Windows Mobile Set to Invade MIDs

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1276' target='_blank'>http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1276</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;Microsoft has brought on a new hire - a former founding member of Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie's Iris Associates - to help the Redmond software company port the Windows Mobile operating system to new form factors. Len Kawell, whose title is &quot;Distinguished Engineer in the Mobile Communications Business Group,&quot; is charged with &quot;defining the application model for occasionally connected rich Internet applications in the mobile environment,&quot; according to his biography on Microsoft&rsquo;s Web site. Kawell is also working on scaling Windows Mobile to &quot;new kinds of devices with larger screens and faster processors - also known as Mobile Internet Devices, or MIDS,&quot; his bio adds. Microsoft hasn't talked much (if at all) publicly about MIDS; instead, the company has been championing ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) as the form factor most likely to occupy the space between notebooks/Tablets and cell phones. But Microsoft&rsquo;s processor pal Intel has been touting both UMPCs and MIDS. Intel distinguishes the two by noting that MIDS tend to be smaller (five-inch screen size) and not providing the ability to monitor &quot;office apps.&quot;&quot;</em><br /><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/spt/auto/1206032191.usr2.jpg" alt="" /><br />Windows Mobile on a phone? Great. Windows Mobile on a <a href="http://www.intel.com/products/mid/" target="_blank">Mobile Internet Device (MID)</a>? I'm not sold. Part of the appeal of an MID is its larger, high-res display, and if the hardware and software are integrated well, it should provide that advertised rich Internet experience. Now, these devices have been shown to work great with Windows and Linux, and because these operating systems offer a great set of browsers, frameworks, and plug-ins, they usually have no problems delivering that core experience. What about Windows Mobile? It's instant-on and favours batteries a little better, which is great for a device of this form factor. However, plain and simple, Internet Explorer Mobile <em>sucks</em>, and most of you know it. Microsoft can't possibly use this as a selling point for an MID. There would need to be radical changes to the browser in order for it to be successful. Otherwise, you'd be better off sticking with an iPhone or iPod touch. Smaller screen size, but at least Safari is a heck of a lot better at rendering pages big and small.

[ajwalker]

Microsoft would be stark raving mad if they didn't
a) Improve IE Mobile to make it vastly superior
or
b) Allow MIDs makers to include other browsers as they already do with phone makers.

Microsoft is probably looking at the big picture of having Windows Mobile on as many devices as possible as opposed to the individual components.

[ajwalker]

Sorry for the double post, I wanted to finish my thought and hit the wrong button:eek:

Microsoft would be stark raving mad if they didn't

a) Improve IE Mobile to make it vastly superior than what it is now (maybe that's what's holding up WinMo 6.1x? We were supposed to have that already)
or
b) Allow MIDs makers to include other browsers on the device as they already do with phone makers.

Microsoft is probably looking at the big picture of having Windows Mobile on as many devices as possible as opposed to the individual components.

I'm inclined to think the delay with the release of the next version of WinMo has something to do with making more improvements now that the iPhone is having serious traction and they have had a chance to see what others are doing.

[ricoks]

But if you look at the HTC Advantage, with it's 5" screen, and how there have been so many ppl that have praised it's ability to make web browsing so much more satisfying, this makes sense to me, and personally, I've been hoping for this all along.
The advantage is great at browsing not because of IE mobile, but because of the screen size and resolution. Now, imagine that experience on a more web friendly res, like the N810s 800x480 widescreen, and you've got mobile phone nirvana, i'd say.
the size will be better than the advantage is currently as well, since the widescreen will allow a form factor to be more phone oriented (rectangular). I really like the size and shape of the N810 (no, i dont have one) and really think that these would be great with phone ability and WiMo.
Add in the keyboard that slides out like the Shift/Tilt, and you've got some cool paradigm shifting of the phone usage.

My thoughts, anyway.

Ricoks

[Darius Wey]

But if you look at the HTC Advantage, with it's 5" screen, and how there have been so many ppl that have praised it's ability to make web browsing so much more satisfying, this makes sense to me, and personally, I've been hoping for this all along.

I don't disagree with you there. I've played with the HTC Advantage before, and can attest to the general sentiment that it is a better and more comfortable device for browsing - if you compare it with your standard QVGA device running Windows Mobile.

However, despite sporting a 5" display, IE Mobile still lets it down. Sure, more screen real estate is always a bonus, but if you use the browser to visit almost any non-mobile-friendly site, it looks awful - that is, if it doesn't grind to a halt first. And if you don't set it to a screen-fitting, one-column view, there's bound to be a lot of sluggish scrolling with the stylus or VueFLO. So apart from doing a poor job at rendering pages, IE Mobile doesn't exactly encourage friendly navigation either.

Of course, you could futz around with third-party browsers such as NetFront or Opera Mobile, but even they don't do the best of all jobs, and having to rely on these doesn't exactly say much about the out-of-the-box experience that Microsoft would undoubtedly rely on to try and captivate its consumer audience.

Now, let's bring the iPhone and iPod touch into the picture. Both have smaller screens with a resolution of 320 x 480. Safari isn't perfect; it does have limitations, but what it does, it does well. You can comfortably visit almost any non-mobile-friendly site, and expect it to load fast and look great. And scrolling and zooming is rarely sluggish, because Apple's nailed the navigation experience too.

The purpose of an MID is to provide a rich Internet experience on-the-go. If I was in the market for a device that did just that and compared a device such as the Advantage and the iPhone/iPod touch, I would go for the latter. Not because the screen is larger and has a higher-res, but because it does what I want it to: it delivers that rich Internet experience.

And MIDs that run Windows XP/Vista or MID-oriented flavours of Linux deliver that rich Internet experience too. In its current iteration, Windows Mobile simply cannot do this. Whack the OS on a 5" device, and it may be an MID by name, but not by nature.

[ricoks]

then for sure, my device to want is something inbetween. I want the phone use (it will have HSDPA/RevA, whatever cell technology they choose for mobile web anyway) so that I'm not paying for multiple web access. wifi alone isn't enough - not for 'web anywhere' type of an initiative.
They just need to do a major upgrade to IE mobile. Microsoft licensed flash le, or whatever, from adobe. That's got to be a look into what's coming, plus silverlight, or whatever that's called. I think they're starting to realize that we users are utilizing the web MUCH more and our dependency on it as an application is rising more than they previously thought, for mobile use. especially for the mobile business. MOBILE WEB NEEDS ARE HIGH, and wanted.
whew, rant on that long enough...........

until i see it, i'm just going to dream about the 'perfect' MID type device. A somewhat pocketable, 4" WVGA screen with a slide out keyboard that has an advanced WiMo. I want my MID to be able 'Phone Home' when I need to (while browsing the traffic, checking movie times, and my email at the same time, all in a way i'm already accustomed to). Is that so much to ask???

Ricoks