So why can't I put Windows Phone 7 down?

[Hands0n]

This is really scary. I seem to have lost a bit of self control. Windows Phone 7 has got to me in a rather big way.

For the past couple of months I have been carrying with me a Jil Sander (that is an LG E906) Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphone connected to giffgaff PAYG loaded with a £10 Goody Bag for minutes, texts and truly unlimited data. This is running version 7.5 of the OS codenamed Mango.

In December 2010 I trialled a Samsung Omnia 7 with version 7.0, the original, and it was dreadful. I disliked it intensely. But a year later things are quite different.

Accompanying the WP7 is an iPhone and a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the iPhone being my primary tool. And I try to use all three interchangeably throughout the day tweeting, using Facebook, the web browser, email and the rest.

Last Saturday I ventured out to Vodafone and picked up a Nokia Lumia 710 for £150 on PAYG to find out what the Nokia experience with WP7 is all about. I must mention that there are none of the Lumia 800's battery problems with the 710. I ran a test and the Lumia 710 lasted 4 days 3 hours on a single charge, mostly sitting at standby but with occasional little use. That is featurephone territory, not smartphone. During this time I had email, Facebook and Twitter apps loaded into memory. Push notifications were apparent.

The thing is, now well into my third month, I am finding WP7 a compelling experience. I keep coming back to it time and time again, using it for calls and Internet, not so much texts as I don't want to confuse those I communicate with. The Metro interface has grown on me - from not being terribly interested to the point where now I am constantly trying to find excuses to use WP7. The experience is not a lot different between the Jil Sander and the Lumia 710. The major difference is that Nokia does not support tethering (Internet Sharing WP7 calls it) whereas the Jil Sander does.

Apps
WP7 apps have been woefully inadequate, all with a distinctly version 1.0 feel to them. But things are changing, slowly.

Facebook's latest app has fully embraced the Metro UI and it is a distinct improvement for doing so. It works really well indeed.

For Twitter I use the Rowi client, available in both free and paid for versions, the former is Ad supported. It is the best Twitter client around at the moment. All of the others are quite poor quality.

The future?
I really do not think that WP7 will make it to my primary smartphone device, there is still too much space between that OS and iOS and Android. But I've a funny feeling that I'll be making all manner of excuse to be carrying around WP7 for the indefinite future.

Cheaper WP7 in the for of Nokia Lumia 610 are reportedly heading this way. Equally, a very likely more expensive Lumia 900 is on the cards, upping the specification from the Lumia 800. This may help move WP7 into the mainstream, it is not doing so well at the moment.