So. I tried Windows Phone 7.
I've been excited by WP7 since I first saw it. In my opinion, it's the first REALLY innovative UI since the original iPhone. And recently, I saw the Windows 8 demo video, which really perked me up. This is some sexy thinking from Microsoft, yo.
I tried 2 different ROM's, the first being a 7.392 version of NoDo, by a chef named YukiXDA, and then the second, the official Dark Forces Green Mango 7.592 version. Both installed and ran perfectly.
Huge downside, was, cos they're both hacked ROM's, the activation process didn't go smoothly. To access the and use the MarketPlace (cos you want to try Mo Tweets etc) and Zune, you'll need to login with your Windows Live ID. No problem. Um, no. The ID is cool, but there was some obscure problem and you'll need to call phone support and get a 25-digit code and yada, yada. All good, I get it. Socially engineer a MS Support Tech. Sport, right? So, quick, Google the number for Microsoft Phone support in South Africa. Yeah, Not.So.Easy, eh? Choose any one of the multitude of numbers/options/possibles/probables, deal with the 75-option (of which none REALLY apply) IVR, and then wait 45 minutes, listen to how busy they are. FTS. I'll do Twitter on the mobile site.
All of this would have been less galling, if the XDA forums hadn't been quite as full of people saying, "Yeah, when they finally speak to you, they'll give you a code, that works, no problem, no questions." So, it's not even a real barrier to people hacking the OS, it's just a fuck-around. Security theatre. Actually, Microsoft (with lessons learnt from the Kinnect saga, no doubt) is quite cool (on the down-low, anyway) with the hacking community. I don't think this stupidity with phone support is malicious, I just think it's cultural. They don't have a culture of moving stuff out of their customer's way.
So, having used WP7 as a daily runner for just over a week, what do I think?
I think if anyone else had come up with this UI, say a year, two years ago? The boys at Apple and Google would be having shit-fits, and losing market-share hand.over.fist. It is SLICK and SMART. And pretty. No wait, make that elegant. Stylish. You've seen the difference between Google Reader and Helvetireader? That.
As a developer (and as a user), I absolutely LOVE the elegant simplicity of the carousel construct (with as many facets to the carousel as you need), which is at the heart of the Hub idea. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Wrap-around. Vari-rate title scolling. Responsive. Beautiful. I love the tiles. Feedback about what's behind the tile. Regular. Consistent. No crazed-12-year-old-crackhead-with-crayons art.
Gmail that actually looks Gwyneth Paltrow, not Britney. Sophisticated. A great off-the-shelf keyboard. Apple, get over here, look at this! The people Hub, that smoothly shows contact list (with alpha dividers, and a search, but sadly, sans a sane way to zip through a long list), new photos from contacts (Facebook, Google) and status updates from friends (Facebook). But it doesn't feel like Facebook, and has MINIMAL branding. It's smooth and slick, and gorgeous.
Those ads? "Get in, get out, get on with your life!"... Those. That. Yes, please.
Such a pity. Such a waste. Cos, despite how much I actually like the product, and I do, (Confession: If I could get around the issues with the activation, and the camera: worst pic-quality ever. Hacked from another handset and camera hardware, bygones, this OS would still be on my HD2) I have absolutely no doubt it will fail. It's a day late, not a dollar short, but it's carrying the Windows Mobile/Microsoft monolith baggage. It's a Ferrari 599, with a roof-rack full of poor-people luggage, and a back-seat full of the ugly sisters. With chickens. And PC from the Apple ads.
And that's a tragedy. That's my 50 cents.
