Review

100 Top World Wonders Review

Summary

100 Top World Wonders іѕ аn application bу Ximad thаt brings 100 οf thе world’s greatest wonders rіght onto уουr Windows Phone. Thе official description reads:

Finally, іn one list, thе world’s “top” everything:

*Thе world’s fastest…

*Thе world’s tallest…

*Thе world’s mοѕt expensive…

*Thе world’s longest…

And οthеr world wonders!

Thіѕ application dοеѕ јυѕt thаt, аnd wіll сеrtаіnlу bе a treat fοr both trivia lovers аnd curious individuals.

Thе Gοοd

Thе application features a nice custom interface thаt brings a slide-ѕhοw style listing tο thе information. All pages аrе accompanied bу both pictures аnd detailed information, whісh gives οff a nice feel. All thе cards аlѕο include share аnd favorite buttons, whісh mаkеѕ іt easy tο pass along thе facts presented bу thе application. Another сοοl feature іѕ thе ability tο search through thе wonders listed іn thе application, whісh mаkеѕ іt easy tο find a specific wonder οr wonders іn a сеrtаіn location. Thе application аlѕο performs quite well, аnd wаѕ overall stable іn ουr experience.

Sοmе Thουghtѕ

Whіlе thе application presents аn overall gοοd experience, thеrе аrе two things wе mυѕt point out. Thе first comes аѕ a bit οf a personal annoyance, though аn altogether insignificant issue. Thе application plays a “click” sound between slides, whісh, whіlе a сοοl effect, саn bе a lіttlе annoying аt times. Unfortunately, thе οnlу apparent way tο gеt around thіѕ sound іѕ tο mute уουr device’s speakers. Thе second comes аѕ something wе wish tο see іn a future version, аnd thаt іѕ thе ability tο hаνе randomized slides. Currently, thе slides саn bе played forwards οr backwards, bυt іt wουld аlѕο bе beneficial tο thе user tο provide a way tο skim through thе slides іn random order.

Conclusion

Despite a few small changes wе wουld lіkе tο see, thе application performs quite well аnd wіll сеrtаіnlу bе a grеаt addition tο уουr phone’s catalog οf applications. Thе application comes іn both free аnd paid version, wіth thе free version being ad-supported. Yου саn check out paid аnd free versions here аnd here respectively.

Windows Phone 7 Stencil Kit

UIstencils hаѕ released a Windows Phone 7 stencil kit coupled wіth a sketch pad, аnd іt looks damn impressive. Thе stencil itself works precisely wіth thе pad thanks tο thе involvement οf thе Windows Phone internal design team.

Thе sheer brilliance οf thіѕ product wіll allow nοt οnlу developers/designers tο сrеаtе hundreds οf concepts wіth minimal effort, bυt іt mау appeal tο аnу еnd-user whο mау wish tο redecorate thеіr house without thе approval οf thеіr parent(s)/wife. Whаt’s included іn thе stencil kit?

• Stainless steel stencil
• Zebra mechanical pencil
• Plastic protector wallet
• 2 UI stencil stickers

Yου саn grab thе Windows Phone 7 kit fοr $24.95 аnd thе pads аrе available аt $12.95 each.

HTC 7 Mozart Review

The HTC 7 Mozart is not the kind we are used to meeting – and no, before you ask, it’s not a music-centric gadget as the name suggests. Something quite different in fact, it’s all about the camera that goes beyond Microsoft’s demanding specs.

Once again, HTC are trying to escape from Microsoft’s cookie-cutter approach and the Mozart promises to let Windows Phone 7 show it can do more. There’s much to be excited about here and there’s bad news for some of the top cameraphones around.

HTC 7 Mozart official photos

The HTC 7 Mozart is the first WP7 phone to go 8MP and the first one to pack a Xenon flash. Seems like plenty of cameraphone buffs are hearing Christmas bells already. We’ll pretend we don’t for a while and put on our shooting socks instead. It’s time to see what the HTC Mozart is really made of.

Key features:

• 3.7″ 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Dual-band 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps) and HSUPA (2Mbps)
• Windows Phone 7 operating system
• 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 576MB RAM, 512MB ROM
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon flash, geotagging
• 720p video recording @ 25fps
• 8GB of built-in storage
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Standard microUSB port (charging)
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement
• Pretty good audio quality
• Wi-Fi b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotation
• Office document editor
• Facebook integration and cloud services
• Built-in A-GPS receiver
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• Comes with HTC Hub and exclusive HTC apps
• Voice-to-text functionality

Main disadvantages:

• Disastrous camera performance
• Weak xenon flash
• Non-expandable storage
• No lens protection

WP7-specific limitations

• No system-wide file manager
• No Bluetooth file transfers
• No USB mass storage mode
• Limited third-party apps availability
• No Flash (nor Silverlight) support in the browser
• Too dependent on Zune software for file management and syncing
• No video calls
• New ringtones available only through the Marketplace
• Music player lacks equalizer presets
• No multitasking
• No copy/paste
• No DivX/XviD video support (automatic transcoding provided by Zune software)
• No sign of free Bing maps Navigation so far
• No internet tethering support
• No handwriting recognition support

So here we are again – reviewing another Windows Phone 7 device. Not that we mind though. And for a change, it’s not another case of struggling to put a face to a name.

We’ve been there already: the OS limitations and the ensuing deal-breakers are no news to you. If you have your sights set on Windows Phone 7 you probably know everything there is to know about it. There’s much to love about the Metro interface – and there’s no denying some things about Windows Phone 7 just could’ve been better. But if your glass is half full rather than half empty – there’s good news.

Microsoft are prepping the first Windows Phone 7 update, which will enable copy/paste and is supposed to bring some multitasking magic. It’s going to hit all WP7-based devices at the very beginning of next year.

Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 Review

Though it might seem like a chicken-and-egg situation, the question in our case never was which one came first: Windows Phone 7 or the Samsung I8700 Omnia 7. We know you’re all adding two and two together. Our Windows Phone 7 review was based on this Samsung Omnia 7 here. You can’t blame the OS for taking unfair advantage but you can’t deny the fact either that a Super AMOLED screen can make anything look good.

Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 official photos

Not that we’re saying that Windows Phone 7 is just anything. And of course, it just can’t and won’t be anything you want it to be. But that’s not the whole story. Let’s just say Microsoft are in charge of the numerology and leaving it to manufacturers to do the math.

And it’s simple but expensive math. WVGA screens, 1 GHz processors and dedicated GPUs are the minimum requirements for any set to run the brand new OS. Let’s just repeat that – those are the MINIMUM requirements.

No wonder then, the Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 has no choice but to be the Galaxy S of the new Windows phones. It has the same 4 inches of a gorgeous Super AMOLED screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon powerplant and it captures 5 megapixel photos and records HD videos. If there was one thing to hold against the I9000 Galaxy S it had to be the plastic finish. But Samsung listened to their customers and gave the Omnia 7 the same get-up as the first Bada phone.

So, the Omnia 7 seems to have it all to make a grand entrance – premium build, powerful hardware and a brand new OS are all thrown into the mix. We can hardly think of any weak spots on the chassis.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4″ 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution, multi-touch input, scratch-resistant glass surface
• Windows Phone 7 OS
• 1GHz Snapdragon QSD8250 CPU
• 5 MP autofocus camera with face, smile and blink detection, geotagging, LED flash
• 720p HD video recording at 25fps
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 8/16GB internal storage
• Accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging)
• Bluetooth v2.1
• FM radio with RDS
• 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Good audio quality
• Microsoft Office Suite for Mobile
• Zune integration with wireless syncing
• Excellent cloud services integration (SkyDrive, Windows Live, Xbox Live)

Main hardware disadvantages

• No stereo speakers
• No lens protection
• No memory card slot

WP7-specific limitations

• No system-wide file manager
• No Bluetooth file transfers
• No USB mass storage mode
• Limited third-party apps availability
• No Flash or Silverlight support in the browser
• Too dependent on Zune software for file management and syncing
• No video calls
• New ringtones available only through the Marketplace
• Music player lacks equalizer presets
• No multitasking
• No copy/paste
• No DivX/XviD video support (automatic transcoding provided by Zune software)
• No sign of free Bing maps Navigation so far
• No internet tethering support

It’s no big secret Microsoft wants to sell Windows Phone 7 big time. The easiest route to success is to set out the blueprint and leave the rest to the manufacturers. It might even seem life in Redmond is easy and the makers are meeting a real challenge. To develop a phone that not only meets Microsoft’s strict requirements as a high-performance carrying vessel for the new OS, but one that also has its own spirit and identity. Samsung seem quite up to the task so far.

Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 at ours

If you’re eyeing Microsoft’s latest and greatest as a possible purchase, you’ll surely go through the pros and cons of the Omnia 7 carefully. Samsung is guilty of committing only a couple of them, while the rest are all Microsoft’s fault. But in the end, they will all be held against the phone in equal measure.

As many of our readers have already commented under our Windows Phone 7 OS review, the new OS is quite similar to Apple’s iOS in its strange limitations – stuff such as lack of a USB mass storage mode or no copy/paste, or even the lack of a memory card support – those are all quite inexplicable to the regular user.

Microsoft went the same way with the synchronization – you’ll need the latest Zune software (minimum ver. 4.7) and that’s the only way to access your phone – photos, music, videos and applications – all goes through Zune. Sounds familiar, right?

Still the Windows Phone 7 is designed as a premium OS and Microsoft has obviously managed to convince most major manufacturers to accept the strict hardware requirements. And despite the silly-looking limitations, it looks they may be all on to something great.

LG E900 Optimus 7 Review

Windows Phone 7 is new territory for LG to conquer and the LG E900 Optimus 7 is their first pawn in the game. However “pawn” hardly describes the rich feature set of this player. LG has done its best to set the Optimus 7 apart with great build quality and some subtle but useful software perks. With the strict hardware restrictions imposed by Microsoft, it’s really hard to make you product stand out and we hope the LG attempt turns out successful.

LG E900 Optimus 7 official photos

You must’ve heard of the strict Redmond rules outlining the hardware requirements of their latest mobile OS. Not that demanding excellence is a bad thing – but manufacturers are under a lot of strain to make their phones unique while keeping within the Microsoft-imposed guidelines.

Much like with any other WP7 smartphone, the Optimus 7 specs leave little doubt that it’s a high end gadget. But Windows Phone 7 brings with it a certain trade-off – you can bet that the hardware is top notch but the platform-specific limitations may or may not prove to be dealbreakers for you.

Here go the pros and cons of the LG E900 Optimus 7, which will give you a good idea of how well LG did in that task.

Key features:

• 3.8″ 16M-color capacitive TFT touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps) and HSUPA (5.76Mbps)
• Windows Phone 7 operating system
• 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 512MB RAM
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and geo-tagging; Panorama photos with the Panorama shot app
• 720p video recording @ 24fps
• 16GB of built-in storage
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Standard microUSB port (charging)
• Wi-Fi b/g/n; DLNA support via PlayTo
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotation
• Landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• FM radio with RDS
• Office document editor
• Social networking integration
• Built-in A-GPS receiver
• Comes with a choice of free apps via LG AppStore
• Voice-to-text functionality
• ScanSearch augmented reality app

Main disadvantages:

• Memory not expandable
• Average quality display
• No stereo speakers
• No lens protection
• Audio output quality is a mixed-bag

WP7-specific limitations

• No system-wide file manager
• No Bluetooth file transfers
• No USB mass storage mode
• Limited third-party apps availability
• No Flash or Silverlight support in the browser
• Too dependent on Zune software for file management and syncing
• No video calls
• New ringtones available only through the Marketplace
• Music player lacks equalizer presets
• No multitasking
• No copy/paste
• No DivX/XviD video support (automatic transcoding provided by Zune software)
• No sign of free Bing maps Navigation so far
• No internet tethering support
• No handwriting recognition support
• Twitter client does not integrate with phonebook

LG has added a handful of apps that give their Windows Phone 7 some unique capabilities. First off, the PlayTo app gives the phone DLNA capabilities – so far exclusive in the Windows Phone 7 world. The Panorama shot application adds a useful feature to the stock WP7 camera. And finally, there’s Scan Search, a augmented reality app that can give you a weather forecast as well as find you the best cafe nearby – by using your smartphone camera viewfinder as a guide.

LG Optimus 7 has a smaller LCD unit than the top dogs in the WP7 game but it will try to compensate with a proper price tag. Plus we find a 3.8-inch display to be on the brink of tipping over our usability scale.