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The Telstra HTC Mozart WP7 Wind Up

2010-12-11T08:34:21Z

Wow, two weeks flew by. Will be nice to move back to one phone after carting two around with me. Whilst I spent most of the time venting my thoughts on Twitter and Whirlpool etc. I thought I’d post a bit of a wind up here to hopefully summarise my thoughts

The NextG Network:

I’ve been on Optus for the past 30 months, so getting a free chance to test out the Telstra network was appreciated. I found it to be more than satisfactory. While previously I’d have drop-outs, or my phone wouldn’t ring or I wouldn’t have coverage I found using the HTC Mozart/Telstra combination I didn’t have to think about coverage and didn’t once curse a dropped call. Awesome.

I’ll be swapping to Telstra Prepaid now the trial is over, just wish their plans were a bit more clear in what you get for your dollar.

Windows Phone 7:

Making Calls: Was quite phone like, no noticeable echo or distortion. The loud-speaker is great, along with the ability to flip it over to get to turn the loud-speaker on! very useful when driving, just answer and flip.

SMS: Not a huge fan of the way the SMS appear on the screen as a bar up the top of the phone, prefer the iPhone method. The picture below shows how the number counts up and a bar appears up top with the sender’s name and half the message.

e-mails: I like the way it shows new emails in the lock screen, means you can quickly look without unlocking. Didn’t like the way the number on the Live Tile didn’t represent the number of unread e-mails. Entering and exiting the application caused this number to reset. Sending an e-mail on the device however is very easy and it multiple cases used it over a sms.

calendar: The calendar is great, very easy to use, lots of options and the ability to send invites. Shared my Gmail calendar well and having the next appointment on the live tile was handy. I mostly used agenda view, though month was useful for seeing what days had appointments on them.

camera: I took lots of photos, but i’m not a photographer. For a point’n'shooter I found it delivered decent quality. when its low light it was quite difficult to get a good picture though and also if the flash when off to close to people’s faces it made people glow. It’s really easy to upload them to Facebook or email the photos direct. Video quality was perhaps as good as you could expect from a phone, but no way to upload or email which was frustrating!

Office Integration: I thought Microsoft would have nailed this. The ability to sync documents between the computer, phone and sky drive wasn’t present. Basically useless if you don’t have a sharepoint server. Poor as.

Zune: AAAAAAAAARRGGGHHHH! why could a product that looks so great not be available in Australia. The lack of Music Marketplace is crazy! Zune software is miles ahead of iTunes, the marketplace for videos and apps is quick and responsive yet we can’t buy music. Other countries have a product called Zune Pass which gives them 10 downloaded songs a month, plus unlimited streaming for around $150 US Per Year. My other gripe with the Zune Marketplace is that you are forced to use Xbox points to buy/rent media. Meaning you need to log in, use a credit card to buy points then use points to buy media. It’s the same on Xbox Arcade, cut the middle man Microsoft. If you let me strap my credit card to my windows live account you’ll get heaps more drunk purchases off me (like the time I bought Herman and the Hermits greatest hits off iTunes).

Bing: WTF is a bing? This search engine is terrible, which I had the option to switch the default search to Google. I did like the universal use of a search button though. Press to Search marketplace, or emails etc while in those screens.

RingTones: I wish I could set the vibrate mode to be on when the phone volume is on and off when I’ve got the phone off. Sometimes you want to leave your phone off and have it dead quiet.

The HTC Mozart

I had two main issues with the device while using it. First was the small non expandable storage. 8gb isn’t good enough, not sure what genius at HTC thought it would be, but I filled it up quickly. Price? well the difference between an 8gb and 32gb microSD card is around $80. That would be $80 well spent. It really will end up being the deal breaker with this phone for many people. Luckily there are better WP7 phones out their and lovers of the Platform aren’t stuck with it. Second was the touch buttons down the bottom of the phone, the amount of times I pressed them by accident, it drove me batty.

On the positives, the form factor was great. Feels nice in your hand, the camera and flash was good for a portable device. The speaker is great too, and a lot louder than I found the iPhone.

There are loads better WP7 hand sets out there, the Samsung Focus would be the main one I’d look at.

Final Thoughts

Well, it was a step up from my iPhone 3G, but mainly due to apple crippling it with the 4.x software. I’ll be using it from now on as my main phone, but if someone offered me a iPhone 4.0 instead I’d probably swap. Its obvious the device was only released this year as the applications and features are clearly first gen. Hope that Microsoft stick with it as I think they are on to some winning features.

NB: I have been given a HTC Mozart with Windows 7 Phone by Telstra free of charge to review. The comments expressed by me reflect my own user experience and personal opinion and are not made on behalf of Telstra.

Applications on Windows Phone 7

2010-12-11T07:40:37Z

What apps do I use on a day to day basis? So far I have found a handful of apps that I use daily and a plethora of applications that are missing. The main point is that the app store or “Marketplace” is in its infancy so it should get better. But with developers making applications for iPhone, Android and WP7 in that order it will mean that WP7 is playing catch up all the time. Hopefully Microsoft will address this and make it attractive to make applications on their platform, I know they had a similar issue with the xbox when it was released but they are now firmly entrenched in that market. Another gripe I had was the lack of titles using the LiveTile.

Twitter: I use the official twitter app, I tried Seesmic but didn’t like it as much. My main gripe with this application is how easily it moves between screens, you could be scrolling and accidently flick from Mentions to Timeline and vice versa. Also if you have a few custom searches you like to view occasionally (#theashes, #telstraWP7 etc.) it takes quite a few clicks (well presses) to get to them. Would be nice if it was one of the screens you could swipe to.

Facebook: Despite strong facebook integration I missed seeing the notifications you get when other people follow up your comments. So while I use the integration to see the timeline if I want to see my notifications I go into the application which is quite sluggish and overly slow.

Domain.com.au: Great applicaion and very well done, just like its iPhone counterpart

eBay: The eBay application is good, wish there were more selling tools and that it’d completely replace going to their website, but its still good to go to and search/bid on items.

foursquare: neat app, was able to find locations better than my iPhone but I think that was due to better GPS then an App improvement. I think it looks really nice and uses the look and feel of the WP7 well.

Shazam: Same Same

Torrent Applications – Torrent Remote/Torrential: I was trying to find an application that matched well with utorrent. Torrent Remote and Torrential are very similar. Torrent Remote wins due to its ability to download torrents from any site where Torrential restricts you to

Weather AU: meh, an application that could use a live tile to show current conditions doesn’t. its devoid of good information too (max temp, low temp). Was hoping it would be similar to weather apps on the iPhone that use BoM data

Wiki: I found this much more responsive than the iPhone App. Was actually useable

YouTube: disappointed that the application was just a link to their website. Also no way to upload videos onto youtube on the go. Boo!

They are the main ones I used.. ones I would of liked to have seen were

TV Guide
TV Episode Tracking Application (NextEpisode on iPhone)
Words with Friends
miso
Remote
Word Press
Quota (@SouthFreo said he had plans to develop one but no timeline and will come after android)
Weight Management/Calorie Counter
MapMyRun

I hope the apps contiune to grow, if people don’t start using the handset though the Chicken could kill the Egg.

Gaming on Windows Phone 7

2010-12-02T10:33:08Z

One of the attractive parts of Windows Phone 7 was the ability to use xbox live and have access to my gamer tag. I’ve downloaded quite a few games since I got my Windows Phone 7 so I can play games while Lucy sleeps on me or on the train on the way to work. The amount of quality games already available on the Marketplace is quite impressive and extensive compared to other application categories its obvious that Micrsoft see this as one of the main selling points for WP7.

I’ll just give a review of a couple of games that have got my most attention

Max and the Magic Marker: This handy little platformer revolves around getting a little guy through a series of levels and challenges using the magic marker. Situations arise that will involve you drawing in some of the landscape or other objects to either pass tricky terrain, kill monsters or climb up to objects. The puzzles are challenging and you can collect special black marble like objects for completing harder objectives (such as bouncing a ball into a basketball ring). This is probably my favourite game as it lends itself well to the WP7 design and you can get creative with what you draw.

Tetris: I’m a hardcore tetris fan, my main issue with this version is that I can’t exit the game and comeback to it. If you half decent at tetris this means you need to set aside heaps of time to play it. Apart from that the controls are very similar to the iPhone and work well till you get up to the higher levels than it becomes a lot trickier then its keyboard counterpart.

Flight Control: Land planes, same as iPhone but just as good.

Flowerz: great little puzzle game that you can enter and exit quick so its good for trains and waiting and bus stops. You have to align three flowers of the same colour so they disappear. gets quite challenging the longer you go. Love that it has a scoreboard with your xbox live friends.

Guitar Hero 5: Not really a fan, if you love the series you may enjoy it, but doesn’t have the same impact of the big fake guitar you play with on the consoles.

The Sims 3: I like logging in and randomly playing, but really don’t get addicted to it, not surprising as I wasn’t a huge fan of the main game and the hand-held version could benefit from a keyboard and mouse.

Need for Speed Undercover: Great little game, it assumes you want to accelerate unless you touch the screen and you steer by moving the phone left and right, works really well and gets quite addictive. Can’t play it in moving vehicles without some issues though.

de Blob: Another great puzzle game, get the blob through a room while freeing the little guys along the way, you just can’t cross back over your own stream of ink you leave behind. It works really well with the touch screen and the scoring system for unlocks etc makes it very replayable. I found myself trying to get through levels faster and faster.

They are the may games I’ve had the opportunity to play so far in a little over a week of using the device. The ones that work best for me seem to be smaller puzzle games. While the achievement structure is quite good and I like the fact my score goes up for playing games on the train, and also that I can read the achievements and try to unlock the quirker ones. I can also see myself changing my avatars clothing more now as I can do it via the Windows Phone 7. In fact I’ve changed the clothes more often this week then I have since I’ve owned a xbox.

It would be cool if you could see some stats from some of your first person shooters (BFBC2/COD:BO etc.) but thats more about those developers releasing apps like Halo Waypoint for their games. Also I hope all the games don’t restrict interaction to just with xbox users, I’d love to see a cross-platform word with friends etc.

Anyway, if your out playing on your windows phone – add me DamoRev and I’ll let you beat me.

Telstra – HTC Mozart, Windows Phone 7 Social Review – Intro

2010-11-26T02:55:43Z

I’ve been selected to participate in Telstra’s latest Social Review – This time of the HTC Mozart (Windows Phone 7). Since the phone is still in transit I thought I’d use this post to introduce myself and give some context to my review. I’ll be actively participating on review mostly on Twitter (DamoMK) and on Whirlpool (Reveler). Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments, I’ll do my best to answer them.

About Me: I’m an Accountant by profession and a new Dad. My daughter, Lucy, was born on the 12th June this year and has changed my life. My wife Melissa keeps our family relatively sane. I enjoy spending my free time with my family, playing xbox (GT: DamoRev), running or even brewing beer.

Current Phone: I currently use an iPhone 3G, previously I had mostly nokia’s before that. I loved my iPhone till I upgraded to the 4.x software which turned my phone into a slugfest. The latest 4.2 appears better though. I play loads of games on the train and also like the ability to send and receive pictures quickly especially with Lucy.

Why I applied: I was looking at a WP7 device for it’s Zune music player and Xbox integration as my iPhone 3G had become so sluggish it was becoming frustrating. I couldn’t justify a new contract for one especially since I knew I’d be happy with an iPhone 4. I was also apprehensive about the crippled zune player and reviews mentioning a January update. So when jinx (@xboxaustralia) posted the link I applied straight away. Also since I’ve never tried out the Telstra network I wanted to give it a whirl on a smart phone.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Windows Phone handles social media, xbox live, media content, emails, calendars and office applications. It really is a test for me to see if WP7 and the HTC Mozart can replace my iPhone, should be a good battle.

So thats my basic information, I’ve attached a few links below of how you can follow me around on Twitter etc. On Twitter the agreed hashtag is #telstraWP7.

Twitter: DamoMK
Whirlpool: Reveler
Xbox Live: DamoRev
Bigfooty: Reveler

I look forward to the next two weeks of the review.

First Impressions of the WP7 Device

2010-11-27T00:32:35Z

Ok So i’ve had about 5 hours of playing to kinda get my head around how to use a Windows Phone 7. The movement between screens will take some getting use but here are somethings I noticed.

Setup:

My wife came and picked me up from work, she had the phone in the car. I turned it on, typed in my facebook account, google exchange details and windows live ID. straight away I had all my contacts, calendar, email synced (Probably more of a gmail feature then WP7), the facebook integration dragged those folk into my phonebook (annoying but was quickly switched off) and the windows live ID connected my gamertag.

That really was all the setup I required, the rest was organising the tiles and colours to make life easy for me. The live tiles are interesting. I have my tile next to my wifes tile, it updates with our facebook pictures and status updates, kinda cool, but gimmicky.

So here are some things I like and don’t like so far

Like:

Zune – this software is cool, I like the search for details function, the wifi sync so I can sync overnight from my bed. If we get the full Zune experience over summer as rumoured it really is a good rival for iTunes

xbox live integration – the games are really really good, plus I can earn xbox achievements. Annoyed that bejeweled doesn’t have facebook connected though.

camera – the camera is great, I like that it automatically uploads to a private skydrive account (can be turned off by those with privacy concerns). Its more responsive than my iPhone 3G.

Facebook integration – while I’m not a fan of the facebook app, the integration is kinda cool, giving me pictures for the majority of my contacts, if the phone doesn’t pick up on a link between a contact and a fb friend you can tell them (mine missed a Bec instead of a Rebecca), same goes you can unlink them just in case you have a friend with a same name. I like the way the “pictures” hub has your facebook photo albums in it too. great idea.

Form factor: this phone is dead sexy, i love the look and feel of it.

wifi sync: so far doesn’t seem to be a need to connect my phone to the computer, plug it in and overnight it will sync with zune. great idea.

now things that are getting my goat

Dislike:

Twitter apps – doesn’t seem to be a good one, could be me getting use to it.

Marketplace – can tell its a new software, not many apps and the reviews aren’t as plentiful on itunes so its hard to tell whats really good. Also the crippled zune takes away some of the usefulness of it.

8gb Storage – 8gb seriously? my complete music collection is over 20gb and you’ve attached a 8mp/720 camera too it. 8gb is just not enough in this day and age.

Waking up to a crashed phone – seriously not a great first start, don’t know what caused it, but needed to remove battery.

battery life – apparently a Telstra issue that will be fixed, but I chewed through the battery in under 5 hours.

tiled screens – need to fit everything on 1 screen, the second menu contains all apps and doesn’t exclude those pinned to the front.

well that’s my initial thoughts for now.. will give more of an update about apps later.

Features that are “Coming Soon” to Windows Phone 7

2010-11-29T06:55:23Z

Thought it’d be good to list some of the features that are supposidly or rumoured to be coming to WP7 in the upcoming months.

Zune Pass/Music Store to Australia
Turn by Turn Navigation
Office / Sky Drive Integration
Copy and Paste

Will keep updating as I find more items, if you know of any please comment.