It’s been interesting watching the first impressions of the Social Reviewers as people are either first time smart phone users or existing smart phone users.  Regardless of what camp the user belongs in, there is a learning curve for everyone experiencing a new user interface (UI) for the first time.

While my unboxing video provided a general overview of the Windows Phone 7 user interface, this post will specifically focus on all things related to media – social media, music and video.

Social integration is a popular feature that’s quickly becoming a standard feature on new smartphones, Windows Phone 7 introduces a new approach to social integration via the People Hub.

People Hub on Windows Phone 7 updates the user on everything that is going on across Facebook and Windows Live. This Hub combines your contacts information from Windows Live, Facebook and your phone book, displaying your friend’s photos and status updates as they happen as well as bringing information down to their contact card including their email and postal address and any other information they might have on their social network sites.

The People Hub also allows the user to call, text or post to your friends, update their status and change profile pics across Facebook and windows live without logging in separately.  I think social integration will only continue to grow as a mobile feature demanded by customers and the People Hub will be an unexpected surprise to many users.

The Music + Videos Hub is the entertainment centre for the Windows Phone 7 operating system where the user can play music — synced wirelessly from their PC — enjoy custom playlists, listen to podcasts and recommend songs to friends. There’s also a built-in FM radio and the high-res screen is good for watching TV shows and movies.

Another innovation is that Windows Phone 7 is the only phone with a Pictures Hub, where you can see all of your photos from the phone, PC and Facebook in one place. With the Pictures Hub the user can access their entire photo collection, including photos saved to the phone and pictures posted by friends on Facebook and Windows Live

David Saidden

Mobile Device Lead

Telstra