This piece was supposed to be a review. But then we stumbled across the-launch-that-wasn’t.
HTC, the Taiwan-based cellphone manufacturer, introduced two phones — HD7 and Mozart — last fortnight in India. Nothing earth shattering. Only that the phones are powered by Windows Phone 7 (WP7), the mobile operating system with which Microsoft hopes to regain its honour in smartphone market after being kicked in the teeth by iPhone and Android.
This made HD7 and Mozart first WP7 devices in India. Even as we rejoiced at the prospects of getting a taste of what engineers inside Redmond had cooked up after several years of hard work, we were told that WP7 is yet to be officially launched in India by Microsoft. Mozart and HD7 are real and available, but in absence of Marketplace, or in other words Microsoft’s app store, and Xbox Live, the gaming hub inside WP7, they more resemble the expensive phones of yesteryear than smartphones in Circa 2011.
It’s a paradox. There is a launch and yet it is not. When contacted, Microsoft and HTC defended their positions. Microsoft claims services like Xbox Live and Marketplace are not ready for India. HTC’s country head Ajay Sharma, meanwhile, says the company has “always been the pioneer in ushering in the latest and the best technologies for Indian mobile phone users”. And it seems it would not like to give up this position just because of some niggling delay on the software side.
Both have valid points. And that presents a dilemma for us. In the absence of full functionality, we can’t review any WP7 device. But what we can bring to you is India’s first preview of Windows Phone 7 and Mozart because, after all said and done, the phone is out there on the shelves and you ought to know about it.
The good
All WP7 phones are supposed to carry at least a 1Ghz processor, 256MB RAM, 5 megapixel camera, capacitive screen with minimum 800x480 resolution and several dedicated buttons. Mozart is no different.
Powered by a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, the phone packs 576MB RAM, an 8 megapixel camera and 8GB flash storage in its shell. But it’s not the hardware that catches the eye. It’s the design which stands out. Built in the typical HTC fashion — same company that made Legend and showed even Android phones can look good — Mozart is elegance redefined. Its unibody shell has been beautifully carved out of a single block of aluminum, giving it a sleek yet sturdy look. Though HTC has used rubber over a portion of battery and camera, in no place does the phone feel plasticky or cheap.
A screen is the most important component in a smartphone and it’s good to see that Mozart doesn’t skimp here. The 3.7” screen is as good as it gets with SLCD. Colours are vibrant and touch response is fantastic.
We have heard a lot about Metro user interface of WP7 and after seeing it in action, we can say all the hype is justified. Windows moniker notwithstanding, WP7 was built from the scratch for smartphones and the hard work shows. Unlike the UI used by Android or iOS on iPhone, WP7 uses tiles and hubs to get the job done. It’s a minimalist, no nonsense user interface that is intuitive and fast enough to match iOS and in many cases even surpass it.
Layers have been used for great 2D effects and the tiles — many of them dynamic — on the home screen look as if they are floating on liquid. All animations and transition effects are rendered by GPU and there is no lag whatsoever.
One of the best apps to give a glimpse into the idea of Metro UI is Mail. The whole app is just black and grey text over white background but it not only looks good but also provides stellar functionality. Across the OS, all apps nearly function in the same way. There are no tabs or buttons to click, though a lot of functions require long-press over a text or a portion of the screen. Mostly, you navigate across the features with a swipe to the right and irrespective of their functionality (or the lack of it), all apps look neat and modern.
The bad
When it comes to Mozart, the placement of volume rocker is downright awful. Instead of being in the middle of the left side, it’s too close to the back. The result — before your finger gets used to it, you will find yourself groping to reach the volume rocker. Battery life, too, is nothing to boast about. On full charge and medium use, the phone lasts around eight hours.
When it comes to WP7, despite a great UI, there are many misses in terms of functionality. The foremost is lack of status bar. It’s not missing but most of the time it’s hidden. Even battery and connectivity status is hidden unless you press the top of the screen. While minimalist UI works, a status bar that plays hide-and-seek is not really something you like. In fact, there are other similar customizations made across the OS in the name minimalist UI.
Bing maps too leave much to be desired. GPS lock is quite accurate and fast but not in the league of what offered by phones like N8, iPhone or Milestone. Similarly, navigation or finding route through Bing maps is not as accurate as we would have liked. Maybe, it is because WP7 is yet to be launched in India. But compared to Android’s excellent navigation and map features, Bing apps don’t make the cut. At least, not for now.
Virtual keyboard is mostly good but the space between keys is too little for our liking. Unfortunately, Microsoft takes a cue from Apple here and unlike on Android, doesn’t allow users to change the keyboard. Internet Explorer is a similar story. The browsing experience is quite stellar with scrolling and pinch-to-zoom being smooth but in our use it had trouble while downloading media files from the web. The browser also takes inputs in address bar only in portrait mode and it’s frustrating to flip the phone every time you want to open a new website.
The ugly
Once again we will start with Mozart. Despite flaunting 8 megapixel camera coupled with a Xenon flash, Mozart is a serious let down when it comes to capture pictures and videos. Flash is good for nothing while pictures are not detailed or sharp enough. In our tests, Galaxy S, which has a 5 megapixel camera, produced better pictures. And same goes for the video where we had serious problems with focus while using Mozart.
On the WP7 side, the problems are more fundamental and will remain until Microsoft decides to address them. To begin with, there is no multitasking. In fact, WP7 is pretty harsh on how third-party apps function. Even if you leave phone idle for a few minutes while going through your timeline in Twitter app, you will be kicked out of the app. Once you go back, the app will download whole data again. Same is true if you click any link on the timeline and go to browser. Once you come back, you will find Twitter app reloading.
On connectivity side, WP7 is seriously crippled. It was known for quite long that there won’t be any support for Bluetooth file transfer in WP7. But now that the devices are here, many will miss this feature. Especially in India, where availability of Wi-Fi is not too good. Similarly, there is no USB transfer mode. All WP7 phones are going to use Zune software to connect to PCs. But Zune only supports pictures, videos, music and podcasts. If you want to transfer, say a PDF file or a document, to your WP7 phone you are out of luck. The only way to bring “other files” to WP7 is by emailing them to self and then downloading the attachments.
WP7 phones are pretty much locked-down devices. Among apps or settings, not much customization or control is available to users. On Software side, it may not matter given how good Metro UI is. But on devices like Mozart that have just 8GB or less flash storage, users are going to miss ability to add memory cards.
And, finally, there is the curious case of ‘product not launched yet available’. Mozart, in its current avatar, is a crippled device. Apps make or break a smartphone. But here you can’t even install an app, let alone sample their quality.
Despite its flaws, the phone can have some merit but not unless Windows Phone 7 launches officially in India. For now, unless you believe seeing Metro UI in action is worth Rs 26,490, keep that wallet safely tucked inside.
HTC, the Taiwan-based cellphone manufacturer, introduced two phones — HD7 and Mozart — last fortnight in India. Nothing earth shattering. Only that the phones are powered by Windows Phone 7 (WP7), the mobile operating system with which Microsoft hopes to regain its honour in smartphone market after being kicked in the teeth by iPhone and Android.
This made HD7 and Mozart first WP7 devices in India. Even as we rejoiced at the prospects of getting a taste of what engineers inside Redmond had cooked up after several years of hard work, we were told that WP7 is yet to be officially launched in India by Microsoft. Mozart and HD7 are real and available, but in absence of Marketplace, or in other words Microsoft’s app store, and Xbox Live, the gaming hub inside WP7, they more resemble the expensive phones of yesteryear than smartphones in Circa 2011.
It’s a paradox. There is a launch and yet it is not. When contacted, Microsoft and HTC defended their positions. Microsoft claims services like Xbox Live and Marketplace are not ready for India. HTC’s country head Ajay Sharma, meanwhile, says the company has “always been the pioneer in ushering in the latest and the best technologies for Indian mobile phone users”. And it seems it would not like to give up this position just because of some niggling delay on the software side.
Both have valid points. And that presents a dilemma for us. In the absence of full functionality, we can’t review any WP7 device. But what we can bring to you is India’s first preview of Windows Phone 7 and Mozart because, after all said and done, the phone is out there on the shelves and you ought to know about it.
The good
All WP7 phones are supposed to carry at least a 1Ghz processor, 256MB RAM, 5 megapixel camera, capacitive screen with minimum 800x480 resolution and several dedicated buttons. Mozart is no different.
Powered by a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, the phone packs 576MB RAM, an 8 megapixel camera and 8GB flash storage in its shell. But it’s not the hardware that catches the eye. It’s the design which stands out. Built in the typical HTC fashion — same company that made Legend and showed even Android phones can look good — Mozart is elegance redefined. Its unibody shell has been beautifully carved out of a single block of aluminum, giving it a sleek yet sturdy look. Though HTC has used rubber over a portion of battery and camera, in no place does the phone feel plasticky or cheap.
A screen is the most important component in a smartphone and it’s good to see that Mozart doesn’t skimp here. The 3.7” screen is as good as it gets with SLCD. Colours are vibrant and touch response is fantastic.
We have heard a lot about Metro user interface of WP7 and after seeing it in action, we can say all the hype is justified. Windows moniker notwithstanding, WP7 was built from the scratch for smartphones and the hard work shows. Unlike the UI used by Android or iOS on iPhone, WP7 uses tiles and hubs to get the job done. It’s a minimalist, no nonsense user interface that is intuitive and fast enough to match iOS and in many cases even surpass it.
Layers have been used for great 2D effects and the tiles — many of them dynamic — on the home screen look as if they are floating on liquid. All animations and transition effects are rendered by GPU and there is no lag whatsoever.
One of the best apps to give a glimpse into the idea of Metro UI is Mail. The whole app is just black and grey text over white background but it not only looks good but also provides stellar functionality. Across the OS, all apps nearly function in the same way. There are no tabs or buttons to click, though a lot of functions require long-press over a text or a portion of the screen. Mostly, you navigate across the features with a swipe to the right and irrespective of their functionality (or the lack of it), all apps look neat and modern.
The bad
When it comes to Mozart, the placement of volume rocker is downright awful. Instead of being in the middle of the left side, it’s too close to the back. The result — before your finger gets used to it, you will find yourself groping to reach the volume rocker. Battery life, too, is nothing to boast about. On full charge and medium use, the phone lasts around eight hours.
When it comes to WP7, despite a great UI, there are many misses in terms of functionality. The foremost is lack of status bar. It’s not missing but most of the time it’s hidden. Even battery and connectivity status is hidden unless you press the top of the screen. While minimalist UI works, a status bar that plays hide-and-seek is not really something you like. In fact, there are other similar customizations made across the OS in the name minimalist UI.
Bing maps too leave much to be desired. GPS lock is quite accurate and fast but not in the league of what offered by phones like N8, iPhone or Milestone. Similarly, navigation or finding route through Bing maps is not as accurate as we would have liked. Maybe, it is because WP7 is yet to be launched in India. But compared to Android’s excellent navigation and map features, Bing apps don’t make the cut. At least, not for now.
Virtual keyboard is mostly good but the space between keys is too little for our liking. Unfortunately, Microsoft takes a cue from Apple here and unlike on Android, doesn’t allow users to change the keyboard. Internet Explorer is a similar story. The browsing experience is quite stellar with scrolling and pinch-to-zoom being smooth but in our use it had trouble while downloading media files from the web. The browser also takes inputs in address bar only in portrait mode and it’s frustrating to flip the phone every time you want to open a new website.
The ugly
Once again we will start with Mozart. Despite flaunting 8 megapixel camera coupled with a Xenon flash, Mozart is a serious let down when it comes to capture pictures and videos. Flash is good for nothing while pictures are not detailed or sharp enough. In our tests, Galaxy S, which has a 5 megapixel camera, produced better pictures. And same goes for the video where we had serious problems with focus while using Mozart.
On the WP7 side, the problems are more fundamental and will remain until Microsoft decides to address them. To begin with, there is no multitasking. In fact, WP7 is pretty harsh on how third-party apps function. Even if you leave phone idle for a few minutes while going through your timeline in Twitter app, you will be kicked out of the app. Once you go back, the app will download whole data again. Same is true if you click any link on the timeline and go to browser. Once you come back, you will find Twitter app reloading.
On connectivity side, WP7 is seriously crippled. It was known for quite long that there won’t be any support for Bluetooth file transfer in WP7. But now that the devices are here, many will miss this feature. Especially in India, where availability of Wi-Fi is not too good. Similarly, there is no USB transfer mode. All WP7 phones are going to use Zune software to connect to PCs. But Zune only supports pictures, videos, music and podcasts. If you want to transfer, say a PDF file or a document, to your WP7 phone you are out of luck. The only way to bring “other files” to WP7 is by emailing them to self and then downloading the attachments.
WP7 phones are pretty much locked-down devices. Among apps or settings, not much customization or control is available to users. On Software side, it may not matter given how good Metro UI is. But on devices like Mozart that have just 8GB or less flash storage, users are going to miss ability to add memory cards.
And, finally, there is the curious case of ‘product not launched yet available’. Mozart, in its current avatar, is a crippled device. Apps make or break a smartphone. But here you can’t even install an app, let alone sample their quality.
Despite its flaws, the phone can have some merit but not unless Windows Phone 7 launches officially in India. For now, unless you believe seeing Metro UI in action is worth Rs 26,490, keep that wallet safely tucked inside.
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