I wish it would come with a good task manager that shows memory usage as well as processes, not just running apps, if you want. I like the one that iMate gives with their WinMo 6.1 update.
WinMo also just needs a better app launcher/task switcher and a standard File Exit as opposed to the app only gets approved if it doesn't have an exit!!!
OK seriously this time. The one thing the iPhone has all over WinMo is that it is oriented from the ground up towards the use of a class of manipulation devices apparently unknown to Microsoft called FINGERS!
We were all born with a bunch of them we can use, but to my knowlege none of us were born with 10 styli attached to our wrists!
Honestly, sometimes it feels like the WinMo interface was designed for Edward Scissorhands
There's really no excuse for this and MSoft has completely missed the boat. Why should phone developers have to struggle to produce processor and memory-sapping overlays like TouchFlo? While TouchFLo is pretty good, just when you start to get happy about it a system dialog box pops up with a teeney-tiny little "x" that's about 5% of the area of my index finger-tip.
The resulting struggles pollute what is otherwise a decent experience. The Stylus is so 20th Century - Get Rid Of It!
OK, you're about to say that this is a hardware, not an OS matter. Wrong! WinMo should get smart and take a modicum of control over the device hardware that is the primary interface for consumer.
HTC's regretable addiction to resistive screens gives WinMo a bad name. The appalling lack of consitency in touch sensitivity as one nears the edges of resistive screens is unacceptable.
MS and all of us would benefit if WinMo would only be allowed on devices with capacitive screens. Would I pay an extra $10 for an HTC device with a capacitive screen option? You bet! And so would everyone who has experienced the difference between these technologies.
Having jumped from the lovely BlackJack family of WinMo 'Std" to an HTC Fuze I am contantly irritated by the pathetic notifications you get on a "Pro" device
Not that "Std" was much better, but at least there are add on software packages that will deliver you some nice balloon-like notifications that you can actually read without a magnifying glass!
Not so in "Pro". "Professional" users are expected to whip out their bi-focals to read the cuneiform runes that pop up to tell you about something important enough to interrupt your day, then open a Swiss Army Knife, extract the toothpic, and press the tiny "Dismiss" or whatever to silence or snooze the notification. Are they kidding?
It's called "Professional" because it has a Touch-screen. You're supposed to be able to 'touch' it, not bludgeon it with a blunt instrument like Colonel Mustard in the LIbrary!
Microsoft, for G@$# sake get into the 21st Century and make the Notification pop-ups large enough to read unaided, in direct sunlight, and make the response options quickly and accurately available to our FINGERS!
Hell, I just want a phone that boots in 5-10 seconds.
My HTC Touch can take well over a minute and a half before it is usable.
There is no GOOD reason a phone should take that long to boot...
This seems like it shouldn't take as long as it does, but I think it's indicative of something we take for granted. Unless you're a power-hacker type, Windows Mobile is an OS you see as a means to an end: phone calls, messages, etc.. But the means part is incredibly complex, hence the boot time on it and all smartphones (e.g. iPhone, G1).
I'd be very happy if MS could implement a staged boot-up, such that some functionality of the phone would be available within 20 seconds of pressing reset, while other functions may take a minute or two to load up. When I think of the times I'm frustrated by bootup, it's generally because I really need to dial a number fast, or see the time, or see my next appointment. Something fairly simple!
__________________ Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
OK seriously this time. The one thing the iPhone has all over WinMo is that it is oriented from the ground up towards the use of a class of manipulation devices apparently unknown to Microsoft called FINGERS!
Valid point, although to be fair before the iPhone came out, many companies were forecasting the end of the touchscreen (including RIM). So it's not very surprising that it's taken awhile to "catch-up".
The engineers and managers I've met at MS are all very aware of fingers... at least now they are.
__________________ Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
Why is it I can sync my Zune over wi-fi but can't sync my Windows Phone?
I think you can cite "better sync" as a major bullet item. We used to have this feature, but it was implemented completely insecurely, and they never got around to rewriting it. If you want wireless sync, gotta go Exchange.
One of my big beefs has always been "media experience". WMP is a mediocre piece of crap, and AS's media sync is unreliable. There are some software alternatives, but it still doesn't make for a compelling sync + media play situation.
Multilingual support OUT OF THE BOX at least like WINDOWS 2k/XP or VISTA!
I remember some Windows Mobile devices having this. Unfortunatly because of low limits on ROM space at the time once you selected your language it was permanently set that way. A factory reset would never bring the option back :-(
Microsoft provides support for a lot of languages but in the end it's up to the phone company/OEM as to which languages make their way to the device.
__________________
Joel Ivory Johnson | J2i.Net | Device Application Developer MVP
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