Beauty and the geek: Windows Phone 'Mango' vs. Android

微软's mobile OS reboot turns out to be a small update that lacks enterprise security and rich apps but is a cleaner alternative to Google's Android for smartphones

Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango," Microsoft's answer to Apple's iOS and Google's Android, draws you in immediately with its simple but sexy interface. It's very easy to get into messaging -- both traditional email and IM and newfangled Twitter and Facebook -- and launch widgets to track the weather or see your stocks. The colorful Windows Phone UI makes iOS look a bit dowdy, almost computerlike, and it really shows what a mess the Android Franken-interface is.

But in the case of Windows Phone 7.5, the beauty is only skin deep. The OS doesn't actually offer much. The available apps are highly simplified widgets -- there's nothing of the texture, quality, sophistication, or capability of what iOS or even Android offers. Just compare Office for Windows Phone to苹果的iWork套件or theDocuments to Go suite for Android: Office's Word has no fonts, no styles, no tables or charts -- it's a glorified note-taking app. Office's PowerPoint lets you edit just text, not add slides or visual elements, whereas Keynote for iOS could replace PowerPoint on your PC.

[ See who wins InfoWorld's deathmatch comparison:Apple iOS 5 vs. Google Android。|学会管理的iPad，iPhone手机，机器人会，黑莓手机和其他移动在InfoWorld的设备移动设备管理深潜PDF special report. ]

而Windows Phone在企业没有地方。虽然它与Exchange的作品，它支持极少数的Exchange ActiveSync（EAS）策略-- not even the basics any corporation would require, such as on-device encryption and complex passwords.

微软“芒果”瘦脸针对老龄化的Android“姜饼”虽然微软已经付费的Windows Phone 7.5“芒果”作为一个主要更新令人震惊的限制原来的Windows Phone OS一年前发布的,它不是一个很大的变化。微软has filled in some of the glaring gaps: Copy and paste, for example, was added in the "NoDo" update this past spring. Of the在的Windows Phone 7.0，为专业用户13大洞，只有三个已经在Windows Phone的7.5解决：多任务已添加，您现在可以在对话线程的消息，以及OS部分支持HTML5，但它仍然远远落后于iOS和Android在过去的方面。

是什么在的Windows Phone 7.5真正的新的部件了一把，而不是基本功能。这占了Windows Phone 7.5操作系统的肤浅;它本质同样疲软平台更多的化妆和珠宝堆在。事实上，更新了Windows Phone 7.0后“芒果，”我可以检测到没有区别，所以我去设置应用程序，以确保它实际上已安装完毕。

就像在聚会上美女的Windows Phone 7.5是非常适合于小型谈话和其他形式的社会参与，并且它可以与意想不到的深度不时会让你大吃一惊。一款Windows Phone 7.5手机首先是一个很酷的通讯设备 - 什么RIM黑莓应该已经演变成 - 还拥有一支精干的Web浏览器，在一目了然的信息部件。它是在一个较高的水平，而不是完成任务的专业设备保持联系的消费者设备。

如果您正在寻找可用于工作和商务智能手机中，iPhone仍然是目前的最佳选择，其次是摩托罗拉基于行2.3的Android智能手机，向其中摩托罗拉已经加入基本业务的安全功能。（点蚀的Windows Phone 7.5反对iOS 5的将是一个Bambi-meets-Godzilla比较）。

但是，如果你是一个专业谁愿意为严格个人使用的设备或做短信为主的小企业依靠IMAP和POP邮件的Windows Phone 7.5是一个值得考虑的Android设备来代替。如果你看过“大爆炸理论”，认为这一分钱和Rajesh之间的较量。

I tested Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" -- now a year old, and showing its age -- on a Google Nexus smartphone and Windows Phone 7.5 on an HTC Arrive smartphone.Nokia announced its first "Mango" devicestoday, and HTC, Samsung, and others are expected to launch new "Mango" devices in the coming weeks to tempt holiday buyers. The first基于4.0的谷歌Android智能手机是11月到期，但谷歌拒绝提供一个预览装置，使我们可以看到什么可能会改变。What Google has revealed thus far提出了一种雨衣UI和改进的安全功能，但基本的功能，如电子邮件和社交网络没有大的变化。

Windows Phone 7.5 vs. Android 2.3: Email, calendars, contacts, and social networkingIf you look at the specs, Windows Phone 7.5 and Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" appear evenly matched. Both can connect to Exchange, IMAP, POP, and Gmail accounts, make and synchronize appointments, and manage contacts. Both allow for "push" synchronization with Exchange. Both preserve your Exchange and IMAP folder hierarchy for mail. But the lack of meaningful EAS policy support in Windows Phone and Android means you won't likely be able to access your corporate email.

Email.Android的“姜饼”对电子邮件列表一个选择不当的视觉方案：它选择采用白色文字，黑色背景，而Windows Phone的“芒果”无二更容易阅读的，黑的，白的配色方案。虽然“芒果”显示不错，为您的邮件的发件人地址大的文本，它使用纤巧，轻薄，灰色字体的留言文字受苦，这样的消息非常难读。而且有超过文本尺寸控制。安卓也倾斜往小的文本，但它比Windows Phone中更具可读性。这两个邮件客户端似乎专为青少年和20多岁的年轻人的目光。

I like Windows Phone's way of handling message groups such as unread and flagged messages: Just swipe to the right to see lists of unread messages; repeat to see flagged messages. "Mango" also implements a color highlight on the subject of unread messages in the All message list, but the Unread list is simpler. Android uses the common approach of indicating unread messages or flagged messages in your message list via icons and font treatments.

One continued beef I have with Android is that it runs a separate app for Gmail accounts -- an unnecessary division of labor. Windows Phone normally provides a separate tile on its Start screen for each email account, but you can use the linking feature to get a unified inbox both in the mail client and on the Start screen. If you look carefully at the tiny To text, you can see which account the message was sent to. Android is more elegant in presenting messages from multiple accounts: It shows distinct color bars next to each message to indicate the associated account.

没有操作系统可以很好地处理邮件文件夹。当浏览your mail list in Windows Phone, you have to press the More button (the ... icon) to get the Folders menu, which you then use to see messages in a specific folder. In Android, you have to hit the Menu button to see a list of folders as well. In both cases, it's a hassle. Android 2.3 does not support message threading, but Windows Phone 7.5 does. You have to set it up in the Settings app's Applications section, under Messaging, not in the mail client.

编写消息是在这两个的Windows Phone和Android简单，但双方的邮件客户端支持RTF格式为iOS 5的一样。双方还查找名称：从你的地址簿和以前的电子邮件历史输入。

Android's mail client lets you view attachments in Microsoft Office and PDF formats, as well as the common Web graphics formats. Windows Phone 7 isn't so savvy. It can open Office documents in its mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, though PowerPoint is strangely restricted to version 2007 and later (.pptx) files. To open PDFs, you'll need a separate PDF viewer, such as the free Adobe Reader.

Both mail clients show a list of attachments in the message body, but Windows Phone doesn't automatically download them. Instead, you must tap an attachment to download it and tap it again to open it. This saves on 3G data usage. Both Windows Phone and Android open zip files (unlike iOS, which requires a third-party app to do so).

In both Windows Phone and Android, you can easily search for mail, as well as reply to, forward, delete, and select multiple messages, though you can't select or deselect all messages. Android forces you to conduct your search from the OS's universal search facility; you can't search directly in the email client, as you can in Windows Phone. Selecting multiple messages in Windows Phone 7.5 is easy -- once you realize you need to tap the left side of the screen to open the selection bubbles.

Calendars.Both Windows Phone 7.5 and Android 2.3 let you view and update your calendars, as well as sync to Exchange and Google calendars. Both "Mango" and "Gingerbread" let you send invites to other users. On Android, the Calendar app automatically adds Exchange and Google Calendar invitations to your calendar with Maybe status, which is not apparent until you open the appointment. You can open Exchange invitations in the Email app, as well as accept or decline the invitation. But you can't open .ics invitations sent to POP or IMAP accounts. Windows Phone relies on its Calendar app to handle all invitations; its mail client doesn't know what to do with them.

Windows Phone 7的的日子和议程的意见都很漂亮，但是对于你的约会微小的彩色文本是非常困难的黑色背景上的阅读。和月视图几乎是无用的;在每个时间每个约会的supertiny文本很容易被忽略。Android使用在其所有的日历显示的更清晰的呈现;其字体不优雅，但实际上你可以阅读您的日历。

Contacts.Both Windows Phone and Android have capable contacts apps, but it's a bit easier to navigate contacts in Android. The Contacts app displays a gray box as you begin scanning your contacts list, and if you drag it, you can scroll through the letters of the alphabet that appear in the box and move to names beginning with that letter. Windows Phone's People app has a different quick-nav capability: Tap the # icon button near the top to get a list of letters that you then tap to jump to. It's not slick, but it works.

In Android, you can also designate users as favorites, to put them in a shorter Favorites list. Windows Phone doesn't do that exactly; instead, it lets you "pin" an individual to the Start screen for easy access, such as to click an email address or phone number to initiate a message or call.

Windows Phone 7.5 lets you create groups of contacts, as well as link contact cards to create virtual groups. For example, if you have separate entries for a couple, you can link their cards so that each person's contact information appears in both of their cards. Android "Gingerbread" doesn't support groups at all.

Social networking.Windows Phone's People app provides a convenient location to monitor your social feeds -- Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others -- and engage in any conversations. You use the Me tile to initiate a message to all your networks simultaneously. The app is not as full-featured as the social networking services' own apps, so you still need to use them to do more sophisticated actions, including sending a direct message. A bizarre implementation issue on Windows Phone is that if you install the separate Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn apps, you have to sign in separately -- the sign-in you provided for the People app to use isn't shared with the social networking apps themselves.

Android不整合社交流。相反，您使用的各种应用服务的社会服务分开。

The winner:A tie. Windows Phone is handier at social communication and has a better contacts app. Both have pros and cons for email, but Android enjoys a slight edge -- and it doesn't require reading glasses to use if you're over 40. Ditto on calendars.

的Windows Phone 7.5与Android 2.3的：应用如果运行美联社plications is your thing, get an iPhone. Nothing else comes close in terms of rich application options that in some cases can do much of what a computer can do. But many people don't see the need for such apps on a smartphone and its small, constrained interface. For them, lightweight widgets are sufficient, and if that describes you, Windows Phone 7.5 and Android 2.3 are respectable platforms.

应用。Android has a larger app selection than Windows Phone 7.5, especially "middleweight" productivity apps such asQuickoffice and Documents to Go。By contrast, Windows Phone's "big" app is Office, a collection of rudimentary touchup tools using the Word, PowerPoint, and Excel labels. Word is barely more capable than a typical note-taking app, and PowerPoint can only let you edit text, not adjust graphics -- much less create slides. Excel can't edit cells' contents, so it's good only for viewing and searching spreadsheets. Windows Phone 7.5 comes with a SharePoint client, but it's hard to imagine, given its lack of security, that any significant business would let users into such corporate assets through a Windows Phone.

事实是，你可以用谷歌文档比Office做更多的在Windows Phone 7，而在Android上，你可以做得比谷歌文档多一点与第三方应用提供。（苹果productivity apps for iOS, by contrast, let you live without a computer for days.)