Review: Strike 3 for Microsoft's Windows Phone

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Three strikes and you're out! The third version of Windows Phone -- Windows Phone 8 -- finally adds basic compatibility with corporate Exchange server security settings, but not much else. Despite an initially enticing look, Windows Phone's user interface remains a frustrating blend of simplistic and difficult, with occasional touches of brilliance that render the poor usability even more frustrating.

You really have to wonder what the Windows Phone team does most of the year, given how little significant change there has been from 2010's Windows Phone 7. Certainly, it's not making a serious effort to compete with Apple's iPhone 5 or the leading crop of Android smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, both of which are years ahead of Windows Phone. A year ago, I compared Windows 7.5 to Android 2.3 "Gingerbread," which was significantly lagging iOS 5 at the time, and found that Windows Phone 7.5 wasn't even as good as Android 2.3. A year later, Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" is out and giving iOS 6 a run for its money, but Windows Phone 8 has barely moved.

What's new in Windows Phone 8? As noted, the biggest improvement for users is support for on-device encryption and some Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) policies, both typically required for corporate usage. The browser is now Internet Explorer 10, which is a little more HTML5-savvy than the previous IE9. The home screen tiles now have two additional sizes: a quarter-size tile so that you can cram more tiles and thus scroll less to find them, and a double-wide tile for live tiles that display a lot of information that's otherwise too hard to read. (Tap and hold a tile until an arrow icon appears at its lower-right corner; tap it to toggle through the three sizes.) The lock screen now displays alerts, like iOS and Android, and the Kid's Corner mode lets you create a custom workspace for others to use, typically with a limited set of apps.

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Windows Phone 8 also integrates several Microsoft services -- the Xbox Music and Xbox Video stores, as well as SkyDrive cloud storage, Skype messaging system, and Microsoft user accounts -- that Windows 8 supports. The new Wallet app lets you collect loyalty and other electronic cards, similar to the Passbook service in Apple's iOS 6. Hardware support is improved: Windows Phone 8 devices can now use SD cards and have screens with 15:9 or 16:9 ratios. Near-field communication (NFC) is supported by the OS, so hardware makers can now make phones that support NFC-enabled mobile payments or data sharing (like Android and BlackBerry OS).

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