OK. OK… Sooo, here is my logic for even trying a Windows Mobile 7 phone:
- Windows CE 6.5 was great in 2004 but it just didn’t keep pace and by 2006 I had given up and moved my clients to Blackberry. That was a good decision.
- Apple is incapable of producing a product without excessive margin (they have to pay for those misleading TV adverts some how… hey so why don’t YOU pay for it) and for that reason (among others) the iPhone is out.
- I have been playing with Android phones and I have been quite impressed with a few offerings from Sony and HTC but the whole, Google is likely to screw all their hardware partners by buying Motorola, is likely to kill innovation in that space. Also the Android product seems to be forking and have alot of different versions which will not be made whole until version 4 and by that time many of the hardware companies like Samsung and Sony may be too afraid of Google to even try and make product
- Blackberry’s current product is fine, but not innovative and is definitely behind the curve. I am willing to wait until the Spring line up of BBerry OS7 devices before I give up on them
- I have not read a single bad review or talked to single Windows Mobile 7 user who does not love it, including a major Blackberry corporate reseller. The largest maker of handsets in the world, Nokia, gave up on its own failed operating system and is now releasing Windows Mobile 7 devices… and while they are a company in serious and uncomfortable transition, Nokia is not stupid.
… but I needed to replace my Blackberry Bold 9700 in a hurry so I thought I would give “the new guy” a try. What I bought was a brand new cracked Windows Mobile 7 LG-C900B slider phone. I was not expecting much and man was I wrong.
The Windows Mobile 7 platform is fast and uncluttered. Two main screens, one with large tiles and one like a control panel style with small tiles arranged in a vertical alphabetic list, just makes navigating sooo easy.
The apps are wonderful (gMaps, Voice Commanded Bing Maps, Angry Birds…). The screen is sensitive. It was easy to setup my Exchange Email, my Hosted Exchange Email and my Yahoo email. (Note that a Blackberry can not have more than one Exchange email account but the Windows Mobile 7 handled it with ease).
My only complaint is the battery life. Even after tweaking settings, I can not get the unit to run more than about 30 hours. I understand this still crushes the iPhone (which I am told gets about 10 hours) but I am not happy about it.
So that is my story, Blackberry might be good again in the near future, Google Android could have no support in the near future, iPhone sucks, and Windows 7 is overwhelmingly good.
Excellent job Microsoft!