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What are your top 3 third party applications that you would love to have on your Windows Phone 7 Series? Most used applications for your daily routines, works, entertainment, what not ... Top 3 applications that you have in mind when asked about mobile applications.
Interesting to know so we could see what users expect to have on WP7 in terms of application.
It does not have to be Windows Mobile 6.x applications. If you think certain iPhone / Android / BB / Symbian apps thats fine.
I start with my top 3:
1. Offline navigation software
- like TomTom, CoPilot, iGo.
2. Opera Mini
- I just love the speed, thats all.
3. Good Facebook client
- Microsoft has one for WM6, but I expect much better than that. I read that iPhone version is better.
I basically use my phone for calls, messages and development... being last one like the only reason why I didn't keep my cheap old Nokia phone. Sometimes I'm using weather, GPS, reading emails or google for this or that but that's all and I'm just happy that I just can do such things whenever I would need them. I'm not really a crazy apps freak....
Got to be iGo as one of them for me!
gogol said:
3. Good Facebook client
- Microsoft has one for WM6, but I expect much better than that. I read that iPhone version is better.
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Click to collapse
The OS comes with great facebook integration already built in, no need for an app!
My top apps are:
FPSeCE (Playstation Emulator)
Spacetime 4.0 (Graphing Calculator Software)
Pandora
I know that, but I have doubt with that Facebook integration.
Not that I am saying it is not good, but from what I saw ... the integration is split into 2 hubs ... People hub where you can see status update of your Facebook friends and Photo/Pictures hub where you can see Facebook photo albums of your friends.
With dedicated Facebook app, all those will come in the same flow of information.
Well, not a big deal really, because I am using http://touch.facebook.com via web browser (Opera Mini).
Kloc said:
The OS comes with great facebook integration already built in, no need for an app!
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Click to collapse
gogol said:
Not that I am saying it is not good, but from what I saw ... the integration is split into 2 hubs ... People hub where you can see status update of your Facebook friends and Photo/Pictures hub where you can see Facebook photo albums of your friends.
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Click to collapse
Which, IMO, is the best approach possible. Heck, I might even start using Facebook this way. Why would I need that information in a separate application? Why would I want to view photos in anything but a photo viewing app? Or where else do I need contact information apart from the contact app?
Also, this approach theoretically should aggregate information from different networks in a way that makes sense. I mean, if you are a member of both Facebook and, say, Linked-In, would you really want two separate applications to handle data from these networks?
1.Opera Mobile 10
To read 3 different newspapers each morning on my Omnia II and have all my desktop bookmarks synced OTA to my phone. Been using Opera since v3.0 or so, love it.
2.GSPlayer
to listen to somafm.com !
3. Googlemaps
Works good enough, could be done much better (font size can not be set !) and leaks 2 DC's each time you start and stop it. Have to take another look at bing maps soon
Coreplayer!!!!!!!!
IGO
BattClock (used to display battery info)
For me, if I can reduce time spent then I will choose that way.
Instead of going into 2 hubs to read status updates AND photo updates, I would prefer to just go once to look them all
Like I said, this is not a big deal because there is facebook website itself which can be accessed via web browser.
Probably because I use facebook a lot
Oh yes, the idea of multiple social network integration is nice, dont get me wrong. Probably just because of that, I would start using Twitter! Atm I am only using FB.
vangrieg said:
Which, IMO, is the best approach possible. Heck, I might even start using Facebook this way. Why would I need that information in a separate application? Why would I want to view photos in anything but a photo viewing app? Or where else do I need contact information apart from the contact app?
Also, this approach theoretically should aggregate information from different networks in a way that makes sense. I mean, if you are a member of both Facebook and, say, Linked-In, would you really want two separate applications to handle data from these networks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Top applications: 'Real' Map-reader/GPS, Ebook reader,
Well, I might not be a typical user (and actually one of the things I liked about 'Windows Mobile Classic' was that it had a diverse ecosystem, catering for non-typical users!) but these are the two apps I use most:
1) A GPS/map-reader that works with real maps (i.e. topographic maps such as, in the UK, the Ordinance Survey series)
- so ideally, Memory-Map will port their software to WP7
2) An ebook reader that can read EPUB and TXT formats
- actually this is such an important use-case for me that I wrote a program to do it (see this thread). I expect to start porting it to WP7 just as soon as the SDK becomes available.
Windows Phone 7 is a paradigm-shift in how phones operate. Apps will no longer be individual screens, but will be subsumed into the overall user interface. Facebook is the most obvious example of that. If you take Tomtom, for instance, it will be peppered all over the phone in any of the following ways;
People Hub: Select a person and then hit the menu option to navigate to their home or workplace
Calendar Hub: Select a Calendar Entry and then hit the menu option to navigate to the Location of that entry.
Bing Search: Hit a search result to be navigated to its location if it is a real world place like a pizza restaurant, for instance. Once Tomtom is installed, instead of just the one option to be directed there by Bing Maps, you'll have a second option as well to navigate there by Tomtom.
Only once you're actually on the road will you get the Tomtom screen up with the 3D view of the road. The rest of the Tomtom UI will be embedded into these hubs.
I'd expect Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr etc to all melt into the phone's UI as simply extra menu options.
I think this is largely why the App list accessible from the home screen is so basic - it won't be the usual way to start an app. Normally the app will be called from a menu in part of one of the hubs. In this way, apps will organically feel like just an extension of the phone's usual functionality. Heck, I can even see the Photos hub doing something like footprints and recording the GPS coordinates, so you can use the Tomtom menu item in there to navigate to the place in the photo!
This is going to be totally awesome. And I think it's partly why the question of "Does it multitask" isn't so clear-cut...
I use my phone as a phone and as a PDA so most of what I need is already there (calendar, alarm, agenda, Excel, etc)
1) But I have to have an ewallet. I use SPB at the moment and fully expect them to port it to WP7.
2) I also would like some ereader that handles most file types (EPUB mostly).
Could care less about the whole Facebook/Twitter thing. Just hope they don't get in the way of how I use my phone. Will have to wait to see how the interface can be changed. If I have to have Facebook/Twitter in the middle of my processes I will probably not get a WP7 phone.
donnaw said:
Could care less about the whole Facebook/Twitter thing.
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Click to collapse
Sorry that doesn't make sense? Do you mean you could NOT care less?
I would like to see all my apps on it I hope I will be able to port them!
I love opera and youtube
giggles33 said:
I love opera and youtube
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Click to collapse
Opera should be made redundant by the new version of IE contained in WP7S. Youtube will become a subsumed service as part of the Pictures & Videos hub in the UI, and will simply be another source of video from the cloud, in the same way that Facebook posted videos are. I would also imagine that the Bing search engine will return Youtube hits.
Basically, be prepared for apps to function in an entirely different way to what you're used to - they will become simply extensions of your phone's functionality - many apps will be able to avoid having their own screens at all and instead rely on the hubs to provide their input/output.
Jim Coleman said:
Opera should be made redundant by the new version of IE contained in WP7S.
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It's not likely that we'll see a version of Opera on WP7S as it's impossible to do a decent browser engine in managed code, because alternative browser makers will be the last to get access to native APIs (if ever), and probably IE will be much better than what we have now, but alternative browsers will not be made "redundant" by this. I can bet IE won't have text reflow, for example, which I personally love and severely miss when I try to use iPhone's Safari.
vangrieg said:
I can bet IE won't have text reflow, for example, which I personally love and severely miss when I try to use iPhone's Safari.
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Click to collapse
You would lose that bet.
I would like to see Skype on Win Phone 7
Making competitors (Opera must earn a lot of money with their OEM deals) redundant is just plainly impossible nowadays without some sort of "deal" made. It's really very interesting what will happen soon.
Short list for now, but people should add... Maybe give the devs some ideas of stuff to make and submit.
1. Comm Manager - I hate having to goto 5 spots to turn stuff off and on when i dont need it. (3g while at home with my wi-fi, no thanks)
2. Ring Profile - Like NightMode or WorkMode... nice and quick to swap out Tones and Volume levels.
If there is any dev that would like to pick my brain on features and stuff, feel free to PM me.
Everyone else submit your thoughts and ideas...
I would lik an easy to use SMS backup, or record to calendar utility.
I could definitely use a tile that toggles the data connection ON and OFF with a single click. The same goes for the WiFi connection.
Yes - +1 for a live tile to toggle wifi on/off
Also, some kind of 'handsfree' app that will set the phone to auto answer calls and turn on speaker phone (for use in car etc)
SSH client...
Wish List for Apps
1. WP7 Taks List that syncs with Outlook Task
2. File Explorer app that allows me to manual copy files into WP7 or out from WP7, nevermind if it's a separate storage aread away for the system stuff, i just need to use some of the 16GB hanging on the phone that I can use easily...
3. Any App that allows me to read right managed emails...
1. tcpmp player and the ability to add .avi files so I don't have to convert them. (if there is a way to play them without converting please let me know, I download a lot of tv shows through graboid and like to watch them on my phone.
2. psx emulator with bt syncing capability to either a wii remote or ps3 remote.
3. phone number blocking program
Multimessenger (ICQ, JABBER, Live!)
I would like a call manager program like Magicall for WM6. It filters phone calls and SMS's through a user-defined rule set. Not sure if WP7 is even capable of this yet, given the multitasking setup it currently has.
FSB said:
I would lik an easy to use SMS backup, or record to calendar utility.
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Click to collapse
I second this man. Also a port of CallCalendar and something to record calls.
We are getting some nice ideas going, just hoping we have some devs reading this that would be willing to tackle these requests and make some people happy (and some cash for the effort)
some of these aren't possible on the platform yet, but keep them coming
ckacey said:
some of these aren't possible on the platform yet, but keep them coming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
figured as much, but wanted to start some kinda list and get the ball rollin.
Thanks for response, we now know there is some dev intetest.
Birki69 said:
Multimessenger (ICQ, JABBER, Live!)
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Click to collapse
2nd the multi messenger.. such as a real live msn messenger that works like the pc version or FRING(fantastic on the android).
--Notifications to the tile and lock screen would be bonus
Definitely waiting for Mint app for windows phone 7.
carlonalls said:
2nd the multi messenger.. such as a real live msn messenger that works like the pc version or FRING(fantastic on the android).
--Notifications to the tile and lock screen would be bonus
Definitely waiting for Mint app for windows phone 7.
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Click to collapse
if fring is on your list, it doesnt hurt to shoot thier support email address the question of if they are workin on one.
Can anyone say Myphone.
diego1985 said:
Can anyone say Myphone.
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Click to collapse
I thought this functionality was included for WP7 in the Windows Live services ?
Tune-in radio!
I would gladly pay for a data counter to keep track of my mobile data usage
most wanted apps for wp7
Coreplayer, MIRC, a file manager, video news feeds, FLASH for IExp....
for starters...
I am looking to develop desktop sms sync app for wp7. My first question is this possible using the unlocked (homebrew) emulator. if yes what is the starting point i have development experice with wp7 but i dont know how to access wp7 task api in winodws desktop application ?
Bundle of thanks in advance for any help.
At the moment with the available API's from microsoft you can't access the sms history.
All you can do is bring up a compose sms ui with sections already filled in.
There may be someone with a hack to get around this but I haven't seen anything.
mupets_revenge said:
At the moment with the available API's from microsoft you can't access the sms history.
All you can do is bring up a compose sms ui with sections already filled in.
There may be someone with a hack to get around this but I haven't seen anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Right now i am looking to develop silverlight web service for this purpose hope i will share the details if it become a success
I also I need it!
I hope that VERY soon are released these APIs.
Not only that:
I would very much like a software to see on the desktop of my pc the phone's screen, remotely. So I can work comfortably and with the keyboard (like SOTI) ......
Excuse my bad English!
Nevs about this software??
So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?
the first advice i could give to you is: read the forums
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
APPS?
download OEM apps.
download what you need. Marketplace got almost everything
customization? you mean changing the color of the tiles? LOL
radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
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Click to collapse
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.
i just realize that he is using a sgs...
eww.
saldawop said:
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's pretty much a greek tragedy how incompetent these android users are "LOL my phone OS is better than yours *tap 3 times before an app finally pulls up then swipe left or right and watch the lag roll in* Yup, totally better, I troll you."
Ha. That wasn't really a troll. I just meant there's no setup or critical apps you need to get the phone running. Just grab whatever catches your eye from the market and you're golden. I like that aspect of the platform compared to Android. Until you want your phone to do something a specific way, it's bliss.
Sent from my GT-I9000M
kappo78 said:
So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?
MartyLK said:
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?
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Click to collapse
I don't get it, aren't you the one who was pushing the WebOS users to outvote everything on that poll?
If you only get two games, get...
Ilomilo
Aphajax
Both will blow your mind into little wobbly pieces of grey blancmange and raspberry sauce. And all will be well in the world.
Wait! Someone's just put QUORUM down on a TW! Bastard!
radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on how you look at it.
Lacking the need for customization at a low level is good (Rooting to uninstall bloatware, etc.), but there are tons of instances where you have to hack the system up just to achieve trivial tasks. Adding Ringtons to you phone, accessing Camera Shutter options, changing the default Search Engine in the Browser (T-Mobile sets it to Google, and some Euro Carrier sets it to Yahoo!). Things like that. You can't even set a home page in the browser (so even though I can't stand searching through Google, there's no way to Set Bing as the home page and just open a new tab and search from there). The OS is literally devoid of options/settings that matter. Can't even toggle between EDGE and 3G to save battery without hacking the phone (and that hack doesn't even work for some phones).
These aren't deep customizations on any other smartphone platform, but for WP7 it requires going beyond rooting or jailbreaking an Android phone. It makes Android a bit easier to use than WP7 when you factor in OneClick Root apps and the ability to sideload applications without scouring threads/the internet for information to get this done (and installing a ridiculously big SDK on your computer - nevermind the fact that it requires a Windows PC as well).
Microsoft got it wrong.
The issue with Android settigs is not that there were too many. It's the way they are presented to the user. They're generally (especially in third party applications from independent devs) just thrown in the user face on one huge page. Decently organized options in groups or tabs... there's nothing wrong with that. They need to add tons of options for the system and stock applications, because making even trivial changes to some behaviors is impossible without going through more work than loading a custom ROM on an Android phone is right now.
Minimalistic is good if you do it right (iOS). Microsoft took it to the extreme and all it does is create a ton of usability faux pas.
z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).
N8ter said:
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, no real apps to get doesn't exactly sound right. It makes it sound like anything released on this platform is bad.
To OP though, Ilomilo and Twin Blades are the only games I have that live up to my XBL expectations (and sadly I have most of them) there are other good games but Ilomilo overall. other than that Netflix is the only other one I'd deem necessary.
I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).
N8ter said:
I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only that, but I wouldn't subscribe to any version of Netflix because of the cost. I watch maybe 2 to 4 rented movies a month. And some months, none. To have to pay a fee just to use Netflix is wasteful. Yet that's how NF works. I would, however, subscribe to NF if there was no fee. The only cost would be the rental charge.
I have to say the best game for Xbox Live is the Harvest. Feels like diablo with a sci fi twist. The bad thing though is if your a typical Xbox console gamer, you won't find much that will interest you on WP7.
I swear its a new puzzle or tower defense game ever week.
you can of course customise your lock screen, you could also install "pin to start" which apparently offers customised live tile (don't have it myself, not my type of thing". Apps wise, get the HTC You tube app if you have an HTC device, would also recommend pdf reader and the amazon kindle app (if you like books) beyond that, there are nearly 9000 apps to choose from - I think there are even a couple of "fart" apps if that floats your boat...........
I've already mentioned Adobe Acrobat Reader X and Amazon Kindle.
Not all applications have Live Tiles, and TBH without a Live Tile an app would have to be very important to merit a spot on you home screen (no one wants a home screen that scrolls for miles). I have issues keeping Seesmic/Twitter/Facebook on the Home Screen, for example, without a Live Tile. Games like AlphaJax are good cause the Tile is Live (tells you when it's your turn and how many games you have waiting on you, for example).
The HTC YouTube app is good, but it's only for HTC devices (I already said the Manufacturer apps were a given since they fill in obvious gaps in functionality i.e. YouTube, NotePad/List App, Flashlight, Attentive Phone, Live Weather Tile (HTC), Sound Enhancer, etc.).
The customization that I say is missing isn't really "customization" in the XDA-Developers sense.
Setting a Home Page in the Browser, Setting the Default Search Engine in the Browser, and Options for things like how long you want Toast Notifications to stay on the screen aren't any type of deep customization. It's simply a trivial setting that Microsoft needs to add. These things are missing all over the OS and need to be added in ASAP. It acually makes the OS a chore to use in many instances.
They also need to make carriers unable to alter the default search engine. It sucks for people who use a certain search engine, and makes it take 3x longer to perform searches if you don't want to go through Google. There just need to be an option for the three biggies (Bing, Yahoo, Google) or the ability to allow the bing homepage to set itself as the default search engine (or Yahoo, or Google).
Is anyone else disatisified with the sms app on our wp7? There's no contact photo of who you're talking too, the conversation does indicate who said what, such as my name isnt on one side and the other persons isn't either, just the contact name in big ol huge font at the top. I wish a developer would create a more feature rich sms app that shows contact photo facebook and twitter status updates and more copy and paste access such as copy and pasting entire strings of conversation that include the date and time. and last but not least
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE improve the mms application, it is so lacking does not play video nor gifs and whenever a funny ha ha mms with music is recieved it plays the music file first then shows you the image, its just awful
The sms client is bad and halfway done (no video support). we know that already... Yes they need to fix this issue... its a pita yo communicate with no decent I'm and half an mms client.
But you could have searched and bumped one of the other ten threads.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Gateau Noël said:
Is anyone else disatisified with the sms app on our wp7? There's no contact photo of who you're talking too, the conversation does indicate who said what, such as my name isnt on one side and the other persons isn't either, just the contact name in big ol huge font at the top. I wish a developer would create a more feature rich sms app that shows contact photo facebook and twitter status updates and more copy and paste access such as copy and pasting entire strings of conversation that include the date and time. and last but not least
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE improve the mms application, it is so lacking does not play video nor gifs and whenever a funny ha ha mms with music is recieved it plays the music file first then shows you the image, its just awful
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To the OP,be careful mate,M$ fan boys are watching you.your thread title might hurt their fragile heart.Then,they will start trolling and ask you do more researches before you buy a phone.
Anyway,i'm not a M$ fanboy,same here,wish they can add in more features to the stock sms app.
I wonder why there are homebrew sms apps for iOS such as bite sms&ireal sms,but why not this happen in WP7???weird....
cheers mate.just wait until fall,then your question might be answered or maybe...lets hope or just sell the device.
sylau90 said:
To the OP,be careful mate,M$ fan boys are watching you.your thread title might hurt their fragile heart.Then,they will start trolling and ask you do more researches before you buy a phone.
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sylau90 said:
I wonder why there are homebrew sms apps for iOS such as bite sms&ireal sms,but why not this happen in WP7???weird....
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I'd imagine because the API's are not yet available for Developers, like many others...
Gateau Noël said:
Is anyone else disatisified with the sms app on our wp7? There's no contact photo of who you're talking too, the conversation does indicate who said what, such as my name isnt on one side and the other persons isn't either, just the contact name in big ol huge font at the top. I wish a developer would create a more feature rich sms app that shows contact photo facebook and twitter status updates and more copy and paste access such as copy and pasting entire strings of conversation that include the date and time. and last but not least
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE improve the mms application, it is so lacking does not play video nor gifs and whenever a funny ha ha mms with music is recieved it plays the music file first then shows you the image, its just awful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there's anything inherently bad about the SMS app. I know who said what because there are only two people in the conversation, and I know what i've said Plus my texts are on the right and the others are on the left. Easy.
What you are listing aren't features, those are design considerations which don't suit your tastes. They suit mine. It's impossible to appease everyone.
BUT, this all boils down to the lack of APIs. If we had these APIs, someone would make an SMS client that you do like. If Microsoft keep going this way, they are going to realise that people won't sit around and wait forever for Microsoft to update. It is much easier to let the community do the work!
Now the MMS, from what I have read that does suck. I wouldn't know because I have an unbranded device and therefore am not allowed to enter my MMS settings...apparently.
i guess an improvement that can be made to the sms client would be to differentiate the sender and receiver by colours, as well as the left/right orientation.
Let me say this, I don't want to hurt or upset anyone's feelings on here, I'm pro Microsoft love all things from Redmond, I am a wp7 cheerleader!
I feel bad that I didn't look to see if any other threads had been started regarding the sams subject. My apologies.
I thank everyone for their opinions and input, it gives me a better understanding of why things are the way they are if that makes any sense.
With all the additional features coming to the mango update, I only hope that SMS client gets in on the juicy goodness
Sent from my HD7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
The call history, dosent show call duration, which is my biggest disappointment after ****ty battery..
I like the simplicity of the SMS app, true it would be nice to add video, but its elegant.
just like he said
To the OP: ah, I see you've never used windows mobile. You don't know what a horrid anything is.
ROARRRR I want my phone to fly a plane and do somersaults!!!!
The Windows Mobile SMS client was threaded and similar to the Blackberry SMS client, which is not a bad thing. It also supports full SMS Backup and Restore via Microsoft MyPhone (including MMS, IIRC). It was decent on a well-spec'd QWERTY device or a decently modded capacitive touchscreen device with the right OEM modifications. It is more than usable on the HD2, but its hardware support does stifle the Snapdragon SoC and Camera (Which is capable of HD Recording, IIRC).
The only thing I feel bad about with so many other Windows Mobile device users is that they had such crappy devices (WM minimum specs were so low, that you ended up with OEMs putting up ridiculously bad devices devoid of RAM/Storage and processing post). That never helped it...
@ OP if you don't know who's saying what in an SMS conversation then I dunno what to say. The chat bubbles are descriptive enough to let you know where stuff is coming from quite obviously, and that bubble type is used in almost every type of smartphone.
MS can make any improvement they want. I am happy with what i am having right now... Since i don't text much and the only thing i need is something that i could send and receive messege. I bought the whole new phone not for texting only.
Correct, but a dumb phone is a whole phone and they're cheaper to buy and service than a smartphone...
The issue for some users is that there aren't many good IM apps (if any) on the platform at the moment so you're really relient on SMS and email for textual communications (SMS is superior to email due to the fact that it's pushed irregardless of what type of phone the person has - feature phone IM clients often use encoded MMS). So, it makes issues with that particular application a bit more apparent.
Not that I think they are issues. I think it's kind of hard to not know who's saying what in the SMS client because the chat bubbles are clearly pointing in the correct directions. However, the lack of Voice/Video MMS does leave a functional black hole that even SMS clients on the platform do not fill.
The SMS client has issues, but those issues have nothing to do with the chat bubbles.
P.S. Tons of people who buy smartphones actually use the data connection more than they use it as a phone.