[Jason Dunn]

Photo courtesy of Engadget

Oh Windows Mobile 7...what a rough time you've had, and you're not even here yet. We first heard about you years ago under the code-name "Photon", and early peeks looked promising. Years went by, and you never managed to make an appearance. Things have changed in the market - that iPhone thing turned out to be a pretty big deal after all - and Windows Mobile isn't exactly on sure footing at the moment. Windows Mobile 6.5 looks like an improvement, but we're really waiting for you Windows Mobile 7 - you're the version that's supposed to really change things up. Looks like the Big Boss Man is telling people that you haven't exactly been handled properly, and they've brought on some new talent to ensure you're properly fed and cared for. The question is, if your creators are just now hiring people to create some of your core features - in this case social networking - when exactly will you make your debut? It feels like we've been waiting forever for you Windows Mobile 7...

[Jason Dunn]

Photo courtesy of Engadget

Oh Windows Mobile 7...what a rough time you've had, and you're not even here yet. We first heard about you years ago under the code-name "Photon", and early peeks looked promising. Years went by, and you never managed to make an appearance. Things have changed in the market - that iPhone thing turned out to be a pretty big deal after all - and Windows Mobile isn't exactly on sure footing at the moment. Windows Mobile 6.5 looks like an improvement, but we're really waiting for you Windows Mobile 7 - you're the version that's supposed to really change things up. Looks like the Big Boss Man is telling people that you haven't exactly been handled properly, and they've brought on some new talent to ensure you're properly fed and cared for. The question is, if your creators are just now hiring people to create some of your core features - in this case social networking - when exactly will you make your debut? It feels like we've been waiting forever for you Windows Mobile 7...

[Sven Johannsen]

If social networking is what we are waiting on, I can do without. If I want social networking on my phone, I'll install it. Be nice to see this before iPhone 4.

[V-iPAQ]

well seeing how horrible the fb app for wm6 is, I really can wait for it in WM7. Just give us WM7 w/o it for all I care.

[racerx_]

seriously.. i just can't understand why people aren't more vocal about how much the WM facebook app TOTALLY STINKS..

i've loved my WM phones, but i can see that things aren't going in a very good direction right now... if microsoft doesn't pull out all the stops on wm7 we're all gonna end up with google phones in the next couple years..

[DFurey]

I hate to say it, but WM7 will probably be late to the party. I hope not, but nothing I've read or heard so far makes me think it will.

As for WM 6.5, nothing ground breaking really and way to late. I could live without it and I bet I wouldn't notice not having it. The strength of WM is the apps, without them WM would suck (mostly).

It has fallen on developers outside Microsoft to fix problems with WM that should have been addressed by Microsoft (ability to close apps (X) etc.). Suprisingly, it is this strength (developers) that has made WM much better for business than the iPhone. Microsoft didn't decide to make a poor mobile OS just to get someone else to fix it. Microsoft got lucky, in that the third-party developers saved WM.

Without the custom front-ends that HTC, Samsung and others have built for WM there would not be any comparison between WM and iPhone. The iPhone is way ahead of WM at this level, it is so much easier using the iPhone than WM without a front-end. Microsoft needs to not just catch-up, but get ahead and unfortunetly so far it looks like WM7 is going to be to little to late.

[Damion Chaplin]

Yeah, I'm pretty close to giving up waiting for an awesome mobile OS from Microsoft. Don't get me wrong, I still really dig WM on my phone, but by the time MS comes up with something that can truly compete with what the average Joe wants (read: the iphone), I'll have already coded my own OS for a Google Phone.

And I'd have to learn how to code first...

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by V-iPAQ

well seeing how horrible the fb app for wm6 is, I really can wait for it in WM7. Just give us WM7 w/o it for all I care.

Agreed. The Facebook app is "teh suck". It's really, really slow. Not impressive at all.

[David Tucker]

Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face...I feel like MS has completely lost touch of why things are popular. Did the Pre take off because of its social networking? No. Did the iPhone have social networking when it became popular? No. Android is doing pretty well and it doesn't care about built in social networking either.

I gave up waiting for the mythical new Windows Mobile OS a while ago now. I've been happily using Android for almost a year and it just gets better all the time.

[jdmichal]

Originally Posted by David Tucker

I gave up waiting for the mythical new Windows Mobile OS a while ago now. I've been happily using Android for almost a year and it just gets better all the time.

Me too. That's why I just said, "forget it", and bought my Touch Pro2. And to tell you the truth, with how good TouchFlo3D is, I don't even care about WM6.5. Except for the Marketplace, which I can just install standalone.

Which I suppose just plays into DFurey's comment that the strong developer base is the only reason WM is still alive today. And I think I would have to agree with that. If I were MS, I would have long ago contracted either HTC or SPB to redo the GUI front-end. That would fix 80% of their relevance problems, and all the developer time they've burned in recreating something that these other teams have done already anyway could have been spent fixing the other 20%.

[Sven Johannsen]

Originally Posted by DFurey

fix problems with WM .... (ability to close apps (X) etc.). .

Get over the close button already....sheesh (been beating that one since 2000)
Coulda used Apple's solution. Just close everything. That actually doesn't solve the memory problem either.