Kim Gentes

Editor's Note: This tech blog entry is made by Jordan Gentes, a cell phone expert who is also a web support technician for WorshipTeam.com.  Jordan has spent years studying phones, from various companies, carriers and plans and the depth of cell networks and technologies.  When he says something about cell phones, I listen, because he is speaking from more experience and knowledge than anyone I know on the topic. ---Kim Gentes, Editor

Windows Phone 7.5 Review
HTC Trophy

by Jordan Gentes

Microsoft’s new phone platform Windows Phone7.5 is intuitive, simple, and brilliant.  Wait, did you just use those three words in the same sentence as Microsoft and Windows?  Yes, I did.  This new development by Microsoft brings an important piece to the mobile environment.

Intuitive: The OS its-self is very intuitive.  When you power on the display you are welcomed to live tiles that are beautiful and easy to understand.  Gone are the days of cluttered notification bars and crowded clusters of apps.  Windows Phone ushers in a day of relevant information that updates seamlessly.

• People:  The ability to sync your contacts with external email accounts and Facebook are standard in the “smartphone world”.  Some phones settle for simply syncing photos and other contact information.  Windows Phone goes to the next level with a deep Facebook integration.  Now I can locate my contact in my People section and I am presented with the contacts’ Information, What’s New (On their FB wall, statuses, posts etc.), Pictures (feed from FB), and the History I have with that contact, from Texts, to missed calls, all of my interaction with that contact is stored in an easy and convenient location.

Simple: With the introduction of live tiles the Windows Phone OS is super simple to navigate.  The OS is attractive to all ages, something that neither iOS nor Android can say.  This OS provides an enjoyable user interface that is simple, but powerful. 

• Messaging: Windows Phone has done a great job consolidating text and Facebook messaging into a convenient and seamless process.  You can start a conversation with someone via text and continue the messaging on Facebook if they were to login while you were in conversation or vice versa. 

Brilliant: Windows Phone is brilliant; so many functions that users count on daily are built into the framework of the user experience.

• Windows Key: Probably one of my favorite features of the OS, hold the Windows Key, for two seconds and you are greeted with options to speak commands to the phone.  Texting, Searching, and launching apps are just a few of the options that are made possible by this feature.  And what do you know, it works!  If you speak clearly, it will understand the overwhelming majority of what you are saying, I have yet to say something clearly and have it misunderstand my instructions.  Try that Android.. 
• E-mail: I love the email client on the Windows Phone OS.  You can add most popular email services to sync with your phone.  This is a great thing for the user; I can’t tell you how frustrating it is that you can only sync Gmail (other than Exchange) with Android.  Microsoft’s decision to allow their users to sync Yahoo, Windows Live, or Gmail is very pleasing. 
• Search:  When you click the search button, you are greeted with more than just a traditional search.  Built into the “Search” is 4 icons at the bottom of the screen, one that finds local attractions near to your location, a music note that within seconds of touching finds your song (bye, bye Shazam),  an eye ball that scans barcodes, QR Codes, Microsoft tags, Books, CD’s and DVD’s.  I love that they have taken the time to add those recourses to the Search, no more need for 10 different apps to perform the various functions.  It’s clean, and it just works! 
• Apps: While the Marketplace for Windows Phone continues to grow, it is certainly newer to the market then iOS or Android.  With that “new comer” status there are less apps available.  However, due to the deep integration of features already provided in the OS I found my need for additional apps to be much lower.  Nonetheless, I found most popular apps available on the other platforms were available one Windows Phone.  To be frank, I found all the apps I wanted to use were available, however, to be fair I did want to mention the reality that the app selection is not as populous at this moment on Windows Phone. 

Synopsis:

This particular review was conducted on an HTC Trophy, however, yet another thing I love about Windows Phone is every phone gets updates, meaning everyone has a congruent user experience.  The battery life on this particular device is incredible (for a smartphone) I easily go the entire day with no problems.  On one day of very heavy usage I got a low battery warning at 15 hours, however, on a normal usage day (that would involve several emails, 100-150 text messages, 30 minutes on the phone, and some casual internet browsing) the phone still had 40-50% battery remaining at 15 hours.  Battery usage will vary by device somewhat, however, the OS manages power quite efficiently.  Windows Phone is a true representation of a modern mobile experience.  Windows Phone is clean and it’s such an inviting user interface that I am confident anyone would enjoy the experience. 

Amazon Product Link: HTC Trophy Windows Phone