I think everyone will agree that the upgrade model for Windows Mobile can stand to use a lot of work and all I was trying to do was acknowledge the fact that their is one present. It is not as seemless as Apple's method and it does not occur as often but every single Windows Mobile device I have ever own has had at least one ROM upgrade made available for it during the time I have owned it.
Apple has upped the bar with every single other phone manufacturer and operating system maker because now customers are going to expect OS upgrades as the norm and that is fantastic. There is a downfall to that now and that is a situation that we have here with Apple. You release an update and it doesn't fix all the problems or creates new ones and everyone is up in arms.
In a perfect world we would have a mix of both. Regular software updates that given time to be tested vigorously instead of getting them out the door as quickly as possible.
i was never one to feel like microsoft should be held accountable for the apps on any of their platforms. They've developed a platform, set forth tools...everything else should be up to the developers to deliver the goods.
with that being said....even with all these 3rd party apps for winmobile, never once did i have an app just completely shut my device down. and i've been using winmobile for years now. i can't say the same for the iphone.
+1 for microsoft.
now...lets lend apple a hand here...lets say they went above and beyond to make sure that the developers are doing their job correctly. so they police the apps available and tighting up things on the sdk. AND YET!!!....these apps are bringing its platform to a knee....hmmmmmmm. that doesn't happen in a "sloppy" winmo environment.
+1 for microsoft.
so you pitch to me the BS about apple porting the mac os10 kernal to the iphone...well....did they forget to port the fine "security" they're always talking about? they can't seem to stop people from jail breaking and unlocking the phone....futher more get approved software to run. YIKES!
+1 for microsoft
it amazes me how know one is willing to speak on how unsecure the iphone is. If microsoft opened a "back door" on our phone...it would be hell to pay. they'd be the devil. but apple does it...and thats okay. riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
do i feel the iphone platform is unstable?? YES! but not for long. apple will sort it out very soon. i think the reason microsoft sits around on their hands all say is because they can afford too. well not any more. when apple turns this around...it will force microsoft to be much more forth coming with updates and such for the next platform. and i'm really looking forward to the windows mobile 7 platform. i think a lot of the "wrongs" that never really were wrong....will be righted. stay tuned folks.
I've only downloaded 6 apps so far (kept 4 of them) with no issues using them on my 3G. No lockups or resets needed so far. My only issue is with battery life. With 3G, WiFi and Push off the battery still drains faster than my 2G did. However, my 2G became very unstable and sluggish when updated with 2.0
I think everyone will agree that the upgrade model for Windows Mobile can stand to use a lot of work and all I was trying to do was acknowledge the fact that their is one present. It is not as seemless as Apple's method and it does not occur as often but every single Windows Mobile device I have ever own has had at least one ROM upgrade made available for it during the time I have owned it.
... and therein lies the problem. One upgrade is made available, at most, and that's it. The process is also not particularly easy. On the iPhone, even with a major upgrade, I docked my unit, it told me there was a new update, I hit a button, it upgraded, rebooted, and no reprogramming all the application settings! You can't do that with WM. Heck, when I got the iPhone 3G, I docked it, told it to restore my old iPhone's data, and that was it. I was late to a lunch appointment thanks to the damn Apple Store line, but I just let the 3G upgrade while I got ready, and grabbed it and went.
Sorry, Rocco, Microsoft's upgrade model is completely broken, and is consumer-unfriendly. Power users can live with it, maybe, except for the frequency and obscurity of updates. AKUs are a particular pain point: they were a HUGE step backwards from EUUs, which was the same for all devices, so I have yet to be convinced WM's taking a step forward.
This is why Apple gets a lot more leeway, for now: consumers have faith Apple's going to release a update and their phone will work with it. That said, if the stability doesn't continue to improve, you'll hear more complaints. My experience with 2.0.1 is that it's less stable than 1.1.4, which was like a rock, so I'll be looking forward to more upgrades. But it's already a step forward since 2.0.
Comparing to WM is difficult. The iPhone's instability is in different areas. I'd say both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages.
My iPhone is using the 2.0.1 firmware and so far is rock solid. I have only downloaded 5 applications, so I'm definitely not a power user. I have never used a WinMob phone, so I can't really compare the two.
I think it's fair to say that Apple is finding that adding 3rd party apps to any device can lead to stability problems. My concern is that Apple is supposedly testing and approving all apps before releasing them. The apps ALL run on the same OS, at the same resolution and on the same hardware. What do they actually test? It's disappointing that Apple has been less than truthful about the approval process, which has little to do with making sure the app is stable, and everything to do with Apple controlling what you can and can't do with your device. It's also odd that there seems to be memory issues despite the fact Apple won't allow apps to run in the background.
My upgraded iPod Touch is not as stable since it was upgraded but I use it about 5x more frequently because there are now applications that I want, so the trade off is worth it to me (much like using WM despite some stability issues was worth it compared to Blackberry, Palm, etc.) The stability issues seem different than what I have experienced with WM as well. I have only had to force a soft reset once since upgrading, shortly after 2.0 became available, and haven't experienced any hard resets. However, I have had times where some of my installed apps have refused to run, they'd launch and then close. I also find Safari less stable. If I have many tabs open, or open sites with lots of data or tables, Safari often crashes and closes. When I have issues with WM it seems like the entire device gets slow or unresponsive, almost always resulting in need for a soft-reset.
From my perspective, I have much more faith that Apple will release updates to fix the stability issue than I do that HP will release updates to fix the stability and battery issues with my iPaq 910, and the fact that I can update the OS without having to reinstall everything, find and type in a myriad of registration keys, product activation hassles, etc makes the Apple experience miles ahead of anything HP or Microsoft will deliver with their current archetecture.
When Steve Jobs gave the keynote address at Apple and announce ActiveSync, I said, "That's what I want. Nothing holding me back now."
That is, until I test drove the new iPhone. I work in downtown Chicago - my WinMo device is an aging PPC-6700. We did a little Safari vs. PIE test to see which phone would load Google Reader faster. After typing, and retyping, and retyping the URL into the iPhone (Steve Jobs assures me I'll 'get it' after a little time with the phone), we tried the test.
Guess what? AT&T couldn't delive a decent signal. The PPC-6700 sailed right through.
After that, it was time to take a hard look. The problem with WinMo is it is horrible to look at and the total cost of fixing the OS is so daunting, I try to steer everyone away from it. Heck, after 5 years with a WinMo device, I STILL don't understand the memory scheme. (Why are there 2 memories again?) Out of the box, WinMo looks as bad as a Blackberry and Palm, with ugly UI, ugly calendars, ugly contacts.
So, the user is forced to buy software right out of the box.
Then, you have to configure the thing so it is usable. Turn off the click noises on the screen. Disable bluetooth so the battery lasts 8 hours. Etc. etc. By the time you are done, if you don't write it down (I keep a 50 point list), you can't get the 'old' configuration back if you (or it) hard resets.
I just find the whole thing so frustrating.
And the battery life it HORRIBLE!!! Especially when compared to Palms or Blackberries.
However, AT&T's tepid 3G signal is no match for Sprint. I cannot go with a company that doesn't have a signal inside the Chicago loop. It won't happen. An iPhone is worthless without a connection.
So - iPhone doesn't win. But I am very wary of buying another WinMo phone. If I can find software on another OS that can sync with Outlook OR Google - I am gone. MSFT lost me on this one.
I have the iPhone 2G with 2.0.1 and so far it's been great. No lock ups of any kind. I definitely miss a good office suite but I think that's coming. Otherwise, it's everything my Dash was and more.
I think it's fair to say that Apple is finding that adding 3rd party apps to any device can lead to stability problems. My concern is that Apple is supposedly testing and approving all apps before releasing them. The apps ALL run on the same OS, at the same resolution and on the same hardware. What do they actually test? It's disappointing that Apple has been less than truthful about the approval process, which has little to do with making sure the app is stable, and everything to do with Apple controlling what you can and can't do with your device.
To be honest, I don't think they even do that. I really have no idea what they test, since they even released that tethering app on the App Store.
I will say that having a central repository for apps, despite its limitations, is pretty amazing.
Guess what? AT&T couldn't delive a decent signal. The PPC-6700 sailed right through.
Sounds like an excellent reason not to get the iPhone now. However, this will likely change as AT&T builds out their 3G network. It's pretty good in NYC now. Without a doubt, WM's carrier openness, while making it difficult to update, is really consumer-friendly in the perspective of carrier choice.
My experience with 2.0.1 is that it's less stable than 1.1.4, which was like a rock, so I'll be looking forward to more upgrades. But it's already a step forward since 2.0.
WM vs. iPhone
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