Another nice thing about the tiles is that they aren't just static squares--they are live tiles that display dynamic content. My email tile displays the number of new emails I have, the messaging tile notifies me how many text messages I have, and the Windows Phone 7 market tile lets me know how many updates are available for apps I am using.

For contacts, the tile rotates through a mini slideshow of sorts. It displays the picture associated with that contact (by default it is the Facebook profile photo), then the contact's name, followed by the text of the most recent status update. For websites, it shows a thumbnail of the site's current content.

There are a variety of apps available that take advantage of the dynamic content aspect of the live tiles. For example, apps that display the time or current weather can automatically stay up to date.

The reason all of this matters is that it sets Windows Phone 7 apart in terms of functionality--at least from iOS. I can create a start screen that gives me quick, one-tap access to the contacts and sites I need to access the most, and that dynamically updates and displays relevant information so I can quickly see what I need to see without having to tap or do anything.

Granted, Android is also very customizable, and even iOS can show me things like how many new emails I have, or how many apps I have that are in need of updating. So, Windows Phone 7 is not revolutionary per se. But, as a dedicated iPhone user I can say that there is a lot to like about the live tiles interface in Windows Phone 7, and that I find the Windows Phone 7 start screen more flexible and functional than my iPhone home screen.