October saw the unveiling of Windows Phone devices and a lot of hands-on with the new Windows Phone 7 operating system. How does it pan out? I will leave “reviews” to the professionals (two must-read reviews linked below), but despite its shortcomings, I am really impressed by the new platform. I have to admit that, like many, I didn’t think much of the home screen but now I’m totally in love with it. The live tiles, ability to pin anything on the home screen, fast animations, etc. It’s really refreshing to see a new system that brings a completely new and innovative UI to the mix.
Windows Phone 7 Reviews:
As I announced a few weeks back, I’ve finally decided to put down my Xperia to rest. It has been a good run with the device, no doubt about that, but its certainly become ancient. I would probably have gotten a couple more months out of it had the keyboard not stopped functioning properly – though I probably would have ditched it anyways for something spicier regardless. 
Obviously when it comes down to purchasing a new mobile/smart-phone, there are a lot of decisions to be made these days. The most important one being, which system do you want to go for? Although I’m extremely certain now that I want my first options to be Windows Phone devices, I will admit that both Blackberry and Android made my list. You might ask why not Apple or Symbian: Nokia’s offering doesn’t entice me for some reason and though I really really dig the 12 MP camera on the N8, I couldn’t bring myself to consider it. And as far as Apple is concerned, I’ve carried around an iPhone for over 2 years and I loved it, but I’m not looking to jump back onto iOS anytime soon unless and until they release a new version that has a whole set of new and captivating features added to it.
So what handset am I thinking of moving to then…? Well, honestly, it is still open for discussion. One day my mind switches to one device, the other day it switches to another. The thing is that being in Pakistan, most of these handsets haven’t hit the market here yet, so I’m relying on a family relative to purchase one for me and bring it down here when they visit mid-November. So basically, I’ve got till mid-November to make my final decision…
And without delay, here’s what my list looks like right now… sorted in order of most favored.
Dell Venue Pro
Ok so we know very little about this handset as Dell has kept it quite a secret. Other than a bunch of videos and basic information about the handset, some things are yet to be “officially” confirmed. The best feature of this device is its keyboard and apart from Samsung’s appealing Super AMOLED offerings, Dell is the only device with an AMOLED display which is way better than settling for the usual LED displays on the HTC and LG handsets. Overall, in my opinion, this device has the biggest WOW factor in the entire Windows Phone 7 lineup. This is unfortunately the worst kept secret as well as there is no word yet on the availability of the device. With rumors surfacing that it will be on sale by November 8th, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that to be true. Check out the video from Stuff.tv below:
Samsung Omnia 7/HTC Mozart
The second device that I have my eyes, and probably is the one I’ll end up buying if Dell Venue Pro doesn’t hit the market by mid-November, is the Omnia 7. This device’s main attraction is its Super AMOLED display. I honestly didn’t think much about the display before until I saw videos of Dell Venue Pro and Samsung Omnia 7 against those of other handsets such as HTC Mozart or HD7. The Super AMOLED is AWESOME! I actually went down to the local market and checked out this android phone with Super AMOLED and was blown away by the display quality and thus ultimately, Omnia 7 became my second choice to enjoy the vibrant new operating system. Not to mention, according to reviews and tests, the 5MP camera on this device is better than that on most of the other devices. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt that the phone’s design isn’t bad either… Check out the video below:
But then again, I LOVE the form factor of the HTC Mozart more than the Omnia 7. Let’s face it, HTC’s Mozart probably has the best and most solid design of the lot and with an 8 MP camera and a Xeon flash, it would be stupid not to consider it. The biggest con of course is its limited 8GB memory. I wish HTC had enough sense to put in at-least 16 GB, but I guess we can’t expect perfection in one handset. Check out the video below:
BlackBerry Torch 9800
Dell Venue Pro looks awesome with the portrait slider, but when it comes to BlackBerry Torch 9800, I honestly have mixed feelings. I love it sometimes, other times… I just don’t know. As the first slider from Blackberry, it is a really beautiful handset though. The chrome plate around the edges and the back cover…! What attracts me most to this device is obviously the new BlackBerry OS 6 which looks really good – especially the media capabilities of the device. But unfortunately, the new OS 6 doesn’t excite me as much as Windows Phone 7 does. So I will probably not be purchasing this unless and until I can, for some reason, not get my hands on a Windows Phone device. Check out the review below:
HTC Surround
Last on my list but probably one of the most unusually designed device with its slide out speaker! I must admit that it is the speaker itself that peaked my interest in the phone and this was pretty much at the top of my list tied with Dell Venue Pro at one time… But then came in reviews across the web and videos on YouTube that have led me to hate the speaker due to the lack of performance. I’m still keeping it on my list while waiting for reviews from some of the sites that I usually trust with reviews, but unless they report some good tidings about the device, this might just disappear into oblivion for me. Of course the 16 GB space over 8 GB in the Mozart is another plus…! Check out the video here:
So there you have it… the devices that I’m juggling right now. I’m looking forward to seeing more reviews by next week and hope to make my decision soon. If you had to choose between these devices… which one would you choose?
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