The Top 10 Things That Are Wrong With Windows Mobile

[Pete Paxton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://boardingarea.com/blogs/traveltechtalk/2008/02/07/the-top-10-things-that-are-wrong-with-windows-mobile/' target='_blank'>http://boardingarea.com/blogs/trave...windows-mobile/</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;It&rsquo;s not all doom and gloom. There are some things on Windows Mobile that actually work quite well. Push email (using Exchange) is snappy and reliable. The devices themselves are also stable and rarely crash (compared to one or two generations ago). But what makes a Windows Mobile device usable isn&rsquo;t what Microsoft did; it&rsquo;s what third party companies do for it. Without these applications I would have dumped the platform years ago. There are even some things Windows Mobile devices do better than any other device; Multimedia is one of them. Sure, the iPhone may have a snazzy iPod style interface, but it&rsquo;s still only going to work with iTunes and a few (limited) formats of music and video. But my Windows Mobile device plays almost any audio format, as well as almost any popular video file I put on it. The hardware (phones) also pack more features. We&rsquo;ve heard rumors about the new Windows Mobile 7, due in 2009, but I&rsquo;d suggest that they hurry up, or they&rsquo;ll lose even more market share.&quot;<br /><br /></em><img border="1" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//spt/auto/1202688516.usr11642.png" alt="" /><br /><br />I have to admit that when I saw the iPhone last year I figured we were going to see similar devices before 2007 was over. Instead we've only seen a very incremental change since Windows Mobile 2003. Love or hate the iPhone, you have to admit it is innovative. Personally, I'm becoming very bored with Windows Mobile. One of my co-workers has an iPhone and I am very impressed with its multimedia and web browsing features. I know it is proprietary, but what it does, it does very well and is truly innovative. I know some of you are perfectly fine with Windows Mobile just the way it is but I want something more and I feel that by now Microsoft should have something more. So what do you think, will we see something amazing from Microsoft within the next couple of years? Perhaps Windows Mobile 2007? I really hope so. There's a poll that asks whether the iphone is a true success, a fad, or Microsoft's failure. Check it our <a href="http://gizmodo.com/353408/iphone-smashes-windows-mobile-and-motorola-in-4q">here</a>.

[stevew]

I felt the same way as you. I was getting really bored with WM. Not to mention the same nagging bugs that never seem to get fixed, ActiveSync/WMDC as a good example. Even this site has become somewhat boring and it has nothing to do with all those who give us this great site. And it's not criticism on the thoughts staff. It's just that for awhile now there has been nothing exciting happening on the WM front, nothing new, nothing fixed, and nothing to look forward to in the future if the past couple years is any indication on the pace of future innovation with WM.

[acharn]

I used to think WM was awesome because it synced so well with Windows, and Outlook, etc. It was a natural extension. Now that email and calendar and contacts are all "over the air" and wireless functionality is king over cable syncing, WM looks more and more archaic. There was so much anticipation for WM6.0 and it was almost laughable at how insignificant the upgrade really was.

I am ready to jump to the iPhone and probably will once the new 3G version is introduced this year.

Apple=innovation
Microsoft= stagnation

[alese]

Very nice article - and so very true. It's really sad to see how slow the progress is in WM world - I guess it was fast enough for Palm, but Palm didn't even move so any pace was too fast for them.

I really do welcome the new competition from iPhone and from Android, since good competition is obviously the only way WM would move forward.

[Rocco Augusto]

Now that email and calendar and contacts are all "over the air" and wireless functionality is king over cable syncing, WM looks more and more archaic.

I personally have been syncing my phone OTA with a hosted Exchange service for almost 2 years now. I can't remember the last time I plugged my device into my laptop to do anything syncing wise with it and only plug it in to charge every now and then.

I have to agree with you Pete, lately every "cool" thing that has come out for WM has been barely one notch above yawn-worthy. Microsoft seriously needs to get on the ball and create something a little more up to speed with needs of consumers and not just the need of business users.

Thats just my 2 cents. :)

[swapnilgyani]

Having used both Windows Mobile and Sony Ericsson extensively, this is something that excites me:

http://www.sonyericsson.com/x1/

[galatians51]

That is a nice looking phone from Sony-Ericsson!
I too am quickly becoming bored with WM (and BB too for that matter). I am considering switching carriers, caving in, and getting iPhones for my wife and I. For one, she would love something simple and stable. Secondly, for all of its minimalism, I kind of like minimalist anymore. The more I customise my phones I find I keep stripping them back down because my devices run so slow the more 3rd party apps I add. So when I break it down, I end up using the bare bones OS (WM or BB) anyway. Which bare bones OS would I like? Probably the iPhone.

[subzerohf]

But wait a second guys! I like the iPhone myself. But there is one inherent problem with it - da keyboard. If you do any form of texting (email, SMS) at all, you will find the keyboard very difficult to use. I have small fingers, but still I hit wrong key one third of the time. That is the single most critical factor I cannot replace my WM phone with the iPhone.

[stevew]

But wait a second guys! I like the iPhone myself. But there is one inherent problem with it - da keyboard. If you do any form of texting (email, SMS) at all, you will find the keyboard very difficult to use. I have small fingers, but still I hit wrong key one third of the time. That is the single most critical factor I cannot replace my WM phone with the iPhone.

When I first got my iPhone I felt the same way about the keyboard. But now I absolutely love it and type with ease. The more you use it the easier it becomes.

[Suave74]

That Sony Looks Beautiful