Windows Phone 7 Suggestions
I got my Samsung Focus right after they came out. I was impressed with the Windows Phone 7 experience and thought Metro provided a lot of neat options and a great experience. After a bit of growing pains and adjustment I have become very impressed with the platform, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft doesn’t have some things they can improve. The most recently NoDo update increasing the speed of starting applications and the current demos of Mango coming out later this year with HTML5 browser support and a host of other new features, but there are still things MS can change or fix. Here are some areas that I’d like Microsoft to improve with future updates.
Application Management in Zune Desktop
While updating to NoDo I had to hard reset my phone, losing all my data including my photos and apps. Zune does a great job syncing your photos, but applications aren’t synced and there isn’t any way to sync them. After getting my phone running I tried to download the typical first apps (Facebook, Twitter, ESPN ScoreCenter) in Zune Desktop and was alerted that I have already downloaded them, being forced to download all my updates via my phones WiFi connection. While this isn’t such a drag, it would have been nice to just click a couple download links in Zune Desktop and copy them over via USB. Also as users download more and more apps, it will become increasingly more difficult to keep track of what you have or haven’t bought if all app management can only be done on the phone.
Better YouTube App
Netflix is great, but I don’t watch movies on my phone. I show people silly clips of my dog on YouTube. While this will (should) improve greatly with the HTML5 broswer, it would be nice to just have an app that works and doesn’t just take you to the mobile site. Hopefully Microsoft and Google can be nice enough to release an awesome YouTube app that also allows video uploads from WiFi.
Smart DJ for Zune
I was sold on the Zune Pass after my trial was over. Having access to tons of music with the free credits is a pretty awesome deal, but I’d really like the phone to have Smart DJ. It is great for finding new artists and when I’m in the car on a long trip, it would be awesome for the phone to switch tracks up based on what you are listening too.
Save User Settings for the Camera
I’m sure all WP7 users know that the camera application resets every time it opens is a feature, but it is an awful feature. MS should really just allow the user to save a settings profile.
Battery Percentage
This might sound minor, but I like numbers. I want exact.
These are all minor things, but I’d really like to see them work these issues out. Most of these issues are just in how the phone works. I could do a whole second post on improvements in some of the applications I have been using. Perhaps another time.
