Is Windows Mobile phones really not cool any more (or is it me)?

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BlueToothKiwi

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# 41129 10-Sep-2009 14:39

I remember a few years ago when you go into Telecom or Vodafone web sites (or store for that matter), and you used to see a range of Windows Mobile devices - whether it is PDA or Smartphone or something in between.

Since my last post on this topic, I been thinking about this.

What really happened? Is Windows Mobile phones really not cool any more?

Did Microsoft just give up?

Did customers just got tired of the Microsoft UI after seeing iphone?

Did Telecos decide that Windows Mobile devices are hungry for support bandwidth?

I first thought it could be that Vodafone and Telecom just stopped working with vendors like HTC (remember Qtek?). Then again I see Vodafone selling HTC Google phone!

I am curious. What do you think?

Tim

Tim M, Auckland
Blog: http://paddler.co.nz

kadillak

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# 254768 10-Sep-2009 14:46

Guess people are just anticipating the apple vs android wars and are forgetting about windows mobile...

freitasm

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# 254773 10-Sep-2009 14:58

Microsoft was caught up with the iPhone success. Lots of things happened. Back in Windows Mobile 5 they thought of launching a marketplace/online store but didn't - then Apple did theirs.

They put a lot of effort into making Windows Mobile an enterprise tool, but left some consumer-level stuff behind - the fun stuff.

They have been working hard in UI and UX. Windows Mobile 6.5 is a small step, but Windows Mobile 7 makes a lot of difference.

I know what you mean though. A friend told me his faster read about Windows Mobile 6.5 coming in October and said "Wow, Microsoft is entering the Smartphone arena" (or something like that) ignoring the fact that Microsoft has been in the Smartphone fight for years now...

Just a lack of mindshare I think.

My technology disclosure | Digital Transformation | Enterprise Content Management | Customer Relationship Management | Data Insights, Business Intelligence and Advanced Analytics

billgates

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# 254774 10-Sep-2009 15:01

I agree with freitasm. Windows mobile 6.5 is pretty much going to be released so people get the hang of the app store and the branding of the OS 'Windows Mobile'. 6.5 is considerably faster than 6.1 specially when it comes to scrolling. UI is much more simpler now. Windows mobile 7 however is going to turn tables around. The UI is just fantastic.

Do whatever you want to do man.

davidcole

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# 254777 10-Sep-2009 15:21

I just find the WinMo form factors too limiting. They're all bricks or iPhone copies.

Where are the slides, candy bars, flips? Why does everything have to be touch?

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kyhwana2

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# 254779 10-Sep-2009 15:24

davidcole: I just find the WinMo form factors too limiting. They're all bricks or iPhone copies.

Where are the slides, candy bars, flips? Why does everything have to be touch?

Look at what HTC does with winmo phones..
I wouldn't say the HTC winmo phones are bricks or iphone copies. :P
(disclaim: I have a HTC Touch Pro running a custom 6.5 ROM with touchflo3d, it kicks ass)

Buttonmash

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# 254782 10-Sep-2009 15:30

The big problem with Windows Mobile?

It's just horrid to use. They've scaled down their mouse centric desktop UI and it just doesn't work.

My work phone is an Okta Touch and my personal phone is an iPhone 3G S. My list of complaints with the Okta is almost endless:

Touch buttons for phone aren't sensitive to finger presses (go resistive touchscreen).
Nothing like having your phone lag so much a button press to answer the incoming call is registered only after the caller has given up.
Apps crash in the background and eat your battery life in mere hours.
Having your stylus fall out on the go and having to use a paperclip replacement/buy new ones...
Having to use a stylus at all to interact with the phone!
Hideous mobile web browser (Opera have a semi-decent alternative)
Nothing like Activesync issues to waste your life as you repair the phone and PC.

I wish I were joking when I say I would prefer an entry level Nokia phone.

nate

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# 254846 10-Sep-2009 19:20

Buttonmash: The big problem with Windows Mobile?

It's just horrid to use. They've scaled down their mouse centric desktop UI and it just doesn't work.

My work phone is an Okta Touch and my personal phone is an iPhone 3G S. My list of complaints with the Okta is almost endless:

Touch buttons for phone aren't sensitive to finger presses (go resistive touchscreen).
Nothing like having your phone lag so much a button press to answer the incoming call is registered only after the caller has given up.
Apps crash in the background and eat your battery life in mere hours.
Having your stylus fall out on the go and having to use a paperclip replacement/buy new ones...
Having to use a stylus at all to interact with the phone!
Hideous mobile web browser (Opera have a semi-decent alternative)
Nothing like Activesync issues to waste your life as you repair the phone and PC.

I wish I were joking when I say I would prefer an entry level Nokia phone.

I couldn't agree more with your post. The biggest deal breaker for me was the dropping calls "function". Nothing helps grow your business like hanging up on a new client.

davidcole

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# 254859 10-Sep-2009 19:53

Ah see I found activesync (both cable and ota) the best bit.

And being able to easily write apps for it one of the other best features....but nokia has much better hardware/form factors imo.

Damager

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# 254873 10-Sep-2009 20:39

Unfortunately, some of the handsets with windows mobile out of the box, like the okta touch mentioned by buttonmash, are riddled with problems as mentioned, so i can totally understand the fustration!

Fortunately, many of these problems and issues can be eliminated with a cooked rom. Granted though, you shouldn't have to resort to a cooked rom to get your handset working as you'd expect!

I have an HTC Titan running one of the latest builds of WM6.5 and it runs excellent. Many of the new handsets now with TouchFlo3D with WM6.1 and soon to be WM6.5 have made decent strides in functionality where stylus use is virtually eliminated, and performance is above par. Windows 7 is around the corner as well so the bar will be raised again.

- Telstra HTC Touch Pro2 - Energy ROM WM6.5.5 20 Oct/Cyanogen Mod Froyo 2.2 - R.I.P
- AT&T Galaxy S Captivate 16GB on XT (now with brother)
- Samsung Galaxy S2 on XT- Runs ICS 4.0.3 Resurrection Remix 9.2
- Business Hours - Work In The Electricity Industry, After Hours - DJ/Turntablist - Will Scratch Vinyl For Free'
- What's next??? S3?

freitasm

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# 254933 11-Sep-2009 05:34

Something about the coolness of Windows Mobile... We will be posting a video about this in our Unofficial Tech.Ed Blog next week.

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BlueToothKiwi

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# 254937 11-Sep-2009 06:50

freitasm: Something about the coolness of Windows Mobile... We will be posting a video about this in our Unofficial Tech.Ed Blog next week.

That is reassuring to note that - and thanks for the link.

The question is - Is it too late? Talking of mindshare - I lived and breathed Bill's .Net vision for small form factor smart clients / hand helds - and made a reasonable living creating enterprise applications for CE/Windows Mobile in the first half of this decade.

However, I have read up about Windows Mobile 7... and yeah it does look exciting.

But will I switch back after two years of using top end Nokia S60 devices? I dont know.

How many people have used Alta Vista / Looksmart / Inktome / Lycos / MS Search (which later became MSN search) / Yahoo Search engines in the 90's who wouldhave sworn by it.

Then one day you start using Google. Now that MS came back with the rebranded Windows Live search called Bing with slightly different value proposistion. How many of you switched back to Bing from Google? I played with Bing after Windows 7 set it in my Browser as default - but could not get used to the Ungoogleness of it which is rather sad.

Windows Mobile 7 will have the same challenge - and I wish them good luck!

Tim

Tim M, Auckland
Blog: http://paddler.co.nz