There's Not an App for That: HD7 Phone Review

I've been an Android smartphone user for over two years now. I was an early adopter with the T-Mobile G1, buying one the first month it was available, but I kept that phone for two years and fell a little behind the times. This Christmas my wonderful husband surprised me with my dream phone, the T-Mobile G2, which has the latest Android updates and is as wonderfully awesome as I hoped it would be.

Imagine my surprise, though, when I also was offered a T-Mobile smartphone through BzzAgent.com. In the past I have reviewed small items like makeup and gum as a Bzz Agent, but this time they wanted to send me a top-of-the-line smartphone for free. Um, okay!

So a few days ago I received an HTC HD7, one of the first phones to use the Windows Mobile 7 operating system. I'm pretty devoted to Android, but I was curious to see what the new WinMo operating system was like. I used a Windows Mobile phone for a couple of years before Android came out, so I knew I would have an interesting comparison on my hands.

Out of the Box
So the HD7 is a very pretty phone. If you like how the iPhone looks but want a different carrier, an HD7 might be something to consider. I'm really surprised at how much I like the look and feel of the phone. The back battery compartment is too flimsy -- it feels like an eggshell -- but other than that, the HD7 is a very sleek device.


I've used a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard for over 4 years, and I didn't think could live without one. The sleekness of the HD7's design might tempt me to try a phone with no physical keyboard, but only if the software keyboard is really good (like Swype). The existing software keyboard on the HD7 is frustrating and desperately needs an upgrade. While the keys are a nice size, the software is not intuitive at all. I can't imagine trying to take notes on it during a pediatrician appointment.

Home Screen
The main screen of the phone has spaces for "live tiles," where you can place shortcuts and widgets for your favorite applications. That means when you turn on the phone, the home screen immediately displays the number of emails, texts, and voicemails you have waiting, as well as the weather and the latest pictures from your friends. You can also add links to applications you want to access quickly, like -- if you are a pregnant woman -- a contraction timer. The live tiles are an interesting feature, and one that has been much touted on the Windows Mobile commercials, but I don't find them more useful than the Android home screen and notification bar.

Apps
Probably my favorite thing about the HD7 is the Netflix application, which is not available on Android at the moment. This will soon become irrelevant, since Netflix will be added to the G2 and other Android phones before very long. But watching movies and TV shows instantly on the Netflix app is a lot of fun, and I could see Netflix plus the screen size on this phone being useful for parents trying to entertain kiddos (or themselves) in airports. I'm thinking about taking the phone with me for my hospital stay for constant Doctor Who access (priorities, people!). Of course, if you aren't a Netflix subscriber, this doesn't really apply to you.

Other than a (very) small number of exclusive-ish apps like Netflix, T-Mobile TV, and the forthcoming Flickr app, the Marketplace is definitely the HD7's downfall. I have grown addicted to my Android apps like Tweetdeck and GroceryIQ. Right now there is a very small selection of applications available for Windows Mobile, and I get frustrated as I try to find applications that to let me use the HD7 for my daily activities. The applications I do find often spend so much effort conforming to Windows Mobile's pretty-pretty interface that they are slow and bulky.

Windows Mobile 7 is known for its smooth integration with Hotmail, Zune, and Xbox Live. Out of all those services, I only use Hotmail, and then only for newsletters and junk. Being able to check my Hotmail quickly is nice, but not essential for me. I've barely touched the Zune and Xbox interfaces at all, but that might be a nice feature for someone who uses those platforms. It is worth noting that the phone will sync with your Gmail and Google calendar, so it still works if Gmail is your primary e-mail account.


Hello, Hello
As far as actual phone function goes, I've found the HD7 to be frustrating. An accidental finger slide moves the phone controls off the screen and leaves me no way to hang up quickly, which is a problem when I accidentally dial my OB's pager number (sigh).When the phone rings, to answer I first have to slide my finger to unlock the phone, and only then can I choose to answer or ignore the call. While this adds only a few seconds to the process, those are a frustrating few seconds.

The HD7 also seems to suffer from the iPhone antenna curse. While I haven't experienced any dropped calls, I do notice call quality and data connectivity problems if I'm not vigilant about how I hold the phone.

One thing that absolutely baffles me about the HD7 is the lack of notification options. I think there is a status light that blinks if I have missed a call, but if I have texts or emails waiting I won't know until I turn on the phone. What? Now that's just silly. In this day and age the bulk of my communication is done through texts and emails, and I want to know right away when I receive something. Hopefully Microsoft will remedy this issue in the next update to the phone.


Summary
Windows Mobile 7 reminds me a lot of Android when it first emerged on the scene. In those early days, Android didn't have a ton of apps and offered very few home screen widgets. The software keyboard was hard to use, and Google calendar and email support could be sketchy. Over-the-air calendar and email syncing plus the prospect of future applications seemed super-cool, but much patience was required as developers helped the platform become more user-friendly.

The thing is, this isn't 2008. Android phones and iPhones are dealing with very established operating systems, and I can't imagine consumers having the patience for Windows Mobile to catch up. I certainly don't. I was planning to test the phone for two weeks, but that quickly shortened to 3 days because I found it so hard to follow my normal internet activities.

Windows Mobile might work well for someone who is new to smartphones and hasn't bought into a particular platform yet. If you have the patience to grow with the operating system, you might find it rewarding. WinMo doesn't allow the amount customization that the Android operating system does, but that simplicity might be welcome to someone who is looking for a phone mainly to access to Facebook, email, and cute pictures of babies. The phone also might be appealing to a businessperson who is looking for Exchange and Office integration, although Android seems to have enough functionality in this area for most people I know.

Really, I see the current target audience for Windows Mobile 7 and the HD7 as people who currently use feature phones -- non-smartphones that still support email, calendars, mobile browsing, etc. This operating system seems to be a natural next step. However, as long as the phones and data plans are just as expensive as Android phones and iPhones, I think the Windows Mobile adoption rate is going to be very slow.

So that's my take on the Windows Mobile HD7. I'd love to hear your questions and thoughts about it or the Android G2, so feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to answer.

I received a free T-Mobile HD7 with Windows Mobile 7 from Bzzagent.com for review purposes. My opinions are my own developed after testing the product.

Tech Happy: Barnes and Noble Nook

Thanks to the generosity of my family, I received a Barnes & Noble nook for my birthday. A nook is an e-reader (perhaps you have heard of Amazon's Kindle?), a sort of paperless book. Perhaps a better description is a paperless bookshelf, since the nook can hold thousands of books.

When I first started hearing about the Kindle I remember a vague feeling of "ooh, shiny," but it wasn't until I saw a Kindle owned by Paul's aunt that I started wanting one of my own. Then, when the nook debuted with its awesome trifecta of WiFi, the LendMe feature, and support for the epub format, I knew I had found my e-reader.

I've had my nook for about 10 weeks, and I would describe it as half-baked, but still yummy.



The Awesome
I think e-readers are made for people like me. I tend to read four books at a time and take all of them on a weekend trip even when I don't know if I'll have any reading time. I tend to be compulsive, deciding that I need this or that book RIGHT NOW. So a device that allows me to store thousands of books in my purse and enables me to add to that collection within seconds sounds pretty perfect.

One of my favorite features on the nook is the fact that it supports the epub format and can also read PDFs. Practically speaking, this means I can borrow books from my public library's ebook collection. The PDF support also means that I can create my own PDFs and "sideload" them to the nook, although so far I have had formatting issues when attempting this.

The epub/PDF support also means that the nook can read Google Book files. Google has been busy scanning and uploading thousands of public domain books to their servers, and now I can access them all from my nook.  It's also worth noting that epub support means I don't have to buy books from Barnes & Noble...I can purchase from Kobo or fictionwise or any other ebook store that sells epub. However, generally I want to stick with B&N because.....

...books I buy from Barnes & Noble can be lent to friends with nooks! Not every book I purchase from B&N can be lent, but quite a few of them can. I can send a book to a friend's nook for up to two weeks, and when they are done they send it right back to my device. Even better, I can also lend books to friends with the nook application on their computers or smartphones. Kudos to Barnes & Noble for adding this bit of freedom to the ebook format.

I love that the nook can work over WiFi, which means that I don't need to worry about cell coverage when I need to shop for a book. It has 3G through AT&T as well, but I like not being dependent on it. (The paranoid part of me is worried the wireless providers will get tired of providing the bandwidth someday.)


The Meh

Unlike the Kindle, the nook does not have an internet browser. (Apparently the Kindle has a limited browser that focuses on Wikipedia, but I haven't played with it.) Personally, I don't miss that feature on the nook, although I do occasionally wish I could tweet about something I'm reading without changing devices. Honestly, I think it's good for me that the nook doesn't have a browser; I'm able to focus on the book rather than flit from task to task. However, since the nook is based on Android, it would be fairly simple for B&N to add that feature at a future point (I've heard that someone already hacked the nook to add Pandora to it.)

LendMe gets a few sentences under the "Meh" heading because, while I can lend ebooks to friends, I can only lend each ebook once. Not once to each person, just once period. So if I lend a book to my mother-in-law, I can't lend the same book to my sister-in-law a few weeks later. That's very strange.

While the book selection for nook is excellent, the periodical options are quite limited. Like, limited to 30 newspapers and magazines total. Barnes & Noble is hoping to expand this soon, but for now I'm fairly disappointed with the meager selection. My bedside table is stacked with about 10 magazines waiting to be read, and I would love to move that entire collection to my nook. Maybe someday....alas....(Real Simple, I'm looking at you....)


The Unfortunate

Barnes and Noble seems to have released their device before everything was truly ready for the mass market. It's a great device,  but some of the most highly touted features don't work. For instance, a huge part of the buzz around the nook has been the ability to browse through any ebook while inside a Barnes and Noble store (the idea being that if you are someone who spends your Saturdays in the store sampling book, you can still do that with your nook). However, nook owners are still awaiting this feature, which has been "Coming Soon!" since October. The skeptic in me is wondering if B&N promised something that their technology simply can't handle.

Another unfinished feature seems to be the More in Store option. At my local stores, I can view the free content available to nook owners, but I can't actually download it (I get a network error message). Apparently certain B&N stores have this feature set up incorrectly, resulting in a frustrating experience for many hopeful nook owners. I did finally get the More in Store feature to work when I was visiting a Barnes & Noble in a different state. 

Overall, though, I am very happy with my nook. No, it's not the same as a trusty vintage hardback detective novel or a freshly published paperback (ah......the smell of the ink....), but there's a good bit of room in my heart for this new format.

Tech Happy: Cool Stuff Round Up

I love geeky tech stuff. Here are some of my favorite new (to me) developments:

1. Dell Latitude Z. This is a laptop. That charges WIRELESSLY. Yep, you just set this thing down on a pad on your desk, and it starts charging. So cool. Oh, and by the way, it's super, super thin (just over .5 inch) and it can lock or unlock your computer by recognizing your FACE. Yeah, cool stuff.
(Disclaimer: my awesome husband works for Dell and showed me this products.  However, he's a printer guy, not a laptop guy. Neither he nor I get any perks for this post.)

2. charity:water's GPS project tracking. For my birthday, I set up a mycharitywater page in lieu of gifts. In 12-18 months, when the well project funded by this money is completed, charity:water will send me GPS coordinates so I can view photos of the project on their website. What a great way to increase emotional investment in these projects!

3. E-readers. I heart e-readers. I received a nook as a gift, and it is delightful. Definitely my guilty pleasure of the moment. I'm hoping to get around to a full review of the nook eventually.

4. Why Cry Baby Analyzer. This device purports to determine in 20 seconds why your baby is crying. I could have used this 11 months ago! No idea if it actually works, but fascinating, nonetheless.