Will the Leaked Dell Lightning Phone Spark a New Interest in Windows 7?

Detail on the much anticipated Dell Lightning phone, the first phone for Windows 7 OS, were leaked to the online mag Engadget on April 21. Specs for the Lightning include a 4.1 inch OLED WVGA touch screen display with a 1GHz snapdragon processor and 512 MB RAM, a 5 megapixel camera equipped with auto-focus, GPS, compass, accelerometer and FM radio. The Dell Lightning will get 1GB of internal flash memory and 8GB of external memory in the form of a microSD card. Will all these features be enough to bring Microsoft to the top of the cell phone heap?

It's no secret that the Dell Lightning's chief competition is Apple's iPhone. There are some clear differences between the two. The leaked specs show that Lightning is a slider with a full QWERTY keyboard hidden underneath. Depending on what you think, this is either an improvement or a downgrade from the iPhone's touch screen. Debates on the subject center on the tactile usability (or lack thereof) of the touch screen. Proponents of the smooth surface say the keyboard gets easier to use with time and the iPhone version features predictive typing, where the phone will guess the word you are trying to type based on your previous usage of the keypad. Folks that text or email frequently generally find the QWERTY version easier to use.

The Lightning will of course feature the full Internet experience, with Bing-powered browsing, while the iPhone uses Apple's Safari. Both use double-tap and pinch zooming. But everyone knows that the Internet experience on a cell phone is only as good as the network that it is on, and, for now, both phones will be on AT & T, with the Lightning also available on T-Mobile.

Lightning is rumored to be available in the fourth quarter of 2010, right in time for holiday gift giving. There is talk that it will include Flash capabilities in that launch, but Microsoft has already said that Flash will not be available on the first version of the phone. Of course it will come with full Silverlight capabilities, since Microsoft owns this Flash wannabe. Apple continues to stall Adobe's attempts to include the Flash platform on the iPhone, contending that HTML5 is the open and standard platform they want for their customers. This divide will allow cell phone buyers a clear choice if they have a preference.

The backbone of the iPhone is iTunes, which allows users to sync their phones with the photos and music on their computers. ITunes also allows for apps and music to be downloaded directly onto the phone. The leaked Dell Lightning phone specs show that this device will use Microsoft's Zune for this feature. While Zune is similar to ITunes, its library of available music is smaller and the playlist organization is different. But you would have to use both to really tell the difference, so this may not be a big deal for potential customers of the Lightning.

Gamers are the newest target audience for cell phone marketers, and Dell has not forgotten them with the Lightning. The newest OS for the upcoming IPhone will feature a social gaming network where players can link together for an enriched experience. But the leaked details of the Lightning show that it will include an XBox feature, claiming that the phone will allow for connected playing with the user's Xbox. It's hard to say how this will work as of yet, but if it has any usability at all true gamers will be gaga over the Lighning.

Source:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-lightning-the-ultimate-windows-phone-7-device-leaks-out/