to Exchange server), WP7 don't sync via USB to Outlook, so it depends which e-mail service you're using. WP7 supports syncing emails, contacts and calendars with Hotmail, Gmail, Y! Mail, and any email services that supports Exchange ActiveSync and POP3, over the cloud, and even in this scenario it supports creating meetings/invites directly on the phone.
6. Battery life is definitely better in my experience compared with Android. For iOS, while battery life is quite good, the downside is I've heard most of my friends that within 1.5 years the battery life deteriates quickly, and there's no way to replace it. But it really depends on how you use your phone.
7. Bear in mind it is a new platform (only one years old), so there is definitely less apps than Android. But do get prepared for a much better integrated experience not found in iOS or Android, especially the way services are all integrated in the People and Messaging hub. If you do get WP7, you do need a Windows Live ID (i.e. Hotmail or Xbox LIVE account) to take advantage of some of the people-centric features on the phone though.
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