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- mobilehavoc, on 12/14/2007, -5/+43Having moved to the iPhone earlier this year after using Windows Mobile, this article is quite accurate. WinMo has all the features of the iPhone and many more (especially in the Enterprise space) but the user interface is just lacking. I steered my parents away from getting Blackjack 2's and towards Blackberry 8310s purely because of the ease of use, etc.
Good to see Microsoft recognizing this gap and planning to address it... - chris4404, on 12/14/2007, -1/+19We got your fanboism the first time.
- richardiscool, on 12/14/2007, -2/+19I think that probably says more about your company network than it does WM.
- noahhoward, on 12/14/2007, -1/+17"2) Clunky UI is great for Geeks & Powerusers, not masses."
I've never understood that concept. A clunky UI is not great for anyone, sure geeks and power users will be able to use it, but the ability to use something in spite of itself is not 'great' for anyone. People always seem to think that Apple interfaces are designed for the computer illiterate and I have to ask, what is wrong with it if they were, having an interface that a child could use and a poweruser can use even better is a good thing.
/rant - unruled, on 12/14/2007, -2/+15Im with you.. the UI ***** sucks. Seriously bad design. Especially closing/switching with apps. It should work properly right out of the box.
- stinkipete, on 12/14/2007, -1/+13clever.
- mikehill33, on 12/14/2007, -5/+171) It was architected after desktop Windows. Bad Idea.
2) Clunky UI is great for Geeks & Powerusers, not masses.
3) a 2 GB MicroSD card is great...for STORAGE! Make the OS use this to improve the experience. - Irfit, on 12/14/2007, -0/+11Whhoever wrote the article is right about the multitasking. Its a pain in the ass, i would love to see some real multitasking on my iPaq.
Going to memory settings to close each program also doesent make sense. I think that those points are MS mobile biggest flaws. - richardiscool, on 12/14/2007, -9/+19"I can't do Exchange, I can't do 3G, I can't do video recording, I can't even do MMS... but look - a gradient!"
- digjam, on 12/14/2007, -1/+11yeah dont bother cos i just buried you for your rant..apple fanboy!
- terrorpin, on 12/14/2007, -1/+11I recently got a WM6 phone from work. It's vastly better than the last WM5 device I had but it still has flaws. It needs to stop trying to be the same as Windows but on a PDA/phone and start being an OS for a PDA/phone. Browsing is particularly rubbish - even Opera on WM leaves a hell of a lot to be desired compared to the Java version for non-smart phones.
The biggest problem is that too much control is given to the phone operators, in the UK at least. The carriers strip a lot of the functionality (for example the Remote Desktop app which is actually quite good) because they've arbitrarily decided their users won't use them, but there's no (legitimate) way for a user to restore the features. So there's not even a standard to work off. - nattylife, on 12/14/2007, -1/+10too...many...W's...in title
- davidrools, on 12/14/2007, -1/+10What's wrong with the iphone:
1) it's apple so it's overpriced
2) it's apple so it'll be outdated in 3 months
3) it's apple so it'll be incompatible with everything else...wtf you think WM has compatibility issues? I guess if being incompatible with everything avoids compatibility issues..
4) it's apple so it might make you an annoying fanboy
p.s. i'm not anti apple nor a windows fanboy...things just as they are - Topher06, on 12/14/2007, -5/+14Theres actually nothing wrong with Vista, just the billion dollar monopoly finally made a good OS out of XP and it has always taken about a year before their new OS is adopted as mainstream. In 5 years when a new MS OS is releasd, people will be raving about Vista and bitching about whats next. The problem with Vista is the fickleness of the consumer and the guilability of Digg users.
- dunderballer, on 12/14/2007, -4/+13Yeah, the contact list scroll feature sucks a D on Windows Mobile 6. A reader comment on the site really hit the nail on the head hinting at the disconnect between the MS and the hardware manufacturers that come up with different sets of hard buttons, scroll wheels, toggles, etc. for every new phone where Apple got it right the first time by designing the software and the hardware specifically for each other.
- ozid, on 12/14/2007, -2/+10What's wrong with you:
1) You're a fanboy - that means every OS is inferior
2) You're a fanboy - that means there's no chance for understanding
3) You're a fanboy - that means you're going to miss out on hundreds of good products in the future because you're busy sucking off some other OS retailer.
When Window's dies out some day, the next OS to rise to power will probably have just as many security issues. If everyone stored major data on OS X computers, you don't think people trying to gain access to that data wouldn't attack those computers? Somehow I think Microsoft's experience is more valuable than Apple's, when it comes to protecting your computer.
Also, Windows Mobile is *extremely* loosely based on Windows NT. There are hardly ANY similarities, and I'm pretty sure you can't attack an WM device in the same way you can an NT based computer. You're clueless, man. - robdazomba, on 12/14/2007, -1/+7There was a point many years ago where I thought very highly of Microsoft but it seems nowadays we're left with this recurring theme: promises that the next version of x will fix everything. The next version of Internet Explorer will fix everything. The next version of Windows will fix Vista. The next Zune will fix sharing. The next XBox will fix the red ring of death. Now Windows Mobile. It's sad to see a once-great company reduced to what is essentially fixing everything they're doing badly.
- crackedplastic, on 12/14/2007, -1/+7I've used WM (and the previous PocketPC/WinCE) for many years, and much of what's griped about in this article are easily fixed by third party add-ons (most of which are free). Out of the box, yes, the interface sucks, but it's fixable.
Here's the REAL problem with Windows Mobile - making the hardware vendors responsible for the software upgrades. Companies like HP can decide (on whim) if your phone/PDA can upgrade to WM 6 (or 7 or 8), despite how capable your device is. - matriculated, on 12/14/2007, -2/+7I just got an iPod Touch and I agree with you. The WM interface really needs to be worked on. The power is there but the interface isn't. Can you imagine if Apple really tried to make the iPhone/Touch a serious PDA (No, not the Newton)? Jailbreaking mine made it even more functional. I'll be selling my iPaq or installing Linux on it.
- Etchii, on 12/14/2007, -1/+6I have WM5. Pity me.
For some reason IE just opens for no reason. Occasionally dialog boxes will not go away after hitting ok, system seems to freeze at points. Plus when you close an application its still running in the background, and when you are talking pocket pc, there is no ram to spare for secretly running programs. - insertAliasHere, on 12/14/2007, -1/+6You should have stayed in your hole instead of coming out and proving that you're a jackass.
I'm an iPhone owner, but I dislike "haters" on principle. - inactive, on 12/14/2007, -0/+5dude Compatibility was never an issue. a app made for Windows mobile CE is gonna work in WM6. Its one thing that MS has done right is the compatibility part. Stability is a whole another issue though.
- mikehill33, on 12/14/2007, -1/+6i don't think you are ranting at all.
a clunky UI is one that has too many small buttons, controls or illogical mappings. For a poweruser geek/developer type, they will not mind working around or learning the nuances. But to the average user, it will just seem confusing.
I mean, when you compare to the iPhone, which NAILED a good UI, WM6 is way behind the curve.
the biggest advantage i get is seamless email from 4 accounts (including Exchange). - insertAliasHere, on 12/14/2007, -1/+5"It can do Exchange"
Not well. It doesn't sync as items come in, it doesn't do over-the-air syncing of appointments/tasks/contacts or anything else. Basically, it is treating your Exchange account like an IMAP account. Useful, but not anywhere near the the real power of Exchange.
And this is from actual experience. I own/use an iPhone. The one thing that keeps me from loving it is its piss-poor Exchange support. Everything else it lacks doesn't bother me much, but after owning a WinMo phone, it's hard to live without Exchange. - ToadX, on 12/14/2007, -0/+4"2) Clunky UI is great for Geeks & Powerusers, not masses."
I do love Windows Mobile. The Pocket Internet Explorer does need fixing though. - noahhoward, on 12/14/2007, -1/+5It looks like it will be an improvement but I'm not sure they've "got it" yet. Looking at the screen shot it looks like you will still have to do a bit of digging to get to common functions. There is a web design rule that says if your customers can't find what they are looking for in 2 or three clicks, they will give up; that applies to UI design too. The reason I don't use the calendar on my current phone (Verizon not WM) is because it takes too damned long. If WM can sort that out then maybe they'll catch up to the level of the iPhone OS.
- vdog, on 12/14/2007, -1/+5Magic button addresses the gripes with closing applications and task switching ( http://www.trancreative.com/mb.aspx ). What I want to know is, are they going allow me to move the scroll bar to the left-hand side of the screen?
- inactive, on 12/14/2007, -2/+6Well the 100 million copies of Vista sold in the last year would sort of indicate to me that Vista is still sort of popular...
- lambda, on 12/14/2007, -1/+4I'm not a Microsoft fanboy or anything, but I think the UI works great.
- MindTrigger, on 12/14/2007, -1/+4I'm using the new moto Q with WM6. It's better than 5, but only visually, and my blackjack with WM5 had faster response. The newer eye candy came with a performance hit, even though this phone has better hardware. Sounds like every other flavor of windows as well.
I personally plan for this to be my last WM phone anyway now that Andriod is spooling up. I'm even taking up Java coding so I can mess around with my own apps. - damonic, on 12/14/2007, -0/+3How about adding the ability to configure a static IP address for the wifi in the T-Mobile Dash? Windows Mobile version 6. 6! And I still cant specify an IP address. WTF? The iPhone lets you do that in version 1!
- Ranvier, on 12/14/2007, -1/+4I believe they did just that in Vista SP1, did they not?
- DocHoliday22, on 12/15/2007, -0/+3The article is correct and addresses the concerns of most WM users. You might have found some workarounds to those nagging problems which should not be there in the first place. If you talk about switching tasks, I don't want to have to fiddle about with my stylus and that crap of a built in task manager to get to my programs. I want a simper ALT+TAB system that PocketPlus has.
I also cant see how it caters for Enterprise users, the only thing it has is the ability to sync with an Exchange server. I'm a client liaison officer for a automotive company and I feel ridiculous when I have to use the WM device and it's so fiddly. I'm using it, it's slow to use because of it's UI and I'm also apologising to the client if I'm taking their details to be sent back via Exchange. - christophocles, on 12/14/2007, -1/+4you obviously don't understand what's so good bout pocketpc phones. Ever been to www.xda-developers.com ? You can do pretty much ANYTHING you like to your phone. It is extremely customizable if you learn how to hack on it. I've never used symbian/blackberry/treo or whatever because my first phone was an HTC Kaiser (rebranded as AT&T Tilt), but I don't think any other phone platform has as big a hacker/developer following as the Windows Mobile phones (specifically HTC phones). Maybe I'm wrong. I'm just saying I am glad I have a phone with which I can do anything I want without restrictions. It's good that MS is fixing some of the issues with the default configuration, but the people who are able to do a little reasearch have already customized their phones to a great extent and aren't as concerned about the default UI. It's the hardware that's important and is what costs a lot of money, not the software. The software is interchangeable.
- davidrools, on 12/14/2007, -0/+3I have the HTC Mogul (love it) and it takes some work to improve the UI but the results are wonderful. Home screen, speed dial w/ pictures, app launching/task switching, easy finger scrolling through contacts with HTC TouchFlo, AIM/Gtalk messaging, threaded texting, opera browsing, multiple email accounts + exchange. The only thing I'll admit it doesn't do as well as the iphone is music. Oh and EvDO rocks EDGE and Rev. A will put the nail in EDGE's coffin.
- sancho, on 12/14/2007, -2/+5I bet that Android won't interface with Exchange nearly as nicely as Windows Mobile. Remember that Windows Mobile is geared towards enterprise. We really have yet to see what market Android will go after, but I'm sure that Microsoft won't make it easy for them to interact with the Microsoft world.
- inactive, on 12/14/2007, -1/+4Compatibility is not a problem Microsoft has, Macs and Linux do. Just a stupid statement on your part. Windows does have other issues, stability for sure.
- davidrools, on 12/14/2007, -0/+3Install MagicButton. It's free and it works really well. It allows you to switch programs from the taskbar and turns the X button into one that actually closes the program (hold the X to show all the currently running apps in the taskbar)
- jupi, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2Are you even a WM user?
- sancho, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2Most phones have alternate firmwares available, if you look around. Generally speaking, they let you customize the phone just like the mobile operator would.
A side benefit is that they tend to have more applications on the device (though not running by default) in the ROM. If they are applications that you use, this means that you don't have to add them yourself, and they aren't taking up application memory. You can even find "kitchens" that let you build a custom ROM with the applications and settings that you want.
The WM5 and WM6 hacking scenes are really quite large, and they make the devices much more useful and usable. - ElRayQuieres, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2You can probably assign the calendar to a direction key. I just press down to get to my calendar.
- h0m3styl3, on 12/14/2007, -1/+3no push email.
- colincornaby, on 12/14/2007, -5/+7Well, I was hoping people would have a sense of humor (apparently not), but the iPhone is actually a pretty useful mobile platform. I have one, and it handles my mail just fine. I do have quibbles with it (no local rules, no server rules on .Mac, no junk mail filtering), but aside from that it's just fine. I think most the major issues will be fixed with whatever massive software update Apple will ship in January, along with 3rd party applications. For a 1.0 product, the iPhone is doing extremely well against a "mature" product like Windows Mobile. Even in the article Microsoft admits they have some catch up work to do.
- unfinity, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2"1. push the home button to wake the iPhone up
2. "slide to unlock" on the screen
3. push the home button again to get back to the main application screen
4. tap the phone icon
5. tap "favorites"
6. tap my contact's name
Now let's compare it to WM. From any applications, click the End button, then start typing your number or contacts name. Select and go. Done."
Now I'll compare driving to the store in a Chevy VS a Ford
Chevy
1. Put on shoes and lock door behind you
2. Walk to car
3. Unlock car door
4. Sit in car
5. Start the car
6. Pull out of driveway
7. Drive to store.
Now, in a Ford
1. Get in car
2. Drive to store - etandrib, on 12/14/2007, -3/+5Buried as inaccurate because if they can't fix it in one version (7) then how can they fix it in 8. I can't believe they are 6 versions in and still haven't *fixed* it. The problem isn't the software - the problem is the company and its management. MS is just too out of touch and still living in the late 90s.
- justinbaker, on 12/14/2007, -6/+8the author complains about having to slide out a keyboard every time...just get a treo, very easy one handed operation
- LvsSocer, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2Thats a very valid point and shouldn't be ignored.
However, you're missing a key point. I've found that once you've added the 3rd party apps (SPB is a great example), WM6 becomes more useful than any other smartphone out there ... by leaps and bounds. - joelhardi, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2I would add to that, that the point about lack of RAM was spot-on, too. I would really like to not have to go to memory settings to force-quit things when I hit the camera button on my Mogul and it finds that email, IE and Contacts are already running.
How hard would it be to just put 512 MB of RAM in these badboys and be done with it?
As a PDA I prefer my Mogul to the last BB I had, but as a phone it's a total POS, my last $50 LG kicks its ass. - lambda, on 12/14/2007, -1/+3I have a Motorola Q (old version) and am actually quite happy with it. The interface is quite responsive and powerful. Sure it has room for improvement, but what doesn't.
- tommasz, on 12/14/2007, -11/+13Doesn't every Microsoft product announcement basically say that it fixes all the problems the previous version inflicted on you? So by announcing two versions at once they're telling you "WM7 sucks so bad that it's not even released and we've had to fix it." Sweet.
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