Tagged: wp7

Windows Phone 7 vs Android

Last week, I posted this tounge-in-cheek suggestion.

Prediction*: iPhone5 & Samsung Galaxy S 3 to have IDENTICAL hardware. Battle of the OS / ecosystems!*Well, wishful thinking!
26/04/2012 09:22 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite
@edent
Terence Eden

Wouldn't it be great if there was a proper show-down between the two major players? You could really compare which OS was best given the same hardware. Is iOS's camera software better than Android's when given the same lens and CCD? Which runs faster when CPU, GPU, and memory are identical?

According to WP-Life, Samsung's Galaxy S III will run both Android and Windows Phone 7!

Judging by the article, there will be some cosmetic changes - but the basic hardware will be the same.

What a show that will be! I think WP7 is a beautiful but flawed OS. Android is powerful, but struggles on anything less than excellent hardware.

One day - one glorious day! - we may see hardware which will accept any software. Imagine, just like a PC, being able to buy the hardware and then choose which OS you want on it. I've written about porting Android to Nokia hardware, and I run Ubuntu on my MacBook Pro.

A true ecosystem involves freedom to move between platforms without artificial restrictions.

Windows Phone 7's QR Scanner

I think that WP7 is one of the first phone operating systems which natively has a QR scanner built in.

It's rather hidden - you have to go in to search (not camera) then click the eye icon.

However, it is one of the fastest and most accurate scanners I've ever used. It knocks Android favourite ZXing into a cocked hat simply by by speed alone - it's also very fault tolerant and was able to scan in low light and at strange angles.

There's only one problem I have with it - the user interface really isn't very good. Part of this is the design constraints of the Metro interface, but that's no real excuse.

Let's compare WP7 and Android.

Scanning

WP7

The scanner is quick and efficient - but doesn't let you see the whole destination URL.
WP7 QR Scan
Because it can barely fit in a whole bit.ly link, this could lead to some confusion when scanning: are you going to example.com/video or example.com/games for example.

There's also the (remote) possibility of a security problem; www.hsbc.com.evilsite.xxx will only show as www.hsbc.com

Android

The layout of Android is quite different. I prefer the vertical arrangement of WP7 but Android provides better and more useful information.
Android QR Scan
(The screenshot doesn't show the camera view in the background.)
As well as the full URL, we're given

  • The destination URL for any shortened URL.
  • Sharing buttons.
  • A bunch of extraneous techy stuff (meta data about the code).

History

It's often useful to go back and see what you have scanned. Both WP7 and Android have a history feature.

WP7

Again, WP7 looks gorgeous - especially with the photo thumbnail of what you scanned.
WP7 QR History
But, again, there's no way to see the full URL. And, again, the only thing you can do it click on it - no sharing options available.

Android

Android is more Spartan - but more useful.
Android QR History
Although there's no thumbnail, we can see the full URL and any redirection. Clicking on a URL allows us to share it.

Conclusion

Windows Phone 7 has a faster and prettier scanner - Android has a scanner which has more useful features and presents less of a security risk.

The Perfect Phone

After the disaster that was my experience with the Nokia Lumia and the rather underwhelming time I had with the BlackBerry Torch, I've been thinking a lot about what my perfect phone would be.

I think I've found it...

Perfect Phone

My Photoshop skills are legendary!

Here are the things that I want - no one platform covers them all, so I've nicked the best bits from each.

Blackberry

Here's what BlackBerry provides that is missing on other phones.

Physical Keyboard

This is the big one. I've tried all of the touchscreen keyboards out there - nothing comes close to the physical click of keys.

I'm aware of a few Androids which have a keyboard - but they tend to be older models or underpowered and aimed at the teenage text market.
The Dell WP7 phone has a keyboard, but appears to have been abandoned by Dell.

Start up speed.

You never really switch a BB off, it just sleeps. That gives it a phenomenal start-up speed. When you shut it down, it also tells you when it's planning to wake up - either due to an alarm, calendar, or because you set an "auto on" timer.

WP7 does have a very fast boot time - much speedier than that of Android. But there's no auto-on / auto-off feature.

Deep Twitter Integration

I can't believe no other phone has this. If I receive an email which contains a hashtag or @name, I can click on it and my Twitter client opens up. Same in calendar, documents, and (ISTR) web pages. Even if the text isn't linked it was clickable.

Spell Cheque & Auto Text

Spell checking is available on WP7 - but not to the same degree as BlackBerry. The auto-text feature on BB is brilliant, I can type a short code and text is automatically filled.

  • dt - prints the current time & date, perfect for note taking
  • sig - prints my standard contact details
  • ht - (one I created) prints the hashtag of the event I'm following

Android

Android is my main device. It's not without its deficiencies - but here are the bits I wish others would copy.

Time of Day Email

Perhaps the best feature of the Samsung Galaxy S - and not something I've seen elsewhere. I can set a peak and off-peak schedule for my work email.

At 1800 during the week I stop getting work email - and it all comes through at 0800 the next morning. During the weekend, I get no work email. This is one of the major features which keeps me on Android.

FLAC and OGG

I've ripped all my CDs to FLAC. I hate the fact that I have to transcode all my music in order to listen to it on a portable device. All the high end Android phones I've tried play FLAC natively.

Open

I like the fact that I'm not tied down by the operating system. If I want to replace the lock screen, the email client, the web browser, I can. And I do.

If the device manufacturer abandons my phone, there's a huge hacker community who can keep it running.

WP7

I've not had the greatest success with a Windows Phone - but there are some elements that I love.

Interface

The Metro Interface is amazing. It's fast and fluid and generally really well laid out.

Camera

I found the camera to be very responsive - both at focussing and snapping. The integrated QR scanner was also a cut above the rest.

iOS

Media hype / Coolness

It's a little depressing that all the media and developer attention is focussed on a minority platform like iPhone. Just for once, I'd like a cool game like Whale Trail to come out first on something other than iOS.

Misc

  • Lanyard hook. Ever since smashing my BlackBerry, I've worn a lanyard strap.
  • Front facing camera. I'm the only one I know who likes video calling.
  • Trackpad. Even the best touch screen can't get the fine grained accuracy of a touch pad.
  • Removable storage. I like being able to choose how much I carry with me.
  • Mass storage. I'm not always at a computer where I can install "media transfer" software. I just want to be able to plug in a USB lead and copy what I need.
  • Call recording. Must admit - never had a phone that can easily do this. Always wanted it though!
  • Removable battery. When the going gets tough, I don't want to have to be chained to a wall-wart. The ability to buy higher capacity batteries is also handy.

What Hath Thou Wrought?

Essentially, I've created Homer's Car - a monstrosity no one other than me could love.

So, tell me what would be in your perfect phone?

Lumia Review

It was the best of phones - it was the worst of phones...

WP7 Voice Recognition Error
I want to start this review by saying three things:

  • I got this phone for free - thanks Nokia!
  • I'm an extremely demanding mobile user. I recognise that I am an edge-case; what I find annoying, you may not.
  • I've tried to stick to actual bugs, not just "it does things differently."

Sergeant Elop's Lonely Phone Club

Imagine, of you will, you have just purchased a brand new copy of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on vinyl.

It is beautifully designed, an astonishing work of art. You play side one and it is sublime - perhaps the perfect start to any album.

The you flip the disc to side two - and it's Justin Bieber. A screeching, horrible, tune free noise that damages your calm and makes you want to smash your stereo.

That's the Lumia 800 from Nokia. It's Finland's first Windows Phone 7. It's beautiful and infuriating in equal measure.
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Windows Phone 7: Mango. So what?

I was recently invited to the Windows Phone 7 Mango preview (no, I didn't get a free phone) - here are a few thoughts.

The first thing to note is that WP7 still looks gorgeous - the front tiles (aka widgets) are smart and add a real feeling of fluidity to the phone.

Juicy

The second thing is rather more depressing. Windows is still playing catch-up. It's a standard joke that neither the iPhone nor WP7 had copy-n-paste on release - what's not a joke is the number of "new" features that Microsoft announced are things which have been around for years.

  • Groups of contacts. I don't know about you, but I was able to group contacts on my ancient 6310i.
  • Multi-Tasking. You know, like all those Symbian phones had years ago.
  • Facebook events now appear in your calendar. Again, just like on BlackBerry, Android, etc.
  • Music pauses when you receive an SMS - the phone reads the message to you and you can use voice recognition to compose a message. Nice that it's all integrated, but hardly revolutionary.

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