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Full Disclosure: I work for Microsoft (but not the Windows Phone division).

Those that don’t know me probably will be skeptical, but I’m not one to pimp out Microsoft products just because I work there. Windows Phones are awesome. My Samsung Focus S Windows Phone is by far the best phone that I’ve ever had.

I had an iPhone 3GS and was very happy with it. When Apple came out with one of the OS updates (I forget which one iOS4 I think), the phone got VERY unstable and VERY slow. Simple actions that used to be almost instantaneous would take 30 seconds or longer! And Apple does not provide a way to “downgrade” back to the previous OS version. I put up with it for awhile, but finally decided to make the plunge and get an Windows Phone 7.

I got the Samsung Focus S. This is BY FAR the best phone that I have ever had. It doesn’t have a dual core processor like most of the Android phones do now. But the performance is actually better than my son’s brand new multi-core, top-end Android phone. The OS is just a lot more efficient. Because this is not using a power-hungry dual-core processor, the battery life on the phone is significantly better than my son’s android, and even much better than my iPhone 3GS was. Less power consumption also means smaller battery, which is a big reason that this phone is so slim and light. I love the UI, and the phone is extremely stable.

The WP App Store has many apps, but not as many as Apple, and certainly not as many as Android. In practice, I haven’t found this to be a big deal, as the mainstream apps that I actually use are all there (as opposed to the stuff I bought on the iPhone, but then never used).

Now Microsoft has announced Windows Phone 8, most likely to come out later this year. And as one of the previous posters said, the current Windows (7) Phones won’t be compatible with this. However, I don’t view this as a big deal. I’m happy with what I have now, and Microsoft will be releasing an interim update (Windows Phone 7.5) that will bring some of the Windows 8 features (mostly UI stuff) to the older phones like mine. And in not too long I’ll be eligible for a free upgrade through my carrier.

I’ll have to see if the Windows Phone 8 will really provide me a benefit. I am concerned that it will be a less efficient OS (like Android), and that the phones will be larger and heavier due to the need for a larger battery (like Android phones). I have no knowledge that this is the case, but it’s something to consider.

I had a iphone 3G, and the 4.0 update made it unusable because the phone didn’t have the processign power to support it and I knew going in that was likely going to happen the 3GS runs 4.0 fine, I would not and have not updated to 5.0 on a 3GS though.

Apple writes OS for its current hardware, its part of their planned obsolecense strategy.

I agree that those foolish enough to upgrade their OS on an iPhone with an older phone get screwed... but it doesn’t matter anyway because the APPS move the OS forward anyway, if you still had 3.0 running on your phone go try and find apps that are still compiled and selling for that platform.

If you get into the Apple ecosystem be prepared to upgrade at least every other year, and be skeptical of OS updates between hardware refreshes, that’s just the way it is.

I dont’ write off microsoft as they are big and can wage ward of attrition, but if MS is going to be a player in mobile space its likely to come from the Computer/tablet model of Windows 8, I really don’t think the phone is going to be relevant anytime soon

I hear ya.

Had to shell out an extra $5 or so for an extended Li-Ion battery + expanded case for the Samsung Galaxy S II. That huge, beautiful screen + all those features (WiFi, Bluetooth, tethering, GPS, dual-core, etc. etc.) really eat up battery life.

Now it almost goes 1 day between recharges.