http://www.maximumpc.com|JAN 2011 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| 47
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ltimately, the colorful, striking home screen
is the first thing people notice about any
Windows Phone 7 smartphone, and that’s a
good thing. In fact, it is the best possible reaction
Microsoft could hope for.
The truth is that, given the large gap between
Microsoft and its competition, namely Android and the
iPhone, anything less than extraordinary would have
doomed Windows Phone 7 from the start. There’s a
greater truth here, however—one that has heretofore
gone unspoken. Since U.S. Robotics’ debut of the Palm
Pilot in 1996, we’ve been essentially stuck with the
same look and feel for our PDAs and smartphones.
Sure, Android extends the desktop metaphor a little bit,
but isn’t it pretty much a Windows/Mac desktop?So, we’re happy to see something different.
And we’re slightly surprised to see such a refined
and polished mobile operating system. It’s not perfect
though. Windows Phone lacks deep layers of custom-
ization and cut/copy/paste functionality, and there’s a
dearth of third-party app support. But it’s different in
a good way, so much so that critics are having a hard
time identifying what it is about this fledgling OS that
makes people so happy. That’s a good sign for
Microsoft and a better sign for all of us.
Over the next four pages, we’re going to take
a deeper look at the OS and pit it in a head-to-head
battle against Google Android. Welcome to the smart-
phone party, Microsoft. You’re late, but we’re glad
you’re here.With the release of its
most important operating
system to date, Microsoft
hopes to pull off the biggest
technology upset of all time
Windows Phone 7:
Ready for Action
BY GEORGE JONES