Samsung Galaxy Nexus represented Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, iPhone 4S stood for Apple’s iOS 5 and Nokia Lumia 800 for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

In the first part of this comparison/review we look we checked out the device hardware and performance. In the second part tomorrow we will look at software and features.

Design & Ergonomics

The Galaxy Nexus remains true to its Samsung roots as it is mainly based on different kinds of plastic. The build materials aren’t necessarily cheap but rather very uninspiring, especially for a high-end device. The design is also kept very simple, where the only diversity comes from the textured battery cover, while the front of the device is completely bare and button-less. The phone sits quite nicely in palms thanks to the slight hump at the back, but due to the enormous size of the screen – 4.65 inches – the overall usability takes a hit.

Clearly ambitious in its undertaking, Apple iPhone 4S takes the design to extreme heights. The phone consists of two glass panels separated by a stainless steel frame (thankfully the antenna problems have been resolved with 4S), which makes the phone pretty to look at, but also quite impractical. The glossy glass surface can easily get smeared with fingerprints, and getting it scratched isn’t too hard either if you’re not careful. On top of all that, the phone is extremely slippery, and we’ve already seen some vivid examples of what happens when the glass structure of iPhone 4 meets its worst enemy: the gravity. These undoubtedly premium materials also contribute towards making 4S the heaviest phone in this test.

Nokia 800 Lumia seems to take the golden middle ground both in terms of built materials and usability. It’s made from a solid block of polycarbonate plastic that is not only eye-catching but also quite practical as it barely leaves any fingerprints. The smooth surface and curved sides of the shell also provide some extra grip in comparison to the other two phones in this test. The screen is also decently sized – 3.7 inches – which makes 800 Lumia neither too small nor too big, so the phone fits nicely in hands and pockets alike.

Display

All three are standard candybar touchscreen phones, and as a result, the quality of the display has an immense impact on their look, feel and usability. Unsurprisingly, the first phone to separate from the rest is the Galaxy Nexus with its sheer size of the screen that literally dwarfs the tiny in comparison screen on the iPhone 4S.

(In this and other display pics: top – Lumia 800, middle – Galaxy Nexus, bottom – iPhone 4S)

But there’s far more to Galaxy Nexus than just the physical dimensions of the screen. Samsung has also equipped Galaxy Nexus with an HD quality screen of 1280 x 720 pixels that can easily rival and surpass Apple’s retina display (960 x 640 pixels). Due to smaller physical size, the 3.5 inch screen on iPhone 4S offers a slightly higher pixel density than Galaxy Nexus (316 vs 330 ppi), but both screens look incredibly sharp and detailed. On the other hand, the WVGA resolution of 480 x 800 pixels doesn’t look quite as impressive on Nokia’s 3.7 inch screen.

In terms of picture quality, Samsung Galaxy Nexus with its AMOLED display (in the middle) also comes first, followed closely by Nokia’s own AMOLED display (top), and Apple, unsurprisingly, taking up the rear with its LED-backlit IPS TFT screen. All phones have exceptional viewing angles and great sunlight legibility, but Nokia’s screen comes off as noticeably darker for some reason.

While the physical size could be an issue for some users, it’s easy to recommend Galaxy Nexus HD screen that puts its rivals to shame with the combination of vibrant colors, great contracts and just the sheer amount detail. This especially applies to users who find themselves frequently surfing the web or watching movies on a phone – those particular kind of experiences are head and shoulders above the competition.

Performance

All 3 phones are considered high-end smartphones and are equipped accordingly to run their environments. There are, of course, some notable differences in the hardware amongst the three.

Android has proven to be the more resource heavy OS, and the speedy 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and a whopping 1 GB of RAM really comes into play on Galaxy Nexus to ensure a very fluid and responsive user experience. Unlike most other Android phones with their custom skins or launchers that sip away extra processing power, the Galaxy Nexus additionally benefits from running a clean, unaltered version of the OS.

Apple, and, more recently, Microsoft, has taken a different kind of approach by strictly tailoring hardware to their OS. As a result, Windows Phone 7 runs nicely with the single core 1.4 GHz Scorpion CPU on board the Lumia 800, and no noticeable hiccups were encountered while performing tasks.

The dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor on the iPhone 4S, on the other hand, feels more like a response to the market’s shift to dual-core smartphones. The most dramatic improvement over the older generation iPhones is the increased performance in graphically demanding 3D games, and as such, the 4S is well catered towards people who are passionate about this form of digital entertainment.

As mentioned earlier, all phones in this test showed admirable performance on their respective platforms, and opening & switching between apps happened with no interruptions in most cases. If, however, we had to nominate the winner solely judging by its raw computing power, then Galaxy Nexus would take this round.

Camera

By looking at the specs sheet, it appears like Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be not on equal footing in this part of the test. While its hardware in many ways derives from Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S2, the camera has been reduced from 8 to 5 Mpix, which is exactly the same amount as the last Google phone, the Nexus S. On the opposite side of the ring, the other two contestants share a similarity for once as they both are keen to show off their cameras in the same 8Mpix league.

Despite the inferior megapixel count, the underlying improvements in Galaxy Nexus camera in comparison to its predecessor were enough to make the end result look good. Even more so, the quality of the still shots is fairly acceptable in comparison to the other 2 phones in this test.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Apple iPhone 4S

Nokia 800 Lumia

The biggest disappointment, and surprise, comes from Nokia Lumia 800 – the Finns usually put a lot more effort in their smartphone cameras. On the surface, the photos taken with Lumia 800 appear to be OK, but closer inspection reveals that some finer detail is washed away. Could that perhaps be noticeably improved with subsequent software updates? Only time will tell.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Apple iPhone 4S

Nokia 800 Lumia

The camera interface is pretty straightforward and easy to use on all 3 phones, but Nokia does earn a few points back with its more expansive settings that allow tweaking things like white balance, contract, saturation and ISO. In comparison, the Galaxy Nexus and especially iPhone 4S camera settings are very bland, but nothing some 3rd party apps couldn’t fix.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Apple iPhone 4S

Nokia 800 Lumia

Due to the very limiting dimensions of phones, the built-in cameras have always been about having the right compromises. In that respect, the iPhone 4S camera, even though far from showing flawless performance, did manage to deliver the most consistent results throughout the tests. More often than not, this 8Mpix shooter from Apple impressed me with its rich colors and sharp detail, and the ability to take HDR pics right from the start proved to be the icing on the cake.

Battery life

Depending on the user, the results here can vary drastically. The 1430 mAh Li-Po battery took iPhone 4S to the top position in our tests, giving almost 2 full days of moderate usage. That feat was followed with solid 1.5 days from Nokia Lumia 800 with its 1450 mAh battery. Despite having the beefiest battery – 1750 mAh – Galaxy Nexus came in last with an up-time of slightly above one day. It didn’t do too bad – in fact, with its massive screen, the Android could have fared much worse than it actually did.

Also worth noting, Galaxy Nexus is the only phone in this test with a replaceable battery. So, if you’re used to prolonging your phone’s life with an extra battery pack or two, you should take that into a serious consideration.

____________________________

That’s about it for the hardware bit of our Galaxy Nexus vs Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S review. Check back tomorrow for the second part, where we take a closer look into what makes these devices tick – the software and features inside.

• Verizon exclusive Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets its full specs leaked ahead of October 11 unveiling
• Samsung Galaxy S II unsurprisingly passes drop test that shatters the iPhone 4S
• Some Nokia Lumia 800 phones have battery issues, software update coming soon
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S Comparison/Review. Part 2–Sofware, UX&Conclusions
• The first Google Nexus One review shows up

Well known UK-based retailer Expansys is having a clearance sale of sorts for a few Acer smartphones. You can now get three different devices for just £79.99. SIM-free and unlocked, in case you were wondering. So yes, extremely cheap. However, none of these handsets was launched this year. In fact two of them are from 2009. If you’re still reading, here are the details.

The phones in question are the Acer Liquid, the Acer beTouch E110, and the Acer Tempo X960. That last one runs Windows Mobile 6.1. The other two run Android, but old versions of it as you’d expect.

The Acer Liquid runs Android 1.6 and has a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.5-inch 800×480 touchscreen, a 5 MP camera, microSD card support, Bluetooth, HSPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, 256 MB of RAM, 512 MB of ROM, and a 1,350 mAh battery. Expansys offers it in either white or red. The good news (if you can call it that) is that you might be able to upgrade the Liquid’s OS to Android 2.1. Which is still very old, but at least it’s newer than the positively ancient 1.6.

And speaking of ancient, the Acer beTouch E110 runs Android 1.5. The handset has a 416 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, 256 MB of ROM, a 3 MP camera, a 2.8-inch 240×320 touchscreen, HSPA, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1,500 mAh battery. If you’re interested, you can pick one up from Expansys here.

The Acer Tempo X960 has a 533 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM, 256 MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch 480×640 resistive touchscreen, HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microSD card support, and a 3 MP camera. You can get one from Expansys over here.

• Acer beTouch E110 passes the FCC with AT&T 3G
• Acer Liquid e coming to Rogers as Canada’s first Android 2.1 phone
• Acer beTouch E140 with Android Froyo gets official in the UK
• Acer beTouch E130 is like an Android BlackBerry
• #MWC10: Acer beTouch E400, beTouch E110, neoTouch P300 and neoTouch P400

While we already have the first WP 7.5 phone-  Fujitsu IS12T shipping in Japan, HTC was the first to announce European launch of WP Mango devices – HTC Titan and HTC Radar.

HTC Titan is a Flagship Windows device for the Taiwanese smartphone maker. It comes with a huge 4.7” (480x800px) display, 1.5GhZ single core Qualcomm CPU and improved 8 megapixel camera.

HTC Radar is a an upgrade to the last year’s HTC Trophy/Mozart, with a second generation MSM8255 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, 3.8” display and 5 megapixel camera.

HTC rep at IFA Berlin was also able to confirm the prices for both Windows Phones (see the end of video below). HTC Titan will retail in Germany for 609 Euro, while HTC radar will set you back EUR399. These are retail prices, including the German VAT (19%), so we can easily calculate their prices to the standard “before taxes and subsidies” form. Which will be 335 EUR for HTC Radar and 512 EUR for HTC Titan.

Here is the hands-on video of HTC Titan and and HTC Radar:

• HTC Titan (Eternity) and Radar (Omega) with Windows Phone Mango announced
• HTC Titan and Radar with Windows Phone Mango available for pre-order in the UK
• HTC Titan and Radar priced
• HTC Titan, Radar and Sensation XE to arrive in the UK in early October
• Unlocked HTC Titan and Radar now available for pre-order in US

This has still to percolate to the English speaking part of the net, but, according to Taiwan based Dan Nystedt, local media is reporting that Compal will start shipping Windows Phones to Nokia in September already. A total of 2 million Windows Phones has been ordered for Q4 2011.

The possibility that Nokia will start receiving Windows Phones in September is very good news. I don’t think that the new handsets will be launched or announced earlier then a week before Nokia World, which is set for October 26-27th in London. But September Compal shipments mean that Nokia Windows phones will become available in launch countries either on October 26th, or very soon after that. No more excruciatingly long wait periods between new handset announcements and availability.

Last year Nokia managed to ship 5 million newly launched Symbian^3 devices in a single quarter. So the sales plans for 2 million Windows Phones in 2011 are pretty modest for Nokia. On the other hand, with late October launch Nokia will have one month less to sell the new phones. And Nokia was very clear and open about it – the real volume Windows Phone shipments will start only in the first half of 2012, probably when Nokia starts manufacturing the new smartphones themselves.

1 million new devices a month is a pretty good number for a totally new phone. It’s way below Samsung Galaxy S2 sales, but it is in line with the original Galaxy S sales at launch. And if Nokia manages to actually sell those 2 million “not in volume” Windows Phones in Q4, when they do start shipping “in volume” – the numbers should be pretty good.

This is also good news for Microsoft. They have shipped 2.6 million WP7 phones in Q4 2010. This year, with 2 million Windows Phones from Nokia, and new WP Mango handsets from Samsung, HTC and, probably, LG – the overall sales could easily top 5 million mark.

• Compal to make Windows Phones for Nokia, shipments are scheduled for Q4
• Nokia Q4 2010 Earnings. Nokia confirms 5+mil Symbian^3 phones shipped. Loses a lot of marketshare
• Nokia is shipping more than 1 mil. 5800 XMs a month
• Microsoft OEM partners ship 1.5 million WP7 devices in 6 weeks. It’s a very good start
• Android shipments to grow 900% this year? No. I say it’s 1800%!

According to an anonymous tipster, Verizon is getting ready to do just that – remove a few phones from its lineup, alongside two Wi-Fi hotspots.

The full list includes Android-powered devices such as the LG Ally and Vortex, but also the BlackBerry Storm 2, as well as the LG Fathom (which is running Windows Mobile 6.5.3!), and a couple of featurephones, the LG Cosmos and the Samsung Convoy. The Wi-Fi hotspots being phased out are the ZTE Five Spot and the MiFi 2200.

It’s unclear when exactly these handsets will fully exit Verizon’s portfolio, but it’s bound to happen soon because the last units of the aforementioned phones are now being cleared out. We don’t know if Big Red decided to cut their prices to ensure that they’ll get rid of all the remaining stock quickly, so in order to find that out you should probably head to your nearest Verizon store and ask around.

However, with many new and exciting phones coming to Verizon in the near future, why you’d buy such old handsets is a good question.

Via Phone Arena

• Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two coming to Verizon on May 6 for under $100 on contract
• Verizon Motorola Droid 2 Global price drops to $149.99 possibly making way for the Droid 3
• Verizon LG Ally Android 2.2 Froyo update will arrive in February
• Verizon drops smartphone prices to under $100
• AT&T buys Wayport for $275 million: more Wi-Fi hotspots for its customers

In a brief statement, Nokia said “We are planning to close our channel structure and focus our resources on key trade customers.”

It joins planned closures of other online Nokia stores around the world, and appears to be a company-wide strategy by the firm. Particularly in the UK it makes sense, as most people generally go straight to the operator or online retailers to purchase a smartphone.

It also indicates a major slide in popularity for Nokia smartphones, with sales hit by the popularity of other competing platforms such as Android and the Apple iOS. Recent efforts such as the Nokia E6 and the N8 haven’t exactly set the world alight.

And of course, Nokia’s decision to combine with Microsoft in using Windows 7 as its main operating system must have had some effect, as Redmond’s marketing muscle may have left Nokia-only websites as somewhat redundant.

Whatever the case, it is a sign of how the mobile landscape is changing, with Apple’s online store going from strength to strength. Nokia may have to look towards Google, which itself shut down its own online store in favour of working with brands like HTC and Samsung to shift Android handsets.

• Apple and Google blow away RIM in US market share
• You can now try out Windows Phone on your Android or iOS device
• LG president says Windows Mobile is “rather unqualified in mobile interfaces”
• Nokia Lumia 710 now available in the UK and Canada, free with contract in the US
• LG agrees to pay Microsoft royalties for every Android device it sells

Well, it seems that Nokia is now a bit more confident in private settings, when they are talking to big retail partners about their future plans.

Recently the head of the second largest Russian mobile phone retailer “Sviaznoj” met with Stephen Elop about opening of a number of “shop-in-shop” Nokia outlets in Sviaznoj stores. When talking to the media about this meeting, the head of Sviaznoj Denis Liudkovski had this quip about the upcoming Nokia products in his stores:

“We are the key Nokia partner in Russia. Thanks’ to the cooperation agreements on the “shop-in-shop”  format, all the newest models show up at Sviaznoj earlier then in competing outlets…. We expect that the first Windows Mobile based Nokia smartphone will show up in our stores before the end of 2011”

Well, except for the weird “Windows Mobile” reference, this sounds pretty interesting. I hope the statement is based on something Stephen Elop has actually promised Mr.Liudkovski  the other day.

Via: RBC Daily

• The first Nokia Windows Phone (Sea Ray) unveiled by Stephen Elop?
• Elop: Rumors about Nokia selling its mobile business to Microsoft are baseless
• Elop: New full touch UI is coming to Nokia S40 phones
• Nokia doesn’t have a Plan B ready in case Windows Phone fails
• Elop says Nokia doesn’t want fragmentation in Windows Phone, because Android has problems with it. Quad-core phones don’t impress him

That Stephen Elop – ex-Microsoft Nokia CEO, is just a Trojan Horse, sent to Finland to pillage the company and sell Nokia to Microsoft  on the cheap? They sounded pretty far fetched at the time to me.

Not anymore. It seems that the deal of selling Nokia to Microsoft is now on the table.

Today Eldar Murtazin had this quip on his blog:

Next week Nokia will start the negotiations about the sale of it’s phone unit to Microsoft. For now the results of the negotiations won’t be public, but the deal might close before the end of 2011. Both companies are in a big hurry.

If this came from any other source, I probably would have dismissed it. But coming from a guy who broke the news about the first Nokia Windows Phone deal, told us about the launch of OVI Store weeks before it happened,  was “reported to authorities”  by Nokia for previewing unannounced phones, and just last week told us that Nokia will kill off OVI brand, this rumor sounds much more plausible.

I’m starting to wonder if this is really the beginning of the end of Nokia?

Update: Nokia PR team stepped in on this issue here in comments and on Twitter with a sort of  denial:

We normally don’t comment on rumours as you know, but we have to say that Eldar’s rumours are obviously getting less accurate with every passing moment.

While casting some doubts – it actually does not sound like and outright denial. Something along the lines of “We are not in any negotiations about the sale of the company and do not have any plans to enter into one” – would have sounded more convincing. But I’m not sure if even that would help much at this point.

All it takes, is a look back about how the original story about Nokia Windows phone deal unfolded, and how surprised people at all levels below the very top were. I bet that in January very few people at Nokia were aware that dropping Symbian and Meego, and going Windows Phone 100% was even an option.

So this time, if Elop and his team are starting sales talks, I’d say there’s an extremely good chance that very few people outside of inner circle will know anything about them.

And given his history with former scoops, especially going on the record like this, I’m inclined to trust Eldar until I know differently.

• Elop: Rumors about Nokia selling its mobile business to Microsoft are baseless
• Nokia once again denies rumored smartphone division sale to Microsoft
• Microsoft again rumored to be in talks to buy Nokia’s smartphone division, Elop to resign next year
• Holy crap! Nokia is in talks with Microsoft about Windows Phone devices?!
• Nokia gets £20m, Samsung £8m from Microsoft for Windows Phone promotion in the UK

Redmond software giant reported their quarterly results yesterday, and it seems they were so bad for WP7, that Microsoft is too embarrassed to tell us.

If you look back to last year – late in December Microsoft announced that 1.5 million WP7 devices were shipped by it’s OEM partners so far. Pretty good number for the first 7-8 weeks of an upstart platform. Then, a month later, they said that 2 million Windows Phone licenses were sold. Again, considering that Christmas was over, 500K units in one month did not seem so bad.

After that – silence. Microsoft stopped telling us anything about WP7 sales numbers. And started misdirecting our attention with meaningless figures like high customer satisfaction, number of people that downloaded WP app developer tools, number of AppHub community members, number of apps in the Marketplace, etc; Every positive number they could dredge up, except the key one to show how WP7 is really doing – number of licenses sold.

Well, if the actual WP7 sales are not too good, I can understand why Microsoft didn’t want to reveal them until they had to. But yesterday, in a quarterly results report,  was the time tell us at least a little bit about WP7. During earnings conference call, Microsoft went through the actual numbers from every other major company division. And here’s what they had to say about Windows Phone there:

Product reviews are good. Customer satisfaction is high, well above 90%. And we have shown a clear strategy for enabling a vibrant ecosystem around Windows Phone. This quarter, we took the next step and entered into a broad strategic alliance with Nokia. While we have enjoyed strong developer support to date with more than 13,000 applications, we’ve noted even greater developer interest subsequent to the Nokia alliance announcement.

That’s about it. The same meaningless misdirection stuff they’ve been spouting since February.

Well, I can not be 100% sure why they did it this way. But most likely – it’s because after the initial launch sales propelled by the huge marketing budgets, Windows Phone 7 sales stalled. And the number of WP7 devices sold in the last three moths was so low, that Microsoft is too embarrassed to tell us about it.

Granted, Q1 usually is a very slow quarter for consumer electronics, and unlike Apple and Android vendors, Microsoft didn’t have any presence in China to give them gift giving season sales boost.

Still, with the unfinished OS, uber slow update cycle and disappointed OEM partners – I don’t see anything that could improve Windows Phone 7 fortunes at least until Q4 of this year.

• Microsoft OEM partners ship 1.5 million WP7 devices in 6 weeks. It’s a very good start
• More than 2 million Windows Phone 7 licenses sold until now
• At least 135,000 Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold so far
• Nokia Q2 2011 results: profit declines, only 16.7 million smartphones sold
• Nokia posts Q1 2011 results, signs definitive agreement with Microsoft

However, if these new details coming from Mobile-review’s Eldar Murtazin are correct, we now have the names of Nokia’s very first Windows Phone devices: W7 and W8. We also have the inside scoop about the internal thinking and plans for other Nokia Windows Phone handsets.

Currently, Nokia has only one working Windows Phone prototype – Nokia W7, which is based on the recently announced X7 (has the same chassis), but comes with better (WVGA) display,  Qualcomm QSD8250 Chipset, and an 8 megapixel autofocus camera.  Since it’s the only working prototype with which Nokia engineers are learning how to work with Windows Phone, it’s highly likely that this will be the first Nokia Windows Phone model in the market. Nokia’s Management is pushing for a late 2011 launch, but it’s very likely that the release may slip to Q1 2012.   In its current state, the Nokia W7 strongly reminds of the HTC Mozart.

All other Nokia Windows Phone devices are still on the drawing board, and neither their design, nor their specs have been finalized. Currently, 3 new handsets are planned:

Nokia W8 – a new Windows Phone imaging flagship,  scheduled for Q2 2012. The goal is to make W8 the most powerful Windows Phone at the time of launch. Nokia W8 will keep the basics/ideology of the N8′s design (albeit the design is not finalized yet).  It should get a camera solution from the N8, with a Dual Core Qualcomm CPU, and Adreno 320 GPU.  But, except for camera, the specs are in flux, because Nokia lacks experience of working with Qualcomm chips, and does not have good relations with the chip giant, to put it mildly.

Touchscreen QWERTY candybar – along the lines of E71-E6. The E71 line is one of Nokia’s more popular, and the company wants to bring this form factor to Windows Phone.  The new WP device  will have a metal body, a touchscreen, and a QWERTY keyboard. There’s no actual design yet. Nokia is working on some service for corporate users that should become the unique selling point for this device, but it’s unclear what this service can be.   The phone is scheduled for April/May 2012, and the planned retail price should be around 350EUR.

Cheap touchscreen. This model is being developed to become the cheapest WP offering. Most likely, the specs will be similar to the ones of Nokia W7, but made with cheaper materials, a simpler camera solution etc; This phone should make it to market in early 2012.

For 2012, Nokia plans include 12 more Windows Phone devices, for a total of 16 models. But the work on those hasn’t even started, as for now Nokia is just developing the model line-up and positioning.

While strongly focused on Windows for now, Nokia is keeping other options open as well.  The company is currently carefully exploring Android products, and if  sales of Nokia WP handsets fail to take off, they might still switch to Android.

For now, Nokia’s WP plans are very much in flux. They have only one working  prototype, and are just learning to work with the  Windows Phone platform. The specs and features of devices can (and do) change very often, as new information about available hardware, compatibility issues and so on comes to light.

• Some Nokia Windows Phone handsets to use dual-core ST Ericsson chips
• Elop says Nokia’s first Windows Phones are on track for Q4
• “Nokia N87″ prototype shows up on eBay, costs an arm and a leg
• New Nokia Windows Phone 7 concept – would you buy this?
• Nokia N99 or Nokia N900 successor to N800 Internet Tablet pops up

In case you’re not familiar with that name, the Touch Pro 2 is a smartphone running Windows Mobile. No typo there, it’s WinMo and not Windows Phone. The Touch Pro 2 hit the streets during the summer of 2009. Again, no typo, and this isn’t a post from 2009. It is 2011, and HTC has decided that the Touch Pro 2 is in need of an update that improves its stability. Of course, that’s great news for HTC Touch Pro 2 owners, yet probably also has the effect of baffling some Android fans.

Anyway, unfortunately there’s no official changelog available for this update. The only description available is “this update enhances the system stability”. The file is very, very small at 159,744 bytes, so it’s probably just a quick patch, but nevertheless it’s clearly worth installing if for some reason you’re still sporting an HTC Touch Pro 2 in this day and age.

Full installation instructions are available here at HTC.

Via PocketNow

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Android 2.3 Gingerbread update may be already available in the UK
• Verizon rolls out software updates for Motorola Droid Razr and Razr Maxx
• Correction: Sprint Samsung Epic 4G isn’t shipping with Android 2.3 Gingerbread after all
• T-Mobile myTouch 3G gets Froyo tomorrow, T-Mobile G2 gets OTA update that brings tethering
• Google Nexus One finally getting an official Froyo OTA update?

In fact, almost 1500 apps have been added in the last 2 weeks, meaning WP7 is at a pace of adding 3,000 apps to its Marketplace per month.

Now if only we could convince Pandora to throw a little something together, and tell Rovio to hurry up with Angry Birds, Windows Phone would definitely be sitting pretty.

via windowsphoneapplist

• Angry Birds Rio for Android will debut via Amazon Appstore
• Ads-free Angry Birds for Android to come next month
• Angry Birds Coming to Windows Phone; 3D Version in the Works
• New Angry Birds Rio coming in March to iPhone, Android, Ovi Store (video trailer)
• Angry Birds Seasons updated with Easter Eggs (iOS, Android, Symbian, WebOS)

Now that WP7 is finally available on CDMA, we should see the floodgates open for multiple handsets running the platform on Sprint and Verizon both. This is going to be great for Microsoft, since up until this time the OS was only available on exactly 50% of the major nationwide networks, and it’s only going to continue growing.

But before we see any sort of floodgates in action for WP7, let us first reflect upon the HTC Arrive, the phone responsible for leading the charge against the CDMA carriers. With one more OS platform becoming available on Sprint, I love seeing carriers offer more OS choices to their customers.

Let the HTC Arrive review commence!

Here’s Part 1 of the Video Review.

First impressions and Unboxing

Check here for my first impressions of the HTC Arrive immediately after unboxing it, and watch the unboxing video below.

Software of the HTC Arrive

Windows Phone 7 devices are the most consistent of any OS platform (with iOS perhaps excepted) currently, which is another way of saying it’s the most boring across the board. Every single device running WP7 has to be running a minimal hardware standard, and the most customizing any OEM or carrier can do on WP7 is restricted to the Hub for that company.

It’s a locked-down OS to the max, which makes Microsoft sound a heckuva lot like Apple. My guess is that they have chosen the same closed-OS model as its competitor because they were too worried that an open-sourced or open-to-customization WP7 would easily just spiral out of control, essentially turning into the same exact problem Windows Mobile 6.x ran into.

The software of any WP7 device is going to be boring to review, because there’s very little room for each OEM and carrier to innovate and be different from their competitors. The only hope for each WP7 phone to shine is to find a nook or cranny on the software or hardware that makes it look or feel different than the rest. In the case of the HTC Arrive, they were supremely different in 3 things: NoDo pre-installed, Sprint Zone, and a couple new design ideas that had me sold from the first moment I tried the phone.

NoDo Update on the Arrive

The HTC Arrive is the first to come pre-loaded with the new NoDo update, which is finally now starting to roll out to select WP7 handsets. This NoDo (which stands for “No Donut”, a direct crack at Android’s naming scheme system) update is the famous one that finally makes copy-and-paste come alive along with a few other important bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Here’s the laundry list of enhancements in the NoDo update:

• Copy and paste – still not implemented perfectly, but a massive improvement over the non-existent kind of copy/paste on the original version of the OS. See the video review for more detail on exactly how the copy and paste works. Like I said, though, it is definitely not a perfect system as we would like it to be; there are restrictions on developers that force them to have to rewrite the code for their apps in order to have their apps properly work with the copy and paste functionality. But natively, the copy/paste actions seem to work flawlessly in emails, messages and web browsing.
• Marketplace search. My largest complaint about the Marketplace is not how few apps there are in it — I understand it will take time to get developers to hop on the bandwagon — but how difficult it was to filter through all of the search results. Previously, you could only do a general search through every aspect of the Marketplace, so your quest to find the band “Crazy Leg Warmers” would also reveal a list of apps, artists, albums, and games that would fit under that same search, and there’s no way to separate them out or categorize them at all. In the new Marketplace under NoDo, simply go into the games or apps section, and the new search menu will let you search ONLY apps and games. Same with the music section. Again, not perfect but much improved.
• Other Marketplace enhancements. Added stability in downloading apps, and improved the experience of downloading apps larger than 20 MB. NoDo also made it easier to upgrade from trial apps to fully-puchased versions, using a credit card from outside the US, and other improvements to XBox Live.
• Faster app/game loading. Another big complaint about WP7 has been focused on how long it takes to actually load a game or app before finally letting you in. This update will help each app on the WP7 system load up faster, so you can get to enjoying your apps sooner.
• Better Facebook syncing, improved ability to switch from camera to camcorder and vice versa, improvements in the Wi-Fi performance and Microsoft Outlook, bluetooth improvements, and many more general bug fixes.

NoDo is considered a major update, technically, though it doesn’t really add a whole lot to the WP7 experience. It’s definitely not an overhaul of the OS, and doesn’t come anywhere close to the kinds of improvements you can expect to see in the next major update, nicknamed Mango, likely coming out late 2011 or early 2012.

Here’s part 2 of my video review:

Hardware and Design of the HTC Arrive

The Arrive is a hefty phone, even more so than the HTC Thunderbolt I just recently reviewed. This particular phone is thicker (at 15.5 mm) and heavier (6.5 oz) because it has a full horizontal slide-out keyboard, and it is comprised of more durable materials. For instance, the battery cover is made of brushed aluminum, and the top and bottom of the back are all soft rubber. Finally, plastic lines the sides and edges of the phone. I prefer lighter phones, but I’m willing to make a sacrifice if it’s made of durable materials.

I think one of the biggest differences in the weight/size issue that I had with the Thunderbolt (in short, I did not like having such a large and wide phone be so thick and heavy) is that the Arrive has a smaller screen and they compact a physical QWERTY keyboard into a smaller package. It reminds me much of the HTC EVO Shift 4G in that it’s a skinnier phone and the weight, though heavier, is all condensed. Thus, the Arrive has a natural feeling when you’re holding it in your hand, like it belongs there.

Beyond the types of material used and the overall look, HTC threw a couple other design innovations into the mix for good measure. The most important design element is in the keyboard slider: when open, the phone’s screen tilts up. the slider uses a bar that goes length-wise across the back of the phone and pivots up and down. As soon as the keyboard is slid all the way out, the pivot is freed up and automatically flexes upwards, pushing the screen up with it. This particular style certainly differs from anything else I’ve seen in a slider phone; for instance, the HTC Touch Pro (AT&T Tilt) used a plate on a hinge to allow the screen to tilt.

The drawback to the pivot style for the screen tilt is that you’re not given the option to push the screen down and use it like normal. It’s tilt, and tilt only. Not everybody enjoys having their screen tilt upward at an angle. I prefer it this way because I don’t have to look at the screen straight-on in order to see what I’m typing.

However, this pivoting style does add to the complexity of opening and closing the slider itself. Opening it isn’t much of a problem, though sometimes there is a little too much friction caused between the keys and the slider, making me have to push a bit harder. Closing the slider is different than usual because I have to push the screen down to be parallel with the keyboard first, rather than diagonal. The pivot only releases its grip on the screen when it’s pushed down, finally giving the slider a chance to be pushed back in at that time.

Keyboard

This is one of the best keyboards I’ve tested recently. For starters, it uses a 5-row keyboard with a dedicated number row. I can never emphasize strongly enough the importance of having a row of numbers on the top of the keyboard — if it’s not a dedicated row, it becomes a large nuisance because it’s treated as a symbol. Trying to toggle the Sym or Fn key several times is a huge hassle if you need to type a string of numbers at the same time.

The keys are separated slightly (not too much space to make it awkward trying to type back and forth, but not too little space that my thumbs are constantly smushing on the wrong keys), made of a comfortable soft rubber and is elevated off the board perfectly, so that it offers enough feedback when pressing the keys in but doesn’t cause it to bounce back too much. It sounds weird to say, but the higher the keys are off the board, the harder it is for me to type on them; I think the extra bouncing down and back up throws off my rhythm. And I can’t stress enough the importance of having a rhythm when typing on a smartphone keyboard.

Also, the keyboard has 2 LED lights on the left-hand side that will light up when the caps lock key or FN key are activated. I enjoyed seeing these light up to indicate I was using an uppercase letter or one of the yellow symbols on the keyboard. There’s also a dedicated direction pad, emoticon button, and comma button. Anyone who has read my reviews of other phones with keyboards will know that I strongly dislike the lack of a .com and / button. I heavily use both of these buttons, whether it’s just for emails or for web browsing; either way, these two activities are huge when using a smartphone.

Performance of the Arrive

The Arrive has similar specs to that of any other Windows Phone 7 device: 1 GHz CPU, 576 MB RAM, 5 MP camera with 720p HD video capture and LED flash, 16 GB internal storage space with no MicroSD accessibility, and no front camera.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind that the Arrive is not an international phone. It only uses dual-mode CDMA, so there is no GSM and no 4G WiMax either. That’s right — any international travelers or speed enthusiasts need not apply here. You will still get access to the 3G network on Sprint, but it almost feels like a step backwards these days, considering every other high-end device on Sprint’s lineup is 4G-capable.

The processor and RAM are not excessive, but still sufficient on WP7. Every transition is a smooth one, with no ghosting effect when scrolling up and down through various screens; the apps all boot up fairly quickly (faster with NoDo, for sure) and the games run smooth with no lagging.

I absolutely love the audio quality and volume control on the Arrive. I could hear the other end of the line clearly and loudly in every environment, even on speakerphone. Most smartphones have a difficult time keeping the volume loud enough, forcing me to put the volume on max almost exclusively, but I never had to go to maximum volume on the Arrive.

The battery life on the Arrive is nothing spectacular, but certainly is average for a smartphone. It’s rated to last 6 hours for constant talk time, which is true to my tests.

Overall, I felt like the phone performed very well, with few bugs or lags.

Overview of the HTC Arrive

I recommend it for: those who prefer a physical keyboard to touchscreen-only, need their phone calls to be nice and loud, want a new OS experience, and for smartphone novices that are just learning the ropes.

I don’t recommend it for: international travelers, screen display enthusiasts who like the best possible screen resolution, anyone who wants to have 4G-capable phone, or those who prefer the lightest phone with the largest screen.

You can find some great deals for the HTC Arrive right now. On Sprint you can get it for $199.99 with contract, but you can find it on Amazon for $49.99 (new customers) or $149.99 (upgrades). Either way you’re still saving more by taking that route.

Also, you can find it at Let’s Talk:
HTC Arrive (Sprint)

• Sprint HTC Arrive Unboxing and First Impressions
• Minor Update May Come to Windows Phone 7 This Week
• Windows Phone 7 NoDo update starts rolling out, brings copy&paste and more
• Samsung Focus to Get NoDo WP7 Update Monday?
• HTC Arrive is Now Available on Sprint; $199 with Contract

And none of the mobile industry CEO’s have been under more scrutiny recently, then Nokia’s Stephen Elop after Nokia’s tie-up with Microsoft was announced in February.

Wild conspiracy theories about how this is some sort of nefarious plan to destroy Nokia and sell it to Microsoft on the cheap, started almost at once. Elop was accused of being Microsoft’s Trojan horse, made out to be the 7th largest individual shareholder of Microsoft, putting it’s former employer’s interests first, and what not.

I don’t expect that this will change the minds of those deeply invested in theories of foul play, but now we have some hard evidence that Mr. Elop stands to gain a lot if the new strategy pans out, and can lose a lot if it does not.  This month Nokia had a Board of Directors meeting, where they made changes to CEO’s compensation package, and tied it to the success of the new Nokia strategy. Or, to be more specific, to the performance of Nokia share price over the next 20 months.

Here’s the new revised deal Mr. Elop gets, depending of how well his strategy works:

• his short term cash incentive plan has been reduced to 100% from 150% of gross salary. It means that ~1.5 Million EUR yearly cash bonus Mr.Elop was entitled to if Nokia reached it’s intended targets for 2011 and 2012, is reduced by 500K Euro each year
• annual equity grants are reduced to a level below the competitive market value. Not sure what this one means, my guess is the automatic yearly share grants to Mr. Elop have been reduced

In return Mr. Elop gets an opportunity to earn a number of Nokia shares if overall Nokia share price increases.

Overall Nokia share price performance will be compared to a group of “relevant companies in the high technology/mobility, telecommunications and Internet services industries”. To get any bonus at all, Nokia’s share price performance should be “at the 50th percentile of the peer group”, for the maximum bonus – Nokia should be among the top three of the peer group. Also, the minimum Nokia share price at the end of the 2012 should be 9 EUR. For maximum bonus it should be at least EUR 17.

So let’s sum it all up in money terms:

• Strategy is unsuccessful, Nokia’s share price falls even further. Mr. Elop gets nothing, and will actually lose at least EUR 1 million on reduced compensation (bonuses), and more from the lower share equity grants.
• Strategy turns out to be moderately successful, but things move rather slowly. Minimum criteria are achieved. At the end of 2012 Nokia’s share price is at 9 EUR and it performs at least as good as half of it’s peers. In that case Mr. Elop will be awarded 125 000 Nokia shares, which will be worth 1 125 000 EUR. This basically means Nokia CEO neither loses nor gains anything from the newly adjusted compensation terms. The value of awarded Nokia shares will more or less cover the reduced annual bonus.
• The new strategy is a great success, Nokia share price doubles to 17 EUR  and is among the top 3 performers in the peer group. Mr. Elop will be awarded 750K Nokia shares. Which, at that time, will be worth at least 12.75 million Euro.

As you can see, Mr. Elop has a lot of money riding on the success of Nokia-Microsoft partnership. And, knowing that Nokia Windows Phone volume shipments will only start sometime in 2012, a very short time to prove that he was right. So while it’s fun to read all those conspiracy theories about Nokisoft out there, I think the truth is much more prosaic.  It was a hard business decision, based on how Nokia management saw the current state and competitive position of the company. It might turn out to be a colossal mistake, or it might be a great strategy – we won’t know which until 2012.

What we can know now, it’s that at least the incentives for the person responsible for making the new strategy a success, are aligned well.

• Palm offers more shares for sale; Nokia interested in buying?
• Nokia doesn’t have a Plan B ready in case Windows Phone fails
• Nokia fires CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, hires ex-Microsoft president Stephen Elop instead
• Elop: Rumors about Nokia selling its mobile business to Microsoft are baseless
• Nokia Q2 2011 results: profit declines, only 16.7 million smartphones sold

For more information on the Arrive, head over to my unboxing and first impressions. I currently am using the Arrive and will have a review up for it shortly after returning from CTIA this week.

You can find some great deals for the HTC Arrive right now. On Sprint you can get it for $199.99 with contract, but you can find it on Amazon for $49.99 (new customers) or $149.99 (upgrades). Either way you’re still saving more by taking that route.

Also, you can find it at Let’s Talk:
HTC Arrive (Sprint)

• Windows Phone 7 deal: AT&T Samsung Focus and Sprint HTC Arrive now only one cent at Amazon
• Verizon HTC ThunderBolt and Motorola Droid X2 now only $99.99 with contract at Wirefly
• HTC Arrive on Pre-Sale at Amazon, Will Ship on March 20 for $149
• AT&T LG Quantum, HTC Surround and Samsung Focus now only $0.01 on Amazon
• Sprint’s HTC Arrive can be pre-ordered for just $49.99 at Wirefly

With the HTC Arrive being the “arrival” of WP7 on CDMA carriers, I imagine we’ll see a wave of new CDMA WP7 devices rolling out not too far from now. Hopefully we’ll even have a few to report on at CTIA next week.

This device in particular is a full horizontal slide-out with physical QWERTY keyboard included, much like the LG Quantum, with one exception — the keyboard tilts up for easier viewing. It comes with 3.6″ WVGA display.

But the other big reason the Arrive fits its name well is because it’s the very first WP7 device to come with the latest update, aka NoDo, and it’s pre-installed. This brings the much-awaited copy and paste functionality to Windows Phones as well as a few other minor enhancements.

My first impressions? I dig it. I love the look of the phone and it feels about the same as the EVO Shift 4G in my hand: heavier because of the full keyboard, but designed well enough to feel comfortable holding it. I have typically been a fan of HTC’s designs. In fact, I’m absolutely fond of the tilting mechanism the phone uses. When you see the video, you’ll get a better idea of it, but here’s a brief picture.

I really enjoy the keyboard because first and foremost, it is a 5-row keyboard which means it includes a number row at the top. Far too many phones leave this option out in order to make the phone as small as possible. The keys are separated and just a little bubbly, which means there’s enough give to provide feedback for your fingers, yet not so bouncy that it feels like you’re typing on a trampoline.

In our unboxing today we will get some first impressions of the phone with its keyboard, copy and paste, and any other goodies we can find. So check out the video below to see the HTC Arrive, making its way into Sprint stores on March 20 for $199 on contract. In addition there will be a $10/month premium data charge required.

Here’s the full video of my unboxing and first impressions:

• HTC Arrive is Now Available on Sprint; $199 with Contract
• Here’s What Copy and Paste Will Be Like on Windows Phone 7
• Verizon HTC 7 Trophy Windows Phone 7 device may come in March
• Copy-paste tech from Apple Newton could make its way to iPhone
• Unboxing the LG Quantum: Brad’s First Impressions

The Arrive, which will officially go on sale March 20 for $199.99 at Sprint stores and online site, can be ordered right now for $149.99 through Amazon. This isn’t the only deal going on for pre-ordering the Arrive, however; Wirefly is offering it as well, and they’re even cheaper at $50.  Even though the site says the phones are backordered, they will begin shipping on March 20. The price will be honored for both new and existing customers.

And much like the Thunderbolt, there is a lot of hype and demand surrounding the Arrive. If you’re planning on getting the phone, it’s best to pre-order the phone so you don’t need to worry about stores running out and having the hassle of longer wait times.

Get the HTC Arrive Windows Phone on Amazon!

• HTC Thunderbolt Now on Sale at Amazon for $179.99
• Samsung Galaxy Tab now only £359 in the UK
• Motorola Droid Bionic now available on Verizon for $300
• Verizon HTC Thunderbolt ships on March 17, pre-orders start tonight, simultaneous voice&data confirmed
• Verizon HTC ThunderBolt 4G now just $0.01 with contract at Amazon

Though WP7 started off slow (and unsurprisingly so), it appears to be picking up some speed. It took slightly more than 2 weeks to go from 8K to 9K, so the pace is at least getting faster as more and more developers jump on the bandwagon and start throwing their hats in the ring.

Sure, the Marketplace is no iOS App Store or Android Market in comparison since it’s barely beginning, but to reach 10K in less than five months has to be great news for Microsoft as it is working hard and investing a lot into ensuring they steal market share from the other two juggernauts.

via Windows Phone 7 App List, via Engadget

• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace now has more than 9,000 apps
• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Reaches 8000 App Milestone; Quickly Approaching 10K
• Apple App Store and Android Market rank highest in customer satisfaction
• Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace now hosts more than 60,000 apps
• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace now offering 6,000 apps

This announcement was given by Microsoft directly and posted on its official French blog.

(image courtesy Geekword.net)

The big question is, is anyone still surprised? And if you’re a WP7 owner, does this itch you in the wrong way?

• “Zune phone” references coming straight from Microsoft
• Microsoft to unveil Zunephone at 2009 CES?
• No new Zune device in June after all
• Windows Mobile 7 to come with Zune?
• Tegra-based Zune phone confirmed for MWC?

The prototype we see here is a full horizontal QWERTY device with 4 rows. It’s been a very long time since we heard any rumors about SE having a Windows Phone 7 device in the works; the last one we heard about was the Julie, back in June. It’s been so long that the Julie was thought to have been scrapped. So this could mean one of two things: that these images are very old and the project is still dead (as evidenced by the older WP7 build shown off in the pics), or that the project has been brought back to life and it’s back in the development phase.

DigiTimes did report in January that the company does indeed have WP7 phones in the pipeline, adding extra fuel to the rumor’s fire.

Here’s our major hesitation on the images. With the MWC announcement of the Xperia Play, it is now much more difficult for us to be convinced that Sony Ericsson would want to pursue any platform that supports a gaming system not owned by Sony. Why would SE want to cannibalize its Xperia Play sales by offering a phone with XBox Live capabilities on it?

via Esato via WMPowerUser

• Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 confirmed by Skyhook CEO?
• Verizon-Branded Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Seen at CTIA 2011, We Go Hands-on (Video)
• PlayStation certified Sony Ericsson Xperia Play gets official on Facebook
• Verizon may launch a 4G LTE Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
• #MWC11: Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo hands-on video

It’s easy to believe in this particular rumor due to the track record of the source, Rafael Rivera, aka @WithinRafael on Twitter. Rafael was spot-on with his predictions about the Arrive on Sprint, and given that the NoDo update was originally rumored to be coming out March 8, this rumor is right on track.

The only concern on our side is the fact that this rumor only corresponds with the Samsung Focus, and we haven’t heard anything about the NoDo update coming to any other WP7 phones Monday. So if this does happen, will it be platform-wide or just specifically for the Focus?

Rumors are rumors, and it hasn’t actually happened yet. So we’ll patiently wait out the rest of the weekend in anticipation of some wonderful copy/paste love for the Focus.

via WPCentral

• Minor Update May Come to Windows Phone 7 This Week
• Windows Phone 7 NoDo update starts rolling out, brings copy&paste and more
• Verizon HTC 7 Trophy Windows Phone 7 device may come in March
• Windows Phone 7 NoDo Update Pushed Back to End of March
• Windows Phone 7 may get IE9 earlier than expected

Just don’t expect it to be NoDo, which is still slated for release in March.

WMPowerUser received a tip explaining that a minor update will be pushed into WP7 devices starting tomorrow, which will pave the way for NoDo to officially bring copy and paste functionality to the OS.

Sadly, no other information could be provided, and the update itself doesn’t really sound terribly exciting. But hey, an update is an update, right?

via WMPowerUser

• Windows Phone 7 may get IE9 earlier than expected
• Windows Phone 7 NoDo Update Pushed Back to End of March
• Here’s What Copy and Paste Will Be Like on Windows Phone 7
• Verizon HTC 7 Trophy Windows Phone 7 device may come in March
• Samsung Focus to Get NoDo WP7 Update Monday?

This may be rather surprising to some, as Rovio and Microsoft have a history. When WP7 was first launched, Microsoft used the Angry Birds logo in the marketing scheme and did not consult Rovio before doing so. Lawsuits were filed and the two companies reached terms, but it’s hard to believe that their differences are being worked out this quickly.

Of course, working things out may have been expedited as a result of last week’s announcement that Nokia is switching from MeeGo/Symbian as its main platform and moving to WP7 as its preferred smartphone OS.

There is no anticipated date of launch.

Rovio also confirmed to Pocket-lint that a 3D version of Angry Birds is currently in progress, and is likely a collaboration of Rovio and Pixelgene, a 3G gaming company Rovio acquired in 2006. It makes sense then that, given Rovio’s experience with 3D games already, Angry Birds would be the next logical step. Please, Rovio, don’t make us wear the glasses to play Angry Birds though!

We can’t wait to see what happens!

via Pocket-lint

• Ads-free Angry Birds for Android to come next month
• Angry Birds Rio for Android will debut via Amazon Appstore
• New Angry Birds Rio coming in March to iPhone, Android, Ovi Store (video trailer)
• Angry Birds Seasons updated with Easter Eggs (iOS, Android, Symbian, WebOS)
• Full Version of Angry Birds for Android Out in 2-3 Weeks

Still, it’s only been a few days since the deal was made, so there is an awful lot of key details that we can only speculate about. And, as the say, the devil is in the details, and many of them may have a crucial impact on the future of Nokia Microsoft partnership. Today I had a chance to ask Nokia’s EVP for Corporate Development, Dr. Kai Öistämö a few questions about the deal.

It was a pretty short interview, so I wasn’t able  to learn much. Still, I did add a  few more pieces to the jigsaw puzzle this Nokia Microsoft partnership is for now.  Among them – Nokia’s possible contributions to Windows Phone codebase, split between Symbian^1 and Symbian^3 among those 150 million smartphones Nokia is planning to sell, the future of OVI brand and services that were not mentioned in the partnership announcement and more.

Here’s a video of the interview with Nokia’s Corporate Development EVP Dr. Kai Öistämö:

• Elop says Nokia’s first Windows Phones are on track for Q4
• Nokia to layoff 4,000 employees by the end of 2012, transfer Symbian software activities to Accenture
• Shocker: Nokia officially adopts Windows Phone as its “primary smartphone platform”
• Nokia once again denies rumored smartphone division sale to Microsoft
• Nokia, Microsoft to announce alliance tomorrow, possibly related to MS Office

“WP7 does not even have multi-tasking, they can’t do copy/paste, the browser is so bad, it is so immature… And Nokia killed off Symbian for this?!“ An indignant cries flooded the net over the weekend.

And it’s all I could do to not shout back at the top of my lungs “C’mon, guys, get a clue! It’s been less then 4 months since the first phones with WP7 shipped. Microsoft  made the current version of WP7 from scratch in less then 2 years. They already been working on upgrades the last 4 months, and they’ve got at least another 7-9 before the first Nokia Windows Phone ships. Don’t you think that Microsoft developers will be able to add multi-tasking, copy&paste, new browser and a bunch of other cool features before that?”

If you think about it, an answer is a no brainer. And today Microsoft showed a pretty nice demo of some of the new features coming in a major Windows Phone update sometime later this year.

The new update includes:

• New Internet Explorer 9 browser with hardware acceleration support. It’ll have the same browser engine the desktop version of IE9 has.
• Full multi-tasking for third party apps
• Twitter hub/native integration similar to current Facebook/WP7 integration
• X-Box Live enhancements with WP7/Kinect integration
• Copy&Paste support
• Enhanced Office Hub/Skydrive integration

And, probably, a whole lot more things, that weren’t demoed today. Here’s a video of the new Windows Phone features presented by Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore:

Overall, when Nokia Microsoft deal was first announced on Friday I was shocked and dismayed. And couldn’t see anything positive at all in it. But after yesterday’s Nokia press briefing and today’s Microsoft  presentation, the more I hear about this partnership, the more I start to like it.

Yes, it’s a huge risk for Nokia. Of all the possible paths Nokia could have chosen for it’s renewed strategy, this total bet on Microsoft is the riskiest by far. With huge amount of things that can go wrong completely out of Nokia’s control. But if  both Nokia and Microsoft will deliver on what they are promising today, late this or early next year year things may look very different for both of them.

• Windows Phone 7 may get IE9 earlier than expected
• Windows Phone 7: copy and paste will come early next year
• Here’s What Copy and Paste Will Be Like on Windows Phone 7
• Windows Phone 7 Series to lack copy and paste functionality at launch
• Windows Phone 7 might get VoIP calling, Visual Voicemail in future update

To compare the WP7 growth to that of Android and the App Store, it took more than 11 months for Android’s market to reach the 10K milestone and is running at a similar pace as iPhone’s App Store at launch, reaching the 10K mark within 5 months.

Below we have included a real-time chart showing how rapidly the Marketplace has grown since November:

In the next chart, we see the Marketplace’s growth in just the last 2 weeks:

WMPowerUser brought up a very good point: the WP7 Marketplace added almost 1000 apps in the last 2 weeks, but we should see that number increase significantly now that Microsoft and Nokia have partnered together and developers see a much more global potential for their apps in WP7.

via WMPowerUser

• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace now has more than 9,000 apps
• Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Reaches 10,000 App Milestone
• Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 50,000 apps
• Windows Phone Marketplace: Now at 13,000 apps
• Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace now hosts more than 60,000 apps

(pictured: Samsung Transform on left, Motorola Droid X on right)

So here are a few of the latest phones with even lower prices:

Motorola DROID X (Verizon) $0.01

HTC HD7 (T-Mobile) $0.01

T-Mobile G2 (T-Mobile) $49.99

Samsung Transform (Sprint) $0.01

We’ll keep you updated on any and all other deals as they come around!

• Some Verizon Droids to get Android 2.3 Gingerbread within the coming months
• Verizon Motorola Droid 3 now just $69.99 with new contract
• More Amazon Deals: T-Mobile HD7 $29.99, Motorola CLIQ2 $19.99
• Verizon Motorola Droid 2 Global price drops to $149.99 possibly making way for the Droid 3
• LG Revolution priced at $249, Motorola Droid X2 at $199?

It’s just that time of the year when every self respecting tech publication feels compelled to to show off how well they can read into the tech trend tea leaves. And after years of resisting, we have also finally succumbed to this thing. But hey, it’s not “what to expect/predictions for CES”, at least…

I asked fellow Unwired View editors to share their 5 predictions of interesting things in mobile, bound to happen later this year. Here’s Brad’s 2011 predictions, here’s what Florin has to say about the new year trends, and here’s Vlad’s take on 2011.

And here are my predictions for 2011:

1. Windows Phone 7 will be the fastest growing OS in 2011. This one’s really a no brainer. With WP7 Microsoft has created an OS that can stand on it’s own feet and compete both with iOS and Android. World’s #2 and #3 phone makers – LG and Samsung – have already picked up Windows Phone as one of their major platforms, as did the most active and fastest growing smartphone player – HTC. Carriers have also accepted the new OS, and are pushing heavily subsidized WP7 offerings right alongside their Androids and iPhones. Furthermore – there are now credible reports that Microsoft is in talks with Nokia to put it’s OS on Finnish phones. If Microsoft is able to nab Nokia to push WP7 through its unmatched distribution channels,  only the sky is the  limit to WP7. But even without Nokia, the new OS will do great in 2011. Microsoft WP7 only launched in Q4 2010, and will be starting 2011 from a low base of 2-3 million devices shipped. Combined support of Samsung, LG and  HTC, hundreds of millions Microsoft will be pouring into WP7 promotion this year together with many of mobile carriers, should propel WP7 growth very nicely. It won’t repeat the mind blowing 10x+ a year growth we’ve seen with Android this year. But even if WP7 ships only on 10 million devices in  Q4 2011, that will be a 300-500% YoY growth.  I think  WP7 can do better then that, and in Q4 2011 be on  14 to 16 million new devices.

2. Android will still remain #2 OS by market share, behind Nokia’s Symbian. As I said in my predictions for Android 2011, Android growth will be slowing down. Unit wise, Android will grow nicely next year, most likely repeating 2010 feat and adding another 200-300 000 devices to it’s daily activation count. Which will allow Google’s partners to ship somewhere between 45 and 50 million new Android devices in Q4, 2011. But that will be only a little bit higher then 100% growth from 20-23 million Android devices, that shipped in Q4 2010. Meanwhile, smartphone market will continue to barge ahead with smartphone sales approaching 500 million units in 2011, with 140-150 million of them sold in Q4 2011. Which means that Android will add a few market share points next year, but it will only be a few, and Android will end the 2011 with 30% (+-2%) market share.  While Nokia’s Symbian might lose a few market share points next year, Symbian will still grow close enough to the overall market to ship on more then 50 million units in Q4 2011. So, when the final numbers come in sometime in January 2012, Symbian will still be #1 OS worldwide, with Android breathing down their necks,  but still behind.

3. WebOS will take the third place among tablets shipped in 2011. But HP’s efforts in smartphone market will have only a very limited success. WebOS  smartphones will outsell Android phones made by PC industry rivals, but WebOS market share will hover in low single digits and will not make  it into top 5.  Sales channels and potential customers for tablets are pretty similar to how PCs are sold today. So when HP finally releases it’s WebOS based tablets – they will be able to move a whole lot of them. HP is the worlds biggest computer maker and knows how to sell PCs all over the world. However, since Apple invented tablet category, currently completely dominates it, and has  another generation of tablets coming soon, there is no way for any competing platform to displace iPad from it’s #1 spot in 2011. And Android – with everyone but HP making their own Honeycomb tablets, will take #2 spot almost by default. Which leaves HP in a strong #3 position in tablets.

The smartphone market is different. As every PC maker who tried to muscle in with their Windows Mobile and Android phones during the last 3 years will tell you – mobile is a pretty hard market to crack, and mobile carriers are gatekeepers here. HP has bought some carrier relations expertise with Palm. And they will do better in smartphones then any of it’s rivals coming from PC world (Asus, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, etc;) – but overall WebOS device sales and market share will remain very low for a smartphone category.

4. Samsung will become #2 smartphone vendor, shipping 28 million smartphones worldwide in Q4 2011. Samsung has been #2 mobile phone vendor in the world for quite a few years now. But Korean giant never paid much attention to smartphone market, focusing on it’s own feature phones instead. Yes, Samsung always had a smartphone model or two on almost any operating system it could license – Symbian, Windows Mobile. LiMo, Android… But Samsung was never too serious about smartphones, not even registering among Top 5 smartphone makers until this summer.

Well, Samsung got serious about smartphones this summer, with the release of Galaxy S, and showed us what a world wide distribution channel built over 20 years in mobile industry can be worth. The results came in within a quarter. Samsung vaulted into a Top 5 smartphone maker list after the first quarter of Galaxy S sales, and, most likely, displaced HTC as #4 a in Q4.

For the next year,  Samsung already announced that it plans to sell 10 million of it’s own Bada phones in the first half of 2011. During full 2011 it may as well sell 12-13 million more, with 7-8 million of them sold in Q4 2011. Then there is that 34% smartphone market share, Samsung has carved up for itself among Android smartphone makers. I don’t see anyone taking it away from them this year. Since I predict that Android unit shipments will grow to 50 million in Q4 2011, Samsung should ship 16 million of those devices. And then we have Windows Phone 7. As per prediction #1, I expect a pretty  healthy growth for Microsoft OS this year to 14-16 million devices in Q4 2011. I don’t see any reason why Samsung shouldn’t have at least 25% of that category as well. That gives us about 4 million of Samsung Windows Phones shipped in Q4 this year. Let’s add it all up: 8 million Bada + 16 million Android + 4 million WP7= 28 million Samsung smartphones shipped in Q4 2011.  That should be enough to make Samsung into a #2 smartphone vendor worldwide.

5. LG will become a surprisingly important player in smartphone game. It will end the year in a Top 6 position on a smartphone market share list, trailing closely behind HTC.  LG has completely missed the smartphone explosion of late 2009 and 2010. Just as the smartphone market was heating up in early 2009, LG hitched it’s wagon to a dead horse – Windows Mobile, by entering into alliance with Microsoft, just as Redmond giant was abandoning it’s first try at smartphone OS.  LG completely ignored Android in 2009, and then opted to work on a mid-range Android handset – Optimus One – in 2010. When all the action, growth and profits were at the high end alternatives to iPhone like HTC Desire, Motorola Droids and Samsung Galaxy S.

But things are changing already. LG’s work with Microsoft is finally starting to pay off, with it’s Optimus 7/Quantum devices strongly competitive among Windows Phones. LG is also getting into high end Android smartphone category with their already announced Optimus 2X device. And, all things considered, their mid-end Optimus One smartphone wasn’t a failure either. In fact, it was quite well received and has a moderately good sales. As the top of the line specs of early 2009 (Cortex A8 CPU, 512 MB of RAM, etc;) move to a $350-450 devices this year, LG’s strong position in the mid market should help it keep up with igniting growth there.

Also, as Samsung showed us this year, when your hardware and software is good enough, well developed distribution channels in mobile industry is probably the most important thing for the success of your device. And LG already is, for quite a few years, #3 mobile phone vendor in the world. As those well made high-end and mid- end Android Phones, as well Windows Phone 7 devices begin flowing through LG distribution pipes, LGs smartphone shipments will quickly ramp up to several million devices a month. The Top 5  level in smartphone market is probably too competitive and strong, for LG to get in there. It all depends on how HTC will do next year, but all signs show that they should do even better then they did this year.  However, with Motorola focusing mostly on U.S. market and more or less leaving the rest of its markets on autopilot, Sony Ericsson doing whatever they think they are doing, and Chinese vendors like ZTE and Huawei still too weak to play on a global scale, #6 spot among smartphone makers is wide open and LG’s to take.

Well, that’s about it with my 5 predictions for 2011. We’ll be checking out all the predictions from UV team – mine, Brad’s, Florin’s and Vlad’s – as 2011 draws to a close, to see who’s crystal ball was clearest.

Make sure you are following us then.

• Most smartphones now have touchscreens; Android shipments grew 1074% YoY
• Unwired Views 2011: Android #1 or #2? WP7 hit or fail? Nokia WP7/Android? Honeycomb, iPad, WebOS and more
• IDC: Android and Windows Phone will rule the smartphone market in 2015
• Samsung to increase phone sales by 20% in 2010 (to 270 million units)
• IDC raises 2010 smartphone shipment forecast to 270 million

As of this writing, only 5 phones in the US run on Windows Phone 7: 3 on AT&T, and 2 on T-Mobile. I’ve had the opportunity to review 2 of these, the Samsung Focus and LG Quantum. I concluded that both were excellent phones in various ways, and both are the same cost. So it’s natural to wonder which one is the best.

So let the showdown begin: the full keyboard-packing LG Quantum vs. the Super AMOLED screen real estate king, the Samsung Focus. In this showdown I will go through several categories, deciding on a victor in each one. Since Microsoft has enforced several limitations and restrictions on what can and can’t be done with its OS, these two phones have had to differentiate themselves in other ways, so I will be judging those categories in which they have power to be different in. These will mainly be related to hardware, design, and apps. So let the games begin, and let’s see which phone will win the most categories!

Hardware

Screen Size/Type

The Quantum features a 3.5” capacitive TFT screen that has a WVGA resolution of 480×800 pixels. The screen, at its brightest setting, is very easy to see and read, even in direct sunlight. It’s also one of the most responsive screens we’ve used in a smartphone. A screen of this size is not huge, but is not small either. It seems to fit well with the overall feel and design of the phone, because if the phone were built any larger than it already is, it would be too bulky to handle comfortably. My only frustration was that due to the size of the screen, the on-screen keyboard was too compact for me to use without numerous typing errors. While it’s true the Quantum has a full landscape QWERTY keyboard, there are just some times when it’s easier to use the portrait on-screen keyboard without sliding open the physical one.

The Focus doesn’t have a physical keyboard, so it makes up for the loss in terms of overall screen size and tech. Featuring a top of the line 4” Super AMOLED screen with incredibly rich and deep vibrant colors, it really is hard to beat. It uses the same WVGA resolution as the Quantum and expounds on it with the Super AMOLED’s ability to provide superb visual quality in pictures and videos, as well as the simple stuff like apps and messages. It also uses ultra-thin parts and is battery efficient, helping the Focus become one of the thinnest phones with the best battery life you’ll find on a smartphone. You can even view the Focus at virtually any angle you want without the image becoming fuzzy or distorted.

Winner: Focus. While both screens are incredibly responsive and bright enough to see without incident, it’s hard to beat the exclusive technology Samsung has brought to some of its top of the line phones with the Super AMOLED.

Phone Dimensions and Materials

There are pros and cons for each phone. On the Quantum, the biggest concern is weight at 6.21 oz, compared to the Focus at 4.07. It’s also thicker due to the keyboard, at 15 mm vs. 10 mm on the Focus. However, the Quantum is also a much more solid phone with its soft rubbery exterior and metallic back, making you feel like it’s a lot more durable and robust than the plasticky material on the Focus.

Winner: It’s a tie. While the Focus is a much sleeker and sexier looking phone that happens to be thinner and lightweight, it’s also fragile and you don’t feel like you can carry it around unless you use a protective case, thus making it thicker and defeating the purpose of having a super thin phone.

CPU/RAM

This one is a hard one to disagree with; both phones have 1 GHz CPU built in, but the Focus has 512 MB RAM inside, compared to the 256 MB RAM in the Quantum.

Winner: The Focus, by a slight margin.

Memory

Another area in which the two phones differ largely is in internal storage space. The Focus offers a mere 8 GB space, whereas the Quantum gives you 16 GB. If it were limited to just internal memory alone (that’s how Microsoft would want it as well), the Quantum wins by a landslide. But there’s the sneaky issue with the Focus and the weird MicroSD card slot. It’s technically usable, but is strongly discouraged by AT&T, Samsung and Microsoft together because no MicroSD currently in production can support the technical speeds that the WP7 OS requires. As it appears, some incompatible cards being used have been known to crash the Focus or cause a significant loss in responsiveness and productivity. New cards are supposedly on the way, but until this happens, use only the 8 GB that it comes with.

Winner: The Quantum, at least for now (and maybe for a long time). This may depend greatly on whether proper Microsoft-certified MicroSD cards can be made for the Focus, and if so, when this will occur.

Battery Size

Both phones have the same battery size and type, both Lithium Ion batteries using 1500 mAh.

The Winner: It’s a tie. Battery life, however, is a different story that will covered in a later category in this showdown.

Hearing Aid

It may be a more obscure category, but a very important one to many. The Focus is rated for hearing compatibility at M3 and T3 ratings, whereas the Quantum does not have any compatibility as of this writing.

Winner: Focus.

Keyboard

When comparing virtual keyboard against virtual keyboard, the winner will always be the Samsung Focus only because it has a larger screen size. Large screen size means larger key size, and each key becomes much easier to press at that point. I’ve noticed that from using the Quantum, the keys on the screen itself are just a slight bit too tiny to text fast. However, is it worth getting the full physical slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard as a substitute?

The physical keyboard on the Quantum feels very solid, like it will not fall apart in your hands when sliding open or closed. The keys are slightly raised and spaced out, a great combination to look for when choosing a phone with keyboard. There are two buttons of interest on this keyboard: Fn and Sym. Traditionally, pressing the sym button on most phones will trigger the alternate symbols or characters found in the blue lettering on each individual key. On the Quantum, that’s what the Fn button is for; and it’s in a very confusing spot, just to the left of the A. When doing speed typing, it just slows me down. The other button is the Sym. This button will bring up a touchscreen selection of the different symbols that can be used in your text or email. The mixup in roles of each button will most likely cause some confusion at first, depending on what you’re used to using right now. There is also a dedicated emoticon button and comma button.

Keys on the Focus are much taller and wider than the Quantum, mainly because it has more screen space to use up and needs to use it up to keep consumers happy with not having a full-sized physical keyboard to take advantage of. It’s more reminiscient of an iPhone on-screen keyboard, only the keys are even larger than that.

Winner: Quantum. While the Focus on-screen keyboard is a great experience, the LG Quantum has it beat by offering two options: both a smaller keyboard and a full physical keyboard that feels very comfortable to type on.

Design

Physical/touch-sensitive buttons

Even though I am a right-handed person, I use my left hand primarily when handling phones. As silly as it sounds, the placement of the buttons is very important to me. If buttons are in a place that’s completely unnatural, it throws me off and it takes longer to retrain my brain to just instinctively go to those buttons, no matter where they are.

The Focus has an advantage for button placement. The volume button is at a perfect spot for my thumb, and the screen lock/power button is ideally placed right where my index finger can push it with no problems. On the Quantum, the volume buttons are at a great spot for my index finger, but the screen lock is on the top left, tucked a little too far to the back. It’s not too far out of my way to press the screen lock, but it’s certainly not located in a place that my thumbs or fingers can reach naturally.

In the design of the buttons, the two phones have a slightly different approach. Every WP7 phone must have 3 buttons at the bottom of the screen, and only these three: back, Windows, and search. Samsung made the Focus buttons all touch-sensitive, which works great for the phone in keeping the sleek look and feel. Having a physical button just would make the Focus look tacky. But on the Quantum, 2 out of 3 buttons are touch, while the Windows button in the middle is a physical button that is tucked a little further below the other buttons (to make room for the LG logo between the back and search buttons, of course). But since the Quantum isn’t designed to look sleek or sexy, the physical button works great, especially since it’s the one that will likely be pressed the most.

Winner: Focus, because it has a more natural feel in my hands, and the touch-sensitive buttons on front easily add to the elegant and sleek look of the phone.

Comfort

While the Focus is lighter and sleeker, the larger screen also makes it feel wider than the Quantum. Both phones are rather comfortable to hold, but the Quantum’s weightier yet smaller approach means that it’s more grippable compared to the wider and flatter Focus.

In my pockets, it’s a different story. The extra weight does make a difference when I put the Quantum in my pants pockets, and I can barely feel the Focus in my pockets at all. If you are a phone in your pockets person, this can play a significant factor. However, if you put your phone in a purse or a belt clip, this will not make a difference at all in the decision.

Winner: Quantum in my hands, Focus in my pockets

Interaction with OS

Exclusive features

Another area of intrigue for WP7 is the Marketplace, because there are a few Marketplace stores within a Marketplace store. For instance, LG has its own app store in Marketplace called “LG Apps Store”, and Samsung has one called “Samsung Zone”.

And this category has a clear winner, hands-down, no competition whatsoever. Samsung’s involvement in the “Zone” has been pathetically limited to just 4 apps, and 2 of those apps aren’t even relevant to anyone using the Focus in the US and not traveling internationally. Blah. The LG Apps Store, on the other hand, started with 7-8 apps at launch, and in the last 2-3 weeks has expanded out to 13. While some of these apps are niche (such as a Caddy app that will assist any avid golfer), most of them can be used and enjoyed by anyone.

It’s wonderful to see LG taking such an active role in adding exclusive apps that will be of interest to the consumer, not just riding on what other developers have done in the Marketplace. This leads me to believe that LG has more plans to continue expanding its Apps Store.

The most interesting and satisfying exclusive app I found on the LG Quantum was the Voice to Text app. It’s exactly what you would expect it to be: it gives you the ability to speak your message and attach it to a tweet, email, memo or text message. This is great for driving safely and for simply being lazy. In my tests, the app could understand almost everything I said, and I easily inserted punctuation just by saying which punctuation mark I wanted to put in (for instance, I can say “I’m great, how are you?” by saying the words “i’m great comma how are you question mark”). Spelling out words worked sometimes, but I learned it’s much easier just to say the full word unless for some reason the app can’t understand what you’re saying. Once you’re satisfied that the message you spoke has been clearly transcribed the way you like it, just save the message and it transfers you into the app of choice where the message gets pasted in.

Honestly, I think this app should be included by default with every WP7 phone at launch. With such a heavy emphasis on safety, Voice to Text is an absolute must-have. I also hope LG continues to update this app with additional features and extra services.  I would love to see a way to speak my Facebook status updates, for example.

Winner is: Quantum, by a large margin. The LG Apps Store offers a lot of great exclusive content that Samsung doesn’t have.

Camera/Camcorder

Both phones use 5 MP cameras, and both have 720p HD quality available. So I took identical pictures from each phone and will show them head-to-head, so you can see an accurate comparison.

Here are a couple pictures, one in medium lighting and one in brighter lighting. The ones on the left are the Focus, the ones on the right are Quantum.

For HD comparison, watch this video. To make sure the differences weren’t caused by the camcorder settings, I changed them around so they would be identical.

Winner: Focus. On both the still pictures and HD video, the Samsung Focus seemed to have higher clarity, the colors weren’t as washed out, and the videos weren’t as choppy.

Performance

CPU
Both Quantum and Focus have top-notch processors and touchscreens that cause very little, if any, delay or lag in scrolling, going to programs, or any other everyday activity on the phone. Even the animations when going back and forth through applications are quick and painless. A very slight edge goes to the Focus on this one, however, due to the higher amount of RAM. When dealing with multiple apps and push notifications, the Focus will be much more likely to handle an increased workload.

Winner: Focus

Call quality

Neither phone gave me any concerns in call quality. Both phones’ speakers were sufficiently loud for normal conversations, and I didn’t experience any dropped calls during my testing.

Winner: It’s a tie!

Speed Tests

On WP7, I could only find one speed test app, so I downloaded it onto both phones. There wasn’t a large difference between the two phones, but I did notice that the Quantum seemed to consistently get faster download speeds on both 3G and WiFi.

Winner: Quantum

Battery life

Both batteries have the same size and type of battery, but both have different rated talk times. The Quantum’s battery is rated for 6 hours talk time, shorter than the 6.5 hours found on the Focus (primarily due to the battery-saving Super AMOLED screen on the Focus, it’s assumed), but the Quantum wins the battle for standby time, offering 350 hours compared to the 300 on the Focus. Perhaps it’s longer on the Quantum because standby time doesn’t have to rely on what kind of battery-efficient screen the phone has.

Either way, both phones have the BEST battery life I have ever seen on a smartphone, by a rather large margin. This is interesting to me simply because the rated talk times are similar to what can be found on competing Android phones, but none of those actually last quite as long in tests as the WP7 phones do. We wonder if there is a certain battery efficiency that comes with WP7 that isn’t overly mentioned.

Winner: Quantum, but it’s practically a tie. I know that both phones will last the entire day for me, even with my heavy usage on text, data, email and other things. This impresses me a lot. So since both phones have roughly the same talk time, the big difference maker is the standby time. A whole extra 50 hours — more than 2 full days — longer than the Focus helps the Quantum be the winner in this head-to-head battle.

Conclusion

There you have it, everyone: an ultimate showdown between two very good and powerful phones. The difficult thing is finding a real winner between the two, because as you can tell, both phones won almost the same number of categories. It’s been a wonderful experience to play with both phones and would be happy using either one. What I hoped to accomplish in this comparison, though, is to help you determine which one is a better fit for you based on a blow-by-blow breakdown of each relevant category. Also, visit my reviews on both the Samsung Focus and LG Quantum to help determine which one is the better choice for your needs.

Based on what you have seen, which one is the best?

• LG Quantum Windows Phone 7 device now available from AT&T
• Unboxing the LG Quantum: Brad’s First Impressions
• AT&T LG Quantum, HTC Surround and Samsung Focus now only $0.01 on Amazon
• Samsung Focus, LG Quantum Now $99.99 at AT&T
• AT&T’s Samsung Impression A877 Review

The first European carrier to confirm the release of the 7 Pro is O2 Germany, which is now showing off the smartphone on its official website.

According to O2, the 7 Pro will be available for purchase starting January. Its price is not known, but customers will most likely be able to get it for free on contract (with a data plan).

The 7 Pro is HTC’s only Windows Phone 7 device to have a full QWERTY keyboard. It also features a 3.6 inch WVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, 5MP autofocus camera, HD video recording, and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

• Motorola Milestone, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 to be launched in India next week
• HTC’s 2010 line-up to include the Legend, Bravo, Trophy and more
• Samsung Omnia Pro with QWERTY keyboard to come in July
• HTC HD7 to bring more Windows Phone 7 goodness to Bell Canada
• Dell smartphone roadmap leaks, powerful new Android and WP7 handsets on the way

In the first six weeks 1.5 million WP7 devices were sold by manufacturers to operators and retailers.

(Btw, unit sales to wholesale partners – is a standard way of reporting in Consumer Electronics industry. Microsoft reported device sales number is not different of what Nokia, Samsung or LG are reporting when they say that they sold XX devices that quarter. )

Twitter erupted: It’s only 1.5 million! In six weeks! While Google and Apple sells that many devices in less then a week! Windows Phone 7  is a huge failure!

C’mon people, wake up and smell some coffee.

For a completely new platform, 1.5 million phones sold, even only into a retail channel, is a very good number. It means that Microsoft with partners is already on the way to ship 1 million devices a month and 12 million WP7 devices a year. Not a blowout number, not huge number, but by no means a failure.

Remember how many iPhones Apple shipped in the first 12 months? 6 million. How long it took Google to ship the first million of Android devices? About 6 months.

According to the released official figures, in the first 6 weeks after launch Windows Phone 7 is doing better then Android and iPhone did at similar point in their history. According to IDC Microsoft Marketplace, now with 4000 apps,  is also ramping  up better then Android did at the start.

Yes, I know Microsoft started with more vendors, more countries and more operators then Android and iPhone. Yes, I know smartphone market is now much bigger then it was 2 or 3 years ago. Yes I know that compared to to current sales of Android and iOS devices, WP7 shipments look miniscule. Yes and yes and yes.

So what? Forget about about the juicy headlines, and what will happen next week. Try to do a bit of long term thinking. The smartphone race is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and it will play out over the next 3-5 years. You know who was an undisputed leader in smartphones 4 years ago? Nokia. Who was a very solid #2? Microsoft. Neither Apple, nor Google were even on a horizon yet. Who knows what will happen in the next 4 years?

As for today, the fact is, that unless the operators and retailers completely misjudged the demand for WP7 phones, and they will end up sitting on the shelves for months, the new Windows Phone OS is to a very solid  start.

And with commitment Microsoft is making to it, I am pretty sure that WP7 OS is here to stay, and not in a small way.

• Is Microsoft too embarrassed to tell us about stalled WP7 sales?
• Google now activates 550K Androids per day. 135 million devices sold. Market reaches 250,000 apps
• Google activates 500,000 Androids per day now, on the way to 200+ million this year
• Apple iOS stats: 200 million devices sold (25 million iPads), 14 billion apps downloaded, and more
• Google to sell 5 to 6 million Nexus One phones this year?

Still shaking my head and almost refusing to believe this was happening, I went on and shared it here on UV. In a rather emotional way

Now that I had some time to sleep on it and ponder what might be happening if these news about Nokia Microsoft alliance are true, I think it might not be as bad as it seemed at first glance.

So here are some random thoughts about this possible Microsoft/Nokia Windows Phone 7 deal, in no particular order.

• It’s not a short term project. Even if Windows Phone OS is much easier to port to the phone hardware then Symbian or Android, it takes some time. A smartphone is not a PC , and you can’t just slap a ready made OS on a standard component hardware and expect it to run out of the box. It will be at least 6 months  after the deal is struck for the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 device to ship. And having spent 6 months of company time, a significant amount of money and resources getting new hardware to run the  new Windows Phone 7 platform, Nokia will not stop making WP7 devices soon. Unless they completely fail in the market. Which is unlikely – in it’s first iteration, Windows Phone 7  is a really good OS already, and by the time the first Nokia WP7  device ships, technically WP7 will be more or less on par with competing Android and iOS platforms. So we are looking at a full line of Nokia WP7 devices in the next few years.
• Unless Nokia completely outsources the whole WP7 smartphone line to some ODM, and only provides minor tweaks, Nokia name and it’s distribution channels for the device. Which is a possibility – Nokia already tried exactly this approach with Microsoft Windows 7 on Booklet 3G. But that was testing a completely new, pretty hot market on the cheap with non-core product. The probability that Nokia will take the same approach for it’s core smartphone offering is pretty low for now. Though I must admit, just yesterday I considered the whole Nokia WP7 device idea simply ridiculous. So you never know what might happen
• Nokia/WP7 device is not a strategic project for Nokia. It’s a tactical approach, solving Nokia’s immediate problems, most likely – the access to the U.S. market. With Windows Phone 7 devices and Microsoft backing, Nokia may finally get a foothold with the main U.S. carriers. And, with WP7 smartphones Nokia can start  rebuilding it’s brand in the lucrative high-end U.S. smartphone market, where it was completely obliterated these last few years. Then, building on the success of Nokia WP7 devices, Nokia can start pushing their main Meego and Symbian offerings, when/if they are finally able to make them competitive to high end Android and iOS devices.
• Nokia OVI services. Not sure how feasible it is for OVI to be ported to WP7 before the launch of first Nokia device, but if the cooperation is successful and continues, I think Microsoft and Nokia can find synergies here. App store will most likely stay with Microsoft, but OVI mail is already outsourced to Yahoo and with the dire straights Yahoo is currently in, migrating OVI mail to Hotmail platform  may actually be a good idea. Bing Maps is currently the weakest part of Windows Phone 7, while OVI maps in many ways except local search is still superior to Google Maps. Allowing Nokia to take over maps&navigation will allow Microsoft concentrate on a much more strategic search&local stuff. Then there’s the whole possibility of porting Nokia’s QT to Windows Phone OS, which opens a bunch of new opportunities for them.
• If Nokia Windows Phone 7 deal happens, Microsoft is a big winner here, gaining a new huge distribution channel for it’s new OS, that is not available to it’s main competitors – Android and iOS. I know that Microsoft is very strict and limiting on what it allows OEM’s to do with it’s WP7 OS. But getting the worlds #1 smartphone vendor on-board, might be enough of an enticement for Microsoft to relax it’s OEM requirements and allow Nokia’s WP7  devices to stand out from the crowd.
• Nokia is definitely having big problems with developing it’s core Symbian/Meego/QT software platforms. Buggy software, huge delays, restructurings, layoffs, etc; are probably only the surface things that we are able to see. But I do not think that these problems are the main reason for the rumored deal. As I said before – I don’t expect first Nokia WP7 device to ship before late summer or fall. And it’s really hard to believe that Nokia will not have it’s first Meego device and significantly updated Symbian devices shipping by then.
• Looks like Stephen Elop is really in charge at Nokia. When he took over as CEO, many observers wondered whether he will be able to accomplish much. With unique Finnish Culture, consensus based decision making, entrenched bureaucracies and power groups with direct ties to a largely Finnish board, Nokia is indeed very hard to turn around even for a person in CEO position. There  were some signs that the new CEO is already strongly in charge when Nokia announced it’s new streamlined “All QT”strategy. At that reorg one power group that was pushing the next generation Orbit UI Framework and hampering the progress of  QT was slapped down hard, and Orbit cancelled, most likely at the insistence of the new management.  Now, if Microsoft Nokia deal happens – we won’t have  to wonder anymore. It’s such a radical departure from previous Nokia path,  it will be obvious that at least for next year or two, Elop has strong support of the board and the power to remake the company as he deems necessary.

Well, now that I had time to think about it and process my first impressions and knee jerk reaction, I’m starting to actually like this  new Nokia/Microsoft development. Of course, the devil will be in the execution and they can always screw that up. It’s Nokia after all.

Still, things might be finally changing for the best under the new regime. I hope they really do

• Microsoft: Windows Phone production costs will drop by half next year
• Shocker: Nokia officially adopts Windows Phone as its “primary smartphone platform”
• Holy crap! Nokia is in talks with Microsoft about Windows Phone devices?!
• T-Mobile moving from WM to Android worldwide?
• Windows Phone 7 to be launched on October 21 in Europe. AT&T HTC Mondrian revealed in ads

By now everybody knows that Microsoft completely bungled it’s smartphone OS strategy a couple of years ago, when they failed to recognize the changes iPhone and then Android brought to the category, and adapt their pretty popular at the time Windows Mobile smartphone OS to these changes. After fumbling through 2008 and 2009, trying to tweak Windows Mobile to work with finger touch instead of stylus, Microsoft finally gave up and decided to start from scratch.

The problem was, that during the last couple of years , while Microsoft was getting it’s act together, Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android completely took over the most lucrative high end smartphone category. While Nokia’s Symbian ruled among mid to low end smartphones. From a second largest player in smartphones in 2007, Microsoft’s marketshare dwindled to below 3% this fall. Despite being one of the most important smartphone players during this decade, with Windows Phone 7 OS Microsoft now takes on entrenched incumbents Apple and Google as a completely new player, with no installed user base, no app developer ecosystem and only limited OEM support.

Needless to say, LG Optimus 7 and other Windows Phone 7 handsets, launched a couple of months ago, had a lot to prove. Let’s se how LG Optimus 7 fared in that regard.

Design of LG Optimus 7

In the looks department, LG Optimus 7 doesn’t stand out from the crowd. But with it’s strict a bit rounded lines it does look pretty good. And it feels unexpectedly solid in your hand. Maybe it’s a bit of extra weight, the Gorilla display glass, or stainless steel back cover and sparing use of plastic, but LG Optimus really feels like it’s built to last.

The built quality of LG Optimus 7 is very good, with no lose covers peeling away anywhere. And after a month of use it confirms my first impressions. I put my LG Optimus 7 through a pretty intensive wear and tear during the last month, and I only need to wipe out the finger smudges for it to look just like it looked after I first unboxed it. Well, if you look carefully, you may notice some small scratches on the back cover from the quality time my smartphones occasionally spend with a ring of keys in the same pocket, but I couldn’t find a single scratch on the Gorilla glass covered display even now.

Another cool thing about LG Optimus 7 are the mechanical navigation buttons at the bottom of the display. They are easy enough to press, and never once I accidentally exited the running application with an inadvertent key press, which happened to me quite a few times on other Windows Phone 7 handsets in the short time I had to play with them.

Overall – LG Optimus 7 may not go on winning any design awards, but it still looks good, feels solid, well built and after you buy it, you don’t have to worry what it will look like 18 months down the road when you still have 6 month to go on your current contract.

Performance of LG Optimus 7

Performance of LG Optimus 7 is very closely tied to the performance of it’s OS – Windows Phone 7. It is a new first generation OS from Microsoft and I didn’t expect  much going in. In fact, during all these months since it’s announcement at Mobile World Congress in February, I’ve been quietly skeptical about the new Panorama interface, this whole concept of tiles and overall hype WP7 received.

Well, it seems that my skepticism was misplaced. Intuitiveness and ease of use of Windows Phone 7 OS impressed me as soon as I first unboxed LG Optimus 7 and turned it on:

The whole set-up process for LG Optimus 7 took about ten minutes, and after that it was good to go, connected without a hitch to all my e-mail and social networking accounts.

To see if my first impressions will last, I took LG Optimus 7 on a business trip as my main mobile device. You can read a detailed account about how it fared on the road here. The short version – it did pretty well. Despite everyone moaning about the lack of multi-tasking and lack of copy/paste in Windows Phone 7, these weren’t a problem for me at all. Link sharing from Twitter and browser worked very well without copy&paste, and I hardly use this functionality for anything else. The lack of multitasking was a minor annoyance at times, but nothing too bad too.

The only thing in Windows Phone 7 I found inferior to other platforms was the Mapping/Local Search/Navigation stuff. The Maps app is good enough for the basic use to figure out where you are and how to get somewhere, but not much beyond that. Microsoft clearly has some work to do on Bing Maps to catch up to competition.

Still, LG  also loaded a ScanSearch augmented reality app that uses Google Local Search as a data source and overlays local search results on your  display camera feed, which solved my “finding things in a new town” problems pretty well. You can watch me wondering about Dublin using ScanSearch here:

As for the handset performance itself – it is fast, touch responsiveness is great and it has a pretty good battery life for a smartphone, which easily lasts through a day on my daily use routine.

Camera on LG Optimus 7

LG Optimus 7 comes equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, which, according to our smartphone use survey is good enough for most. Well, it was a good enough point&shoot camera replacement for me. LG takes good enough pictures in good lighting conditions, and OK pics in darker environments. What’s more important – the camera is fast, with now noticeable lag between when I press the shutter button and the picture is saved.

Automatic photo sharing capabilities are currently limited to Facebook and Microsoft Live SkyDrive. Once you set up these services and select where you want to upload send your pictures, they are uploaded to SkyDrive or Facebook automatically, with the privacy setting you select. For other services you’ll have to upload your pictures manually, using free or paid apps from the Marketplace. There are quite a few of them in there.

LG also seems to be the only major OEM that was granted access to WP7 camera API this time around, and it added few cool apps to expand your camera functionality – I already mentioned ScanSearch, which overlays Google Local Search results on top of camera feed on your display, another app is Panorama Shot , that allows you to take panoramic pictures with your LG phone.

Apps on LG Optimus 7

Another thing I was worried about when starting with WIndows Phone  7 OS, was the amount and quality of available apps. I shouldn’t have. Though the reported number of 3000 apps pales in comparison with just above any other platform except of WebOS, Microsoft did a great job of getting the key apps made and ready for launch. These include official apps from Twitter and Facebook, Yelp, a good selection of quality weather apps with feeds to Home Screen live tiles and others. The only app I really wanted and missed, was Amazon Kindle for WP7.  The number of apps in the Marketplace is also growing every day, so there are good chances that even if you are still missing an app, you’ll be getting one in the near future.

Microsoft has set pretty strict guidelines of what OEM is and isn’t allowed to do on a WP7 phone. And one point of differentiation for smartphone vendors is the App Marketplace, where vendors are allowed to set-up their own shops with exclusive apps. LG seems to be taking this possibility seriously and has put quite a few interesting apps into it’s own Marketplace. You can read our detailed account about LG Marketplace on Optimus 7/Quantum here. LG has also officially announced that it will be releasing free application packs worth $30 every 60 days, keeping your app selection on LG smartphones fresh.

Conclusions

Overall, after trying it for a month,  I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the new Windows Phone 7 OS on LG Optimus 7. The quality is even more impressive for a first generation OS release. Especially when I compare it to the quality of the first generation Android or iOS. It shows that Microsoft is back in the smartphone game and is serious about.

LG implementation of WP7  in Optimus 7 is also very good, and I can easily recommend to check out this smartphone next time you are in the market for a phone upgrade.

• Windows Marketplace opens for submissions on July 27; WM 6.0 and 6.1 will be supported
• Microsoft ups Windows Phone 7 free app submission limit from 5 to 100
• Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace now hosts more than 60,000 apps
• More details on Windows Mobile Marketplace’s Phase 2
• Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 50,000 apps

I don’t believe I’m writing this, especially after publicly ridiculing even idea of such a thing  for a year now. But given the source of the info…

Here it goes–  in his weekly op-ed Mobile-Review’s Eldar Murtazin just posted that during the past month, Nokia has started talks with Microsoft to expand their cooperation. The talks were initiated by the new Nokia management.  And they are talking not about the technology exchange, or more Microsoft apps on Nokia phones. They are talking about the creation of new line of Windows Phone devices, which could be sold under Nokia brand, via Nokia distribution channels and have some typical  Nokia features.

Damn, I can’t believe this may be happening, but given Eldar’s pedigree and former hits, Nokia Windows Phone doesn’t sound as ridiculous to me as it did just a few hours ago.

If this is true, all the brave talk of Nokia’s being back with new Symbian and new Meego, all the proclamations about the confidence in their software strategy, all of that was just an empty boasting. Nokia is throwing in the towel and giving Microsoft the keys to it’s software kingdom. I still can’t wrap my head around this.

I just hope that this is temporary measure, until Nokia gets it’s own software house in order, and is finally able to produce the versions of Symbian and Meego OS that can compete in the marketplace, and when all the goodness of QT, promised for so many years, finally materializes.

Update: Now that I had time to sleep on and think about it, I’m starting to see a lot of positive possibilities in potential Microsoft Nokia Windows Phone 7 deal. Of course, if Nokia and Microsoft doesn’t bungle this up.

• Shocker: Nokia officially adopts Windows Phone as its “primary smartphone platform”
• Nokia N9 and MeeGo will be supported “for years”
• Nokia’s North American plans include Windows Phone, but no N9 and no Symbian
• Elop: Rumors about Nokia selling its mobile business to Microsoft are baseless
• Like the N9, Nokia’s Sea Ray Windows Phone handset doesn’t have hardware keys on the front

According to DigiTimes and some anonymous sources, one of the new WP7 handsets expected to be announced at MWC is the Asus E600 (which is pictured below and will likely be available in the US via AT&T).

MWC aside, it’s said that Microsoft also plans to launch a Chinese edition of Windows Phone 7 sometime in the second half of 2011 – this seems to be in line with the rumored Mango update that should bring support for Far Eastern languages.

Since China is the world’s largest mobile market, Microsoft probably hopes to sell millions of Windows Phone 7 devices there. We’ll see next year if it makes it or not.

• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update coming in H2 2011 with HTML5 support?
• Windows Phone Mango and Zune will support 22 languages
• LG E700 features IE9, might come with Windows Phone 7 Mango
• 9 new Windows Phone Mango handsets to be announced tomorrow alongside 500 new OS features?
• AT&T HTC HD7S now receiving Mango Update

According to one of Mary-Jo Foley’s sources, the major WP7 update is codenamed Mango, it may be rolled-out in August or September, and it may be called Windows Phone 7.5.

Among the new features that Mango will bring are HTML 5 support, Silverlight run-time, Far Eastern language support, and various functionality enhancements.

Apparently, Windows Phone 7.5 Mango will precede WP8 (codenamed “Apollo”), which should be out sometime in 2012.

(LG Optimus 7)

It’s said that less than 500,000 Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold until now around the world. Sales should grow next year, especially since major carriers like Verizon and Sprint are getting ready to launch their first WP7 handsets.

• Verizon rolling out Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update for HTC Trophy today
• New Windows Phone 7 devices, including Asus E600, to be launched at MWC 2011
• LG E700 features IE9, might come with Windows Phone 7 Mango
• AT&T in talks with Nokia about carrying their Windows Phones
• Windows Phone handsets with NFC coming next year?

Neowin has somehow managed to “confirm” that Windows Phone 7 would come to Verizon and Sprint this January.

Sprint’s first Windows Phone 7 handset will almost certainly be the HTC 7 Pro – when Microsoft announced the 7 Pro, it specifically said it would be available at Sprint.

As for Verizon, its first WP7 smartphone could be the HTC Trophy.

Both devices will likely cost $199.99 on contract – like all the other Windows Phone 7 devices available now in the US.

• Verizon’s first Windows Phone 7 device might be the HTC Trophy
• Verizon’s HTC Trophy shows up in hands-on photo
• Verizon HTC 7 Trophy Windows Phone 7 device may come in March
• Sprint and Microsoft readying a WiMax smartphone for CES 2010?
• Windows Phone 7 for Verizon and Sprint? Not this year

At the moment, there’s only one LTE phone available in the US – MetroPCS’ Samsung Craft – but next year there will be more, and HTC will launch some of them.

Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO, has confirmed to Mobile Business Briefing that the company’s first LTE devices would be launched in 2011 in the US.

Most likely, we’ll see both Android and Windows Phone 7 LTE handsets (or even tablets) from HTC, since Chou said that consumers will decide, as they “may want Windows or Android; or they may want big screen or small screen, they may want keyboard or tablet.”

We’ve previously heard that the HTC Merge may be Verizon’s first LTE smartphone – however, according to the latest info unveiled, this doesn’t seem to be true. More details as we have them.

Via WMPowerUser

• Microsoft Windows for ARM (tablets) to be announced at CES 2011
• LG P930 to be a new Android tablet. Or maybe a phone with a 1280 x 720 display?
• LTE Android tablet mentioned by Samsung exec, it’s probably headed to Verizon
• HTC Windows Phone 7 Series device coming this year, says Peter Chou
• HTC to launch tablets based on Android, Chrome OS?

CellPassion is reporting that at least two HTC WP7 smartpohnes will be available in India this month.

One of the smartphones is the HTC HD7 – the world’s only WP7 device to have a 4.3 inch display. The HD7 (pictured below) also features HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP camera, HD (720p) video recording, and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

Indian retailer Flipkart is already offering the HTC HD7 for 29,999 INR (about $665) with the mention that it will deliver it “in 5-7 business days.”

• Samsung Galaxy Fit S5670 with Android 2.2 launched in India
• Acer Stream to hit the UK on August 3 (£399.99 unlocked via Expansys)
• Motorola RAZR launched in India
• HTC HD7 to bring more Windows Phone 7 goodness to Bell Canada
• HTC Desire HD to hit India within a week, Desire Z coming sometime later

Not only has LG chosen to take full advantage of this opportunity by launching the “LG Apps Store”, it continues to utilize it and add fresh content. When I began reviewing the Quantum, only 7 apps were available. I downloaded a couple cool apps but otherwise was rather unimpressed. However, over the last two weeks 6 more apps have been added in, including one called Voice to Text, which does exactly what it sounds like, and is an app so important it should have been added into the default OS itself.

LG also  promised that they will be giving away about $30 worth app packages every 60 days. A bunch of paid apps is made available for free for 60 days. As soon as the new package arrives, the old one goes away. But if you installed it, the app stays on your phone.

This is great news for anyone considering an LG WP7 purchase, because we know the company is taking the LG Apps Store seriously and will continue to load in fresh content. Adding fresh content into any smartphone is what helps us fall in love with it again and again. Stale devices get tossed aside, but phones like the Quantum and Optimus 7 won’t be obsolete for quite some time.

Here are some exclusive apps that are now completely free and can only be used on the LG Quantum and LG Optimus 7:

Voice to Text

Mentioned earlier, this is my favorite app available in the store and could likely be the most important in regards to driver safety. Far too many people are texting and driving at the same time, becoming a potentially fatal distraction. Voice to Text aims to limit this distraction by introducing a speech-to-text app for the Windows Phone OS. Using Voice to Text, all you need to do is speak and the app will transcribe what you said into a text message, tweet, email or even a memo, depending on what you initially choose. Once you approve the transcribed message, VTT will copy and paste that message to whatever destination you want, and you’re on your way to having a true hands-free experience with your phone.

Voice to Text should be available on every phone, not just LG WP7 phones. The technology is there in full force for smartphones, but feature and messaging phones are still usually left without these kinds of options. We should all make a statement in supporting speech-to-text technology so phone companies understand the kind of demand there is for this kind of service.

Panorama Shot

Panorama Shot allows you to take your phone camera and stitch together several images spanned over a 180-degree angle. I’ll need to add a disclaimer to this one: the capability of phones to do a panoramic-style still image is not new. Far from it, in fact. But what IS exclusive about this app is the fact that it isn’t  available for WP7 devices, since Microsoft has restricted access to camera API, and only LG for now seems to be able to get around those restrictions. Fortunately this app can be accessed directly from your camera menu, so when you go into the camera and press the settings menu button, Panorama Shot is one of the first options available.

Look n Type

While texting while driving is incredibly hazardous, so too can texting while walking be dangerous. Ever hear the story about the girl who fell down a manhole while texting? This app will help reduce those kinds of incidents, and may even prevent you from randomly bumping into people because you’re not looking where you’re going.

The Look n Type app gives you access to the phone’s camera while overlaying that image with a full-sized keyboard. As you type, the text shows up in yellow on the actual camera imagery itself. Once done typing, you can choose whether you want to email, SMS or Tweet whatever you just wrote. So this way you are fully protected from falling or bumping into something (or someone) when you’re fully in “the zone”. Again, another very clever app that should be available for more phones, and hopefully will be over the next couple years.

Play To

Have you ever wanted to hook your phone’s multimedia collection up to your TV, computer, Xbox 360 or stereo? Play To helps make that happen on the Quantum and Optimus 7. As long as each device is connected to the same WiFi network, and has DLNA support,  you’ll be able to wireless stream any of your phone’s music, videos and pictures. On my Windows 7 PC, all I had to do was go into Windows Media Player’s Stream menu and tell it to allow remote control, and the Quantum picked up my PC within 3 seconds. Once connected, I chose to begin playing my preloaded playlist and sure enough, it started streaming through Windows Media Player with no problem; I got the same results from the slideshow I set up. In the Play To app, after choosing pictures I was prompted to select which pictures I wanted in my slideshow. Press the sync button, and it was playing on my PC.

The same is true for the DLNA enabled TVs. I don’t have one, but I have a friend who works at an electronics retailer, and he let me try out PlayTo there. All I needed to do – was connect to to their   open Wi-Fi network and find DLNA enabled  TV sets which are connected to that network too. Then I just selected one of the TV sets I wanted to stream a movie to, tapped on it – and the movie started playing. I even managed to accidentally get an episode of ‘The Living dead” streamed on a TV set a floor below, to the surprise and confusion of the salesman demoing it to the customer.

Photo Stylist

This app is, for lack of a better term, Photoshop on your WP7 device. Take either a new picture or an already existing one, put it through the Photo Stylist, and you can change the colors, brightness, contrast, you can make it look vintage, not to mention several other effects available for your tweaking satisfaction. Once you’re done, just hit save at the bottom and you’ll be able to keep your brand new creation!

Tool Box

An all-in-one app that combines several different types of applications into one convenient hub. Tool Box combines a flashlight, world clock, unit converter, level, and date calculator and puts it in one simple menu for you to access. Not much to it, but it’s nice to have this: it turns an app into a folder of sorts, and allows extra room on the main screen to be used for other apps and tasks. After all, it gets frustrating trying to look through a full range of apps to find the one you want.

ScanSearch

Another exclusive app is ScanSearch, an Augmented Reality app. This means you can use the camera app on the phone and couple it with the compass and GPS to find local businesses and other points of interest around you, just by pointing your camera in the direction of that particular point of interest. In the viewfinder you’ll see whatever points are close and in that same direction, and will give you additional information to see if you really want to go that particular point. As of this writing, ScanSearch is the only AR app available for WP7. We assume this will change down the road at some point, but this is just another reason to look at LG as a quality option when deciding which Windows Phone to choose. You can read (and watch) our full review of ScanSearch here.

Overview

There are a few more random apps available through the LG Apps Store that are more niche, but the ones I mentioned seemed the most interesting to me.

Overall, with a set of exclusive apps not available on any other Windows  smartphone, and a promise of fresh and free App package updates every 2 months, LG seems to be taking the customization through apps opportunity on WP7 phones much more seriously then competition.

• Win 3 AT&T LG Quantum and 2 LG Optimus 7 WP7 handsets with us
• Unboxing the LG Quantum: Brad’s First Impressions
• Exploring Dublin with LG Optimus 7 ScanSearch
• Smartphone use survey and LG Quantum/Optimus 7 giveway results. They ain’t smart”phones” anymore
• Microsoft Windows Phone Mango officially announced, brings IE 9, Groups, Threads and more

The first one will bring copy & paste, as already reported, and it should be rolled-out in January.

The second update – which could be detailed at MWC 2011 – might bring even more interesting features to Windows Phone 7. According to Mobility Digest and the registry entries seen below, WP7 supports VoIP calling and Visual Voicemail, but they’re not enabled yet.

VoIP calling is one of the new features that Android 2.3 Gingerbread brings, so it kind of makes sense for Microsoft to want it in Windows Phone 7, too.

Sure enough, there’s no official confirmation that VoIP calling and Visual Voicemail are coming to WP7 handsets early next year, but let’s hope it will happen.

Via EverythingWM

• Sony Ericsson phones to feature visual voicemail from Comverse
• Visual Voicemail Coming to Verizon
• Klausner sues HTC for Visual Voicemail patent infringement
• Windows Phone handsets with NFC coming next year?
• AT&T HTC HD7S now receiving Mango Update

Reportedly, HTC also wants to considerably increase the number of handsets sold throughout 2011.

According to DigiTimes, the Taiwanese company will sell a total of 20 million smartphones this year and it “will eventually” ship up to 60 million units in 2011.

Of course, unlike Samsung, HTC will sell mostly smartphones – it remains to be seen how many of them will be based on Android, and how many on Windows Phone 7.

Although at the moment HTC has the highest number of Windows Phone 7 devices from all handset makers (five of them: HTC HD7, HTC Mozart, HTC Trophy, HTC Surround and HTC 7 Pro), I’d say it will still ship more Android smartphones than WP7 ones next year.

It’s said that HTC has recently unveiled its 2011 roadmap in Taipei, Taiwan – unfortunately, only executives of partner companies were invited, so we don’t have any details on what exactly the smartphone maker is planning for next year.

• HTC 7 Trophy on pre-order in the UK, £429.99 unlocked
• Windows Phone 7: HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Mozart and HTC 7 Pro (for Sprint) announced
• Samsung to sell more than 50 million smartphones in 2011, mainly Android and Bada-based
• Windows Phone 7 devices promised by ZTE
• Samsung plans to overtake HTC in smartphone sales this year

Samsung was one of the first manufacturers to take a swing at the platform, bringing out the Super AMOLED-equipped Focus to make a stellar example of WP7, showing off many of the platform’s capabilities. With a 4” capacitive touchscreen and 1 GHz processor, it’s definitely on the high end of the spectrum, and offering phones like the Focus tells the world that Microsoft is ready to play with the big boys and isn’t messing around anymore.

So while it’s going to be known as one of the very first Windows Phone 7 devices in the US, will it also be known as a good phone? Let’s find out what the Samsung Focus is all about.

Hardware and Design of the Samsung Focus

In hand, the Samsung Focus has a very familiar feel to it because it’s designed quite similar to many of Samsung’s other most recent phones, such as the Galaxy S. With its 4” touchscreen, thin body and rounded curves, anyone who has used a Galaxy S device will feel right at home with the Focus. It has a certain aura of elegance about it, and is a device I truly enjoy looking at. Even though it has a large screen it doesn’t feel like I’m holding a barge; the same cannot be said about other devices with 4-4.3” screens. At 4.07 oz the Focus is very light for its overall size.

I was a bit disappointed that Samsung chose to go with a black glossy all-plastic exterior that would attract fingerprints from a fly, let alone my grubby hands. While it may all be plastic, at least the back cover is something besides a boring flat back. Instead, Samsung designed it with some clever angles, keeping the middle raised and tapering it off on the edges. It adds class and makes the whole phone look solid.

As mentioned earlier, the Focus has a Super AMOLED display that makes the screen resolution brighter than the competition, helps save battery life, and uses thinner parts so the phone itself can be much thinner at 10 mm. The resolution of the screen is 480×800. In contrast to the LG Quantum, the colors and more vibrant and deep, and it’s easy enough to tell the difference when holding the two phones up next to each other. I did notice at the same time, however, that the screen brightness itself was higher on the LG Quantum when both were on the same brightness level.

Still on the front of the phone, 3 capacitive touch-sensitive buttons are shown directly underneath the screen. These 3 — back, Windows, and search — are the same as any other WP7 device since Microsoft requires this layout on every one of its phones. There are small changes the manufacturers can make: for example, the LG Quantum chooses to keep back and search touch-sensitive but turn the Windows button into a physical button. Samsung opted to go all touch, straight across. Fortunately all three of these buttons are easy to press, and at a comfortable place for my thumb when I’m holding the phone with one hand. I don’t feel as though the phone will just go off-balance and fall out of my hand easily, and that’s a great comfort to me.

The Focus attempts to keep the outside of the phone as minimal as possible. It subscribes to the idea that the less physical buttons there are, the better. On the left side you’ll notice the volume up/down rocker, again in the perfect spot for my thumb when one-handed.

On the right side, you’ll see both the camera button (I believe this is also a requirement on every WP7 phone; Microsoft prides itself in the ability to take pictures no matter if the screen is locked or if you’re in a different screen) and the power/screen lock button.

Up on top is the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the Galaxy S-esque MicroUSB charger port with the sliding door to help keep moisture and dust out without worrying about a dinky plastic flap just coming off the phone. I’ve always enjoyed this small but significant innovation.

Rounding up the tour of the Focus, the back simply has the 5 MP camera with LED flash and a decent-sized spot for the back speaker, as well as logos and the aforementioned angles. The battery cover is a basic snap-on and pry-off cover, nothing new. Underneath the battery cover there is room for a SIM card and MicroSD card slot.

A word about the MicroSD, since it relates to the overall hardware of the phone. This particular issue has been a rather large controversy and source of utter confusion ever since before the phone was even released. Here’s the scoop on it.

Originally Microsoft hadn’t intended any of its phones to have accessible expansion card slots, but somehow the Focus slipped through the cracks and shipped with one anyways. We’re still hazy on the details on how this occurred and why it was allowed to pass through testing this way, but the fact is that while the slot can technically recognize a MicroSD card (I’ve seen plenty of successful attempts), an official memo sent out by AT&T explains that no MicroSD cards currently made are actually compatible with WP7. The memo mentioned that owners of the Focus should wait until Microsoft-certified cards are available, though there is no word on exactly how long this will take. In the meantime, if a card is used, there is a rather sizeable risk to it in that it can severely affect the performance of your Focus. So for now, take full advantage of the 8 GB internal memory that the Focus has, and be patient until the new Focus-specific cards come out.

All in all, the Focus feels elegant, classy and modern. I don’t feel as though the phone’s style will be obsolete within the next few months, which is always a huge plus to potential buyers. Nobody wants to buy a phone that just looks old and outdated.

Software and OS of the Samsung Focus

The Focus being a Windows Phone 7 device (am I the only one who keeps wanting to say “Windows Phone 7 Phone”?) could either be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at the OS. The phone has to somehow get past Microsoft’s soiled reputation in the world of mobile and prove not only itself but the OS that operates on it as well. That’s a rather heavy burden for any WP7 device to have at present time. Contrast that pressure with that of its relative, the Samsung Captivate, which has much less pressure on it than a normal phone just because it happens to run Android, an OS that’s already been proven a hundred times over.

At least the Samsung Focus does a spectacular job of handling this pressure well. As I was playing with the phone, never once did I think I was actually playing with first-generation firmware. The interaction with the OS platform was incredibly smooth and I rarely found any type of glitch or bug. This is a huge difference from that of the T-Mobile G1 running first-gen Android firmware, for sure.

Though there are a few things that I missed having on WP7 (copy and paste, *cough cough*), I know that I could use this phone on a long-term basis and be perfectly happy with it.

More details on my WP7 experience in a future review. But suffice to say, Focus had a heavy burden to bear, and bore it flawlessly.

One more note on the OS experience. Microsoft went polar opposite of Android’s multi-UI approach and actually clamped down on what phone manufacturers could do with the WP7 firmware. Each and every Windows Phone has the same exact layouts, user interfaces, and minimal spec requirements, to ensure that a phone maker can’t go messing up what Microsoft has already “perfected” and try to add in its very own flavor. Microsoft just held its ground and said if you want to play with me, you have to go by my rules. Fair enough, Microsoft, I think it’s probably for the better.

There are a few small changes each company can make. One such leniency Microsoft has granted is in the Marketplace, where each company can feature its very own store within the Marketplace itself. So Samsung has put in a few extra apps that can only be downloaded on the Focus and none other, such as:

Samsung Photo Sharing: Gives you the ability to upload multiple pictures at once to certain SNS sites.
Now: Basically identical to Daily Briefing on Samsung Android devices; shows your essential life information, such as weather, stocks, news, etc.
Three: Exclusive to H3G, gives easy access to customer support.
Network Profile: For any unlocked Samsung WP7 devices. Allows you to switch your active network profile to whatever networks are available, and gives you a list of networks to choose from. Great for international traveling.

Exciting? Not really. I wasn’t too impressed by the lack of choices in the “Samsung Zone”, as it’s called. When using the LG Quantum I noticed a much better selection of apps in LG’s Hub than I did with Samsung. Fortunately, this isn’t really that large a concern since the majority of apps that you’ll be interested in downloading will be available in the main Marketplace on any WP7 phone.

Camera and Camcorder

The camera built into the Focus is a good quality 5 MP that does offer LED flash and autofocus. It was a little tricky trying to find the best way to get the pictures completely focused, but after just a couple practice shots I had it down easy. From that point on it was smooth sailing and I felt the pictures turned out very well.

These pictures below are taken in my backyard under cloudy and almost rainy conditions, so there is a lower light level than usual. But the pictures still turned out great.

The camcorder is 720p HD resolution at the max, though you do have the option to record at a lower screen resolution. The advantage of doing this is in how much space you’ll save between the two different styles. If you’re running low on memory and can’t get to a computer to transfer existing files over, go with the lower res for a small period of time.

Thing is, when you look at this video below, it’s hard to tell that it’s in HD in the first place. Panning around my backyard made the video look slightly choppy, as if it takes a while for the picture to catch up with where the camera’s pointing. So at least outside it seemed sluggish. Using it inside looked slightly smoother but it is not 100% by any means.

You can set the camera to automatically or manually upload your pictures to SkyDrive, making it even faster and easier to get your pictures moved to your computer. It’s always nice to have the wireless upload ability to limit the number of times you actually need to plug your phone into your computer.

Multimedia and Browser

Sideloading the Focus on my PC was a piece of cake. All I needed to do in order to get started was download the Zune app on my computer, and plug the phone in. The Zune app booted right up and took me step by step through the setup process so it could recognize the Focus. Once setup, it was incredibly easy to go in and pick out which artists I wanted to listen to and import any pictures I had taken on the Focus already (and that’s if you never took advantage of the Focus’s ability to take the pics in your gallery and upload them to Microsoft Live SkyDrive).

Once on the phone, the music was easy to find since it was in the “Music+Video” tile. Going into that program, I was immediately faced with the options of music, videos, podcasts, and marketplace.

While I enjoyed the audio quality of the music I loaded into the phone, I was hoping to find an equalizer somewhere in the phone to adjust my bass and treble settings based on what genre I was listening. I couldn’t find any equalizer available.

Fortunately, WP7 allows me to perform other tasks while listening to my music player, so I could easily browse the web, text or email at the same time. Microsoft hasn’t enabled multitasking for third-party apps yet, but at least there is a small degree of multitasking that I do have access to.

Speaking of browsers, the included Internet Explorer on the Focus is rather robust. If you’re not a huge fan of IE, don’t worry too much about this version because it doesn’t look anything like the computer versions; instead, it’s optimized for your Windows Phone. Switching between active windows is easy, you can do voice searches, and the pinch-to-zoom and accelerometer work like charms here. Sadly, I absolutely hated the fact that going into my Google Reader pulled up the same mobile site that you would see on an old Blackberry or messaging phone. It’s hard going back to this style after getting used to the Android and iPhone web apps.

Even if you never use Google Reader, the important thing to take out of this is the idea that while most sites look perfectly fine (and normal) through the WP7 IE browser, those sites that are Android/iPhone optimized won’t be optimized on this OS platform (at least, not yet).

Extra Tidbits

With a 4” screen, typing on the WP7 keyboard was never an issue at all. In fact, going to this phone from an iPhone made me feel at home, because the keyboard was very responsive and Microsoft built an excellent autocorrect feature in with the keyboard itself that exceeds any other platform’s version.

Performance of the Samsung Focus

While having a solid OS and user experience matters a great deal, none of it is relevant if the phone itself is a piece of junk. Thus, it’s time to evaluate the performance of the Samsung Focus doing the most important stuff — its job.

Fortunately I was very pleased with everything on the Focus. For instance, the battery life on it is outstanding, especially compared to any iPhone or Android device I have ever used. I am fairly positive it had the best battery life I’ve ever used in a smartphone, which is saying a lot. The battery life is rated at 6.5 hours of constant talk time, but during my review I used the Focus as my primary device, which includes texting, emailing, web browsing and social networking, and the battery lasted me the entire day with some left to spare. I still charged it up every night, but I personally never had to worry if it would last through the day without getting a spare charger somewhere. Any phone that can start the day at 9:00 with full charge and still have 15% left at midnight is a winner in my sight.

The call quality was also excellent. No dropped calls, no static, and nobody complained on the other end of the line when I made my calls. The volume was high enough for me to hear everything clearly, and the speakerphone was equally impressive. In fact, I never had to bump up the volume to the highest setting, because moderate volume was good enough for me.

Finally, the 1GHz processor is coupled with 512 MB RAM, which makes this phone extra speedy. Scrolling up and down, the screen kept up with me without falling behind. It moved instanteously whenever I moved my fingers. The programs loaded up without major delays and everything I did using the phone was rather seamless. While other similar phones use the same speed processor, they don’t feel as speedy because they don’t have as much RAM as the Focus.

In my reviews I hate to say nothing but good things about a phone, because it’s my job to find little nitpicky things to like and not like, and there are goods and bads with every phone no matter how close to perfect it may seem. With that said, I was hard-pressed to find things I didn’t like about the phone that weren’t related to the OS in some way. The Focus has top-notch specs and carries those specs very well. I am rather disappointed in the SD card slot debacle, and hope it can get fixed soon so the Focus can have more than 8 small GB of storage space inside.

But overall, provided you are willing to venture into unknown territory with an unproven first-generation OS, the Samsung Focus is a great option to consider for your purchase. It is currently available in AT&T stores for $199 with contract and no mail in rebate.

Below you will find my video review of the Focus and a full gallery of pics.

You can now get AT&T Samsung Focus WP7 phone for FREE on Amazon.com

For more reviews on Windows Phone 7 devices, check out my LG Quantum review.

• IFA 2007 Report: Samsung SGH-i550 with GPS navigation and Google apps
• Unlocked Samsung Focus with Windows Phone is now just $214.99
• Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 50,000 apps
• AT&T HTC Titan Review
• Samsung’s Focus S and Flash Windows Phone Mango handsets not coming to the UK?

ScanSearch takes your position from GPS sensor in your phone and performs a local search for that place in Google or Bing. Then it overlays various places  of interest like Hotels, Restaurants, Banks/ATM, etc; on top of the live camera feed  in your phone display. ScanSearch also uses the compass, built-into LG Optimus 7/Quantum, to figure out which direction your handset is facing. And as you move the phone around, the interesting places that can be found in the direction your phone camera is facing at the moment, start popping on the screen.

ScanSearch is one of those apps that have a huge “Wow” or bragging value. When  you launch ScanSearch and start showing local restaurants, shops and schools popping up  on screen all around you – “Wow, that’s really cool” is an inevitable reaction, especially from those, friends and strangers alike, who have yet to upgrade their phones to smartphones.

However, a lot of these “Wow” apps end up being used only for that, and remain mostly forgotten when you start using your smartphone to go about your life. To figure out how much empty “Wow” and how much real usefulness is in LG Optimus 7 ScanSearch, I decided to forgo Bing Maps and used only SS app to get around Dublin when I had a few hours of sightseeing time on my recent trip there.

Here’s a video of how I fared exploring Dublin with ScanSearch app on LG Optimus 7:

If you are too lazy to watch the video , the short version is – I fared great.

I had only a couple of hours of free time to check out Central Dublin, and do some present shopping there. So I got what my guides said should be a pretty central place – O’Connel Street station. From there, I fired up ScanSearch on my Optimus 7 and  told it to do a search for shopping places. Then I turned a full circle, pointing Optimus 7 camera in front of me, to see which way the biggest concentration of shops happened to be. Checked out if it’s not too far and walked in that direction. I got to a popular shopping area without a hitch, making only a couple of stops to ScanSearch and be sure I was moving in the right direction. When I got there,  ScanSearch helped me find the nearest ATM for some additional cash, and when I was finished, lead me well enough to the nearest train stop, to take me home.

Al-in –all, I was pretty impressed with Scan Search. It is not a replacement for Maps and Navigation apps, which are still a must when setting more complex routes, planning trips, etc;. But for quick orientation, walkabouts and finding interesting stuff on the spot, ScanSearch works great, especially when figuring things on the smartphone mapping app is too bothersome.

• Win 3 AT&T LG Quantum and 2 LG Optimus 7 WP7 handsets with us
• LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone review
• LG Optimus Black launching in the UK next week
• Exclusive LG Marketplace apps on the LG Quantum and Optimus 7
• LG Optimus One arriving at Virgin Mobile USA as Optimus V

And it does make complete sense in how you go about using the UI to perform a copy/paste function. Here are a few pics to show off the Metro UI with copy and paste, as well as the video, all courtesy PocketNow. Sadly we don’t see any other features highlighted that could come in this update, if there are even any other features that are in the works. But this is a start, and we imagine that now this video is out, it won’t be long before we see others that showcase other parts of the same update.

That is, if copy/paste isn’t the only thing coming in the new update. Here’s another shot showing off the copy function just in the same list as delete and forward. It just makes more sense that way, frankly.

via PocketNow

• Minor Update May Come to Windows Phone 7 This Week
• Copy-paste tech from Apple Newton could make its way to iPhone
• Windows Phone 7: copy and paste will come early next year
• Windows Phone 7 might get VoIP calling, Visual Voicemail in future update
• Windows Phone 7 NoDo Update Pushed Back to End of March

The smartphone is called Asus E600, it looks simple and stylish and it will likely be announced and launched pretty soon.

Its features include a WVGA touchscreen display of around 4 inches, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 5.2MP autofocus camera wit LED flash, MicroSD card support, and a 1300 mAh battery.

According to the FCC, the E600 supports 850 / 1900 MHz 3G bands, so it may be released by AT&T in the US, or by several carriers in Canada – though there’s nothing official about this at the moment.

Via Phone Arena

• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Samsung Intensity appear in official photos
• Nokia C6, C3 and E5 messaging phones announced (video)
• Nokia X3 passes the FCC, might hit the US soon
• HTC Legend coming to Canada via Bell?
• HTC Leo specs unveiled – Snapdragon chipset included

So far only a few players have stepped up to the plate to take that risk. LG is one of those players, introducing the Quantum and Optimus 7 handsets as its primetime investments. Today I will be reviewing the Quantum, now available in the US on AT&T.

While Microsoft has set a very specific criteria for OEMs to follow in making WP7 handsets, the LG Quantum still has been able to stand out of the crowd by offering the only horizontal slideout QWERTY keyboard in the US as of this writing (The Dell Venue Pro is the only other handset in the US with a physical keyboard, but uses a vertical slideout keyboard instead).

To note, I love the choice of the phone’s name. Hearing Quantum always makes me think of quantum mechanics/physics and Quantum Leap. No matter which way you think of the word, it signifies a rather large jump forward in one way or another. This is incredibly symbolic of the goal Microsoft is attempting to achieve with WP7.

Thanks to our friends at LG we have been given the opportunity to review the Quantum for a couple weeks, and it’s time to share our thoughts with you. How does the LG Quantum act and feel, and how does it hold up against its WP7 brethren? Find out in this full review of the LG Quantum.

Hardware and Design of the LG Quantum
In the worldwide launch of WP7, it’s almost as though all the phone companies got together and drew straws to decide which form factor each company would design; there are so many different types of Windows Phones out there that you really have your choice of whatever style fits your needs. LG chose to include a full-sized physical QWERTY keyboard in designing the Quantum and threw it in as horizontal slider.

Doing so does mean that the phone itself weighs 6.2 ounces and spans out at dimensions of 4.7 x 2.34 x 0.60, making it heavier and thicker than its competitors. Fortunately it does not sacrifice style points or even comfort points in the process. When I held the phone in my hands I did not feel like it was too heavy for it to be comfortable. On the contrary, I actually felt that the LG Quantum is the most solidly built of all three AT&T WP7 devices. The Quantum is built primarily with rubber and metal materials. Instead of being the primary ingredient, plastic is only thrown into the mix as a secondary material. Not only does the rubber and metal give it a more solid feel, it also makes the Quantum more aesthetically pleasing. For instance, the back cover is all brushed metal and adds a very classy look to the device. The rubber sides make the phone already feel like it has a case on it, even though it doesn’t.

The Quantum uses a 3.5″ capacitive TFT touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. This is small compared to the larger touchscreens of its WP7 brethren, but it does help the Quantum feel more compact than it really is. The touchscreen does not feel too small; on the contrary, it’s just right for the phone’s design. Any larger would cause the Quantum to be a behemoth as a whole that wouldn’t even fit in your pocket comfortably. Fortunately, LG used the right blend of decent screen size with keyboard size and made it work rather well.

Microsoft requires the same 3 buttons be used on the front of every WP7 device: back, home, and search. Both back and search are built into the screen display and are only touch-sensitive, whereas the home button is a lonesome physical button down all by itself, down below the screen. This is a special design technique that LG used, and having a physical home button works very well.

Touring around the sides of the phone, on the right side you will find a volume up/down rocker and camera button. The bottom has absolutely nothing. On the left side there is a micro-USB charging port that is covered by a plastic flap that can be peeled off to reveal the port; most phones use the flap as a standard to keep dust and moisture out, though I worry that it may be easily torn off if not careful. On the top you can see a standard 3.5 mm headset jack and a power/screen lock button.

The back of the phone has a brushed metal battery cover that displays the LG and Windows Phone logos on it, and you can also see the 5 MP camera and LED flash accompanying it. Seeing this kind of battery cover along with the neighboring rubber shows me that LG was very concerned about making their phone to last long enough to get your money’s worth out of it, and to make it a more enjoyable experience using the phone overall.

In my reviews, one huge deal maker or breaker is the keyboard. If it’s not comfortable enough to use, it’s almost impossible to recommend since the chances of that phone’s keyboard becoming miraculously comfortable over time are slim to none. Thankfully I had a great experience using the keyboard on the LG Quantum. The sliding mechanism is incredibly solid and built strong. There is no looseness whatsoever but yet the slider is easy enough to slide open without considerable effort or strain.
The Quantum keys are comfortable to type on with my average-sized fingers and thumbs. Each key has been separated out and ever-so-slightly raised as to make the keys easier to press. Looking more closely at the keyboard itself, there are four rows; the bottom row is dedicated primarily to the space bar, direction pad and emoticon button, while the remaining 3 rows are for the letters. The number row is partnered up with the usual top row of letters, meaning the Q is also 1 and so forth. There is no .com button. Curiously the “fn” button, the button responsible for shifting your typing over to the blue symbols such as numbers or punctuation marks, has been pushed off to the left side to hang out with the upper arrow button. This took some getting used to, since pressing that button so far to the left doesn’t feel natural to me. It just seems out of place, as if it was just an afterthought.

We don’t see anything new or out of the ordinary on the LG Quantum’s hardware or design; it’s just built to last and knows its primary purpose, and fulfills that purpose well.

Firmware and OS on the Quantum

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the LG Quantum uses the brand new Windows Phone 7 OS. I will be giving a full review of WP7 shortly. In short, the WP7 interface is what will either get you interested in the Quantum to begin with, or cause you to be uninterested in it and be looking for a different phone. Microsoft took a few lessons from Apple and tightened down the restrictions on what its phones can and cannot do, which means the UI you see on the Quantum is the same as you’d find it on any other WP7 device. There are only a few minor differences between the two, which I will cover in another section, but mostly your experience with WP7 on the Quantum won’t be any different at all than on its competitors.

Overall I have been very pleased in using Windows Phone. As a first-generation OS, Microsoft has out-performed the first-gen version of any other smartphone OS ever made, including that of the iPhone (which when it first came out did not have apps, couldn’t send MMS and lacked several key features any self-respecting smartphone would automatically come with). The screen is incredibly responsive; no matter how I swiped or touched the screen with my fingers there was no delay whatsoever. Pinch-to-zoom worked beautifully on the browser and maps.

I was happy to see that the Quantum comes included with 16 GB internal storage space inside the phone. This memory is not expandable, unfortunately, because Microsoft chose not to give users access to the MicroSD slot on any WP7 device (with the exception of the Samsung Focus; even though the MicroSD slot is accessible on the Focus, however, AT&T has acknowledged that no current microSD card is fully functional until new ones can be produced that are Windows-certified). On the Quantum this particular slot is covered up with a secured silver plate and unless you are paying attention to it, you won’t even know it’s there.

Using a sideways sliding keyboard on the Quantum, I quickly noticed another interesting aspect of the Windows Phone OS: landscape mode is limited and not universally used in every application. I definitely could open the keyboard and be warmly greeted by landscape mode on Internet Explorer and Messaging, but several other native and third-party apps could not function in landscape mode even though the keyboard was slid out. For instance, I attempted to go into Slacker and had to type in my user name and password while turning my head sideways to look at what i was typing in portrait mode. This may become more universal with the introduction of new WP7 updates, but currently is rather frustrating. It’s a Microsoft limitation, not LG, but just having a horizontal QWERTY keyboard makes that limitation painfully obvious as you begin to use the phone on a regular basis.

The Quantum is full of great features that aren’t unique to the WP7 world: 1 GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, GPS, 5 MP camera with 720p HD recording . But the fact that these aren’t unique to Windows Phone 7 is a compliment to the cutting-edge nature of the new OS. No slowpokes or “budget” devices allowed; each device has to include these kinds of specs, if not even better than these, in order to use WP7. This is admirable simply because it shows Microsoft only wants its phones to be high-performance. This will greatly reduce the possibility of a bad phone hurting the OS’s reputation. Wanting to be cream of the crop, LG’s Quantum definitely fits the bill as a high performing device. I will go into more detail on how LG stands out later in the review.

Multimedia/Internet Capabilities
Microsoft has integrated Zune into all of its phones in attempt to give each device the richest possible multimedia experience. Whether it’s watching videos or listening to music or podcasts, Zune is tightly woven into the Music+Video app on the LG Quantum. If you plan on using any sort of multimedia on the Quantum, it will be essential to download the Zune application on your PC (or for Mac users, a beta version of Windows Phone 7 Connector is available for download as well). Plugging in the Quantum you will be able to move music and video files to it from your computer easily, not to mention pictures or videos from the Quantum to your computer. Once I loaded my music onto the Quantum via my PC, the phone automatically started searching through the Marketplace to find artist info, bios, album covers, and other related information to the music I loaded in.

The Zune pass is also available to use on the Quantum. For $14.99/month you can choose to subscribe to Zune pass, which gives you unlimited streaming of your favorite songs and 10 free downloads that you can keep each month. It’s definitely recommended to get the Zune pass and use it directly on your Quantum. Zune access is tied into the phone’s marketplace so that you can search not only for applications, but games and Zune songs and artists as well. Zune also offers support for podcasts and radio as well. One additional option AT&T throws in (again, for a monthly fee) is AT&T radio, which is essentially another streaming internet app along the same lines as Pandora or Slacker. Frankly, Slacker is already available for free through the Marketplace, so it’s hard to argue the need to shell out extra money each month for a similar service.

One cool feature that you’ll find on Windows phone 7 is the ability to automatically upload any picture or video you take directly to your online Skydrive account, which will already be setup for you since you had to create a Live account to begin using the Quantum in the first place. The Skydrive will offer you plenty of space to store and backup all of these pictures taken on your phone so you — or any of your friends — can check out your latest pics. If you don’t want to share your pics with anyone, you have the ability to keep them private or just not upload to Skydrive at all if preferred.

Video playback is great on the Quantum. Taking advantage of the above-average screen resolution I was impressed by the image quality of the videos loaded onto the Quantum. Most major video formats are supported, so there is no need to worry about what type of format to put your movies into prior to loaded it in your phone.
Internet Explorer was fast and easy to use, both through AT&T’s 3G network and WiFi. IE supports multiple open tabs and landscape mode, and the pinch to zoom functionality works flawlessly on it. There is no delay, no catching up. It’s incredibly responsive and quick. I also didn’t have any problem downloading pages or even apps using the Quantum.

I enjoyed using the camera on the Quantum as well. With a 5 MP camera, it’s on par to compete with the other top players in the market like the iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S. The pictures (and HD videos also) turned out just as crisp and the colors just as vibrant as the aforementioned devices. Definitely right on track to be a top competitor here. Here are a couple pics taken with the Quantum’s camera:

Marketplace Apps on the LG Quantum

Microsoft gives each manufacturer the opportunity to place their own app store into the Windows Phone Marketplace. That way when you use the Quantum to check out the marketplace, LG App Store is one particular option to look at. Inside, LG has developed several exclusive apps that can only be used on the Quantum or Optimus 7. Here are some of the apps LG features in the store:

Play-To: This app is DNLA-based, which means you can connect your Quantum with your PC, Xbox 360, or TV through your local WiFi connection. Through this connection you can stream any movies or music from the Quantum onto any of these other devices, effectively turning your Quantum into its own remote control of sorts.

Look n Type: If you walk and text at the same time, it’s a good idea to be safe and look where you’re going. With Look n Type, it turns your camera app on and overlays your messaging functionality on top of it. This lets you type while seeing the ground in front of you. Clever idea — now only if someone could come out with a Drive n Type app, we’d be set! (disclaimer: texting and driving is very bad. Don’t do it.)

Tool Box: A handy 7-apps-in-one app. It offers a flashlight, level, unit converter, and world clock, amongst others.

Panorama Shot: Just as it sounds, this is a camera app that automatically puts your pictures into a 360-degree panoramic shot. Great for scenic pictures.

Photo Stylist: Much like Photoshop.com, this takes your phone pictures and lets you add extra filters and effects to them, to add style and coolness to them.

A?ll of these apps offered in the LG apps store are free and easy to download.

Performance of the LG Quantum

The shining star on the Quantum is its battery life. We’ve noticed much improved battery time on Windows Phones in general, but after playing with the Quantum for a week I was quite impressed by how long it really does last. I typically start the day with a full charge at around 9 AM and use the phone regularly throughout the day: meaning I make random calls, do texts and emails, use Twitter and Facebook and search around all of my other apps on the phone, and still end the day with around 20% charge. So even though I still charge the phone every night, this is a huge improvement in battery life over most iPhones or Androids that I’ve used in the past.

Making and receiving calls ended up being a great experience, as the audio quality was excellent on both sides of the conversation. I always understood everything on the other end of the line because the calls were crisp and static-free, the speaker on the phone is sufficiently loud, and I never had any concern dropping calls.

As mentioned earlier, the high standard of top-quality specs in any Windows Phone will help it be a good performer, but I was still impressed by how quick and responsive the LG Quantum is. I never had any delays getting into apps, or even moving back and forth through the menus of the phone.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised using the LG Quantum. The only frustration I had with the phone was the on-screen keyboard just simply because it felt too tiny to use; however, this would always prompt me to just slide open the keyboard and take advantage of faster typing that way. Any other frustrations I had were based off the Windows Phone OS (which I will cover in my full WP7 review) and not the phone itself.

If you are looking for a Windows Phone that uses a full physical keyboard, I recommend the LG Quantum as a great option for you. To get more details on the Quantum, check out my full video review below as well as the complete photo gallery that shows off the Quantum.

You can now get AT&T LG Quantum for FREE from Amazon.com

• Win 3 AT&T LG Quantum and 2 LG Optimus 7 WP7 handsets with us
• Unboxing the LG Quantum: Brad’s First Impressions
• Microsoft Zune / Pink phone coming in two months, WM7 included?
• “Zune phone” references coming straight from Microsoft
• Windows Phone 7 actually requires 6 hardware buttons, not 5

Although the fake Droid X is a dual SIM handset, it looks pretty much like the original.

It even has Verizon’s logo on it, and it’s branded “with Google.” It doesn’t run Android, though, but Windows Mobile 6.5 – and yes, it’s quite weird to see a Google phone running WM.

Check out the photos and the video below:

In case you want to buy it, the Droid X wannabe is available at M8Cool for about $245 (while the real Droid X can be bought at Verizon for $199.99 on contract, or $569.99 off contract).

Via Micgadget, Engadget

• Verizon SE Xperia Play, LG Revolution, HTC Trophy and Droid X2 available now
• Verizon’s Motorola Droid X2, Droid 3, and Targa appear in new photos
• First Verizon Motorola Droid 2 A955 photo shows up?
• Verizon officially presents the Motorola Droid X
• Verizon’s Motorola Droid HD and Droid Bionic show up in photos

According Microsoft’s Mike O’Sullivan (interviewed here by someone at Rogers), new Windows Phone 7 device with hardware QWERTY keyboards are coming “in the future”.

At the moment, the only Windows Phone 7 handset with a hardware keyboard that’s available in Canada is the LG Optimus Quantum (offered by Bell for 99.95 on a 3-yr contract).

Two of the upcoming QWERTY smartphones might be the Dell Venue Pro and the HTC 7 Pro (pictured above), both off which are yet to be launched in the US and Europe. Of course, completely new QWERTY WP7 devices could – and probably will – also be available in Canada soon. More details as we get them.

Via Mobile Syrup

• Rogers and Bell getting Windows Phone 7, too: Samsung Focus and LG Quantum (Optimus 7Q)
• Dell Venue Pro launching at Rogers in March?
• HTC HD7 to bring more Windows Phone 7 goodness to Bell Canada
• Samsung Galaxy S II LTE to be launched by Bell?
• HTC 7 Surround and LG Optimus 7 with WP7 available in Canada (Telus) on November 8

However, the Taiwanese company is currently working on at least one Windows Phone 7 device.

Talking to All Things Digital, Acer’s CEO Gianfranco Lanci said the following:

“Smartphones – we want them to become big. Today we are mainly Android, but we are also working on Windows Phone 7.”

Unfortunately, Acer’s CEO didn’t provide more details, but I assume the first Acer WP7 handset will be launched sometime next year – when that unnamed 4.8 inch Android flagship phone will also be introduced.

Acer’s latest smartpohnes released in collaboration with Microsoft were based on Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (the neoTouch P400 pictured below is one of them).

Gianfranco Lanci also talked about Acer’s tablet-related plans. We’ve already seen one of the company’s first tablets, and it looks like this will run Android Honeycomb, because Acer isn’t convinced Android Gingerbread “is the right solution” for a tablet – not to mention Android Froyo. April 2011 is the month when Acer expects to launch its Android tablets, so lets wait and see what they’ll bring.

Via Mobile Crunch

• Acer renaming its smartphones: neoTouch, beTouch E100, beTouch E101 and beTouch E200
• Acer may launch a ‘slide tablet’ by the end of the year
• Acer to launch more phones with Android, fewer with Windows Mobile (in 2010)
• Lenovo’s first Android tablet made for the US may run Honeycomb
• Acer will continue to make tablets, despite rumors to the contrary