For those of you who know me you’ll probably be aware that nearly everything I use daily is stored in the cloud somewhere – my email on a hosted exchange server, most of my current work via live mesh and most source code for projects is in subversion. This means that I can literally pick up a new device and be up and running in a matter of minutes. Over the past couple of months I’ve become quite skilled in setting up a Windows Phone 7 device with all my basic information to get me back up and running (it takes a little longer to remember which apps I had installed and then to locate and install them via the Marketplace client on the device). So much so, that the other day I reset my device and had it up and running again on a short taxi ride from the Sydney CBD to Luna park.
Anyhow enough about that…. this post is about the brand new LG Optimus 7 that arrived on my desk. Here are the steps I went through to get this device up and running with my main accounts (so that I’m operational with it).
The Box: Yeh I know, not particularly interesting. What is nice is that they haven’t stuck with the same “Windows Phone 7” box that all the other OEMs seem to be using. This box is slightly wider giving everything a little bit more room (note that one of the Windows Phone design principles is around “clean and open” ie not cluttered)
The Bits: Ok, the usual bits are all there – headphones with integrated microphone (check), micro-usb cable (check), power plug (check), info booklet (check). The second image shows the LG Optimus 7 with the back cover removed and the battery and my SIM card waiting to be inserted.
Power On: LG welcome screen followed by a prompt to change language (thankfully as I can’t read the default)
Time and Date: After a reboot you’re prompted to enter the timezone, date and time. Once configured you receive your first welcome message – note the brilliant Red theme colour that is the default.
Connectivity and Region Settings: Unfortunately during the initial setup I couldn’t enter my Windows Live Id as I was neither on my secure WiFi network, nor on 3G. The latter is because my stupid telco (ie Virgin Mobile) haven’t configured their settings so that the APN is picked up automatically. This is easily resolved by going to Settings and configuring both my WiFi and Cellular settings (note that to set the APN you need to hit the edit apn button at the very bottom of the Cellular settings area). When you set the region/language, make sure you tap the “accept changes and restart” link – unlike all other Settings which auto-save, this setting requires you to restart.
Accounts: From left to right I entered my Windows Live Id, Outlook and Facebook details. Each time go to Settings –> Email & Accounts and select the type of account you want to add.
We’re Done: When I return to the Start screen the People tile is already being updated with images from my list of contacts.
All that in under 5 minutes. Try doing that on any other platform.
Disclaimer: I’ve been provided with an LG Optimus 7 by LG in order to review the device.