Instant Alert: There's No Way I'd Ditch My iPhone For A Windows Phone

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November 13, 2011

There's No Way I'd Ditch My iPhone For A Windows Phone

by Steve Kovach on Nov 13, 2011, 1:30 PM

After about a year, I'm still not sold on Windows Phones.

I was really excited when I first saw the new OS last year. Finally, someone created a phone that wasn't another iOS/Android knockoff. This was something different and unique. Something pretty.

Until now, I've only had limited experience using Windows Phones. My colleague Ellis Hamburger loves them, so I decided to give it a shot.

I got my hands on Samsung's new Focus S the other day. Instead of doing a traditional review of the phone itself (it's good, trust me), I decided to concentrate on the Windows Phone OS instead.

I tucked away my iPhone 4 over the last week (with a few exceptions) and decided to make the Focus S my primary phone.

In short, I don't think Windows Phone 7 is quite there yet. While there are a lot of interesting concepts behind the phone like native Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn integration, it still feels jumbled and messy. Windows Phone 7 has a ways to go before it can catch up to iOS and Android.

Keep reading to see why.

First, here's how I'm scoring Windows Phone 7

I'm primarily an iPhone user. However, I do own a Nexus S too, and I constantly test Android phones for review on SAI: Tools. I know both iOS and Android backwards and forwards.

But for the purposes of this feature, I'll just be comparing Windows Phone 7 to my iPhone.

Scorecard

iPhone: 0

Windows Phone: 0

Windows Phone doesn't need maxed out hardware to work

Part of the beauty of Windows Phone 7 is that it doesn't need fancy dual-core processors or souped up RAM to run smoothly. Even on a modest processor, the OS sings. It's lightweight, functional, and doesn't eat your battery by running processes or widgets in the background. Swiping between screens, launching apps, and loading web pages feels just as fast as any other dual-core phone I've used.

Scorecard

iPhone: 0

Windows Phone: 1

Integration with Facebook, Twitter, etc. is nice, but it can get messy

I don't think anyone has really nailed how to integrate social networks natively on a phone. iOS takes a modest approach, allowing you to share stuff on Twitter. Android syncs nicely with Google services, but you'll need separate widgets or apps if you want to include anything else. (This will change with Ice Cream Sandwich in a few weeks.)

Windows Phone 7 takes the opposite approach, letting you connect to all the major social networks natively on your phone. It's a pain to set up each one individually, but once you do, all your friends' messages, status updates, photos, etc. are synced in the "People" app.

But it's far from perfect. In fact, it feels downright messy. It's difficult to tell where the updates, messages, etc. are coming from. (Was that a Facebook message? SMS? LinkedIn connection?) I got so confused by the flood of information that I disabled my social networks from the phone. For now, it's easier for me to check everything in separate apps.

I prefer the iPhone's modest approach to native social networking. I'd rather wait until someone figures out how to make it work well before I declare someone else the winner.