I have a number of games on my iPhone--two whole folders. I have Tetris, three different flavors of Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, the Atari Greatest Hits collection, Madden NFL, Tiger Woods Golf, Need for Speed: Shift, and more. I also have more traditional, or cerebral, games like chess and Sudoku.

Xbox Live

Windows Phone 7 takes gaming to a different level, though, by integrating Xbox Live. Once I associated my Windows Live ID--the same Windows Live ID associated with my Xbox Live account--with my Windows Phone 7 device, my Xbox Live profile became a part of my smartphone gaming experience.

The is labeled Xbox Live, and my avatar comes popping up every few seconds just to remind me he's there. When I tap on the tile, it opens the Games hub. The default display is the collection of games I have available on the phone. At the bottom there is a link to tap to go to the games marketplace to find more.

When I to the left to switch tabs, it switches to Xbox Live, and there's my avatar again--just hanging out. I can view and edit my Xbox Live profile--change my motto, location, or bio information. I can review my list of achievements, and--with a free app called Xbox Live Extras installed--I can even alter my avatar.