Android vs Windows Phone 7 for a work-oriented phone?
I’m currently stuck on Windows Mobile 6.5, which does suck in terms of “cool factor” but is a very solid business phone OS.
Now I’m due for an upgrade, and I’m trying to decide between Windows Phone 7 and Android. Both of them seem to have more eye candy and user friendliness, and poorer Outlook integration/business features, but I guess it’s time to move on and get used to it.
Which of the two will you recommend? Again, this is going to be primarily a _work_ phone, which has to have good contact management with enterprise address book support, syncable calendar, tasklist, etc. I’ve all but ruled out BlackBerry (amazing business features but I hate the UI) and iPhone (I don’t want to be locked to iTunes, in a Windows-only workplace, plus I have an iPod touch), but I’ll consider them if you provide a good enough reason.
Thanks!
I upgraded from a WM 6.5 phone to my LG Quantum Optimus. I had looked at android and iPhones, but the keyboard on the LG was key for me.
For business, the WP7 is night and day better than WP6.5.
The eye candy is actually functional. The ability to pin multiple email accounts (home and work) and see if you have messages for each — without going into your email. The calendar tile shows if you have important appointments — without going into it. You can pin important contacts — i.e. the office. Contacts are neatly organized and gives you the option of email, text message, phone, and various messages. You can pin web-sites. Browsing is suitable to actually get stuff done and the LG’s keyboard is great for longer business emails. The non-business stuff is also pretty useful. You can drop your MP3 player. You can run Netflix on it for those business trips. GPS can find places and give you directions. etc., etc. It won’t replace a notebook, but it way beyond a WP 6.5 device.
Now… the (sort of) down side…
Local Storage. WP7 does not support the concept of local file storage. It’s doesn’t act like a USB device when you plug it in. You need the Zune software on a PC to sync image, music, video, and applications with it. All other file types *must* be accessed via the web or email. You can’t copy a .pdf file on the device, but you can open a .pdf file emailed or viewed in a web page.
Outlook Integration. WP7 does not support syncing with local copies of Outlook. If you are a business user… it will sync fine with your Exchange server. Microsoft’s rational is that business users should be using Exchange. The alternative for non-business users is to use either Windows Live or Goggle Calendar.
It took a while to understand that these are actually better ways of doing things. I shouldn’t be copying files around — far easier to access those on the server. I shouldn’t be trying to sync local Outlook copies for business and it is a major pain in the rear to have to sync a home PC, office PC, laptop, and phone. Far better to connect to your Exchange box (or Windows Live or Goggle Calendar if you don’t have one) so that the information is held centrally and you don’t have to sync four devices in order to keep them all updated. Windows Live (Skydrive) has a free 25GB of online storage for files if your company server isn’t setup. There is also a program called CompanionLink ($49?) which will sync a local copy of Outlook to Google Calendar if you don’t want to switch your local Outlook over to Windows Live.
Android vs Windows Phone 7
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