Hands on with Windows 10 for phone build 10051: Spartan, Outlook, Messaging and more!

Today, Microsoft started to release the latest build of Windows 10 for the phone. Build 10051 of the Technical Preview is going out for some users, as Microsoft fixes their server issues.

Our Lumia 635 managed to get the update early, so we cobbled together this 14 minute video tour of the latest version. We will do a more thorough video walk through of individual new features later, when we have more time.

For now, consider this a quick pass after using the new OS for 15 minutes. We know many of you are excited to see what's new, but there is a lot going on in this update.

Quick thoughts

Between snapping photos, shooting video, sending screenshots, and managing the site, I have not had much time with the new OS. However, I can offer some initial impressions:

• I would not use this on my main phone/daily driver. Grab a budget Lumia instead.
• The OS feels a bit smoother, but this is still very 'beta' software
• The OS is very different, yet the same. It can be a bit jarring.
• Windows 10 for phone has a ton of potential and you can see it here, but there is much work left to be done
• Using this build, you very much feel like what it is to be an alpha or beta tester: You get what you wished for, which is good and bad
• Lots of hamburger menus, but they are not all bad on a smaller display
• Project Spartan is interesting, but it is still very rough to use
• Outlook Email looks great although the icons without labels can be confusing

So there you have it. Watch the video and give us some time to go through and parse everything that is new and worth covering. Many details were missed here e.g. the new email editor, but we will get to that soon enough.

Are you using the new build? Let us know what you think and share with us any new discoveries!