I've spent almost a full year with my LG Windows 7 smartphone now, so here is my look back on that year.

In general I've been very happy with this phone. I've liked the tile interface, but it is a little dull to have the flat colours. Its nice that stuff like the weather apps put in some colour.

Internet Explorer for Windows Phone 7 is still awful even on Mango. Probably the biggest issue is that most mobile sites are designed only for iPhone or mobile Safari so it works on Android and iPhone.

I've noticed that the hardware and handsets are not getting picked up by carriers. Android is getting all the sexy hardware. Google has spent gajillions advertising the new Galaxy Nexus phone but I haven't seen any ads for Windows 7 phones in my city. My cell provider, Telus hasn't updated its stock of Windows Phones all year, in fact they've gone from two phones to just the one. I'm pretty sure that it is the same in the US and world-wide.

I'm very disappointed that Microsoft isn't pushing WP7 harder. Samsung should be able to put WP7 on the same hardware as the Galaxy S II but they aren't. The same goes for HTC and Motorola. Android seems to be getting all the hardware love!

My wife just got the new RAZR from Motorola and I'm pretty impressed. Another friend has the new Galaxy S II and it is just as good. They're fun phones with big screens and lots of great features; tons of apps and games, dual-core processors, expandable memory, a great web browser.

I'm starting to worry that Microsoft isn't as comitted to WP7 as I originally thought. It certainly seems that the manufacturers and carriers are not. 2012 is the year of Windows 8, hopefully not the end of the Windows Phone.