Reviewing Windows Phone 7

Anyone who has hung out or talked with me since March knows I love my Sprint HTC Arrive, which is powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 software. I have been absolutely amazed with the Windows Phone 7 software since it’s initial announcement in early 2010 and waited patiently for it to arrive on my carrier of choice (no pun intended, I swear). Unfortunately for my child-like desires I wasn’t able to get my hands on my very own WP7 until March when the HTC Arrive finally landed on Sprint.

BACKSTORY

My first hands on interaction with Windows Phone 7 came in March 2010 at the SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin, TX. I got my first hands on with a alpha version of the phone at the Microsoft Lounge they had set up in the conference center. They weren’t openly showing the development devices around then, but I stalked Microsoft employees until one of them relented and shared the phone for about 90 seconds. I was also able to play with a “giant” version of the OS on a touch-sensitive widescreen television flipped to portrait mode. Two minutes with that interactive display and I was indeed hooked.

SXSWi was also a large event for the announcement of the WP7 development tools. There I signed up for a free developer license (thanks to Dreamspark) and downloaded and installed the free developer tools. At this point, I had only dabbled in programming. I’ve been doing web design on the side for over a decade, and I’ve also been exposed to .NET in the Enterprise environment since it’s launch, but that was usually just simple edits of the web.config files (we all know developers can’t be trusted with access to production servers ;-). Anyway, long story short, I really fell in love with WP7 at SXSW and have been dreaming about it ever since.

PROGRAMMING

I’ve been in an on again/off again relationship with programming for Windows Phone 7 since shortly after SXSW. The flip-flopping was mostly because of the iPad I scored in May 2010 and the fact that I couldn’t get my hands on a WP7 when they launched in October. Unfortunately for me, Sprint and their HSPA technology weren’t supported by WP7 until the NoDo update in March 2011. During my time with the iPad I dabbled in Objective-C programming but became frustrated with what I felt was an inferior development environment. So, I sold the iPad and prepared for my WP7 to arrive (puntastic).

Programming for Windows Phone 7 is a dream. Visual Studio is leaps and bounds ahead of any other IDE (integrated development environment) on the market. I’ve used Komodo and Eclipse, but the ingenuity built into Visual Studio is unmatched. Microsoft gives developers everything they need to get started with WP7, including the SDK, Visual Studio 2010 Express Edition and a free training series from Bob Tabor at LearnVisualStudio.net. I’ve been a paid member of Bob’s site for two years now, and was amazed that Microsoft would give the training series away for free. It’s that good. They also have a fantastic “Jump Start” series for experienced developers.

I am currently developing multiple applications for the WP7 and have a list of at least ten others down the road. I am super-stoked about my future, and the future of Windows Phone 7 and the Metro UI. I am even more excited now that Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 will feature the Metro experience I’ve come to love. They’ll also have a Windows App Marketplace that will function much like the one for Windows Phone 7, so garage developers across the globe will be able to reach over 200 million consumers worldwide in the very first year (Windows 7 sold 240 million copies in the first 12 months). I really wish I had more time to focus on development, but it is currently 3rd in my list of priorities as I am a full-time student and a working man.

THE PRESENT

Right now WP7 is the underdog in the mobile space, and it is quite baffling. The devices that Microsoft and the providers have out now are leaps and bounds ahead of the vast majority of smart phones on the market, including both Android and iPhone. Yet, it is “uncool” to buy anything Microsoft so the WP7 experience isn’t getting it’s fair shake… but I believe that is all changing soon.

Microsoft in their defense, is doing a fantastic job just plugging along with the platform. They are continually working with the developer community while improving the platform with more ground breaking updates. Their next big update codenamed “Mango” was just shipped to manufacturers. They’ve also woo’d large developers like those behind the smash hits Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies.

THE FUTURE

A lot of people I talk to think I’m drinking crazy juice when I tell them that Windows Phone 7 will eventually crush the iPhone. I know that those are bold words but I believe the innovation is that groundbreaking. Every single person I’ve ever handed my phone to appreciates the look, feel and simply elegant functionality. I know I’ve personally converted three of my friends since March, and plan on more in the future. I’m basing my entire focus of development on the WP7 platform, and hopefully that speaks volumes for what I think about the experience.

I believe that WP7 will finally receive the recognition it deserves when Windows 8 launches and the average Joe’s can experience the brilliance of the Metro Interface. Just think of the possibilities for developers to create cross-platform apps thanks to the universal Metro UI across platforms. We can write apps that seamlessly integrate and work similarly across the mobile and desktop space. Simply put; it is going to rock. Having Nokia releasing WP7 powered phones around the world isn’t going to hurt the bottom line either.

THE END BEGINNING

This post has turned into something I hadn’t imagined when I first began writing it. I’m a geek, and technology moves me like Beethoven moves classical music lovers. When I see a new piece of technology that I truly believe is innovative, I have a geek-gasm. I and can’t help myself, I ramble on about it like a child while my friends and family duck for cover. I’m a geek, it’s what I do.

With that said, I apologize for getting you here under the guise of this being a true “review.” If you are seeking a “nuts and bolts” review of Windows 7 and my HTC Arrive, I posted a lengthy discussion at Amazon a few months ago with all those juicy bits. As stated, I had intended to rewrite that review and add more to it for this post, but I was inspired to write what you’re now reading here… for better or worse.

Anyone who’s ever worked in the IT world truly knows how great of a company Microsoft is, and more importantly we know how great their software is. Windows Phone 7 is no different — in fact, it is better. Microsoft believes in the Metro UI and Windows Phone 7 so much that they are staking the future of Windows on it. I think it is telling that one of the largest corporations in all of the world is taking one of their little-known ideas and infusing it into their cash-cow product.

Owning a Microsoft product may never be “cool,” but as a geek I know I have a mobile phone with the most unique and innovative mobile operating system ever designed. And that’s good enough for me.