Windows Phone 7

By the time I post this I will no longer be under a Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA).

When I started planning this post the statement above was true. The NDA expired last week just before I posted about my Microsoft VIP Weekend. I started several times to write my impressions of Windows Phone 7, but something always got in my way, including my concerns over the NDA.

But now, I am free to speak.

I should have written this right after I came back, but such is life. I haven’t had a windows Phone is my hands for over a month, so I am working from memory. I hope to have one soon and I want to get down a few thoughts before I have one. Then we will have the chance to compare what I remember with what I find with a phone at hand.

First, we were given preproduction hardware. There were two models, an LG with a slide out keyboard and a Samsung without. I won’t say much about the hardware since you won’t be able to buy either of these phones. The LG was thin for a slider and the Samsung was even thinner.

The first impression was how easy it is to setup. I had done my homework and prepared my Windows Live ID, my Xbox Live account and my Zune account (I used the 14 day free trial). When you start up you are prompted for your Windows Live ID. You don’t have to have one and you can create one when you first log in. But with a Windows Live ID the setup is a breeze. Within ten minutes my contacts, my calendar and my email were all delivered to my phone.

Let me repeat that.

I started the phone, entered my Windows Live ID and within ten minutes my phone was ready to use, complete with contacts, calendar and email, and all without any effort on my part.

I expected a lot from Windows Phone 7, but not that. Xbox Live were just as easy. All I had to do was tell the phone to use the accounts associated with my Windows Live ID.

Done.

A couple of minutes later I was playing Roundabout by Yes on the phone. It was awesome.

Everything went quickly, which was a nice change from my Samsung Omnia II. The screen animations are slick. Everything I saw worked flawlessly. I added Facebook support and started seeing updates right on my phone.

I saw only two problems. First, the back button works fine, but it isn’t an adequate replacement for a task switcher. Second, there really is no way to just close an app. I think this is because of the way Windows Phone 7 handles multitasking. Because apps don’t run in the background, you don’t close them, you just move on to the next task. Rather than closing an app to go back to the home screen, you go to the home screen to close an app. If you only open one app you can also use the back button.

Well, there are a few thoughts on Windows Phone 7. I think you’ll like it and I hope to hear soon that I have one on the way.