I own an iPhone 4, and got a chance to briefly play with a Windows phone 7 today. I played with the Samsung Focus=first impression, VERY IMPRESSED!!
I don't know how to describe it but the phone and OS of the Samsung was just....Light. Everything was very fluid, and fast. Microsoft did a kick ass job on WP7, in fact, I would honestly say its more fluid than an Android phone.
Ok here goes my review, (I have owned quite a few phones, so I know what I talking about)
Design (physically)
There will be many different WP7 and Android phones, but only one new iPhone each year. And as far as the design and the way the phone is constructed, the iPhone wins no questions asked, it is shiny, good weight, and an all around sexy phone. The thing you have to remember about the iPhone is that the OS and device are both made by the SAME COMPANY, which means software and hardware are going to work better than the competition. The Samsung focus is plastic, but did feel good in the hands, it was easy to type on and I will review the keyboard later.
Screen
Well the big thing here is Retina v. Super Amoled. and just like any other feature on a phone it is opinion based, personally I would take the Retina display, just because the PPI is so high that text and details look unbelievable clear on the display, not to mention the colors on the iPhone look pretty damn good too. However, if what you are looking for is colors and movie watching the Super Amoled is the clear winner. When you look at the Super Amoled display the colors are just sharp, they pop-out and are very bright. Both displays are great. Here is the way I look at it though, Super Amoled maybe better in watching movies and looking at pics, but I spend a majority of my time texting, emailing and surfing the web, meaning the retina display is going to win FOR ME. IMO more people spend time on the internet, reading emails & texts than watching movies.
OS/UI
Before Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile was the clunkiest OS out their, yes, there may have been a lot of business features but the OS was just slow and buggy. Well, in WP7 it is fast and fluid! No lag what so ever, scrolling and navigating were very easy and the animations on the phone make it seem like the "tiles" and screen are real (lol, you no what I mean). Your tiles on the windows phone 7 are live meaning they update right away.
you have a calculator app, phonebook, weather, news, messages, and email. But IMO the way the tiles work is just unorganized. I really like how fluid each app works, and how you have to scroll to the right or left to get more options, but it just seems like microsoft was 90% of the way there and just threw it together. i just think that the way to start the apps and display them on the homescreen could have been improved. I know the tiles are basically the entrance to how the UI works but its not as simple as IOS.
IOS on the other hand has 3 years of experience over WP7 OS. And Apple has done a fantastic job with it. Yes, their are no widgets, and the UI may seem "stale" but it is the easiest to use. The icons and every part of the OS is colorful, and really is visually appealing and pleasing to the eye. The retina display makes the icons look fantastic, and the phone and OS it self just look organized and simple. I personally prefer it. IMO every feature on the iPhone is more visually appealing than any other OS. When apple releases a feature they make sure it is perfect and easy to use.
In the end, I see more colors, more unity and organization in IOS. In windows phone 7, there is a lot of black, and the tiles are only 2-3 colors, v. the wide variety on the iPhone. WP7 is very fluid and easy to navigate around and IMO less laggy than Android phones.
App Store
Come on now....
The app store is simply incredible, over 300,00 apps/games and counting. Gaming companies like Electronic arts, Business's, Stores and universities are all releasing major applications on the iPhone! Yes, Android is starting to catch up, but I have yet to find a Major app on the Android market that is superior to the iPhone version.
Windows phone 7 just started, but has a decent amount of apps. The xbox live integration is great, and very colorful which makes the app look like fun, and work great too.
In the end Apple wins.
Email/Music/other
for basic email again the iPhone's clean and organized UI make it very easy to use. However because I don't use my iPhone for business, I cannot vouch for the amount of features that it has, I know for sure that it is not as advanced as a blackberry though. Windows phone 7 has a simple, elegant app that is very smooth. again same thing with business email.
Music on both devices is great. Basically Zune v. iPod argument. Both are great and it's totally your opinion.
Keyboard
Ok, I believe this deserves it's own section. ON an only touch screen phone the on screen keyboard is the only form of text input. the iPhone has been my favorite to date. Apple did its research with the size of screen to keyboard character lengths, and widths, to best colors, everything. And I have always preferred the iPhone's keyboard its fast and simple and very easy to get used too. I have used the HTC keyboards, Stock android, Every althernative on the android market, you name it and I have not found one to come close to the one on the iPhone. Their is just a lag or its not as fast.
HOWEVER, after using the keyboard, I was THOROUGHLY impressed, I was blown away by how easy and accurate it was to type on. Easily better than any Android alternative, and IMO just as good as the iPhone's.
All in all, it comes down to user preference. But I have to say I have used many phones, with the Galaxy S, the windows phone 7 phones coming out they look pretty cool, but i have never thought of giving up my iPhone. The organization makes it look like an elegant OS and is easy for me to use. Not to mention Jailbreaking opens up a whole new world of phone. Good luck to what ever you do, and if you have any questions just ask.
