Yet, we are seeing both Apple and Google deliver regular updates to their devices, seemingly without significant issue. What is the real story?
Well, with Apple they have a ridiculously easy job because they have one form factor, one screen resolution, etc. With Google, we're actually starting to see them have the Microsoft problem - there are some updates for Android that aren't coming out for all phones...I think the new HTC Sense for instance isn't coming for all previous Android phones, only some of the newer ones. So HTC is bringing the same problems they have with Windows Mobile to Android...
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Well. yes and not; of course carriers and hardware manifacturers would prefer you to buy new equipment but so would do Dell, HP etc. The updates for my OSes are handled by MS not Dell and this makes the difference.
I don't quite follow you. The version of Windows Mobile that Microsoft hands off to the OEMs simply would not work on your device until the OEMs do their driver work and other low-level stuff. The working version of Windows Mobile that you have on your device is a combination of Microsoft and OEM/carrier work, so even if Microsoft wanted to, they couldn't release the OS directly to the public without significantly changing the way the OS works (which I think they need to do...we're talking hardware abstract layer, etc.).
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My sad old Samsung Blackjack II with Windows Mobile 6.1. I have an AT&T Pure here as well, though because of the way AT&T locked it down, I can't create a data connection for my network (Rogers) so I haven't been able to fully use it.
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My sad old Samsung Blackjack II with Windows Mobile 6.1. I have an AT&T Pure here as well, though because of the way AT&T locked it down, I can't create a data connection for my network (Rogers) so I haven't been able to fully use it.
Now that's something I don't mind doing. I knew there was a way to do that, but hadn't bothered to look into it. Thanks!
Hope it works. Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away and highjack the thread...back on topic!
This is one big reason I love WM. You won't see anyone heavily customizing the iphone. It's stable, but locked down. There are so many ways to edit the OS and tweak WM!
Last edited by mbranscum; 11-11-2009 at 07:09 AM..
I put it to you that the many volunteers who cook custom ROM images for users prove that it is not really beyond Microsoft's powers to release OS upgrades for end users directly. Sure, there are a lot of devices, different screen resolutions and button layouts. But if solitary, part-time hobbyists are able to re-invent existing ROM versions to suit alternate devices, it seems a bit of a stretch to suggest that only the relatively vast resources of a major OEM could do the same.
When I had an O2 Atom, I upgraded it to WM6.1 without a hitch. Now with my HTC Touch Elfin (older, slow data connection version with a Rogers stamp on the back) I use WM6.5, have tried a dozen or so flavours actually, without any serious issues. Same goes for a great many other devices which can be user-upgraded, though there are some which cannot.
My hunch is that this is a philosophical stance being taken by Microsoft, based in part on 'the letter' Gates wrote all those years ago admonishing hobbyists not to 'rip off' developers. To me, and I am far from alone in this, it is the OEMs, and by extension Microsoft (as they profit from gross sales too!) who are ripping end users off by so often insisting that buying a new device is the only way to keep up with new OS tweaks. And really they are tweaks, as nothing very earth-shattering has happened in WM in the past bunch of years. Oh sure, there are all sorts of 'shells' available for a price or from HTC or Toshiba or other makers, but the actual OS is still festooned with nagging glitches galore.
Take the way it still takes umpteen taps to delete an appointment, with no multi-select available for deleting multiple appointments. Surely it can't be that hard to add a 'Ctrl' icon to the tooltray in Calendar to allow multiple items to be selected. Birdsoft did something like that with their Ulti-Planner years ago, allowing selective clearing of past appointments. I spend far too many seconds every day clearing items, when really such efforts should be effortless. And there are dozens of such simple UI elements getting in the way of a truly comfortable user experience, which for some reason Microsoft is too busy or too lazy to amend.
It is somewhat heartening to see the Android and iPhone competition finally putting a real fire under MS Mobile, where Palm failed so miserably in earlier years to inspire. Maybe before long we'll see something beyond a vague complaint about wishing WM7 were out already, and some leaps and bounds might just start appearing. For my part, I'm still interested in a WM device for my next phone. But wow, I've been deeply impressed by several of the instrument tuning programs for the iPhone... and the incredibly accurate response of the microphone, sensitive all the way down to 32Hz and even a bit lower - I make the odd doublebass C-extension, and tuning the stops with my phone is hopeless, and frankly embarrassing when faced with iPhone users such as so many of my clients now are. Musicians tend to use simple gadgets that do the job needed reliably. The iPhone does that job very, very well, saving them having to carry around a dedicated digital tuner. Lets them listen to tunes, too... and the speaker is likewise impressive.
I knew there was a way to do that, but hadn't bothered to look into it. Thanks!
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