After owning a Windows Phone 7 (the HTC HD7) for more than a year, I wanted to share my experience with the device and everything surrounding it. I was pretty excited about the device when I first got it and the things that were great back then are still amazing, the things I wasn't satisfied with stayed pretty much the same.
What I love about the phone is the operating system. It's by far the best I've ever used on any mobile platform. It's incredibly fast and fluid, it's (usually) reliable and looks better than any other mobile OS. There's, in my opinion, just nothing that's not absolutely great about the OS.
However, aside from the amazing operating system, there's not that much I like. I live in Europe and Microsoft still hasn't figured out how to make Podcasts available over here. I have to ride the bus/train for about 2.5 hours every day and I usually spend this time listening to Podcasts or Audiobook they're really important to me. [Can't read books because I get sick when doing so on the bus/train]
There's a workaround to get Podcasts on your device, but Mango introduced a feature where you can simply download them directly to your phone, which is a feature I'd have loved unfortunately, it's not available where I live. Then there's Audiobooks, which are still not available. Again; there's a workaround to get them on your phone, but it's not convenient because you can't just simply click an item and say That's an audiobook. These are two things that I thought were going to be available but it's been over a year since Microsoft launched the platform, and the fact that it's not available yet is really sad.
Another thing that probably only affects people outside of the US is the fact that Credit Cards are the only payment option. While I do have one, I do not want to give my CC information to Microsoft. You cannot delete it easily and with the recent hackings of Xbox Live Accounts (stolen, hacked, whatever....), I just don't want them to have the information. So I now have a phone but I cannot buy any Apps for it Microsoft has a point system in place but they don't use it for Windows Phone. It's ridiculous. Many people in Germany simply don't have credit cards because you don't need one. We get EC (Electronic Cash) cards from the bank and that's all we ever need.
There's a market outside of the US and if Microsoft doesn't want to support it then they shouldn't have released the product over here. I thought things would drastically change as soon as Nokia released their first phone, but things didn't change.
I also like to have backups of everything on my hard drive. I want to be able to simply download Apps to my PC to transfer them over to my phone should I want to do so. Apple showed how it should be done and all Microsoft had to do was copy what Apple was doing. Instead, they chose to do something else. Something worse.
The update mess is not really an issue for me anymore. I have a working phone now but many of the Apps I thought were coming just aren't there. It's the main problem I have with Apps they're usually not available for WP7. Twitch/Justin.tv is one of these Apps. It's still shitty that Microsoft seemingly doesn't have any interest in you having the newest update on your phone. Now they completely ignore the user's needs. What does the carrier or the manufacturer care? They want you to buy their new phone, they don't want you to get a better thing for free.
Then there are also some things that bother me now about the App listing on the phone. Sure, it's really nice, but it's not really useful. You need folders, and Microsoft will have them sooner or later. The best YouTube App might not start with a Y and finding it gets complicated. The best finance app might not start with an f and if I could put them into specific folders, I would probably use them.
I've come to the conslusion that WP7 could be everything I've ever wanted but that my next phone will probably be the next iPhone. I don't like the OS that much but availablility of Apps is important to me and so is the ability to actually purchase the Apps without giving anyone access to my credit card. My impressions would probably be different if I lived in the US, because I'd be able to use all the features then. The thing is; I don't, and I'm not okay with paying the same (more, actually) and getting less. It's a great thing for people who have no problem putting their credit card on there if they live in the US and have other interests than me.
What I have is a great phone OS that doesn't have the Apps and functionality I want, and doesn't give me a way to pay for stuff and hides features simply because I live in the wrong country.
The thing also is: If I go back to iOS now, I'll probably not give Microsoft another chance.
Oh, and I'm not an Android troll. I used to post a lot in this Thread but I was not as happy with my phone as everyone else so I stopped posting about it. I'm glad others can enjoy the platform more than me.
