If apple does not chAnge the look of the OS in the next two years I can see myself going to windows phone. It very tempting to go right now but I won't. Then again looking at the same iPhone screen for four years is getting old. They need a complete overhaul
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Is WP7 really better designed than iOS?
- Thread starter TheSideshow
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I played around with some WM7 phones at a ATT store recently and I was very surprised how nice and smooth it was. But that's just the feel and look of the UI. I messed around with the browser, photos, calendar and some other default apps a little bit, but still don't have a good indication of how functional it is and it's downfalls.
I think as long as MS doesn't give up on WM and keeps moving forward with it and more than a snails pace, it might just be a huge problem for Android.
As far as WM7 being better designed than iOS at the moment, I'd have to say no on that. WM7 has amazing eye candy which seems to run smoothly, but that's all it was to me. Certain things about WM7 I didn't like was the up & down scrolling to find an app. Also some of the eye candy animation is a bit time consuming for my taste, like the time it takes when you hit the photos icon until the animation is finally finished. I just like things to pop up for the most part.
I think as long as MS doesn't give up on WM and keeps moving forward with it and more than a snails pace, it might just be a huge problem for Android.
As far as WM7 being better designed than iOS at the moment, I'd have to say no on that. WM7 has amazing eye candy which seems to run smoothly, but that's all it was to me. Certain things about WM7 I didn't like was the up & down scrolling to find an app. Also some of the eye candy animation is a bit time consuming for my taste, like the time it takes when you hit the photos icon until the animation is finally finished. I just like things to pop up for the most part.
I have lots of experience with both (I have owned every iPhone, still have an iP4, had an HTC Surround, and currently use a Samsung Focus as my primary phone) and I have to disagree that iOS is "highly superior." It is well developed, and it definitely does more than WP7 right now, but, save for a few odd glitches I've noticed, WP7 is very polished and its UI is superior, making everything cleaner, easier, and more attractive. Each platform has its strengths, and I love them both, but I find WP7 more fun and better for day to day use.
I don't care what app you use, WP7 will be faster because of how the UI is designed. No matter the app, you have to go to the homescreen (or open the app switcher), get to the page its on (or open the folder), then press the app, let it launch (if it isn't already in a saved state) and then either tap and type or tap and talk to search for what you want. From ANY screen in WP7, you can either:
a) tap the search key, type your search, and hit go, or
b) hold home, speak what you want to search for, and let it search. Combined with Bing and location data (all done automatically and in the background as you search), this makes finding things like movie times or maps very easy
better designed in terms of appearance is subjective
better designed in terms of ease of use and functionality is not. WP7 wins the former, iOS the latter. However, Microsoft has already committed to bringing pretty much all the functionality iOS provides over WP7 with the Mango update and future updates, and while Apple may improve the ease of use of iOS, there is no guarantee. They need to stray away from the idea of individual apps doing specific tasks, and integrate certain things more smoothly throughout the whole OS as Microsoft has done (search being the primary example I'm thinking of)
While you are right about the comparison in the actual video, I own (and love) phones running both OSes, and I can guarantee you that, in terms of what was tested in this video, WP7 is far easier and faster. Let me outline the steps required to preform the tasks on each phone (lets assume each phone is not starting from the homescreen):
iOS:
1. Hit home button
2. Select camera app
3. take picture
4. hit home button
5. select facebook app
6. tap upload picture button
7. select picture (generally 2-3 taps)
8. choose upload picture
9. hit home button
10. hit maps
11. type in location to navigate to
12. hit home button
13. select movie app (or safari)
14. select movie
WP7:
1. press and hold camera button
2. press camera button to take picture
3. select upload to facebook
4. press search (or press and hold windows key)
5. type in map location (or speak map location)
6. press search (or press and hold windows key)
7. type in movie (or speak movie)
so this particular set of tasks is done in half the steps on WP7. Of course, this is a "challenge" that was chosen specifically to cater to the things that WP7 does undeniably better than iOS, and in and of itself does not dictate which is the better OS
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It seems that unless you are an app whore, that WP7 is superior in most regards for the normal person. Come Mango I will definitely be switching to WP7 provided they get some nice hardware on Verizon. (Gimme a Galaxy S2 WP7)
the 2nd chassis specs came out recently and they include the new dual core snapdragon, so when the second batch of hardware starts coming out, you'll probably see something very similar to the S2. (Chassis specs are the list of minimum requirements and supported hardware such as processors and such that Microsoft dictates for all windows phones. Essentially it keeps all hardware to a unified minimum so you dont have issues with fragmentation and underperforming devices).
And yes, its been my experience that the only thing I miss from iOS is the apps (particularly, the games, but that is because Im too cheap to buy games on WP7 that I already own on iOS). It seems iOS can leverage its power for games a bit better, but other than that, I enjoy WP7 more. I also miss fast app switching, but that will come with Mango
I have the Focus as well, switched from a Surround. Its better in most respects, but theres a few annoying bugs (phone booted into safe mode once, never saw that with the surround) that haven't been too big of an issue. The one I can hardly stand, however, is the music playback issue (some songs stutter in the last 5 seconds, and halfway through some songs will just skip to the next one). It really amazes me Samsung has yet to do anything about this...it is definitely hardware specific, as the problem has never been recorded with any other device running WP7, so it isn't Microsofts fault.
Verizon is getting the Trophy which is an overall mediocre phone. The Focus would be my choice right now if I were on ATT.
We'll probably be waiting until Mango for the next releases
Ok, I can't really vote on which one is better as I've only been able to use the WM7 phones in the store and so far I have to say I'm far from impressed. And maybe the usability is better than what I can tell from the store, my own opinion on how the OS looks is that it looks horrid. I like symmetry and having the icons over on one side is really obnoxious and I hate the large, looks like a kid's phone, buttons and the noisy look of all the random crap they put on the screen that takes up space they could use to display more actual useful info. And I really don't think it's very intuitive to use. I could figure out the iphone without reading a manual easy enough just from using the display model. The WM7 felt like I really needed to read the manual to really get any use out of it (Which is why I don't feel like I can judge usability cause I feel I really need to read up on how to use it to be able to get a good feel of how functional the OS's layout/design really is).
But as for app whore, I think there is something to be said about being able to add apps to your phone. For one thing that means you can customize your phone to do whatever you want and add functionality. You're not stuck with the basic stuff the phone came with. To be honest if the iphone didn't have the app store when I first got it (Right when the 3G came out), I wouldn't be even half as impressed with it as I was. Being able to add different apps means you can customize the phone to be useful in the ways you want it to be (and you're not stuck with an app you don't like how it works, you can find another one that does that function better. For example I bought a far better calendar than the crap that comes with iOS). Shoot, I don't use most of the apps the phone came with. If I was stuck with them only the iphone would be a pretty pitiful smartphone imho (it would be a nice looking dumb phone that was a little easier to use the extra functions. I mean my dumb phone before it could browse the web and had a calendar and contacts function).
I mean w/out loading it with a ton of different apps, how is microsoft supposed to know what I want to do most with my phone in order to make sure it does that function well? Having a good app store means they neither have to be able to read my mind nor load up the phone with a ton of apps that I won't use much of cause some one else needs at least one of those apps.
Of course, one can also argue that if WM7 does take off, the apps will come too
. So while at the moment wanting to have more access to apps gives the win to iOS, that part could possibly change (but for those who would hold out for that reason it means either chancing that WM7 might not take off and never gets much app choice or holding off on getting one until it does). I guess my point is that availability of apps is super important to any smartphone period. What good is a smartphone if you don't have software you can run with it? You might as well have a non smart phone (They come with the basics and even a very basic way of browsing the web).
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When Microsoft comes up with a way for WP7 to sync with Outlook without my data residing on third parties' servers (and possibly being available for them to datamine), then I'll consider it.
I agree with many posting here - after decades of trying to copy Apple, Microsoft is catching up.
Actually the two companies leapfrog each other in OS power. Except microsoft missed a jump a few years ago and landed in the pound is trying to pull it self up still. ***Cough Cough vista.***
Yeah, thats one of the things stopping me from going to android or WP7 device; I've spent a lot on the apps so its hard to just abandon my investment. My 3GS is beginning to fail on me and I don't want to buy the iPhone 4 now if theres a new one out in a few months... what to do, what to do
LOL no, WP7 is terrible!
It looks so blocky, monotone, and so wasteful with the UI, they say it's minimalistic, IMO it's not, it's wasteful... the square tiles interface just does not appeal to me, Android's homescreens with widgets and even Symbian's is way better. Why is there so much space wasted on the right side of tiles? How are they better than free-form widgets, that offer more flexibility? The UI is so dull and you pick to make it either all black, white, orange or etc... there is no mix of colours it makes the UI look very flat.
Then it's the giant oversized text, it looks like you're reading a fashion magazine. I want a pretty, functional UI, not Vogue...
As an example, look at this picture below, WP7 is basically huge text on the black background, looks so basic, while iOS looks pretty and yet very organized, feeling like a high quality notepad...
Imagine having hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks on WP7, it would be a MESS of oversized text and having to scroll pages upon pages to get to something! While iOS will still look pretty and more importantly organized even with a thousand bookmarks.
It looks so blocky, monotone, and so wasteful with the UI, they say it's minimalistic, IMO it's not, it's wasteful... the square tiles interface just does not appeal to me, Android's homescreens with widgets and even Symbian's is way better. Why is there so much space wasted on the right side of tiles? How are they better than free-form widgets, that offer more flexibility? The UI is so dull and you pick to make it either all black, white, orange or etc... there is no mix of colours it makes the UI look very flat.
Then it's the giant oversized text, it looks like you're reading a fashion magazine. I want a pretty, functional UI, not Vogue...
As an example, look at this picture below, WP7 is basically huge text on the black background, looks so basic, while iOS looks pretty and yet very organized, feeling like a high quality notepad...
Imagine having hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks on WP7, it would be a MESS of oversized text and having to scroll pages upon pages to get to something! While iOS will still look pretty and more importantly organized even with a thousand bookmarks.
^^^ I kind of agree with some of what you said ^^^
W7M feels more like a regular phone with smartphone capabilities & neat graphics. Even though I haven't used one as a daily device, it still seems like it's not ready to be a workhorse yet. And yea, the huge text will probably annoy me sooner or later. It's like the Jitter Bug of smartphones.
Overall WM7 is nice and I hope is grows quickly.
W7M feels more like a regular phone with smartphone capabilities & neat graphics. Even though I haven't used one as a daily device, it still seems like it's not ready to be a workhorse yet. And yea, the huge text will probably annoy me sooner or later. It's like the Jitter Bug of smartphones.
Overall WM7 is nice and I hope is grows quickly.
Stock WP7 is much better in my opinion than Stock iOS but being late to the game is going to be hard for them. However JB'd iOS is king due to the support from a great community.
WP7 is a great OS with a lot of potential. Would be my first choice if iOS wasn't an option. I really hope Apple adds some much needed enhancements to iOS5; I'm really looking forward to this much more than the next iPhone.
Having used both the iPhone (wife has a iPhone4) and I now have a Samsung Focus, I will say that I really like my phone better. There are still a lot of things that need to be changed to make it more competitive, but when Mango is released I think that we will see a phone that is basically on par with the current iPhone.
Frankly I think that the WP7 OS is faster and easier to use than iOS they still have a small way to go but the race is getting closer.
Frankly I think that the WP7 OS is faster and easier to use than iOS they still have a small way to go but the race is getting closer.
I certainly agree with you. Not that I dislike the interface (I personally love it), but that it is not for everyone. I can definitely see that it is a design some people will not like. However, it is much more intuitive than it first seems...the phone actually sees that there are features you could be using but aren't, and it will show you how to use them. For example, if you select emails to delete one at a time, or press a button to go into edit mode to delete multiples several times, the phone will show you that you can just tap to the far left to start the multi select process. If you use voice dialing for someone with multiple numbers, it will show you an easier way. For example, just the other day, I voice dialed "dad" and then had to select work or mobile. Once I selected mobile, the phone said "next time, you could just say dad mobile"
And as for the apps, they manage to still be intuitive because of 2 things" the shared UI design across the whole device, and because they can integrate into the "hubs." For example, if you are playing a video on youtube or a song on slacker radio, the information for it shows up in the music hub. The apps can be accessed from the music hub as well. A photo can be viewed in photos, and right from that screen you can choose to send it to any of many photo editing apps you have downloaded to edit, without having to open the app and select the photo again.
When Microsoft comes up with a way for WP7 to sync with Outlook without my data residing on third parties' servers (and possibly being available for them to datamine), then I'll consider it.
It sits on microsoft's live.com server...I don't think microsoft is going to datamine anything. And if the account on Outlook is an exchange account, it will sync directly from the exchange server to your phone.
When I actually made the switch, I intended it to just be fun, something to try, but I thought Id be back to my iPhone soon (we have an extra line on our family plan, and I got the phone on amazon for $50). Then I realized about 90% of the apps I had on iOS were just junk I never used. Everything I really needed, WP7 had an equivalent app to. This won't be true for everyone, but I think most people probably do have more apps than they really use
WP7's copy & paste is so fiddly. Great, and the irony is that WP had C&P earlier than iOS.
From my experience so far, the copy and paste is perfectly fine...in many ways better than iOS
I can see why youd think that from the images...but you have to see it in motion. The animations and subtle movements give it a really profound sense of depth...if feels much more alive than anything I've seen before. Especially on a phone with an OLED screen, everything seems to melt away (because the black of an OLED is a true black, and matches the bezel of the phone), and it looks very beautiful being plain text like that
^^^ I kind of agree with some of what you said ^^^
W7M feels more like a regular phone with smartphone capabilities & neat graphics. Even though I haven't used one as a daily device, it still seems like it's not ready to be a workhorse yet. And yea, the huge text will probably annoy me sooner or later. It's like the Jitter Bug of smartphones.
Overall WM7 is nice and I hope is grows quickly.
Its more of a "workhorse" than iOS from my experience. I've written and edited whole papers in word on it...the keyboard is nice and since the screens are bigger (mines 4") it is better to type on in my opinion. Of course, that all depends on what you mean by workhorse. iOS is obviously better for multitasking, and it has more games, though xbox live is a nice feature to have on WP7
@dccorona
As much as I am a WP7 supporter - I completely disagree with you saying WP7 has a better Copy/Paste than iOS.
In fact, I would say iOS has the best text editing/copy paste functions of any smartphone OS. The magnification while hovering over text is a very nice touch, along with the pop-over icons for CUT COPY PASTE.
Other than that text/typing-wise, I love WP7's keyboard over iOS's.
I suggest to people who haven't even used a WP7 device, go to an AT&T store & play with one before you make a judgement (I did, and realized that Microsoft can actually make something good, haha).
As much as I am a WP7 supporter - I completely disagree with you saying WP7 has a better Copy/Paste than iOS.
In fact, I would say iOS has the best text editing/copy paste functions of any smartphone OS. The magnification while hovering over text is a very nice touch, along with the pop-over icons for CUT COPY PASTE.
Other than that text/typing-wise, I love WP7's keyboard over iOS's.
I suggest to people who haven't even used a WP7 device, go to an AT&T store & play with one before you make a judgement (I did, and realized that Microsoft can actually make something good, haha).
well, like I said, it was my experience. Admittedly I don't use copy and paste much (didnt even miss it when WP7 didnt have it at first). I prefer the WP7 method of text selection over the magnification of iOS. But thats just my personal preference
From my findings, you really need to play with a Zune or WP7 device more than a quick glance through at the store to really see how nice everything looks/navigates. If WP7 had a downfall, I would say it's that most people wouldn't understand it's intricacies that make it so unique and pleasant from a quick trial. I think that's the reason Microsoft is really pushing people to give it a try, and if they like it, to show their friends.
I agree! wp7 is just over sized scrolling text on black background...it looks terrible , I can't even look at it