Microsoft isn't exactly a newcomer to the smartphone market. Windows Mobile and Windows CE have been powering portable devices since before Apple thought an MP3 player might be a good thing. But Microsoft's growing irrelevance in the smartphone space has made Microsoft realise what Apple did - you don't bring a desktop operating system to a handheld battle.
The result is Windows Phone 7, the first mobile operating system from Microsoft that feels like it was actually made for a phone. It still has familiar Windows nomenclature hiding under the hood, the main screen is a start menu, and icons (shortcuts) get 'pinned' to it as tiles. But that is where the similarity ends.
Over the past week we've spent time with LG's Optimus 7Q phone. Like all Windows Phone 7 phones it has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor under the hood, which is key to the Windows Phone 7 experience. Microsoft's hardware requirements enforce a stringent minimum specification.
And thanks to Microsoft's hardware requirements, the launch models are all incredibly similar in look and feel. Any differences between brands is minor - Samsung has a Super AMOLED screen for example.
LG's model has a slide out QWERTY keyboard, which is the main differentiator from other models launched today. This makes the LG feel a bit bulkier than the Samsung Omnia 7 or HTC Mozart, but the differences are relatively minor.
If anything, the consistency of the launch lineup of phones is in stark contrast to the fragmented versions and hardware that is the current state of Android phones. This works in Microsoft's favour, positioning Windows Phone 7 between the strong hardware and software control of Blackberry and iPhone and the anything goes mentality of Android.
When testing the Optimus 7Q it really felt like we were testing a Microsoft software product rather than an LG phone. And after having the Optimus 7Q for a week, we are quite impressed with what Microsoft has brought to the table. The small assortment of Apps on the marketplace in the week leading up to launch cover many common tasks, such as stopwatches and conversion Apps (plus the usual abundance of Fart Apps).
The more sophisticated offerings will likely arrive later, but the real software wow factor comes through the games available for the phone. These number 50 in total, 25 of which are exclusive. We tried a range of games and standouts were the offerings from Microsoft, while some of the third party titles seem to be direct ports from XBox Live that don't gel with touch control and a smaller screen.
Media playback, one of Apple's major strengths, is incredibly well implemented on the Optimus 7Q. Microsoft is basing the media 'hub' in Windows Phone 7 on its Zune software. While Zune has been a second class citizen to iTunes in the US, having a legacy of media players is a good thing for a media focused phone, with not only great quality but also a really nice interface. LG has also added DLNA playto support to its model, which lets you broadcast a video stream to DLNA compatible device.
Setting up the phone was incredibly simple. Having abandoned Hotmail years ago, this writer was worried that his preference for Gmail would prove a problem. Thankfully it didn't, and simply plugging in a gmail login was enough to set up the mail tile on the main screen. We also added Facebook and Windows Live IDs, which automatically pull contact details (including phone numbers for friends who have them attached to their Facebook account) and Xbox Live Gamertag information down to the phone.
Facebook integration is hardly a new thing. Most Android phones have manufacturer developed UIs that connect to Facebook. But Microsoft is leaning heavier on Facebook to drive the social aspects of Windows Phone 7 than we've seen before.
Microsoft may be embracing Facebook integration, but it promises to stem the plague of uninstallable Apps being slapped onto the phone by mobile carriers. The LG Optimus 7Q is available through Telstra, so the review unit came with the Telstra 'Hub' and Foxtel tile on the main screen. These were easily removed from the Start menu, and once removed stayed removed, which is a welcome change from some phones that we have seen lately.
Microsoft has done a remarkably good job with Windows Phone 7. Whether it can gain a foothold against three strong competitors remains to be seen, and will largely revolve around whether Microsoft can leverage its developer community well enough to create a viable App ecosystem.
This is something that Apple excels at, and where Android has improved a great deal in recent times. Where Microsoft's potential advantage in the App space lies is the sheer number of Windows developers out there, and its insistence on a common hardware platform. By keeping the hardware similar the job for App developers is made easier, and is a very similar model to that used by Apple with its limited number of phones. It is also an area where version fragmentation in Android is a weakness, with a big range of processor speeds and screens proving a challenge for developers after a consistent experience across Android phones.
We are currently benchmarking the handset to see just what sort of life you will get out of the Optimus 7Q, although anecdotally we have heard that the operating system drains a little more juice than the competitors. Check back on monday to see whether this is true, and just how well the phone performs in day to day tasks.
The Windows Phone 7 start menu is quite simple in design and very easy to customise