I don’t think I need to reiterate everything that Microsoft officially mentioned about the next big update for Windows Phone 7. So let’s cut to the chase.
It’s awesome to see that Microsoft is standing very committed to making Windows Phone a top priority. They could have released a simple update, with a couple of nice big features, and some small ones too. Most people would have been OK with that. Instead, they release what seems like an enormous update, full of all types of goodies that will make up for what didn’t come out in time the first round.
Features I’m most excited about:
- Grouping contacts – Love the social integration with pictures and feeds and whatnot.
- Built-in IM – Windows Live & Facebook straight from the people hub. Wonder if Yahoo! will work too, consider it does in Messenger…
- Bing Vision & Maps – Loved the easy-to-use Bing Vision features. Hope they can expand on the recognition engine a bit. Hope Local Scout will be useful wherever you go, and available in most places of course. Turn-by-turn navigation is finally here. Just need to work on expanding map data and imagery.
- Full SkyDrive and Office 365 sync – Nuff’ said.
- IE9 Mobile – Fastest mobile browser so far.
Plus there might be more stuff too. It’s said there’ll be 500+ new features in Mango, and more will be released in the coming months. Hopefully the update process will go out more smoothly than it did for Nodo.
To be honest, I don’t even have a Windows Phone yet. Not even a smartphone. I did want the HTC HD7 in Fall 2010, and I did have T-Mobile, but my contract wasn’t up until around June 2011. Of course, now it is June 2011, so am I still going to go for anything?
At the moment, I’m unsure. I’m just hoping to get a job soon, my dad has been laid-off for awhile, and my current phone still works all right. I think a smartphone would be nice to have, but I’d of course have to pay for a data plan to make greater use of it. Plus, I’m curious to see how Microsoft will do the next version of Windows Phone, where it’s rumored it will be Windows 8 but in mobile form. Not sure if the apps will be the same or what, but I’m not that in major need of any smartphone yet. So I can wait.
I’ve only recalled seeing one person with a Windows phone. Unfortunately, the dude (friend of a friend of a friend at college) didn’t seem so pleased. Something about it not being as fast as his old iPhone (I think), texting issues, or whatever. I just had some feeling it had more to do with the network, and him not being used to it yet.
I did recall a geeky guy at my college talking to his friend about Windows Phone 7, and how he was going to get one or whatever.
My roommate Scott did kind of want one before Christmas break when we chatted a bit about smartphones, but his parents surprised him with an iPhone 4 instead. Which goes to show how far Apple’s mindshare can permeate. He’s happy with it though, and he already does use iTunes a lot for his iPod Touch and playback on his laptop. Oh well.
So yeah, unfortunately, there hasn’t been such great influence here. We’ll see how it goes as time progresses.