Windows Phone 7

[MartinT]

Recently my mobile contract came up for renewal and I decided that my venerable HTC HD2 with Windows Mobile 6.5 would have to be laid to rest. My criteria for a new phone seems to be slightly different from many people, and certainly different from many of my colleagues who sprout large numbers of Apple iPhones, Android phones and a few Blackberries.

I wanted a phone that is comms-centric, i.e. does phone, e-mail, text messaging and social networking as seamlessly as possible with contacts being integrated from all of the various sources. After trying out various phones I fell upon Windows Phone 7 (now 7.5) as being the ideal OS. It highlights comms over being a pocket PC even though there is a large library of apps available for it now. I tried it out by installing a cracked version on the HD2 and decided that I liked it a lot, so I bought a new HD7 on eBay for £225, dropped my O2 contract to £25 per month SIM-free with data and I'm a very happy bunny.

http://www.cio.com/images/content/articles/body/2011/09/WindowsPhone7.5.jpg

What I especially like is the superb integration with Microsoft Exchange for business use, even better than Blackberries and very much better than the other platforms. E-mail, contacts, folders and AD lookups just work as they should, using push mail if you have a data contract. IMAP support for private e-mail is good, too.

Anyway, just thought I'd fly a flag for WP7 seeing as it gets such little press coverage. Anyone else here using one?

[Reid Malenfant]

No, not got one myself, but how does a Nokia 3310 compare? :scratch: Mine has the theme from " the magic roundabout" as a ring tone :eyebrows:


Sorry Martin, I couldn't resist :lol: I'm not mobile so my last SIM card kind of gave up & failed to register when I switched it on once :D Lack of use ;)

[MartinT]

good grief, Mark, you're from the dark ages :lol:

[Tim]

That's interesting to know Martin as I guess one day I will make the move to a smart-phone and this looks like it could be up my street.

[Reid Malenfant]

Yep, I like it dark baby :eyebrows: I find it's handy for storing numbers & that's about it :doh:

[slate]

I just received a Nokia Lumia 800 a week ago; had to import it from Germany as we will not see it in Denmark until mid January. A nifty sleek little devil it is.

The first thing I did was to buy the SqueezeRemote app... highly recommended if you have Squeezeboxes.
http://www.windowsphone.com/da-DK/apps/dd4e8a0d-a224-e011-854c-00237de2db9e

Together it runs circles around the SlimCtrl+X1 (Winmo 6) combo that I used previously; granted the hardware is 3 times faster and it shows

[MartinT]

Nice one, Jan. I think the switch by Nokia to WP7 for all their smartphones may well kick start it into serious sales quantities.

[goraman]

Martin that is a very cool phone but I miss the smaller body phones that where no trouble to use.
These new phones are to smart for me,so meany apps and submenus.

I still have a stupid phone,LG cosmos.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+Cosmos+Touch+Mobile+Phone+-+Black/1445933.p?id=1218265247859&skuId=1445933&cmp=RMX&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=1445933&extensionType=pla:g&gclid=CJOVu_ST6qwCFQhbhwodR3hcMg


I hate this phone it is always trying to sell me something.
At times in the wee hours of the morning it will just start talking in a womens voice in full speaker phone.

Welcome to Verizon Wireless,to add EZ navigator just press bla bla bla.
It continues for over 3 minutes.

The touch screen unlocks in your pocket and you call people or end up in some strange submenu from hell.

I liked my small Juke people called it a lipstic phone but it was tiny in my pocket and it made phone calls only when I wanted.
http://www.ewirelessexperts.com/samsung-u470-juke-player-verizon-wireless-music-cell-phone-p-1365.html

I had the smallest one,people made fun and said it was a chick phone but it fit in the little lighter pocket of my jeans and was never a pain in the arse to lug around.

My wife decided I needed a new phone for my Birthday and switched it over on me,so I sent our old phones to our troops in Afghanistan in a program called cell phones for soldiers.
So my little lipstick phone is serving some poor grunt in calling home for the holidays, so at least it's being appreciated by some one who has enough crap to lug around with out having to carry a big brick in there pocket.
I liked phones when they where easy to use and small enough to manage in daily life.
My wife Nosheen has a smart phone a Droid 4G. it's way to smart for me the thing is thin but so is our TV remote and I can't fit that in my pocket either.
Maybe the man purse will come back then phones can be as big as ipads.

[Rare Bird]

good grief, Mark, you're from the dark ages :lol:

Uh i dont even know how to text properly, i get there after half an hour trying! :o

[MartinT]

At times in the wee hours of the morning it will just start talking in a womens voice in full speaker phone.

Are you sure you didn't give your number to a local 'lady of the night'? :lol: A phone like that would quickly go back to the retailer. Spoken ads? Just say no!

The thing about smartphones is that they are more than a phone - I just didn't want the focus of mine to move away completely. After all, first and foremost I want it to be a superb phone, then comms centre and finally app machine.

[goraman]

Are you sure you didn't give your number to a local 'lady of the night'? :lol: A phone like that would quickly go back to the retailer. Spoken ads? Just say no!

The thing about smartphones is that they are more than a phone - I just didn't want the focus of mine to move away completely. After all, first and foremost I want it to be a superb phone, then comms centre and finally app machine.

Marketing here in the U.S. is pretty much out of control.
And I'm sure the GPS is being used as well as phone id signals to track us every time we enter a mall or government building.
There has been some press on how easily we can all be electronically monitored.
In my life time the only phone that existed was always in the living room,it was heavy as hell and you needed to dial by using your finger to spin a rotary around. And remember pay phones?
Now you phone can track you any where on the planet, scan items with bar codes instead of just putting a price tag on it.take pictures and video,store your music. Anyone want to add to this list?

[MartinT]

I do the barcode thing - it's very useful! Also lists, star maps, eBay, Spotify, YouTube, dictionary, conversions, remote access to my servers, viewing my webcams, railway maps, internet radio etc.

[The Grand Wazoo]

This is more my type of phone - much cheaper & guaranteed to be conspiracy theory free!

http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/images/CMScontent/Image/469369~Tin-Can-and-String-Telephone-Posters.jpg

[MartinT]

Yes, but does it run Windows...?

[Reid Malenfant]

Yes, but does it run Windows...?
Maybe not but there is no line rental or monthly contract :D

[goraman]

This is more my type of phone - much cheaper & guaranteed to be conspiracy theory free!

http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/images/CMScontent/Image/469369~Tin-Can-and-String-Telephone-Posters.jpg

Theres a small bug on your string...

[bogle111]

And they can easily cut your ear by twisting the can as you try to vary the volume.

[MartinT]

Got a good deal on contract renewal with my HTC HD7 Windows Phone: by keeping the phone and going with O2 Simplicity, I've switched to 300 mins, 500 texts and 1GB data for £20.50. Pretty good considering I was on £42 per month.