SleepyEgg

Like many of the other staff at Ars, I've gone through a couple iterations of iOS, and watched it mature into a more functional, more usable product. In the last few months, I've also gotten the chance to play with what are essentially 1.0 versions of smartphone operating systems, Windows Phone 7 and the newest Blackberry OS, both of which are intended to be touchscreen-ready and radical departures from their predecessors. Having sampled both, I think it's fair to say that Microsoft did a fantastic job compared to RIM, but it still has its work cut out for it, and may need to rethink some of its interface choices.

As Peter pointed out in our epic review, there's a lot to like about WP7. The operating system is fast and fluid; scrolling long lists is a great experience. The animations are, for the most part, quick and informative, and, unlike RIM's latest, the touch-based interface doesn't feel bolted awkwardly on top of Microsoft's previous phone OS. The company promised a complete reworking, and it delivered. The fact that it's available on so many handsets is also nice, since it should be possible to find a set of features that is more closely tailored to my needs.