Yesterday we showed you how ringtones worked in Windows Phone 7. We had a great response but a lot of you wanted us to show “normal” stuff, like making a call and texting people. Today we decided to do just that, with this video giving you a tour of the dialer and the texting system.
It seems that Windows Phone 7 lacks a predictive dial feature. For example, if I want to call “Anthony” I would expect to enter “268” into the keypad to get his name.. but it doesn’t do anything. Yep, the “smart-dial” from Windows Mobile 6.x is no more and you’re pushed into the “People Hub” to search that way. I kinda miss it. It was a great time-saver.
We did, however, find something rather lovely. The on-board camera on the HTC HD7, HTC 7 Mozart and (presumably) other Windows Phone 7 devices will continually focus as you record. This feature alone means that you can produce some very nice videos in, of course, HD quality.
Click on to see our overview video and example footage from the on-board camera.
Links – Calling and Texting in Windows Phone 7 – Example video
I kinda miss the “smart-dial” feature. I’ve grown so accustomed (on Android and earlier versions of Windows Mobile) to entering the keypad (one click) and whacking “354” (three clicks) for long names like “Elizabeth”, then click “Call” below (one click) etc.
Now it’s “People” (one click), then “Search” (one click), then concentrate a little more (because it’s a full QWERTY and not a numeric pad) and enter “Eli” (three clicks), then click “Call Mobile” (one click).
I know I’m being REALLY picky here but that’s 5 clicks versus 6.
Anyway, here’s that HD video with the continual focus. Great quality video from a phone.