Well, please don't consider this a comparison between WP7 (Mango - HTC Mozart) and iPhone. I work for Microsoft, and it is quite possible that you will consider my views biased. Nevertheless, I just wanted to let you know that these are my personal views and I am not a marketing guy .

The reason I am sharing my experience is because I have used iPhone for a long time, and it is almost 6 months [as on 10th September, 2011] since I switched over from an iPhone. I thought it would be a good exercise for me to write what I am liking about Windows Phone 7 and what I still miss [the iPhone is with wifey, and she doesn't mind sharing it with me sporadically!].

Every person has a specific type of smart phone usage… and the phone suits him [or doesn't] based on it. Here are some of the things that I am absolutely in love with when it comes to WP7… [it did take some time to get used to it]

    Live Tiles -> When I looked at WP7 interface for the first time, I was like "yuck… who would like this ever!". 6 months later, I really feel wow… I didn't think apps can update the home screen in such a way. One quick glance and the phone tells me…

1. My next Alarm is about to ring at 5:30 PM [Alarm]
2. I have no appointments lined up today, and I can easily [Calendar]
3. Weather of Bangalore [WeatherDuck]
4. Missed calls + Messages + Mails if any
5. Facebook updates [Me tile + People Hub]
6. Latest pictures that I took [Picture hub]
7. My favorite pictures [Keeps rotating, since I usually long press the photos and add them to the favorites. Typically photos of my daughter and wife get this honor ]
8. My news application reminds me that I may want to catch up on news. -> NewsIndia

I don't keep my home screen cluttered with a lot of applications. Hence all this information is really at a glance. With an iPhone I had to do "something extra" to get this information. It was NOT a glance.

    EMail navigation -> WP7 wins hands down for me. Absolutely in love with the Metro interface. I can easily read and view my Unread mails at one shot using the Unread pivot. You need to use it to realize how fantastic it is.

    Rights protected messages -> WP7 has no issues in reading rights protected messages after Mango update… on an iPhone it was a just not possible. Absolutely love this fact since I get a lot of protected messages.

    Application opening experience -> I still miss the application opening experience on iPhone. Now that the glancing is over, let's really do something. To open an application on an iPhone I had to do the following…

iPhone

1. Organize them using different folders. I absolutely loved it, and still do.
2. In case I forgot, to search I simply pressed the center button twice to get to the search screen and searched for it. Simple and Effective.

WP7

1. There is a long list of applications, and I am not a very big fan of scrolling.
2. Thankfully, with Mango update Microsoft came up with Jump List and that made the job a lot easier.
3. But let's say I want to search for MineSweeper [a game] it won't come up in the search list if I try to search . What if I go to XBOX live and try to search? No go… I have to still scroll and find it!

    Bing Maps -> It has come a long way in WP7 with Mango update. I adore the local scout. Unfortunately, I am not very satisfied with it when it comes to guidance on the road. I liked Google maps on iPhone on a lot better when it comes to real time navigation.

    Calendar -> Amazingly much more useful on WP7 and one of the reasons I am not switching back to iPhone

    There are quite a few other features… but they aren't deal makers or breakers for me, but they definitely add up to the experience. 

    Internet Tethering / WiFi hotspot -> How much I miss it on my WP7 . With an iPhone it was a breeze and I loved it since I didn't have to carry the Internet USB stick and pay extra every month! My phone would take care of all that. This would be the 2nd top most feature I miss the most, and this can definitely force me to switch back to an iPhone or an Android phone.

    The top on my list of what I currently miss, are the games and utilities. With iPhone I had so much of choice, and the games were quite cheap too. Even the demos were a lot bigger and worthwhile to have. Take for instance, FlightControl… a demo on iPhone let's you play the game decently. The same demo on WP7 allows only 10 flights to be landed . Crap!!! There are countless other games and applications that I badly miss on the Windows Phone 7, especially now… since I have unhooked myself from the Facebook/Twitter bandwagon. The phone no longer entertains me as much as it used to due to the lack of games and other time pass applications.

Since I am a professional and care more for the professional features like calendar, maps, email etc. I am not switching back to an iPhone yet. On the other hand, I sincerely hope and wish that more and more applications come on WP7 and make the phone worth a purchase. These are still early days, and I am hoping for the best.

Apart from marketplace issues, internet tethering and gazillions of applications on an iPhone, there is not much I am missing… but then isn't that some of the main reasons why people buy and use smart phones?