Develop Bugs

Top 3 third party applications

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.
Click to expand...
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!
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.

[R] Apps we need in the marketplace that I would pay for

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.
Click to expand...
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!)
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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...

WP7 vNext

Here is a list of the top 10 requested features for WP7, What would you add or remove?
1.Copy and paste.
2.Flash and HTML5
3.SkyDrive sync with Office Hub
4.Add a screen capture feature
5.A proper Youtube app, not the poor web version we have now
6.Allow search of Marketplace by individual categories (apps, games, etc.) as opposed to combining them.
7.Separate volume levels for headphones plugged in and not plugged in
8.The camera app should save any settings changes you make - it just resets them now
9.Add Compass API access, navigation apps are useless without it
10.Spotify App
rudigrobler.net/blog/vnext
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Top 10 according to whom exactly?
Half the items on that list are either just around the corner or confirmed for release later this year, the other half seems like they're just listed without any thought going into why they're not already there or how they should be implemented.

1.Copy and paste. - Coming in two weeks
2.Flash and HTML5 - coming later this year
3.SkyDrive sync with Office Hub - coming later this year
4.Add a screen capture feature - don't need this, myself
5.A proper Youtube app, not the poor web version we have now - HTC have produced one, it's very good
6.Allow search of Marketplace by individual categories (apps, games, etc.) as opposed to combining them. - coming in two weeks
7.Separate volume levels for headphones plugged in and not plugged in - don't need this, always use bluetooth
8.The camera app should save any settings changes you make - it just resets them now - Don't want this
9.Add Compass API access, navigation apps are useless without it - coming later this year
10.Spotify App - Don't want this, never stream to my phone, limited data plan
So I would remove all of those and add;
Turn by Turn navigation
Tethering

this thread is very much liked the pinned one here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=844117
please just follow this thread, rather than having this new one going.

Jim Coleman said:
1.Copy and paste. - Coming in two weeks
2.Flash and HTML5 - coming later this year
3.SkyDrive sync with Office Hub - coming later this year
4.Add a screen capture feature - don't need this, myself
5.A proper Youtube app, not the poor web version we have now - HTC have produced one, it's very good
6.Allow search of Marketplace by individual categories (apps, games, etc.) as opposed to combining them. - coming in two weeks
7.Separate volume levels for headphones plugged in and not plugged in - don't need this, always use bluetooth
8.The camera app should save any settings changes you make - it just resets them now - Don't want this
9.Add Compass API access, navigation apps are useless without it - coming later this year
10.Spotify App - Don't want this, never stream to my phone, limited data plan
So I would remove all of those and add;
Turn by Turn navigation
Tethering
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yep, coming.
2. Long time to wait. Flash is not good on mobiles. If flash comes baked into IE (can't uninstall), I'm going to iOS. That will be a showstopper.
3. They need to add the capability for Zune to transfer documents from a folder on yoru computer (subfolder of you Documents Library folder) to the phone. Without this, and bein tethered to the cloud... it's still a big weakness for WP7. SkyDrive integration is not a big thing, and arguably should have been there at release. There's no reason for this not being there already, IMO. It makes the office hub a bit useless if you aren't a SharePoint user.
4. I don't need this, but others may need it. People who do training or write applications and want to take screen shots on a device instead of in an emulator may want it.
5. HTC YouTube App is actually pretty terrible. Search only works 1% of the time, and without search it's borderline useless because you cannot log into you YouTube account with it and view you subscribed channels/favorites/your own channel. It's worse than the HD2 YouTube App. Google needs to develop these apps for WP7, but I doubt they will... The Android YouTube App is about 50x better than this piece of crap.
6. Yep, coming, and badly needed.
7. "I don't use it, therefore it's useless." God... Selfish attitudes are quite the FAD here...
8. "I don't want it, so therefor it's useless." How about this "if you don't want it, STFU and simply don't change the settings." Who seriously records VGA video these days...
9. It was a fail to not have this available at release.
10. "I'm too cheap to buy a high cap/unlimited data plan, so I don't care about this." not gonna comment.
Bing needs Navigation ASAP, and Tethering is needed, yes.
A first-party Windows Live Client is needed - integrated into people's hub with presence info and push notifications (iOS has a Microsoft-developed Messenger, WP7 doesn't... laughable).
Ability to transfer Documents through Zune to the phone. This is badly needed. SkyDrive isn't enough.

Everybody who tried Mango tell us...

Here's the question for all of you who have tried Mango.
I am truly being bugged about the "500 new features" that MS is talking about.
All they're talking about is Bing Vision, Bing Audio, Integration with social networks, People Hub improvements...
Can someone write a new Mango feature that wasn't already stated in their promo videos?
I am also interested in customization. Are there any new options for users to customize their WP7?
Thanks!

toza said:
Here's the question for all of you who have tried Mango.
I am truly being bugged about the "500 new features" that MS is talking about.
All they're talking about is Bing Vision, Bing Audio, Integration with social networks, People Hub improvements...
Can someone write a new Mango feature that wasn't already stated in their promo videos?
I am also interested in customization. Are there any new options for users to customize their WP7?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to remember that the majority of the new features are behind the scenes for developers to make use of in their apps. Access to sockets and the phonebook are the few I'm aware of.

There're a few more things Microsoft hasn't shown in their marketing videos. For example Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Front-Face-Camera, Visual Voice Mail, ...
These are just a few which came to my mind

Voice Activated Text Messaging...
got a big grin out of me when it just worked. amazingly cool stuff...
Transcript:
Me: "Text Andrew"
WP7: "text Andrew Liu or Andrew Smith"
Me: "Andrew Liu"
WP7: "please say your message"
Me: "Meet Friday at 1pm
Me: "Send"
WP7: "message sent"
Me.... big grin

aquanaut88 said:
got a big grin out of me when it just worked. amazingly cool stuff...
Transcript:
Me: "Text Andrew"
WP7: "text Andrew Liu or Andrew Smith"
Me: "Andrew Liu"
WP7: "please say your message"
Me: "Meet Friday at 1pm
Me: "Send"
WP7: "message sent"
Me.... big grin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7: Incoming message from "John Doe" reply or ignore?
Me: Reply
Awesome.

Pictures live tile,
view/save/comment/tag facebook friends' pictures,
facebook notifications in "Me",
redesigned marketplace and search,
FASTER marketplace (performance increase),
search call history,
groups (these are EXCELLENT),
communication history by contact,
jump list in apps list,
faster music + video hub,
redesigned music + video hub UI,
and, as previously stated, numerous enhancements for developers.

hwalker84 said:
WP7: Incoming message from "John Doe" reply or ignore?
Me: Reply
Awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im assuming that's via a bluetooth/handfree headset?
im mixed race with an italian accent so apart from "call mum" or "text karen" speech recognition is full of mistakes/misunderstandings and rarely use it

- Integrated Xbox Live Extras app
- IE9 HTML5 support
- Alphabetic application grouping (in the main app list)
- Native support for Twitter & LinkedIn
- Support for oriental languages
- Local Scout
- Help + How-To app (nice bonus for new users)
- Battery Saver mode
- Application-based settings in the Settings app
As it was said before, there are multiple additions on the developer side of the platform (most of them covered here: ht tp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff637516%28v=vs.92%29.aspx)

I had mango for a couple of weeks and I've just discovered how deep the contact history is. I didn't realize that you get jump lists for the time span ex (today, yesterday, this week, two weeks ago). When you select a text it takes right to that point in messaging. Makes it a lot easier when searching for a specific text. Could be good or bad depending on who is using it lol

Know what I'd like... Something simple like going straight to the DIALER when you click "Phone."
I shouldn't have to tap TWICE to get to the dialer.... On a PHONE.

Has someone mention the bluetooth headset showing ID3tag on the display ?

and multitasking of course
mango is great, i love the fact i have 1 year old phone and those dual core androids still has choppy browser, and we are having super smooth

Battery saver is a petty neat feature

N8ter said:
Know what I'd like... Something simple like going straight to the DIALER when you click "Phone."
I shouldn't have to tap TWICE to get to the dialer.... On a PHONE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I quite agree...my dad had my phone once and i had to guide him to make a call to someone...believe me, it took him full 5 min to figure that out...phew...needless to say, he now flaunts how easily he can make a call on a PHONE on his X10

circleofomega said:
I quite agree...my dad had my phone once and i had to guide him to make a call to someone...believe me, it took him full 5 min to figure that out...phew...needless to say, he now flaunts how easily he can make a call on a PHONE on his X10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Technology has made us horribly lazy. Two taps is too much effort these days.

Wyn6 said:
Wow. Technology has made us horribly lazy. Two taps is too much effort these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention how many taps it takes to actually dial a number. But those two taps you need to get there are waaaaay too much. Of course.

tessut said:
Has someone mention the bluetooth headset showing ID3tag on the display ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, on .y SE Bluetooth Headset i can der all id3 Tag ans in Telefon Mode i can nie der the numbers. After Mango my tomtom go 950 navi can nie send and receive sms! ;-) Since the update my phone is perfect! ;-)
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express

I just flashed DFT Mango 7720, ability to download an app off XDA and have it install, all on my phone is AWESOME! no more PC connections just for a new .xap! Connectivity Shorcut app is the best! Ringtone download app also rocks!
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Just off the top of my head,
ID3 tags through bluetooth
Fastforward and Rewind through bluetooth
Podcasts
Upload Video to facebook
Twitter in Me and People Hub
Facebook notifications in Me
Groups, which are excellent!
Linked inboxes
Multitasking
Changes to the dialer
Photohub now has people so you can view all your facebook contacts photos
Group Messaging (Which you should turn off if you dont have free MMS'!)
Colour changes in the SMS list
Marketplace layout improved
Marketplace now searches Apps/Music and so on seperately and you flick left and right to view each area.
Search now brings up Bing everywhere (except in IE if text is highlighted.)
Voice commands improved and much more vast.
Unlock from search button, voice (windows button) and from camera
Keyboard improvements, like guessing when you pressed b instead of space and so on
Im sure there is loads more too, but thats all I can think off atm.

Didn't hear this yet..
Dedicated thread for data fetch. No longer will we have apps that pause and lag. That occurs cause the data fetch and display code all ride on the sam thread. Well that's been fixed in mango and will allow a first class user experience. The apps should now flow as smooth as the OS UI itself.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Mango vs iPhone 4S

This thread is dedictated strictly to specific advantages / disadvantages / differences / similarities of Mango compared to the iPhone 4S.
READ THIS ENTIRE POST BEFORE POSTING IN THIS THREAD
Both platforms have strengths. Both have weaknesses.
It will also be dedictated to differences in some core applications.
Some applications are not available to both platforms. Those will also be identified.
I will be reserving the first 5 posts to update specific differences.
I will also be reserving the next 5 posts, in case I want to expand to additional differences or comparisons.
I currently own an LG Quantum with Mango and an iPhone 4S. The Quantum is my personal phone. The iPhone was provided by work. I am not restricting the comparison to 1st generation Windows Phone hardware, but it is all I have to test with. Mango is Mango though, with few exceptions.
I actually really like both phones.
Post #2 dedicated to advatages of Windows Phone.
Post #3 dedicated to advatages of iPhone 4S
Post #4 dedicated to application differences.
Post #5 dedicated to application availability.
Please post replies with information you would like to see added to the posts.
Please post replies with other things you would like to see compared.
Keep all posts on topic. Be respectful. Do not bash other users or their posts.
I do not have an Android device. This thread is not a comparison to Android. Posts about android will be considered off topic and should not be responded to.
Keep in mind the forum rules and rule 15 regarding staying on topic.
As I discover information, I will update the 1st 10 posts as needed. Also, based on user posts, I will update the 1st 10 posts, if I am able to verify the information.
This thread is about specific advantages and disadvantages. So, when posting, please provide specific details. It is also intended to not be opinion based. Some opinion will be unavoidable, but facts should always be given. When posting for something to be added, it is also helpful if you can come up with the line to add to describe the advantage. I can usually do this, but copy and paste is alot easier.
Again:
This thread is about identifying specific advantages / disadvantages / differences / similarities between the two. Specific being the key.
General statements serve no purpose and only clutter the thread. There are 11000+ views of this thread. If everyone posted general opinions, the thread would quickly lose value and no longer be maintainable by me. I would be forced to close it or not maintain it.
I welcome and encourage posts that identify specific advantages / disadvantages / differences / similarities between the two platforms. Of course the first 10 posts should always be checked first to see if they have already been identified.
Thanks
JVH3

Mango Advantages
1. Pairing with blue tooth headsets and car stereos is more consistant. Although the iPhone 4S supports A2DP to play music. The iPhone 4S will not automatically pair to play audio through my Pioneer 7000BT. My Mango phone does. The iPhone does automatically pair to support phone calls through bluetooth. There are also some A2DP devices that the iPhone fully supports, but not all. Even when my iPhone 4S is paired with my car stereo for music, the car stereo controls do not work to control the track. This is because the iPhone 4S does not support AVCRP for many devices.
2. Large tiles make it easy to operate with one hand using your thumb. Live Tiles also have larger text making things easier to read. Clicking the icons on an iPhone is not as easily done in a one handed if you have big thumbs.
3. The people hub. A whole post could be dedicated to this. Post dedicated to the People Hub There was also a good write up on this at wpcentral WPCentral - People Hub Overview
4. A back button. Many screens on the iPhone put a back type button on it. It generally is in the upper left. It does not usually say back. And it is not always there. It is up to the app dev to put it in.
5. Many common tasks do not require a seperate app. See Post #23 for some examples. Most of these tasks have free apps available for iPhone, so it is not a huge advatage. But the integration of all this is very nice on Windows Phone 7. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In.
6. Choice of hardware. Some phones have a physical keyboard, such as the LG Quantum. No iPhone has a keyboard. The new Nokia 900 has a screen that is also good in sunlight like the iPhone.
7. Linked Inbox or multiple linked inboxes for selected accounts without linking all accounts. You can keep your work email in a seperate pinable account than all your personal accounts. This is very useful so the indicator will let you know if you have an email that is for work. And other non work emails will increment the indicator on the other tile or tiles.
8. Picture hub - Gives access to all you pics, including facebook pics and facebook contact pics. There was also a good write up on this at wpcentral WPCentral - Picture Hub Overview
9. Me hub - lets you update facebook status and see facebook updates that you care about.
10. (this was a duplicate, so I removed it, but left it in it's place rather than renumber)
11. Browser allows pinch to zoom when rendering a site usintg HTML5 and Canvas. (Tested with both using a site internally developed at the company I work for.) Ironically the web application was designed for the iPad. I can actually use it with Windows Phone 7, but everything is too small on the iPhone to be useful. I cannot share the URL. Work would not like that. Of course, since it is targetting the iPad, it works well on it.
12. Seperate list that shows unread mail. iPhone only gives and indicator by each unread message. This makes reading your unread mail easier.
13. Live Tile indicators for email and messages are not unread messages, but amount of new messages since you last pressed the tile to see the messages. (I don't need to mark 50 messages as read to get rid of the notification). Seeing the list is enough to clear the indicator. You can still see which ones have not been read.
Some advantage pointed out by sayonical here Post 31
14. Micorosoft Office is included at no extra charge.
15. Turn By Tap directions. Although you need to tap, it will recalculate if you deviate from the route after a tap.
Some OEMs such as HTC and Nokia provide applications built in to do tap free Turn by Turn directions. With the iPhone a 3rd party not built in app is always required to accomplish this.
Both HTC Locations and Nokia's app also provide offline navigation.
HTC Locations offline mode is free for 30 days, but Nokia's app is free with a Nokia phone.
HTC Locations online mode may be free after the 30 days. Someone that is using it for more than 30 days or can no longer use it after 30 days, please post so I can update this.
16. Bing integrates alot of functionality, such as barcode reading, music identification, applications for your search, local scout. (There is a Bing app for free for the iPhone by Microsoft, but it's included with Windows Phone)
17. Ability to edit meeting notes to meetings that you did not create. The edits are for you only, but do make the update in exchange. Post 41
18. SIP Keyboard (on screen) is bigger and changes the display to reflect the case A vs a, so you know what you are going to type. Useful when entering passwords.
19. Built in AM/FM Radio. Data is not needed to get music. Useful when at work on a company plan with data limits and WiFi Restrictions. Also useful an health clubs to listen to the audio for the TVs. Also, see Post 41
20. Automatic word suggestion when typing. Shows a list of words to pick. The iPhone automatically corrects words and suggests a single word.
21. Tell Me - It has similarities to Siri, but there are some things Siri does better, just like there are some things Tell Me does better. I am putting this as an advatage for both. I will use a post to outline some differences.
22. Zune Pass
23. Unlimited Sky Drive space for Photos for Free.
24. Ability to directly share a photo in Facebook, while viewing the photo and not first being in Facebook. details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20815029&postcount=99
25. Ability to set the fetch frequency and enable or disable push email on a per-account basis. iPhone fetch frequency is a setting for all accounts. With the iPhone, you can have multiple push accounts and multiple poll accounts. But the poll accounts all poll at the same frequency. With Windows Phone, I can have one account poll every hour, another poll every 15 minutes, and another be a push account.
26. (For Windows users only) Pictures taken on a Mango phone display properly on Windows computer's default programs. Windows 7, Vista, and anything earlier do not properly support the rotational information in the EXIF information on jpegs. It does actually support EXIF, just not the rotational information when rendering. iPhone uses EXIF to set the rotation. Also, no web browser other than Safari supports EXIF for orientation. Although the fault lies with Microsoft for viewing in the OS, the result is extra work to make the pictures taken from an iPhone display with correct orientation on Windows machines. Other programs can be used to view the pictures and there are lossless ways to rotate them. Nonetheless, it is still additional work to view them on Windows computers. Less work for those you share with is an advantage.
27. Ability to use full website without being redirected to a mobile version. On the iPhone, some sites redirect you to the mobile version. And there is not a way to use the full version unless the site provides a link to it. Not all sites provide this. There are apps for the iPhone (JourneyLite and Mercury are 2) that allows full browsing after telling it to simulate IE9.
28. Multiple User Groups - link to post with details - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21419216&postcount=153
29. Bing Maps can find some old established addresses correctly that the iPhone Maps cannot. (note Bing Maps is available for free on the iPhone, but Siri and most, in not all, integrations will not use it). (I will edit this if anyone can post a verifiable address that Bing incorrectly finds, but the iPhone maps correctly finds.) discusssions on this start here
30. Ability to snooze an appointment. With the iPhone, if you have a meeting scheduled for 2:00 PM and are set to be reminded 15 minutes before, you will get notified at 1:45 PM. But there is not way to snooze for 10 minutes and get notified again at 1:55 PM.
31. Rescheduled appointments from Exchange work properly. The iPhone asks if you want to rescheule the meeting or all meetings, even though the original rescheduler defined this when rescheduling.
...
more to come

iPhone Advantages
1. The 4 column grid lets you see more applications at once. The pages of apps to launch also makes it so it is easy to find the applications that you have.
2. Applications are very mature on this platform. Some include additional features or details not in the Windows Phone version.
3. There are more applications available. They are normally cheaper as well.
4. The physical switch to turn off the sound.
5. Battery life. With WiFi on and in use all day on my iPhone, I still have 75% charge. My Quantum has had WiFi and BlueTooth turned off and only has 50% power left. This may be a gen 1 vs gen 2 issue for Widows Phone 7 devices, but it is all I can compare. Maybe some new Titan users can comment.
6. iPhone allows any type of background process. This means that any app, such as Glympse can update send your location while in the background. It also means that features in some apps will not be present in the Windows Phone 7 version that do this, because Windows Phone does not allow this. See Post #142 for details.
Items 7 to 16 were identified by Vetvito here: Post #34
7. "Cut" - both have copy and paste.
8. Games: In game voice chat - able to trade game items with other players
9. browser has a forward button and find on page function (confirmed to not be in Win Phone 7)
10. Integration with all apple products including apple tv
11. Video MMS - iPhone can send and receive. Windows Phone 7 can receive them and play them, but it can not send them.
12. notification bar with widgets and unified notification access from the lock screen
13. Basic photo editting is built in.
14. iTunes Match - 14, 15, and 16 described here: Post #40
15. emoji icons
16. Safari Reader - removes distractions, such as ads and makes it mpore like a pdf.
17. Massive amounts of hardware made specifically for iPhones which ensures full compatiblity.
18. Compass is perfect on the iPhone. Often times, it is incorrect on my LG Quantum. Maybe someone can comment on a Gen 2 Windows Phone 7 or a different model to see if it is better.
19. Landscape support when playing music.
20. Siri - It has similarities to Tell Me, but there are some things Siri does better, just like there are some things Tell Me does better. I am putting this as an advatage for both. I will use a post to outline some differences.
21. Music - shake to shuffle - takes you to a different song if you don't want to listen to what is playing. (can't use back arrow to go back to the song though)
22. Better backup and restore system. (backs up more than just purchased apps and everything can be in iTunes or the iCloud by user choice).
23. On January 1st there will be no YouTube player for Mango that supports HD video.
24. Ability to enable and disable location services on a per-app basis in settings.
25. Setting up caldav and subscribed calendars in iOS is a snap, where that capability doesn't exist on WP7. CalDav link for those that don't know what this is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalDAV
26. Able to view Comcast video on demand through the xfinity.tv app. Although with a Blast Extra subscription many shows available on your laptop will not play through the app. More Details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20830665&postcount=111
27. Able to Stream Dish Network video with an app from the DVR if the DVR receiver is new enough. Ability to use DirectTV Nomad app with $150 additional hardware to get direcTV videos onto the DirecTV DVR
28. Safari on the iPhone 4S renders some mobile sites with slightly incorrect HTML or CSS better for the user where some mobile sites are not usable in the mobile version by Windows Phone 7.
29. Ability to take screen captures, which is very useful when asking for help or illustrating steps.
30. Ability to group programs into folders
31. iMessage - this allows iPhone users to text message iPhone users without counting as text messages. This spans carriers. There are many free messaging programs available to all platforms, so this is not a huge advantage. Windows Phone 7 delivers free messaging through Facebook integration so long as the users are friends on Facebook. Pick your evil here. To text for free using the built in solutions, with the iPhone friends all have to support Apple or on Windows Phone friends all need to be friends on Facebook.
32. Outlook Syncronization through USB. This is not possible with Windows Phone. Windows Phone requires over the air syncronization, such as with an Exchange Server or gmail or Windows Live. Many don't consider this to be a huge issue, since there are plenty of free over the air solutions and the growing trend is to not tie devices to a PC. (the cloud is the future). But if you feel strongly that you need to tether to Outlook, Windows Phone will not do that.
33. iCloud syncronization with other devices - With Apple products, iCloud will automatically sync apps, music, video to all devices registered with the Apple Id.
34. Better pixel density and resolution.
35. FaceTime is built in - (Video Messaging for iPhone to iPhone or other Apple product such as an iPad). Advantage is not great since Skype and Tango are free and available on all major platforms. FaceTime is only available for Apple products.
36. PhotoStream - streams pictures from the phone over WiFi to your computer. Full resolution is preserved. With Windows Phone - Sky Drive, it syncs over the air and does not require WiFi, but it adjusts the pixel resolution (I need to verify whether this is configurable).
37. Ability to open links from a page in a new tab without navigating switching to the tab. (considering dedicating a post to browser advantages and disadvantages) Safari for iPhone vs IE for Mango
...
more to come

Application differences
Windows Phone 7 applications tend to use the Metro UI to be consistent with the platform.
The iPhone tends to be consitent with the way iPhone applications run.
Facebook
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both.
The iPhone app does give easier access to the features and might let you do more.
Twitter
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both.
Foursquare
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both.
Glympse
Windows Phone 7 does not update your location when the app is not the foreground application.
iHeart Radio
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both.
Tango
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both.
Angry Birds
Seemed to be pretty much the same on both. iPhone has more versions and levels.
Flashlight Apps
Both have Flashlight apps that work identically. See post #14 for a link to download the Windows Phone 7 app (Flashlight-X) that works just like iTorch4.
Note: This requires an LED flash. All iPhones have and LED flash. All Windows Phones have a flash, but LED is not required. If a flashlight app is required, make sure to get a phone with an LED flash.
LG Panorama Shot vs Dermandar - Both are free apps to create panoramic pictures.
On the iPhone, you can do a full 360, are just any interval in between. It will also create a 3D type viewing of the area. But both make excellent panoramic pics with no visible problems near the stitching.
Yelp (finds nearby businesses)
Seems very similar on both platforms. iPhone wanted alot more info on the start that can be skipped.
DirecTV (Not Nomad)
Both are pretty similar and let you do the same things.

Application Availability
This is not going to include all applications. There are almost 50,000 available for Windows Phone 7. There are more available for the iPhone. I am not going to include apps that are alternate interfaces to other services.
Available on iPhone, but not Windows Phone 7
Most versions of Angry Birds.
Available for Windows Phone 7, but not on iPhone
Availbable for both
Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Glympse, Shazam, Tango, You Tube, Angry Birds, Flixster, Fly Delta, Adobe Reader
Apps for Google Voice, Pandora, Skype
Games
There are games available only for Windows Phone 7, that are not available for iPhone.
There are games available for iPhone that are not available for Windows Phone 7.
I am not going to list them for either.
Updates:
Since MetroRadio works for Pandora on Mango, I removed Pandora from the list of unavailable apps.

Similarities
Positive
Both easily let you sync with an Exchange server. (Email, Appointments, Tasks, and Contacts)
Both let you easily find and install apps.
Both autmatically notify you of application updates.
Both let you text message by voice.
Both have ways of streaming music and video.
Both have built in maps with navigation.
Both will give you weather updates.
Both support HTML 5.
Both give fast access to the camera when the device is locked.
Both support and have multi player games.
Both have Google Voice Applications.
Negative
Using either Bing on Mango or Maps on the iPhone to find nearby locations often times does not find the closest option. Each is better or worse depending on the location. iPhone is better in some areas and Bing is better in others.
BOTH still lack the ability to create complex repeat patterns for appointments.

Differences
Swipe left on iPhone to get to search. On Windows Phone 7, there is a search button.
Live Tiles vs icons. It seems that some icons do update on the iPhone, such as the Calander, but the weather icon always says 73 degrees. On Windows Phone 7, the tile shows the temp.
iTunes verses Zune.
Press the button to then launch camera without unlocking verses pressing and holding the dedicated camera button.

iTunes vs Zune
iTunes
Create ringtone by converting to m3a and renaming to m3r. Then drag to Tones.
Backs up all apps to your computer from the phone.
File-Add File to Library or Add Folder to Library. No way to remove a folder. Must remove songs 1 at a time.
Zune
Create ringtone by setting genre to Ringtone.
All app purchases will automatically restore if you need a replacement phone or restore.
Backs up phone OS to computer when updating. Not sure about settings and accounts.
Easy to add and remove directories for Zune to automatically add to it's library while keeping the music in the original location
Both
Easy to make and manage playlists.
More to come.

Reserved for future comparisons 4
Reserved for future comparisons 4

Reserved for future comparisons 5
Reserved for future comparisons 5

The People Hub in Mango
This will be dedicated to the People Hub.

Nice to see you here on wp7
nice and clean thread for now.
lets hope it will stay like that, we don't want a war here.
do you need this post place to ?
if yes I can remove it for you.

ceesheim said:
Nice to see you here on wp7
nice and clean thread for now.
lets hope it will stay like that, we don't want a war here.
do you need this post place to ?
if yes I can remove it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to keep this thread objective and clean. So many are lopsided and become war zones.
I have enough posts reserved for anything else I may want to add
I've had my Quantum since the end of August. And work just gave me an iPhone 4S, so I figured I'd do a side by side comparison.
Coming from Windows Mobile and custom ROMs, I did not expect to like either, but have found both to be very good.

You can find, on MarketPlace, apps that not blinking the camera led flash.
One example : http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/2638b778-5eab-45f1-a511-a08e1dbde751

dada051 said:
You can find, on MarketPlace, apps that not blinking the camera led flash.
One example : http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/2638b778-5eab-45f1-a511-a08e1dbde751
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice tip. I am installing and testing it now.
Tested and verified. I am updating the post now.

I believe that it exists exclusive app in marketplace in the US.
Arcane's Tower Defense is an exclusive WP7 game.

Wp7 certainly feels smoother and the apps that aren't simply ports seem to run smoother on wp7. Words by post for instance is much smoother on wp7.

Nice objective comparison!
I own a quantum as well and I love it.
Perhaps one difference you can point out is that on wp7 you have choices of different hardware (like a physical keyboard if that's important to you)

I think Angry Birds on iOS/Android has significantly more levels.
Foursquare for iOS5 allows for the Radar feature (http://blog.foursquare.com/2011/10/12/the-real-world-now-in-real-time-say-hi-to-foursquare-radar/) which, like Glympse, won't be possible until Microsoft provides a background location service.
Other apps affected by the lack of background location services include GPS and the run tracker type apps.
Maybe you should include a section about multitasking in general.

great idea for a post it can help a lot of people who may or may not want to switch