I’m not normally interested in reviewing smartphone apps, but the release last week of SkyDrive for Windows Phone is a special case.  SkyDrive is already integrated into the Windows Phone in several ways, and we can expect a full SkyDrive explorer to come in a a future release of the operating system.  I’m curious about this release though as it both is and definitely very isn’t a Windows Phone app.  Let me explain.

For an app that is so vital to the core of Windows Phone, the Office and Picture hubs are tied to it, this app seems to have been written not by Microsoft but by some third party with its own designs on what a Windows Phone app should look like.  In fact it strays from the established Metro look and feel so much that you can’t help but wonder if it was written by Microsoft at all.

It begins with the tile for the app being a completely different colour to any of the pre-set Metro colours available.  You’ll see in these screenshots too how is abandons the simplicity of the Metro look and feel in favour of much more traditional folder icons.  This might make some people wonder if they in fact want to use it.  Perhaps I’m being a metro purist here but a consistency across a UI is often pleasing and helps maintain a familiarity with both the apps and the operating system.

What’s more, Microsoft have gone to great lengths to promote Metro far and wide, even now including it as the main interfaces for the Xbox 360 and Windows 8.  So was this app written by people within Microsoft who perhaps don’t like Metro and have their own ideas on what an interface should look like?  The Windows Live and Windows Phone divisions at the company are very seperate entities and so this isn’t so much of a stretch to believe.

In use it is an excellent app.  It provides extremely quick access to SkyDrive and your files and gives you complete control over them, not just read but creation and deletion too.  You’ll see from the screenshots here though that the loading of thumbnail images can cause a few problems.  If you have a Windows Phone and keep any files and documents stored on the SkyDrive service then this free app is a must.  It still seems a little odd though that it looks quite the way it does.