Windows 7: Mobile

Posted on 15 Jul 2009 at 15:25

Very touching

Tablet PCs have carved out a niche of sorts within industry and high-end businesses, but only HP has been aggressive enough to offer consumers this option via its TouchSmart range - see the tx2-1020ea.

Despite this, Microsoft has made much of the multitouch features within Windows 7. These range from the finger-friendly taskbar buttons to the ability to zoom in and out of documents. Say you're reading a web page and want to zoom in, perhaps to make it easier to hit a link. You can put two fingers to the screen and move them apart, similar to the iPhone, and this will zoom in.

It's actually easier to use a two-finger tap: this will automatically zoom in to the width of screen you selected. It's also possible to quickly bring up the right-click menu - press and hold until a circle animation appears and the menu will pop up.

One potential hurdle is that if you're using Windows at its standard dpi setting then you'll struggle to hit the Close buttons, but it's easy to switch to 125% or 150% (type "dpi" into the search box and you'll be taken straight to the relevant part of Control Panel).

So is all rosy? Unfortunately not. We can't see manufacturers rushing headlong into switching their mainstream laptops to touchscreens, not least because they're expensive.

But with enough promotional money behind it, and given two or three years, touch could become an increasingly important part of our computing lives.

Enhanced tablets

Microsoft may be sparing most of its publicity for multitouch, but it hasn't forgotten tablet PC users. Quite aside from numerous niche improvements - such as adding maths handwriting recognition, so equations actually appear as engineers and mathematicians expect them to - it's also improved automatic corrections and introduced a new, friendlier writing pad.

Added sensors

This is a slow burner, but could form an interesting part of Windows 7's development. Essentially, the Windows Sensor and Location platform could bring your laptop into the real world. With devices such as GPS radios, 3G modems and light sensors, your Windows 7 laptop will be able to tell where it is and what the conditions are. Not only could this make it more usable (say, by increasing brightness of the screen in sunlight), but it could also make web searches more powerful as results are tailored to your location.

Instant on

The standby and hibernate modes in Windows XP were a joke. Systems would hang, fans would remain switched on, and it would take an age for the laptop to re-emerge. Windows Vista solved this to a huge extent, and Windows 7 improves things further. By default, your laptop will go into sleep mode when you close the lid, and within a second or two of being re-opened you should be greeted by your login screen. Not quite instant on, but closer than we've ever been before.

Improved battery life

Windows 7 includes numerous tweaks to ensure you can squeeze out a few more minutes when on the plane

We'll have to wait for the final release before we're sure, but Microsoft certainly talks a good talk when it comes to battery life. From the clever stuff hidden away behind the scenes, such as reducing background activities when on battery power, to more obvious abilities such as dimming the screen after a short period of inactivity and shutting off power to unused Ethernet ports, Windows 7 includes numerous tweaks to ensure you can squeeze out a few more minutes when on the plane.

Power tweaking to the max

If you enjoy tweaking settings, you'll love Windows 7. Not only can you take control over basic settings such as how quickly the display switches off after a period of inactivity, you can also create your own power plan that precisely controls how much power the system uses in different circumstances.

Windows Vista already included options such as choosing when to activate the minimum processor state, but with Windows 7 you can choose an active or passive cooling policy (where you slow down the processor and rely on the heatsink) and decide whether to opt for top video quality when on battery power, or choose to extend the battery life.

VERDICT: WHICH VERSION IS BEST FOR MOBILE?
If all you need is a laptop for general use in the home, Windows 7 Home Premium remains the obvious choice - there are no compelling features in Ultimate to make the extra outlay worthwhile. It's different for business buyers, though, who should read our comments about Windows 7 for work before making a decision.

Next: Interface

Back to: Windows 7: The complete guide

Author: Tim Danton