So Here's Your Chance: Describe What a "Wow" Smartphone Would Be!

[Pete Paxton]

Over the last couple of months I've posted three articles about the state of smartphones. I posted one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14666) about smartphones losing their "wow" factor. Another one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14841) about how we could change Windows Mobile 6, and finally one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15019) about what the iPhone means to the future of smartphones. After reading several comments to these posts, many have agreed that smartphones have become stagnant, boring, and are being created without an innovative OS or design. Now keeping in mind that a Windows Mobile Standard is a non-touch screen device, how would you create a device that puts the "wow" factor back into smartphones? Feel free to go through everything. The display, keypad, size, feel, the OS, the GUI, and even the overall look. What can be created to make smartphones innovative again and make people talk about them the way they are about the iPhone? Can it be done with a device that doesn't have a touch screen? Go ahead, fire away!

[Pete Paxton]

Over the last couple of months I've posted three articles about the state of smartphones. I posted one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14666) about smartphones losing their "wow" factor. Another one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14841) about how we could change Windows Mobile 6, and finally one here (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15019) about what the iPhone means to the future of smartphones. After reading several comments to these posts, many have agreed that smartphones have become stagnant, boring, and are being created without an innovative OS or design. Now keeping in mind that a Windows Mobile Standard is a non-touch screen device, how would you create a device that puts the "wow" factor back into smartphones? Feel free to go through everything. The display, keypad, size, feel, the OS, the GUI, and even the overall look. What can be created to make smartphones innovative again and make people talk about them the way they are about the iPhone? Can it be done with a device that doesn't have a touch screen? Go ahead, fire away!

[Hyer]

Well, the last 2 that I've had are a vox and smartflip. I would love to see a combination of the two, with a faster processor. Also, the OS needs some basic function tweeks. It needs to be easy to set an reminder to call someone and have the phone prompt with Call Bob now and hitting yes initiates the call. Also, I want to be able to set 1 time alarms, why is this so hard, I don't need to be reminded to turn off the sprinkler every day, just today!!! A lot of this short comings of WM6 seem to be typical MS stuff, they're just to lazy to fix the easy stuff! I'm getting to the point that I may go get a Pearl and give it a try.

[sbono13]

I use my MotoQ for music, pictures, and video (TV shows I transfer from my windows Media Center)-- I'd love a Portable Media Center/ Zune interface for Windows Mobile. WMP Mobile and the photo viewing app on the Q kinda suck.

WinMOb Smartphone is a very utilitarian, powerful OS, but it's not particularly "fun to use." That's where the iPhone is generating buzz. WinMob could use a little i-candy. They really should build around the MediaCenter interface-- it's rich, dynamic, and very functional.

[socrates]

I love the form factor of my S710. It's perfect.

Things I would change though:

1. A MUCH better internal antenna. "Searching..." I sometimes think is the name of my cell provider. This phone has significantly worse ability to find a cell tower than my old SMT5600 did. I presume that this is because I bought a UK phone not tested for the weaker USA GSM towers. It's not making the phone unusable by any means, but it is a daily annoyance.
2. 3G
3. Built in VOIP client compatible with wide range of service providers. With integration as if it were simply a second cell line rather than an add-on program.
4. Better design of the various covers - the battery cover falls off too easily, the power and microsd flaps are constantly popping open.
5. About double or triple the CPU power and the same for RAM/ROM whatever they call it.

I also would REALLY like to see Microsoft get it down to ONE operating system instad of two and make it so that both touch screen and non touch screen devices have enough input options on them that any program written for WinMo will work on any device without having to add all kinds of third party pointers, etc.