So why can't I put Windows Phone 7 down?

[Hands0n]

This is really scary. I seem to have lost a bit of self control. Windows Phone 7 has got to me in a rather big way.

For the past couple of months I have been carrying with me a Jil Sander (that is an LG E906) Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphone connected to giffgaff PAYG loaded with a £10 Goody Bag for minutes, texts and truly unlimited data. This is running version 7.5 of the OS codenamed Mango.

In December 2010 I trialled a Samsung Omnia 7 with version 7.0, the original, and it was dreadful. I disliked it intensely. But a year later things are quite different.

Accompanying the WP7 is an iPhone and a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the iPhone being my primary tool. And I try to use all three interchangeably throughout the day tweeting, using Facebook, the web browser, email and the rest.

Last Saturday I ventured out to Vodafone and picked up a Nokia Lumia 710 for £150 on PAYG to find out what the Nokia experience with WP7 is all about. I must mention that there are none of the Lumia 800's battery problems with the 710. I ran a test and the Lumia 710 lasted 4 days 3 hours on a single charge, mostly sitting at standby but with occasional little use. That is featurephone territory, not smartphone. During this time I had email, Facebook and Twitter apps loaded into memory. Push notifications were apparent.

The thing is, now well into my third month, I am finding WP7 a compelling experience. I keep coming back to it time and time again, using it for calls and Internet, not so much texts as I don't want to confuse those I communicate with. The Metro interface has grown on me - from not being terribly interested to the point where now I am constantly trying to find excuses to use WP7. The experience is not a lot different between the Jil Sander and the Lumia 710. The major difference is that Nokia does not support tethering (Internet Sharing WP7 calls it) whereas the Jil Sander does.

Apps
WP7 apps have been woefully inadequate, all with a distinctly version 1.0 feel to them. But things are changing, slowly.

Facebook's latest app has fully embraced the Metro UI and it is a distinct improvement for doing so. It works really well indeed.

For Twitter I use the Rowi client, available in both free and paid for versions, the former is Ad supported. It is the best Twitter client around at the moment. All of the others are quite poor quality.

The future?
I really do not think that WP7 will make it to my primary smartphone device, there is still too much space between that OS and iOS and Android. But I've a funny feeling that I'll be making all manner of excuse to be carrying around WP7 for the indefinite future.

Cheaper WP7 in the for of Nokia Lumia 610 are reportedly heading this way. Equally, a very likely more expensive Lumia 900 is on the cards, upping the specification from the Lumia 800. This may help move WP7 into the mainstream, it is not doing so well at the moment.

[Ben]

I'm curious I really am.

On the one hand it's hard to imagine a product coming out of Microsoft these days that could have the sort of appeal you're talking about. Geek appeal, I reckon. How long has it been since anything Microsoft could be considered cool? Is Windows Phone cool? Is it Nokia's hardware genius of old that makes the Lumia particularly magical?

But then Microsoft certainly have plenty of software expertise. Perhaps it's not so hard to imagine that, after many years of trying, they've finally come up with a new operating system that has an allure to it.

I've got to be honest though, hands0n; I can't see Windows Phone going anywhere soon I really can't. Apple are taking great strides right now, and I truly believe that the late Steve Jobs instilled in the company everything it needs to dominate for a decade or more. Their vertical approach may never dominate in the traditional sense, but they'll be setting the tone, and Windows Phone will be a niche segment while Android continues to suck up the mass market in its me-too way.

[The Mullet of G]

Apple fanboy detected. :)

I actually think Nokia and Microsoft have been quite clever here. Behind the scenes Microsoft has been working hard to improve the OS, but that isn't enough on its own, as it doesn't count for much if you can't put it in peoples hands. The clever part is partnering with Nokia who look to be releasing a range of attractive phones at an equally attractive price point, not every iOS or Android user is entrenched, most don't even know what OS is on their phones and would probably be willing to switch if the price was right.

I think a lot of the niggles with Windows Phone 7 like lack of apps will sort themselves out in time, if Nokia can shift enough hardware then the rest will sort itself out. It also challenges other hardware manufacturers to produce compelling Windows Phones. So all in the Nokia/Microsoft partnership could be the catalyst that Windows Phone needed to get some momentum going.

[Hands0n]

I do think that Nokia and Microsoft actually need each other right now. Neither are going to do well in the mobile phone business independently. But this partnership will only work if bother companies listen to each other, very carefully. Nokia must not be allowed to turn WP7 into a latter day Symbian. We all know how that particular story went.

I agree that WP7 apps will resolve themselves over time. They need to get those prices down though - the same app to be had on WP7 costing four times more than iOS or Android isn't going to fly too well. I do believe that Facebook has demonstrated how well a Metro app can look and function. Being consistent with the OS is no bad thing, and if you don't like the OS then what the hell are you doing with it in the first place :)

Interesting point about entrenchment. I have been showing my WP7 (now a pair of) mobile phones to anyone who'll stand still long enough for me to bore them with the detail. Universally, so far, everyone has not liked what they've seen, even where I'm enthusing about something in Metro that I really have identified with. It starts to go wrong when introducing the subject "Would you like to see the latest Windows phone", at which point they mumble something about disliking Windows and you've lost the punter. So now I don't mention any names unless specifically asked :p But I've yet to hit on someone who actually likes what they see. It does make me wonder if that is fundamentally what Microsoft and all of the WP7 makers are up against.