Judie: Here’s how it all started. I got a press release from Kevin Doel regarding FlipSide, a new Windows Mobile MP3 Player which features “”Swooshing” Album Art as Part of Acclaimed Visual Interface.”
FlipSide, the MP3 player from Electric Pocket that has had BlackBerry users buzzing, is now available to users of Windows Mobile devices such as the Treo 700xw, Mogul, Ace, and Blackjack. The feature that has made FlipSide such an instant hit among BlackBerry users is its iPhone-like interface that allows users to visually “swoosh” through their music quickly and easily.
Navigating through music and selecting tunes is a simple process with FlipSide: scroll through the Album Covers, or flick through them using your finger on the screen, then click on the navigation button to open up a vertical list of the tracks. The spacebar is used to start, pause and skip songs, while the navigation button is used to scroll either left or right to either fast forward or rewind within a song.
While FlipSide comes with the features expected of any MP3 player, the feature that gets the most buzz is the attractive user interface that makes FlipSide both visually enjoyable and very easy to use. Its ability to “swoosh” through the full-color cover art of an entire music collection within seconds using the navigation control button makes FlipSide stand-out as both a simple and fun MP3 player. FlipSide downloads and displays the cover art of each album and even links to FlipSide Extras to provide biographies of the artists, recommendations for similar artists and more.
FlipSide for Windows Mobile plays music stored on memory cards in MP3 & WMA formats. FlipSide retails for $19.95 and a free trial download is available now from the FlipSide website at http://flipside.fm.
As I’ll usually do when I get a product announcement, I forwarded this release to the team to see if anyone might be interested in covering the item or reviewing the product…and then their emails started rolling in. It wasn’t long before we had another full blown GearChat Roundtable on our hands.
Sit tight; this one was a doozy…
Doug Goldring: Y’know. I am looking at this one for My Today Screen. And it looks decent. But it occurs to me. Is copying really innovation?
When the iPhone came out, and I will admit that it was a significant impact device from day 1, all of the industry insiders said, this is just what Windows Mobile needs. This will spur innovation from Windows Mobile.
But instead on innovation, I see a lot of developers simply copying iPhone type apps. I mean, I am getting tired of seeing, “This program will make your phone work like an iPhone.” Well, no. If I wanted a phone that worked like the iPhone then I would buy an iPhone. I want a phone that works like Windows Mobile should. It is one thing to be inspired by the iPhone but too many companies are just copying the iPhone and calling it progress.
Judie: Well, I think it was only natural that when people became so enamored with the iPhone interface, software manufacturers tried to replicate its various desirable features in their programs for other platforms, and I do see touch-based interfaces as a definite next step for almost every platform. However, I think that there is a point where imitation is not flattery, it’s just silly. If you want the features that an iPhone offers, then you should buy an iPhone. If you want the features a Windows Mobile, Palm, or Symbian device offers, then you should buy one of those. With that said, when there is one feature that a particular OS has that you really enjoy, but you prefer a different OS, it is nice to have the option of adding that feature to your favorite OS via a software application.
Clinton: I have said for a long time that there are very few original ideas left in the world. It is all a matter of copying and improving on an existing idea.
The ultimate issue is that the iPhone quite literally scared the crap out of a lot of people. Rumors floated for a good while before it came out but when it did, everyone stood in awe of it because it was nothing short of impressive. Hell, everyone even forgave Apple and AT&T for NOT making it 3G for crying out loud. So this leads to the common trend I see just about every day… if something scares the crap out of you, then copy it and try to make it better. It is the way of things in technology, I’m just convinced.
Frankly I’m fine with the set of applications I use day in and day out… how ‘bout improving my battery life, eh?
Doug G.: I agree, and I think my question is this: Are developers copying and making it better. Or are they just copying? I mean, I love bringing the concepts from the iPhone like the finger friendly interface to Windows Mobile. But if all they are doing is writing the same app for WinMo then that does not really improve it. I am seeing a lot more copying and a lot less copying and improving.
Joel: Ok, I’ve held out long enough….
What was wrong with Windows Mobile in the first place? The interface was never the issue, to me. Here’s what I have always had an issue with:
1. ActiveStink….it always SUCKED!
2. X’s not closing the app, although this is kind of fixed.
3. Stability….Excuse me I have to hang up and reset my phone…. 
4. Pocket IE: Joke of a browser…..give up on this Microsoft…others have done it better.
I wish Microsoft would FIX THAT. Also, if I wanted an iPhone, I would buy one. If I bought a Windows Mobile Phone, I would use it as is and don’t need it to “look” like a iphone.
Doug G.: That is exactly right, Joel. Finger friendly apps are nice and can be
useful, but there are some much bigger problems.
And of course, you left off battery life and infuriatingly low memory.
Clinton: Joel,
1. Couldn’t agree more. You have no idea the BEATING the AS group took from the MVPs every time a new release came out. Fortunately WMDC is much better
2. HTC has fixed that and Spb did with their Pocket Plus application -
still should be native though, no question
3. WM6 and 6.1 are way better than 5 could ever think of being. Still
flakey at times but better….
4. PIE is gone in 6.1. Full IE now. Thank GOD
5. Oh… you didn’t have a 5…
I agree, I like the interface and I don’t have a hang up using a stylus. The problem though, is that GUI’s sell and the iPhone GUI, well, it is much prettier.
Judie: I don’t have a problem with using a stylus either, and as much as I try not to be bothered by it, face and finger grease on the face of my iPhone truly grosses me out.
Douglas Moran: I know I’m an anti-Microsoft person by disposition, but even with that caveat I think it’s been evident for a long time that Microsoft is not really good at innovation. They copy what they can, and buy stuff from other people. This current business with Yahoo is a good example; they couldn’t make their own idea of a “portal” viable, so now they’re trying to buy one. But this has gone on with Microsoft from the very beginning; they couldn’t compete with their database product, so they bought a company that made a better product.
So I guess I’m not surprised that Microsoft is coming up short on the post-iPhone innovation. What *I* would prefer would be for them to re-do WM. It has always struck me that they designed WM by saying, “OK, we have Windows; what can we take out of it” rather than “OK, we have Windows; what do absolutely, positively *have* to have for it to work on a mobile phone platform?” and then adding features only as necessary. (I may be wrong, but that’s how it appears to me. ‘Waaaaaay to much OS, not enough efficiency.) And any OS that requires me to install third-party apps to do basic stuff (like making the “close” button actually, ya know, *close* the program) is a real problem.
Not that I have a strong opinion.
Judie: Oh no Douglas, not you. 
Seriously though, I think that some of the improvements that you want to see are coming in 6.1 and perhaps future flavors of Windows Mobile. Considering that you are still running WM5 on your Universal, I think it is safe to say that there will be some significant differences between what you are used to and what’s already coming out this year.
Mitchell: For quite a while now I have thought that Microsoft’s main problem was timing. They remind me a lot of myself, they seem to be great procrastinators. Things seem to get rushed out at the last minute, with bugs and problems that should have been resolved before release. Then there is coming to the game late altogether.
The reported release of Windows Mobile 7 is a prime example. If they want to be able to compete with the iPhone, they have to get themselves into gear and get something new out NOW. Everything I have read about the new version of Windows Mobile says it’s great, but the release date is still a LONG way away. Sure it may be competitive now, but what does that matter when it’s released next year?
I just don’t understand how Microsoft can keep making this mistake? It reminds me of the discussion we had about cooked ROMs. Guys in their basement can get updates to WM6.1 out in just days for devices that never even got 6.0 upgrades, so surely Microsoft can get stuff done!
I like Windows Mobile, I have for years, and I think Windows Mobile 5 was a definite step forward, it making the OS easier to navigate without constantly reaching for the stylus, but next to an iPhone, it’s just too hard. I like being able to customise the OS, but many people don’t, and the iPhone manages to be simple to use yet wonderfully powerful at the same time. Surely Microsoft, with their billions of dollars in R&D money, can come up with something!
Douglas M.: Well, my experience in software in big companies and small is that the development time tends to be similar, but the overhead grows significantly as your company gets bigger. You have ten groups where you used to have ten people, and suddenly you have to have processes, which everyone has to agree on, which require meetings to create, and meetings to get agreement on, and more meetings to draw up the documents for so it’s trackable. And then you have to track everything, which requires scheduling software that needs to be networked and maintained, which adds more overhead. And then someone gets the bright idea of having separate “software trains”, which two years later you end up being forced to merge back together because your customers are complaining. And speaking of customers, do you have backwards compatibility, or not? Upgrade path? Application migration and/or porting? More meetings!
Anyway, while I think MS should have solved their problems with process by *now*, I *do* understand them. As much as I harp on MS software, I’m aware how *much* easier it is to do it in your own basement, when you don’t have to please anyone but yourself, and then you can heave it out into The World, and if they don’t like it then hey, screw ‘em, it’s free.
Doug G.: Douglas, I am not even talking about MS innovation. I am talking about 3rd Party developers. I mean, everyone knows that MS rarely innovates. I mean, everyone knows where the mouse came from , right?
But the 3rd party developers are coming out with all of these apps that basically just copy the iPhone.
Mitchell: Doug, I agree with you, 3rd party apps that imitate the iPhone are pretty lame, and I’d guess it just stems from lack of imagination. These “developers” realise that by pinching the design they can make a quick buck, and they are right, but it doesn’t do much for innovation. Designing an interface that just works takes time, taking that design (eg. Coverflow, flick scrolling, etc) and sticking it on the front of another app would be easy for these people.
Judie: Here is how I look at it; there are two camps:
Apple, who says “here is the hardware we made, here is the software we want you to run on it. the software may not be perfect, it may not stretch the capabilities of the device, but it is also going to work well with the device. We will let a select few offer software to improve your experience, but we are going to tightly control what we allow, because we do not want to hear about people having a less than satisfying experience with our device.”
Then you have Microsoft, who says, “here is the operating system we made: it will run on an assortment of devices, but these are the minimum specifications we will allow while still letting a company use our OS. The built-in software is sometimes pretty basic, but it will run well on the device. But if you don’t like it, there is a huge community of developers who we are working with; you can pick and choose how you will personalize your particular device with their applications, but in the end, you may wind up with a hugely tweaked and slightly unstable device.
The end user gets to decide which plan offers them more value…
Doug G.: Yeah, I completely agree with that. But I think MS is doing a poor job of wielding the power they have. With computers, MS says, your computer must meet minimum specs if you want this special “Works with Vista” sticker. They should be doing the same thing with Windows Mobile. MS should be requiring a lot more out of device manufacturers.
Judie: I agree that MS is not wielding their power effectively, but I also know that they do establish minimum specifications. Perhaps these specifications are too low? Perhaps they should be even more standardized.
I think that MS also realizes that there is too big of a chasm between a minimum standards device and a better spec’d device, but I don’t know if they have any idea how to fix this. I also think that there is a major problem with the attitude of the carriers. MS can release updates and fixes all day long, but if the carriers choose not to offer them, then the user will wind up being mad at the device and its OS – not necessarily the carrier.
Joel: I never bought that many applications, other than games. Also any skinning apps that I ever ran on Windows Mobile always….sucked…..sucked period, sucked resources….etc.
Another one: what happened to 640×480 in Windows Mobile? I remember a few years ago it was the hot thing and now…ZILCH!
I guess slim devices mean more than screen real estate!
Clinton: Too much battery drain and little support. People don’t like the size associated with a VGA device.
Judie: I realize that the Advantage (and even the Universal) were considered “too big” by many, but I truly appreciated the larger VGA screens. As I have said time and time again, I thought that the HTC Universal had one of the best form factors EVER…but the screen size, processor, memory, camera and other features of the HTC Advantage made it a winner in my book. While the Advantage still didn’t have the buttons I would have liked for easy navigation, at least it had the joystick. With that gone now, I am curious to see if it can even be read on any more.
With that said, I am tempted to buy a Universal just to use as an eBook reader. :sigh:
Douglas M.: Well, this list covers the things I’ve had the most problems with on WM:
· System speed; I’ve installed an app to max out clock speed, but even with that it still moves dog slow.
· Partly as a result of the above, I go through a full battery charge in less than a day (and I have an extended battery). I am constantly swapping my two batteries around.
· I have to reboot my WM gadget several times a day to clear the memory. All programs have memory leaks; I’m an old UNIX hand, and so I’m used to that. But if you close a program, after a while, the memory should be released. It’s depressing how often this *doesn’t* happen under WM.
· ActiveSync *can’t* be switched off. Sometimes I just want to plug my gizmo in to charge, ya know? I don’t need it synced *all* the time. Why can’t they give you a choice, like Apple does?
This is not even mentioning the things like the fact that when my battery power gets to less than 50%, the system starts doing, um, odd things. Or the ever-popular “X doesn’t close” problem. Etc.
Windows folks say it’s not fair to compare WM to PalmOS, because WM is “multi-tasking”. (e.g., play BubbleSnooker on a Palm device, and then on a WM device; quite a difference.) I say, what good is having a “multi-tasking” OS if it’s so slow that you can only run one app at a time?
Sorry; I’ve been trying *really hard* to like WM since I got my HTC Universal, but I just can’t.
In many ways, Apple is just as bad as MS in having their OS and apps behave in a “do what I, the application, think you *should* do” rather than doing what I am *trying* to do. The difference is, Apple guesses *right* a lot of the time on what I want to do; MS guesses wrong pretty much all the time.
[pant pant]
Okay; I’m done now.
Judie: Douglas, you do realize that you can get a separate charger for your Universal which doesn’t require plugging it into your PC and syncing; I’m just saying…
Clinton: Douglas, I think you’ve hit it on the head. The problem isn’t necessarily Windows Mobile itself but the applications. Memory leaks are the classic example of it and too many developers don’t do a flush when their application shuts down. It is maddening on a good day. There are some really good applications out there that behave exceptionally well but for every one of them, there is 5 that kills your device for various reasons.
I absolutely agree on the battery life. That has GOT to improve. The best one I’ve ever seen is the T-Mobile Wing (HTC Atlas). On the 1300MhA batter I can go 1.5 days between recharges. But 1.5 days is NOT good. That must improve.
It will be interesting to see two things on the iPhone in the coming months:
· If memory leaks and other issues come up when applications start being developed/written for it with the SDK
· How 3G will impact their battery life. Bet you a wooden nickel it does bigtime.
Mitchell: I like that the “close” button sends apps into the background, I want my programs open and ready to go at the press of the button. I only find the lack of a “true” close button on Windows Mobile a problem on devices where the manufacturer has been slack on RAM. With 128MB RAM I have no issues with multitasking.
My dad absolutely loves his HTC Hermes, he can be talking on the phone via a Bluetooth car kit, whilst getting voice directions on TomTom (connected to a BT GPS) AND checking his email, all at once! I think multitasking is great, it just needs the RAM to back it up.
Chris Gavula: The problem is that the red “x” is almost universally accepted to mean close, not minimize. It was a poor decision way back when to implement it as “close” on Windows, but “minimize” on Windows Mobile. Very inconsistent – very confusing for users.
I also have a problem in that, even on 128MB RAM machines, with the poor memory management in WM, minimizing the app with no option to truly close can still become problematic – especially if you are running memory-intensive apps like GPS navigation.
Joel: The Universal and the Advantage are both great devices, however the thing that dismays me is the sheer amount of form factors there have been for Windows Mobile devices, and yet I still feel dissatisfied when I use them. Remember the great devices of the past:
1. The Compaq iPAQ (The ORIGINAL!….not the crappy HP ones).
2. The HP Jornada 720 (Wonderful Keyboard….but hampered by Windows CE)
3. HTC Universal
4. Audiovox XV6700(HTC Apache) and the new XV6800.
5. HTC Advantage
Each of these devices had a try at perfecting the interface. None really has, otherwise we’d be wading through a bunch of humdrum devices that all looked the same. Maybe it’s best that they DON’T make a end all be all Windows Mobile phone.
Douglas M.: The iPhone battery life ain’t a whole lot better, honestly. The good news is that I get about the same battery life (about 1.5 days) for the iPhone that I do for my HTC Universal with a 3200MhA battery. Given that the iPhone is like, 1/3 the thickness, this is a Good Deal.
And yeah, I’m *sure* you’re right about the 3G impact; it’s going to be hideous. My guess is that that’s one of the main reasons they went to market without it. (Why they left out A2DP Bluetooth support is beyond me, however.) If we’re lucky, the next rev of the iPhone will include a better battery *with* the 3G support, and it will be a wash. Just a wish, though.
I’m very pleased with the memory leak issues on the iPhone so far; I only have to reboot it every couple of weeks or so. If Apple is *smart*, they will have some kind of minor background process that looks for poorly-behaved programs that leave locked memory behind, and clear them out regularly. But Apple misses stuff like that all the time, so who knows? (They usually fix it eventually—like providing manual file syncing support for the iPhone in iTunes, for example—but sometimes the wait makes you insane.)
And Judie, I use my Uni for reading books and playing games, and that’s it. If the iPhone had eBook support and games (and a 4” screen, oh please!), I probably would never carry my Uni around at all.
Judie: If they make an iPhone (or mini iTablet) with a larger screen that can read eReader books, then you know that I will get one. But we have had this discussion before. Reading really is important to us, though. I recognize that it isn’t a deal-breaker for a lot of people, though.
Clinton: Speaking of Universals… any idea on where I can get one these days?
Douglas M.: I bet Jenneth has one available, cheap. “Sold as-is.” Seriously: try eBay.
Judie: 
Doug G.: Of course, that brings us to the next obvious question: the new HTC devices which sport a baffling 900 mAh battery. Is there something new we don’t know about? Will the new devices make better use of the battery?
Clinton: S-L-O-W processors. 
That is why the T-Mo Wing lasts so long. OMAP 220MHz processor clocked DOWN to 186MHz.
Of course I overclocked it to 248MHz so I could live with the thing and still got 1.5 days out of it.
Doug G.: But that’s just it. This is the processor: Qualcomm MSM 7201A 520MHz CPU. It’s not the top of the line, but it’s not too shabby either.
Clinton: Wishful thinking then… I can’t see how that is going to last anytime at all.
Doug G.: The only thing I can figure is that they are throwing a bone to the third party battery manufacturers.
Judie: That would open a whole new can of worms, though. If you sell me a device with great specs that doesn’t have the proper periherals unless I buy them from an aftermarket manufacturer…oh wait. Apple already does this.
Douglas M.: 520 MHz is not nearly fast enough for WM, in my opinion. I think WM devices should have 750MHz at least, and a whole lotta RAM.
Clinton: I disagree. I think 400Mhz is plenty fast for the vast majority of users. Now RAM, yes, that could absolutely be improved.
Douglas M.: Really? Because the HTC Uni has (I believe) 520MHz, and it’s a dog. Even when I use a third-party app to force the clock speed. Is there some other design flaw, maybe?
Clinton: I think 400MHz is plenty fast for what most do with them. I think the geeks (Clinton raises hand) out there beat the crap out of their devices because we load every application/tweak known to them but for the average business user I think it’s fine.
Additionally I think there is room for your optimization point Doug. Some hardware configurations just plain suck when it comes to using the processor and memory as they should. Heck, PCs even had this problem! I still contend though, that most of the issues relate to software.
Mitchell: I agree speed can be an issue with Windows Mobile, but I don’t think throwing more CPU power at it is the answer. It’s the same with Windows Vista, you need to throw loads of resources at it before it will function acceptably. Microsoft has gotten complacent, and figure that since people are willing to throw $$$$s at faster processors and more RAM, they don’t need to work on making the OS lighter.
That said, give me more RAM any day
Chris Gavula: Wow – a lot to talk about here! Great conversation! I finally got to a point where I can reply so here I go…
[Rant mode: on]
First – Clinton – I have to disagree with you. I feel that 400MHz is NOT fast enough for anything other than the most simplistic uses of WM. I think 624MHz should become the baseline going forward. We were there almost 5 years ago and since then the interface has grown a little more complex, people are frequently running several apps just to “fix” issues so they really need the processing speed. The 400MHz devices always feel incredibly sluggish to me. Yes – the need for optimization is certainly part of the problem, but it isn’t the total problem.
I have been making the case for improving WM devices for a long time now, even prior to the release of the iPhone (despite the fact that some bloggers would have you believe that NO ONE complained about WM prior to the iPhone). I feel that WM hardware should be supporting 624MHz, 128MB RAM, and a VGA display. We took a huge step backward to accommodate convergence (and battery life), and I feel that was a big mistake.
The MS model of dropping the OS to device manufacturers for final customization leads to a kind of dissociation and separation and a “not my fault” mentality. MS should, like Apple has done, take a MUCH more active role in the development of end product – possibly producing their own devices (which they might be actually doing based on recent acquisitions). This separation also leads to devices that don’t feel “tight” or complete as the iPhone clearly does. WM feels like an OS riding on top of a device rather than as an integrated part of the device. The manufacturers never stepped up to the plate here – I’m not sure that MS and the manufacturers
were ever clear with each other as to what their respective roles were, since manufacturers generally haven’t stepped up to improve the experience (with a few notable, some successful, exceptions).
There have been a number of long-term outstanding issues with the WM OS that need addressing: The memory issues, the close button, the failing alarms issues are just a few of these outstanding issues. WM5 took the memory issue and created a performance issue to boot and the industry
response? Slower devices to accommodate battery life and convergence. WM6 – a few more features and interface tweaking, but no real solutions to the outstanding problems. Sigh. Very disappointing.
The release of the iPhone brought a lot of these things to light, but they were issues long before the iPhone. The iPhone runs for about 1.5 days on a charge, but it also does it with a HVGA screen, 128MB RAM, and a 600+MHz processor (clocked down). Show me a WM device that can run on a 1400mAh battery like the iPhone has and still get that kind of hardware performance (not to mention the proximity sensors, accelerometer, and capacitive screen that must be supported as well). Not even non-3G devices can seem to manage decent performance. Why is that?
The iPhone has been more about the little things it did (like using the proximity sensor to shut down the screen when it’s up against your face) that help save power. It’s about the instantly rotating screen (unlike the 2-3 second delay on a WM screen flip).
Why can’t the bloggers focus on those very real improvements in the process instead of always talking about the interface, or Exchange support. Not all of us care about Exchange support, but I’ll bet all of us could benefit from the power savings the proximity sensor brings.
WiFi to EDGE transitions are nearly seamless on the iPhone, why can’t WM be as seamless?
None of this stuff is about the interface, but it IS about how people interface with their device. Marketing gets people’s attention – But this stuff is what KEEPS their attention nearly a year later. This stuff, the stuff we don’t talk much about is what makes the iPhone have the highest satisfaction ratings, not features.
But many, many WM bloggers want to focus on a feature by feature comparison, while they always seem to neglect the hardware underpinnings, except to mention the lack of a keyboard and GPS, but most WM devices don’t have those either! Why is that?
Despite all this I like my WM device.
I WANT a WM device that offers me the HP 210 specs and form factor AND a quad-band GSM phone (with EDGE/3G support) or the CDMA equivalents. I want a WM device that doesn’t need daily resetting. I want a WM device with working alarms and close buttons. Why is that so hard to deliver this many years down the road?
By the way – I’m currently using an HP hx4700 for eBook reading – still one of the best displays out there and I get pretty good battery life (1800mAh battery) with BT and WiFi running. And that device is at least 4 years old now and we’ve never been able to build a converged WM device on those specs. How sad it has taken the Apple iPhone to show us the way to get it done – WM should have already been there.
[Rant mode: off.]
Clinton: Wow… now that is a response or pent up frustration, one of the two.
Judie: Wow Chris, still waters truly do run deep.
There are a lot of things that you said in your “rant” that I think bear repeating and expounding upon. I’ll just touch upon a few…
1. “The MS model of dropping the OS to device manufacturers for final customization leads to a kind of dissociation and separation and a “not my fault” mentality. MS should, like Apple has done, take a MUCH more active role in the development of end product.” – Stan wrote about this in his excellent piece The Apple Experience, where he said:
You see, that palpable fear I associate with Microsoft products is the fear that no one company is truly accountable for the Microsoft experience. There’s always the fear that if something doesn’t work, I’ll spend hours with who knows who fingering pointing and probing to figure out why this Microsoft product doesn’t work as advertised. Apple, on the other hand, is responsible for both the hardware & software of their products. There’s no one else to go to when their product doesn’t work as advertised. They can’t finger point and blame someone else. So, they’d better build quality products or customers won’t be back.
I feel that you are both conveying the same point, and I agree with it. I think Microsoft does need to have more of a “buck stops here” mentality about their products – hardware and software. By passing the buck and allowing hardware manufacturers (and yes, carriers! I am still going to harp on that!) to dictate things that are not good for the platform, they have allowed their brand to be polluted. Not diluted…polluted. They need to put more stringent checks in place, and they need to insist that partners are up to snuff…or snuff them.
2. “WM feels like an OS riding on top of a device rather than as an integrated part of the device.” – Agreed. It is along the same vein as point #1, but I really liked this quote and wanted to isolate it.
3. “The iPhone has been more about the little things it did (like using the proximity sensor to shut down the screen when it’s up against your face) that help save power. It’s about the instantly rotating screen (unlike the 2-3 second delay on a WM screen flip).” – I agree on this point. There are a lot of little things about the iPhone that are nothing if not aggravating (no cut/copy and paste, no contacts search, no 3G, lame calendar, no tasks, etc.), but there are all these little things that the device or OS does that are just so…so thoughtful and intuitive. You almost feel obligated to forgive the iPhone its shortcomings, because you can tell it really is trying to be thoughtful.
4. “I’m currently using an HP hx4700 for eBook reading – still one of the best displays out there and I get pretty good battery life (1800mAh battery) with BT and WiFi running.” – Definitely one of the all time, absolute best Pocket PC devices…even with that crazy trackpad.
Clinton: Seems I’m alone on the 400MHz comment. I base that just on what I see most people doing with them – Solitaire and email. I totally agree that if you are doing any type of Office work or have a bunch of apps you use that 400 isn’t going to do it.
I don’t argue the fact MS needs to get control of the OS again and not leave the final step to the OEMs. I think we’ve well enough beat that horse to death.
Chris G.: Yeah – this topic always gets me riled up.
There’s an assumption that if you criticize WM you must be an Apple fanboy and you must hate WM. Not true. I love WM, but I love it enough to point out its flaws so that they can be addressed. I think those that try to pretend there are no flaws or make excuses for them are the ones that damage the longevity and viability of the platform.
Judie: Chris, I totally agree that people feel the need to pick sides and label what “camps” they are in, which is silly. I happen to like my iPhone a lot, but I also happen to like Windows Mobile and Symbian, too. Palm…I am a bit disappointed in, but I can still see its value. Just because I like one OS does not mean I have to give up any of the others, nor does it mean that you can expect me to bad mouth any of them. I will point out flaws as I see them, but it is only because I do care. When the day comes that I won’t call out a company’s shortcomings, you can figure that I have given up on them…and I just don’t care anymore. I kvetch because I care.
Clinton: I hear you… I get the same assumption. I am an MVP therefore I must think WM is the greatest thing in the world…. well, not so much. I obviously like the OS and think it is good but it could be great. I wish I could share more on the roadmap but I can’t.
Chris G.: I also am tired of seeing apps that mimic the iPhone or its features. It’s like having a crappy car and putting new seat covers on the seats. It’s better, but you’re still not really all that satisfied with the results. That’s because it only covers up the problems or pretties them – it doesn’t fix them. This app is another example of that.
I get riled up and frustrated because it seems like there’s no progress. I want the flexibility of WM, with better hardware under the hood, and the problems fixed. Sure, I’d like a prettier interface too, but that’s secondary.
Doug G.: Yeah, I agree. I am not an MVP, but I do think Windows Mobile is (or has the potential to be) the best PDA/phone interface out there. But right now, it does not live up to that potential. I have written several articles about things Windows Mobile has gotten right and wrong, and what they can do to improve. I’ve used the iPhone several times. I saw a lot to like, and a lot that I felt could have been better. In the end, it did not feel like the right choice for me. So, if I already decided that Windows Mobile, not the iPhone is the best choice for me, why do I want to turn Windows Mobile into the iPhone or mimic the iPhone? What I want is for Windows Mobile to incorporate the best features of the iPhone (such as the interface) while also improving the underlying “guts” of the OS.
Judie: All right…we have had our say, and now it is your turn to tell us what you think.
What do you like about Windows Mobile? What do you think needs improvement?
Does it bother you when applications try to make a Windows Mobile device look like an iPhone? Or do you like it?
Is there a particular Windows Mobile flaw that you think is a deal-breaker? Or is there a particular feature that keeps you loyal to the Windows Mobile platform?
Do tell.
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