12-14-2007, 10:26 PM
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Executive Editor, Android Thoughts
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,233
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What's Wrong Now & What Will WM7 & WM8 Hold?
"We just got the scoop from Microsoft on Windows Mobile 7 and Windows Mobile 8, the two upcoming platforms that will fix what is undeniably broken about the Windows Mobile platform to date. This was originally going to be a piece about how Microsoft had no idea what the consumer wanted, where I would explain what I thought Microsoft needed to do to fix it. Oh, I still discuss the flaws, but while talking to the Windows Mobile team, I learned about the next two versions of the mobile OS. Turns out, Microsoft knows exactly what's wrong with the WM platform, and it knows what to do to fix it. Trust me: there's hope on the horizon."
We enjoy pointing out what pains us about our OS of choice around here, and it looks like somethings will be addressed in the next few years as Windows Mobile rolls on to post-WM6 releases. Points made in the posts here include the fact that service providers may simply have too low of a bar to meet when it comes to application responsiveness and phone optimization, as well as the fast that the WM team has been focused on Enterprise features and leaving regular users a bit out of the loop. Some of these regular user features are mentioned in this piece by Engadget discussing Windows Mobile 6.1 and it's new features. Personally I'd love to see Windows Mobile catch up to the ease of use that some other UIs enjoy, and we NEED a better browser. That being said, despite it's short commings, I'm still feeling like I'm most suited for Windows Mobile - and I sometimes wonder why! I guess I'm used to the compromises that we've all made working with Windows Mobile that current devices in other OS'es don't seem to make their users adapt to. Thoughts?
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Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
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12-15-2007, 05:58 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 56
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it doesn't "just work"
I've been all over the map on PDAs, from Palms to PocketPCs to a Zaurus, over the past 10 years. Recently I decided to dump my Palm once again and move definitively to WM. Within a month of that decision I'm already second-guessing myself. Why? Because it doesn't "just work". It's as though Microsoft's motto is "making simple things difficult, and hard things impossible".
Over the years I had very few problems with Hotsync. But in only a month, I'm now up to 4 different synchonized files folders on my desktop, having suffered two hard resets, and my ActiveStync 4.5 (latest version) says it's connecting to Device #5. We're on the 6th major version of the operating system and Microsoft still can't make an application that syncs my device to my desktop reliably?
Other elements of the OS are unbelievably kludgy. It's as though the engineers that designed it never actually eat their own dogfood. One simple example: At home I run a wireless network with fixed IP addresses. It took a lot of effort to figure out how to make my PPC-6700 connect to this network. And each time I venture out to an internet cafe where they have DHCP, I have to try to remember where exactly in the bowels of the OS have the IP settings been buried. Then the same thing again when I come home. Microsoft, steal a concept from Apple and introduce the concept of Locations!
At work I plug my PDA into a sync cable and ActiveSync springs to life. Then it insists on re-syncing every five minutes, all day long. Each time, it bogs down my PC (a 2.8 GHz P4) while it takes up to 10 minutes to sync. There's no way to stop this behaviour except by mucking around in the system registry. Even then it springs back into action like a zombie, and you can't close ActiveSync except by killling the WCESCOMM process in the Task Manager. And oh, you wanted to have internet pass-through from your desktop to your PDA so you can test out some websites on PIE? Good luck finding out what registry settings you have to change to make that work!
Now Microsoft says it knows what's wrong, and it will only take another two iterations of the OS to fix it all. The unmitigated gall! Even if they deliver an all-singing, all-dancing version of the OS in the very next iteration, it'll help few users, since many device manufacturers and many carriers choose to refuse to provide OS updates to their customers.
No wonder Apple has captured more market share in just six months than all of Microsoft's partners have in the past several years. And in that short time they've not only issued several updates, but offered them to every single owner of their iPhone product.
Come to think of it, the iPhone is the only PDA-like device I haven't tried yet. Maybe I should give that a shot next. Knowing Apple's reputation on the desktop, I have a good expectation that, finally, I may have a device that "just works".
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12-15-2007, 08:23 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 23
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I've switched long ago to the Mac platform by buying a Macbook but didn't really give up on WM until recently when I got myself an iPhone. Note that anything I'll say here doesn't say that the iPhone is better than WM. I've learned to give up push email as gmail imap seems to work well with me. The iPhone has features that 'work' with me and that's a major thing I detest in using a WM phone - but I still look for my next one in the next few months (the Asus P750 is a candidate).
True that WM really needs a better browser. Safari Mobile beats it big time. I hope the WM team at Microsoft really knows how to reach the end-goal of user satisfaction but my comment to them for now is that Apple does well in avoiding its users to qualm and complain about features (it's not perfect on the other side too  ).
Reading this article, I hope the next updates for WM can still convince me to keep on checking its progress for me to finally get a WM phone again.
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12-15-2007, 12:46 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
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I can't tell if MS stopped trying so hard after the whole DOJ thing so they won't be blamed for being a monopoly or if MS just stops caring if there's no competition and think people will use their stuff by default or if their good ideas only come from imitating others, or if their products just suck as of late.
Besides all the obvious reasons to love or hate WM I have to say I hate the 'unlock' screen which has gotten worse in WM6 with the new unlock key added. First, as a phone/organizer I wish I could get a peak at my day without unlocking the thing every time but more importantly, why is the 0 so big and the "clear" so small? I have 6 numbers in my pin now and not one of them is a 0! I'm sure more people hit clear than 0. In fact, they should make the 0 the same size as the other numbers and change the big button to "unlock".
MS hasn't really bothered to update PIE and Media Player but now that Apple is in the game, they're talking about great things to come. Too late.
Why are they talking about version 8! Fix it in 7 if you know it should be done.
Even the layout of the onscreen phone keypad sucks. The important buttons are too small. How hard is it to fix that?
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12-15-2007, 03:32 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 281
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Well sure now the IPhone has come out, now Microsoft gets off their *ss. They no longer take the lead anymore. They wait until something threatens there market share and either buys the company or in the IPhone case they won't buy Apple so they have to do something.
I purchased an IPhone after years using WM and putting up with the same nagging flaws that never get fixed. The IPhone is very good at what it does. Is it missing features? Sure it is, mostly business stuff. But I bet Apple will continue to evolve the IPhone and Microsoft knows that.
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12-15-2007, 04:24 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 17
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Every iteration of Windows Mobile I have used has been rubbish. Complicated, slow, buggy and un-intuitive. Psion was a perfect example of elegance - sadly they've gone so, I've moved to a Treo 680 which, despite a few shortcomings (no wifi) is a delight to use in terms of speed, reliability, synching and a simple, but effective UI.
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12-15-2007, 08:52 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 805
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One thing they must hard code into their OS that they must put the phone feature to always work no matter if some apps are fully utilising the CPU.
eg: if the phone is busy downloading data from the internet on IE/opera and if a call comes in, the phone starts to behave erractically. This is because it has to decode the 300kb mp3 ringtone and play it, but, since the opera is busy downloading data from the internet, it takes a lot of time to decode and then, if you press the answer button, it takes it few more seconds to respond.
We atleast want the phone feature of phone edition(ok, WM professional) devices to work reliably.
I know the radio ROMs which communicate with the OS for phone functions have undergone a great deal of change, but, a lot needs to be done in this area
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12-16-2007, 03:06 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
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I totally agree. The phone needs to work and keep working no matter what else is happening.
I use both a Standard and Pro during the day and I think Standard is quicker and easier to use. I'm not sure if unintuitive is the word to describe what's going on. Everything is more or less where it should be. It's just that it takes too many buttons or taps to do it.
I've been doing everything the iPhone does since PocketPC 2003 and I don't know if the iPhone made it easier or prettier. Thank god the iPhone came out! It's not for me but at least I'll make the competion try harder. Everyone I know that had a Treo or Blackberry now has an iPhone. Former Blackberry owners say they miss the Blackberry but the iPhone is so cool and fun to use. No one misses their Treos.
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12-16-2007, 03:30 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 197
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I'm glad MS is re-thinking the UI. The last time they really made an effort at that was between Pocket-Sized PC and Pocket PC and (not coincidentally) that was when PPC began to overtake Palm. The UI is important, but, I think MS may have missed a bigger issue with WM. Synching is still buggy, unstable, unreliable, and really needs a serious overhaul. It's such an important feature, I can't see why it isn't (or at least doesn't seem to be) priority 1. Seriously, if you can't get your appointments to synch, who cares if you can easily navigate to the screen that should show them?
End rant. We now return you to your reguarly scheduled thread
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HTC HD2 US (unlocked) + 16GB micro SDHC (in holding)
HTC Evo + 16GB micro SDHC (in use)
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12-16-2007, 04:07 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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I look forward to the coming improvements but for the time being I will stick with my new iPhone as my daily driver (after 8 years of using only Windows Mobile devices).
I love my Advantage and Toshiba e830 for eBook reading, but that's about all I use them for these days. I would use the Advantage to watch more movies if video playback wasn't so sluggish (the e830 has it beat on video playback despite a slower processor and no GPU).
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64 GB iPad 2 WiFi, Apple TV 2, 32 GB iPhone 4
Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (dual boot with Windows 7), Early 2009 Mac Mini
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Linear Mode
