Microsoft touts UI efficiency with WP7

Computerworld - Microsoft claims its Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphones help users get more done in fewer steps than do rival phones.

Microsoft based its claim of greater efficiency -- that WP7 requires up to 20% fewer steps to perform common tasks -- on its own internal research comparing tasks among smartphone users, a spokeswoman said today.

The 20% efficiency claim was offered to Computerworld as a partial explanation of how WP7 phones fulfill Microsoft's TV ad claim that the phones are "designed to get you in and out and back to life."

Microsoft has previously said it plans to spend more on TV advertising for WP7 than any such campaign in history.

One WP7 ad shows how a variety of users are obsessed with their phones, talking and running while using them, and then bumping into or tripping over strangers. One man in the ad drops his phone in a urinal and fishes it out, while another man looks on and says, disgustedly, "Really?!"

Microsoft makes no claim that its WP7 phones prevent collisions with strangers or toilet drops. But the humorous ad does say "it's time for a phone to save us from our phones," implying that greater efficiency while browsing, running apps, reading e-mails or making calls is possible with a WP7 phone. AT&T and T-Mobile will begin selling four WP7 phones on Monday in the U.S.; some European carriers began sales Oct. 21.

One of the claims of efficiency comes from WP7's use of "hubs" and "tiles," which are really superfiles and sub-files designed to organize data. In response, some analysts have argued that while hubs and tiles are different from UI elements used by market-leading iPhone and Android phones, they're not necessarily more efficient.

Microsoft also claims that putting Bing Search on a dedicated physical button on the phone helps efficiency. "With one press, you can either speak-to-search or type in your inquiry and the information is at your fingertips," Brian Seitz, senior marketing manager for WP7, said in an e-mail.

He also said putting Calendar on the start screen helps a user "quickly see your next meeting or event without having to open up your calendar app."

Native integration of Facebook and Windows Live also means users can update their status, check on what friends are doing and see photos online "without having to dive in and out of separate applications, saving...steps and time."

Seitz promoted the tiles concept, noting they are dynamic and updated constantly. "Windows Phone 7 is a different kind of phone designed to bring together what you care about most," he said. "It's the only phone with dynamic Live Tiles so you can quickly see everything you care about on your start screen. One glance tells you what's going on now, what's happening and what you've missed -- easier and quicker -- so you can get on with living your life, in the moment."