One thing that I am quite curious about is what people are actually hoping to get from Windows Phone 7 other than the more obvious features like “multitasking” or “simultaneous multi-player gaming” etc. Read more to see some of the things I’m going to be looking for in Microsoft’s shiny new OS.
First things first, theres the more obvious things that people want which we know aren’t going to be there (at the initial release at least) :
- Multitasking
- Simultaneous multi-player games
- Copy & paste
and all the various other things that MS has been slated for excluding.
As far as these major features go, I’m still hoping that they may bring some of them out in time through their OTA (over the air) updates which we have been hearing of.
Now for my own personal ideas of what I want in WP7:
- Universal Remote Control
Last night I was with a friend, who was showing off his iPhone. He was using the remote control feature to control iTunes from across the room which made me think, Windows and Windows phone really need a closer relationship. Of course the interfaces should be different but they should still be able to work together better.
I feel that including a feature which works as a remote control for Windows should be included as default. On the PC side, they should also make it as easy as everything else on Windows 7.
Search on your phone for any Windows computers available (via BlueTooth or WIFI), select which one you want & put in a 4 number code. A popup appears on the computer with the choice to cancel, block or to put in the matching code, then if you put in the right code, they are paired up to be used whenever you please.
- Easy note taking:
My current Windows Phone, a HTC Touch Pro 2, is my replacement for paper. When I go off to sit in lectures I take notes on it. When I’m developing a new design (I’m a product design student) I use my phone to do little sketches on. Those moments when you think of something you know you will probably have forgotten by the time its worth knowing? I write it down on my phone. The current “Notes” app for Windows Mobile is the thing I use most on my phone.
As many people will have seen, WP7 includes an interesting looking Office Hub, but for taking notes its only got OneNote. Whilst I feel that OneNote itself is quite an impressive piece of kit, what with syncing with your SkyDrive (a free 25GB online storage solution from Windows Live, check it out) but it doesn’t support ink input, meaning you cant draw on it or use your own handwriting. So what I’m trying to get at is there needs to be some sort of quick note taking app which you can draw all over & to write down those handy things you need to remember.
- A real shutdown menu:
On Windows Mobile, when you want to turn your phone off, you need to simply hold down the power button & eventually a popup will appear saying “You sure you wanna do that?” & a quick press of “OK” will shut it down. To restart the phone, you have to find the little hole with the red dot inside. Prod your stylus in there & the phone will reset itself, but it feels a bit too sudden, like back in the day when the only way to fix Windows 98 after a crash was to pull out the power cable.
Of course you can now get numerous programs which provide options for shutting down your phone, like xdaShutdown, slide2shutdown etc, but with the various restrictions on what code you can use when programming for Windows Phone 7, I’m not sure how possible that will still be.
I really want there to be a proper menu for shutting down or restarting your device & if theres an easily visible hole to prod a stylus into on any WP7 device, Ill know theres something horribly wrong.
- Configurable auto lock.
When you use a “normal” phone you can very often have the option to get it to lock itself after going unused for a while. Why this isn’t included by default on a Smartphone, I don’t really know. There are now apps which do this on Windows Mobile, but I’m hoping they will figure out to include this by default into WP7.
- Stopwatch/countdown timer.
These are another couple of things which are always on even the most basic of phones, but aren’t available on a Windows Mobile phone by default. Its not hard to make a Stopwatch app, or a countdown timer app, so why aren’t they there Microsoft? The amount of times people have said “anyone got a stopwatch?” and Ive had to sit there thinking “nope, I have a windows phone, we don’t have basic features like that ¬_¬” is much larger than you might believe. Its like furniture, it’s not a major thing, but you notice when its not there.
- A GOOD Guitar Hero game.
Out of all the games Ive reviewed over at BestWindowsMobileApps, Guitar Hero 5 Mobile is the only one I wish they would remake but actually put some effort in.
It has the potential to be an amazing game, fun, challenging & addictive, but the graphics are very low quality as is the music & the game runs really jerkily.
I really want them to make a high quality Guitar Hero game for WP7. That would very easily become my favorite mobile game.
So, what sort of things do you want to see from Windows Phone 7? If you have a feature of the OS itself, or an app you would want to see appear for the platform, tell us what your thinking by leaving a comment down below.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
In regards to Universal Remote Control … there will be a Hohm client for WP7 : http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2010/04/23/windows-phone-7-app-microsoft-hohm.html.. I dont think it can access iTunes but I am gueesing there will be some apps to interact with the Zune software.
I am sure there is a lock screen on windows Phone , I think it can randomly pull photos from facebook or something like that ( Dont quote me on this – it might be from the KIN )
I am not worried about Games .. initially its asynchronous multiplayer but come on guys these guys made xBox Live , they know a thing or two about online gaming .. ;)
Great article BTW.. enjoyed reading it
Really upset that they have done away with the Call Button, I think that should have been required for windows phone hardware. Although the defualt dialer for WM6 really sucks, the structure is good. With HTC’s skins on the dialer, their phones by far have the best touchscreen dial pads. I love that at anytime when using my phone, I can simply hit the dial button, and start typing the persons name on the dial pad. Even though the physical button is gone I really hope they still include the other features of the dialer I have come to love.
I was actually thinking the same thing a while back. Considering its a phone, I feel it really is a bit of a stupid thing to leave out :/
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