Mango: Microsoft needs to be complimented for building an innovative mobile operating system
BT tries out Microsoft's innovative smartphone operating system
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
Mango delight
Steve Jobs once threatened to go 'thermo-nuclear' on Google because he believed the company had copied the iOS operating system off the iPhone and iPad. At other times, he had uncharitable things to say about Bill Gates and Microsoft. But we doubt he would have wanted to sue Microsoft for its new smartphone operating system - Windows Phone 7.5, also known as 'Mango'. In fact, Microsoft needs to be complimented for building an innovative mobile operating system and giving it a new tilebased look and feel.
There are several things to like about Mango. The user experience lives up to the company claim that it was designed with the customer in mind. The full-integration with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, while not unique, is done very well, as are the stark black-on-white or white-on-black colours. Available applications such as Mobile Office work well on this device. Also, the latest build of the desktop version allows you to sync your documents, presentations and spreadsheets across your computer and your phone. When we synced Google (for Gmail) into this device, it also picked up contacts and phone numbers. However, unlike Google's Android, Microsoft has a far stricter control of the user experience.
On Android devices such as Samsung Galaxy, HTC or SonyEricsson Xperia, the user experience is quite different on each even though they all run the same core build of Android. But that will not be the case with the HTC Radar, where we tested the Mango, and the Nokia Omnia 800, which was recently launched. It will, be interesting to see how other hardware manufacturers respond to the new system.
Steve Jobs once threatened to go 'thermo-nuclear' on Google because he believed the company had copied the iOS operating system off the iPhone and iPad. At other times, he had uncharitable things to say about Bill Gates and Microsoft. But we doubt he would have wanted to sue Microsoft for its new smartphone operating system - Windows Phone 7.5, also known as 'Mango'. In fact, Microsoft needs to be complimented for building an innovative mobile operating system and giving it a new tilebased look and feel.
| Windows Phone 7.5 Mango +ve: Great user-interface, full integration with social networks -ve: Camera software could be better, so too Microsoft Bing search Price: Rs 23,990 |
On Android devices such as Samsung Galaxy, HTC or SonyEricsson Xperia, the user experience is quite different on each even though they all run the same core build of Android. But that will not be the case with the HTC Radar, where we tested the Mango, and the Nokia Omnia 800, which was recently launched. It will, be interesting to see how other hardware manufacturers respond to the new system.
