Microsoft Windows Phone 7 OS

Windows Phone 7 is a brand-new thing. Microsoft's total mobile OS reboot is bold and fresh. It's also definitely a Version 1.0. Zune fans will be immediately impressed, but for everyone else, buying into Windows Phone 7 is taking a gamble that Microsoft will sand away the rough edges quickly.

For now, Windows Phone 7 is arriving on six phones in the U.S.: the Samsung Focus ($199.99, 4 stars), HTC Surround ($199.99, 3 stars) and LG Quantum on AT&T; the HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro on T-Mobile; and the HTC 7 Pro on Sprint. Verizon has said it may support the OS in 2011, but hasn't made any clear commitments.

All the initial Windows Phone 7 models have a lot in common. They run on the Qualcomm QSD8250, 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 chipset. They all have 800-by-480 screens, 5-megapixel cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM radios. They vary in terms of hardware keyboards, phone performance, camera quality, preloaded software, and available storage.

Apps and Xbox
It won't surprise you to know that Bing and Microsoft Office play major roles in Windows Phone 7. Bing, of course, is the default Web search engine; it also offers pinch-to-zoom maps. On my sample phones, Bing maps locked onto my location quickly and offered driving or walking directions. But it's still behind the leader, Google Maps. It doesn't do turn-by-turn, spoken driving directions or transit directions. When you zoom in on individual blocks, you don't see buildings or businesses tagged. And it got some addresses in New York City quite wrong, for instance putting JFK Airport in Manhattan.

The Microsoft Office implementation on Windows Phone is excellent. You can create, edit, and round-trip Word, Excel, and OneNote files, as well as edit PowerPoint docs. There's only one false note: no easy way to copy those files to and from your desktop. You have to send them to yourself via e-mail, save them on Microsoft's SkyDrive (for OneNote only) or store them on a SharePoint server.

Windows Phone 7 carries the Xbox Live brand, and gaming is one of the real weaknesses of the competing Android platform. At launch, Windows Phone 7 is probably already ahead of Android, but is behind Apple, the leader in mobile gaming.

Games you download appear under an Xbox Live icon on the home screen. There are only a few available right now, but they're very good-looking, with high-test graphics and smooth action. Even casual games such as Monopoly have 3D graphics. I'm frustrated by the lack of multiplayer XBox Live games at launch, though. In Windows Phone's interface, you can see your avatar, various gaming achievements and leader boards, but there's no option to play games with your friends. Microsoft says that feature is coming very soon, perhaps by the time you read this.

Microsoft says about 1,000 apps will be available by US launch, with "several hundred more" arriving each following week. A whole range of big names may be available by December, including Netflix, Kindle, Sling Player, ESPN, Facebook, and games from EA. The big-name apps were starting to filter into the store at the end of our review period; EA and Glu Mobile games, for instance, started appearing the afternoon that this review published.

Third-party apps aren't allowed to run in the background, though some apps save their states to resume to the same place when relaunched. Microsoft's multitasking is much weaker than Apple's and Android's here.

That said, the Marketplace is an interesting and pretty usable experience. At first it will be curated; only 2,000 developers who Microsoft prefers will be allowed in. That will (hopefully) populate the catalog with some high-quality stuff before the floodgates open. You can try any app before you buy, and you can bill apps directly to your AT&T phone bill. There's no option to return apps you don't like, though.

I especially like how you can browse the app catalog on a PC and schedule downloads to be synced over to your phone. If you choose to buy your app on the phone itself, titles under 10MB can be downloaded over 3G. For anything larger, you'll need a Wi-Fi network.

The 10 Best Touch-Screen Phones

With big, beautiful screens and top-notch touch-based interfaces, these phones will make you forget physical keyboards ever existed.

It was touch-and-go for a time, but the touch-screen interface has finally become mainstream. In the past, it was relatively tough to round up 10 good touch screen products. These days, high-quality touch-screen-based interfaces have made their way into PCs, tablets, phones, PMPs, digital cameras, and a host of other devices.

The introduction of the original iPhone back in 2007 sparked a touch-screen revolution in the smartphone space. With its gorgeous 3.5-inch Multi-Touch screen with support for pinch and zoom, well-designed, finger-friendly interface, and top-notch mobile Web experience, the iPhone served as a prime example of the potential of the keyboard-free phone.

View SlideshowSee all (10) slides

More

After that, every major manufacturer took its own stab at the touch-screen smartphone. Some succeeded, and some, well, not so much. RIM's first touch-screen handset, the BlackBerry Storm, for example, was panned in our original review for a buggy, imprecise touch interface that was difficult to use. It took a major firmware upgrade six months later for us to recommend the Storm. And since then, we've seen plenty of hard-to-use touch-screen phones that left us begging for physical keyboards and controls.

Three years later, though, there's no shortage of innovative, easy-to-use touch-screen smartphones. In fact, each of the major U.S. carriers offers a number of handsets that ace the touch-screen interface. This list contains the best touch-screen-only phones. If you're looking for phone with a touch screen and a supplemental hardware keyboard, you won't find it here. But if you're willing to say farewell to the physical keyboard for good, look no further than our 10 favorite touch-screen phones.

Touch-Screen Phones Included in this Roundup (by Carrier)

AT&T

iPhone 4

Apple's iPhone 4 adds a gorgeous screen, a terrific camera, and a faster processor to add to the already-awesome iPhone app experience, but voice calling still isn't this phone's priority.

iPhone 3GS Even though the 3GS now has a faster, shinier big brother, this affordable iPhone is still a terrific handheld computing and Web device. And it provides the same access to thousands of apps for half the price of the iPhone 4.

Samsung Captive With a fast processor, bright screen, great social-networking hooks, and even options for syncing with PCs, the Captivate is the best smartphone for AT&T users who find Apple's attraction to be fruitless.

SPRINT

HTC EVO 4G

If you live online, the EVO offers a big, beautiful, and powerful window to the world. The first WiMAX phone in the U.S. is a terrific platform for streaming media and Web browsing, and it gets your laptop online with Sprint's 4G network.

Samsung Instinct HD The Samsung Instinct HD is the first truly high-def video phone in the U.S.; it has a novel feature set and can record and display HD video (at least on an external screen), but that privilege doesn't come without issue.

T-MOBILE

Samsung Vibrant The Samsung Vibrant is T-Mobile's super-phone, and it delivers a lot of power on some really inexpensive monthly plans.

Samsung Highlight SGH-t749 With a responsive touch-screen and easy-to-use TouchWiz UI, the entry-level Samsung Highlight is a good choice for T-Mobile subscribers looking for a touch- screen handset that's easy to use.

VERIZON WIRELESS

Driod Incredible by HTC Lots of power, a great-looking screen, and gorgeous interface additions, mean the Droid Incredible easily lives up to its name.

Samsung Fascinate Sized in between the Motorola Droid X and HTC Droid Incredible, the Samsung Fascinate will feel just right for many Verizon smartphone shoppers.

Motorola Droid X Motorola Droid X takes the crown for the most powerful Android smartphone away from the HTC Droid Incredible. The huge 4.3-inch, 854-by-480 screen makes maneuvering the phone's excellent interface with your finger a breeze.

Mozilla Seabird 2D

Sony announces "Internet TV" HDTVs, Blu-ray player with Google TV

On Tuesday night, Sony took the wraps off its "Internet TV" line of products which integrate Google TV software. The good news, at least for those considering an HDTV with integrated Google TV, is that the pricing is much lower than previously rumored. However, the set-top box with integrated Blu-ray player is still a little on the pricey side.

Sony is launching four new Internet TV HDTV models later this month, including 24", 32", 40", and 46" sizes and all with 1080p native resolution. All the models feature integrated WiFi, four HDMI ports (no mention of component or composite input), four USB ports, an unspecified Intel processor, and an RF QWERTY keyboard remote that first appeared on an episode of ABC's NightLine last week. All the models also feature LED edge backlighting except for the 24", which gets old-school CCFL backlighting.

Pricing for the models is just slightly higher than the going rates for similar 1080p HDTVs, starting at $599.99 for the 24" model. The 32", 40", and 46" models will retail for $799.99, $999.99, and $1399.99 respectively.

Sony is also launching an Internet TV Blu-ray player for those who already have an HDTV and don't already have another Blu-ray player or PS3. The device includes all the features of Sony's integrated Internet TVs in a standalone device for $399.99. While the addition of a Blu-ray player is nice for those that don't already have one, we still wonder how well these early set-top boxes will be able to compete with less expensive devices from Apple, Roku, Boxee, and others.

All the products are available to pre-order now direct from Sony Style or Best Buy. Sony said the products will be in Sony Style store shelves on October 16 and at Best Buy stores "shortly after."

Feel The Freedom

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910

A webcam typically isn't good enough to stand in for an actual camcorder. But Logitech wants to change that with the HD Pro Webcam C910, which can record video at full 1080p resolution. It also features a Carl Zeiss glass lens, dual stereo mics, and a cleaner mount design than last year's Logitech Webcam C600($69.99, ). As a result, it's our new Editors' Choice forwebcams.

Design, System Requirements, and Video Quality

The C910's main body measures 3.8 by 1.0 by 1.6 inches (HWD); the dual-hinged mount extends back a few inches more. The entire unit is made of black, glossy plastic. I had no trouble fitting it to the top of a 23-inch Asus desktop LCD; the hinge adapts to fit a thinner laptop lid as well. The stereo mics flank the Carl Zeiss glass lens, and are approximately three inches apart. That's actually enough for some semblance of stereo sound recording (more on that later). A five-foot USB cable is permanently attached, and the package also includes a foldout guide and a software CD. Finally, the C910 includes free codes for downloading Magix Video Easy and Magix Photo Manager 9, which aid in editing photos and videos.

View SlideshowSee all (10) slides

More

To get started, Logitech recommends a 2.8GHz, single-core Pentium 4 PC runningWindows 7, Vista, and XP (SP2 or higher). For HD video recording or live chats, the company recommends a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip or faster, with 2GB of RAM and a free USB 2.0 port. You'll also need 1MB/sec upload speeds from your cable or DSL modem. I tested the C910 on a custom Intel Core i7-860 PC with 6GB of RAM and 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate Edition.

As a rule, webcams don't exactly excel when it comes to high-quality images. Recorded videos usually look washed out compared with a properdigital camera or camcorder. Keeping that in mind, the C910's video quality looked pretty great in 1080p HD mode. Images were sharp and smoothly animated, and roughly equivalent to what you'd get from a second-generation Flip MinoHD ($229.99, ). Something to note: recorded images default to 720p (to change to 1080p, you need to go toQuick Capture > Video Recording mode, and then choose Controls > Resolution).

Logitech's automatic light correction balanced out light sources well. Some very bright rooms looked a little pale and washed out, but it's the best quality I've seen from a webcam to date. I noticed some compression artifacts in recorded video. The effect isn't that visible in Logitech's bundled video app, which reduces the live video size. But the recorded files themselves were larger; when I played them in Windows Media Player, the compression was more obvious. Logitech confirmed that there's no way to turn the compression off, at least with the bundled software, although they company is looking into it for a future release. On the plus side, you can share videos almost instantly via Facebook or YouTube with a single click.

Audio Quality, Other Features, and Conclusions

The stereo mics exhibited fairly impressive frequency response in my tests. Voices sounded loud, warm, and clear. The built-in noise canceling circuitry filtered out the sound of a large fan in the background. You can also turn on a typical array of video effects, including animated alien heads, neon splashes, and optical distortions. When I tried some of these, I found it pretty easy to crash the program, at least on the Windows 7, Core i7 PC I tested the C910 on.

For HD video chats, Logitech bundles its Vid HD software; it works in 720p, not 1080p, though. With Skype and other major IM programs, video chats drop back to 640 by 480 pixels when using the C910, though the impressive picture quality remains. (Note: Skype is working on certifying a few webcams for HD chat.) The C910 also takes 10-megapixel snapshots; test photos were sharp and detailed, but they lacked the color vibrancy and contrast you'd get from a dedicated digital camera with a larger lens.

Most desktop and laptop PC owners will balk at dropping $100 on a webcam since you can get a desktop model for as little as $20 or $30 these days, and most new-model laptops have them built-in. But if you can spend the money, the C910 delivers full HD video that looks and sounds excellent; you get what you pay for here. Two lower-cost options: the $70 Logitech Webcam C600, is less expensive and also offers good video quality, although it's a bit more ungainly and can't record at 1080p resolution. Microsoft's LifeCam Cinema ($79.95, ) also delivers sharp video recordings, although its light balance isn't quite as good, and its built-in monophonic microphone lacks noise-canceling circuitry.