Event Coverage

Exclusive: A Windows Phone 7 Experience for HWZ.com Members

By Wong Casandra - 23 Oct 2010

Exclusive: A Windows Phone 7 Experience for HWZ.com Members

A Special Windows Phone 7 Briefing for HardwareZone Members

By now, almost everyone has heard of the Windows Phone 7 handsets - but not all have managed to get a hands-on experience with them. If you have been following our coverage on this highly anticipated mobile OS, you will probably know what's in store for you. For those who haven't, you can take a quick look at our article on the recent Windows Phone 7 launch, as well as our review on the LG Optimus 7. The coming of this new mobile OS is a rather important milestone in the mobile phone space and for Microsoft themselves. To mark that occasion, we invited our HardwareZone members to an exclusive preview and demonstration whereby Matthew Hardman from Microsoft and his team gave a blow-by-blow account on the highlights of the Windows Phone 7 user experience. Specifically, these included emphasis on the Hub concept, integrated social feeds, and the inclusion of the Xbox Live account. With hundreds of HardwareZone members registering for the 40-member only special preview session, the turnout was expectedly pretty good. We bring you some of the highlights of the event, and if you are interested to have a better picture of what transpired yesterday, you can click on our short video clip below:

 The Windows Phone 7 doesn't have a regular phone address book: instead, condensed under the People Hub, you can get on-the-fly Facebook updates from all your phone contacts once your Facebook account has been synced. Here, you can also easily write on their walls or update your status.

Matthew Hardman, seen here, giving a brief demonstration on Play To, a LG exclusive app found on the LG Optimus 7. The app allows you to easily share and play your multimedia content through an existing Wi-Fi connection with other DLNA DMR compatible devices.

One of the unique features of apps available in the Marketplace is that users are allowed to download trial versions for every paid app. You do not have to re-download the app once you have decided to purchase the full version; its full features will be unlocked once you have made your payment.

Matthew Hardman showing the crowd how to "abuse" one's Xbox Live avatar - in this case, shaking the phone will cause the character to fall down. Additionally, the Xbox Live app allows you to customize and personalize your avatar, from choice of skin tone down to your preferred hairstyle.

With a Microsoft Live account, you will be able to find your phone when it goes missing. You can choose to see the phone's location on the map, ring it, lock it or in the worst case scenario, erase all personal data on it. 

After the talk and a short QnA session, our HardwareZone members were each allowed a handset and SIM card to try out the LG Optimus 7 for themselves. But the fun didn't quite end there.

One of the many participants testing out the LG Optimus 7's camera. The phone itself is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera  that comes with LED flash and auto-focus capabilities.

After a short hands-on session, lucky HWZ.com members got the chance to participate in a small lucky draw. There were many prizes to be given out; consolation prizes included the 5 Microsoft Arc keyboards and 5 Arc mice (valued at $89 each). Of course, the main meat of the event was the brand-new LG Optimus 7... and only one lucky winner gets to walk away with it.

 A lucky HWZ.com member walking away with the brand-new LG Optimus 7. Price tag? $888.

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