[Gerard]

I don't quite agree on the point about these WM6.5 updates not being functional. Sure, a lot of the motivation is undoubtedly about jumping on the iPhone bandwagon, using big thumb-friendly buttons which look pretty. Hey, the market has spoken in terms of iPhone popularity, so why wouldn't Microsoft adopt at least some elements of such a move? But on the positive side, I actually find poking at these menu items a lot faster than with the traditional Start > Programs > (sub-folders) menu system. I can arrange things a bit (though why I cannot get the items into alphabetical order is a bit beyond imagining - it seems they've locked users into the Settings > Menus paradigm with this OS version, something I've not even touched in over 8 years as it messes things up royally) in terms of sub-folders for categories, and it's all very easy for one-handed use of a smaller screened phone.

I never have need of separation for PIM apps, but of course understand that this would be great for a lot of users who like to keep business and personal lists separate. And it doesn't seem that such things should be all that difficult for Microsoft to implement... except that they have trouble enough with simple synchronization as it is! I refuse to create any more Activesync partnerships, as the bloody thing has cost me too much time over the years. I've started using GMail contacts as a simple, extra backup for that data. And while Google does no better job of it (duplicates and failure to update after even one change happen almost every synch), at least it's something off-site I could fall back upon in an emergency. So I just delete all my contacts there every once in a while, then re-synch and all my contacts dump to their server without a glitch. So in this department, I'd suggest Microsoft focus on actually making PIM synching PERFECT before doing anything more advanced with those databases. From my experiences, it seems very unlikely they are capable of even that humble accomplishment.

[Gerard]

I don't quite agree on the point about these WM6.5 updates not being functional. Sure, a lot of the motivation is undoubtedly about jumping on the iPhone bandwagon, using big thumb-friendly buttons which look pretty. Hey, the market has spoken in terms of iPhone popularity, so why wouldn't Microsoft adopt at least some elements of such a move? But on the positive side, I actually find poking at these menu items a lot faster than with the traditional Start > Programs > (sub-folders) menu system. I can arrange things a bit (though why I cannot get the items into alphabetical order is a bit beyond imagining - it seems they've locked users into the Settings > Menus paradigm with this OS version, something I've not even touched in over 8 years as it messes things up royally) in terms of sub-folders for categories, and it's all very easy for one-handed use of a smaller screened phone.

I never have need of separation for PIM apps, but of course understand that this would be great for a lot of users who like to keep business and personal lists separate. And it doesn't seem that such things should be all that difficult for Microsoft to implement... except that they have trouble enough with simple synchronization as it is! I refuse to create any more Activesync partnerships, as the bloody thing has cost me too much time over the years. I've started using GMail contacts as a simple, extra backup for that data. And while Google does no better job of it (duplicates and failure to update after even one change happen almost every synch), at least it's something off-site I could fall back upon in an emergency. So I just delete all my contacts there every once in a while, then re-synch and all my contacts dump to their server without a glitch. So in this department, I'd suggest Microsoft focus on actually making PIM synching PERFECT before doing anything more advanced with those databases. From my experiences, it seems very unlikely they are capable of even that humble accomplishment.