So Microsoft has finally rolled out Windows Phone 7.8, the update that adds the new start screen from WP8 to WP7.
I’ve moved to my HTC 8X for my primary phone so I decided to boot up my old HD7 and see what it looked like. Upon boot up, the phone immediately detected an update and after connecting to my PC and running the Zune software, the updated started right away.
The first update was not WP7.8, but instead 7.10.8779.8, which doesn’t appear in the MS update list, but must be something HD7 specific. The update was quick enough to install so it was fine.
A second update, 7.10.8783.12, also installed, again without any info on the MS update site.
And finally update 7.10.8858.136 came down which was WP7.8.
The whole process only took about 15 minutes and completed without incident.
The start screen experience is exactly as you would expect and the Bing image of the day for the wallpaper works just fine as well.
I have to say holding my HD7 again was kind of nice. The 8X is a nice phone but the HD7 just seems to feel better in my hand. I really do still prefer the form factor of the HD7. After thinking about it for a bit I think there are several things I prefer about the HD7:
- The shorter form factor. The 8X is quite tall in comparison to the HD7 and the overall feel suffers for it.
- The 16×9 display of the 8X contributes to the height of the phone, but doesn’t make it any thinner.
- The edge of the 8X is quite thin and almost comes to a point, where as the HD7 has a thicker side to it. I think the thicker side gives a better feel to the phone even though the actual phone’s have a very similar thickness to them..
- The corners of the 8X are almost pointy, and only slightly rounded. The HD7 on the other hand uses it’s thicker edge and more rounded corners to good effect and give a better feel in your hand.
The more I look at the Nokia 820, the more I think it’s the kind of form factor I want out of all the WP8 devices available. Perhaps we’ll see some new phones released at Mobile World Congress.
