12-19-2008, 12:30 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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Will the ZuneUI Influence Windows Mobile?
"Instead of having two separate teams work on possibly related devices, it seems that Microsoft is merging its Zune user interface team with the team that works on Windows Mobile. If this rumor holds up to be true, it could very well mean that the first ZunePhone won't be running on its own platform. Instead, the Zune-ness will "simply" be integrated into Windows Mobile." Unless you live in a bubble you've probably notice a slight buzz over the past couple weeks in regards to the Microsoft project under the codename of Pink. First speculation was that it was a Zune Phone, a direct iPhone competitor. I personally have ignored this rumor mongering. Its possible that one day Microsoft could release a device like that. And then everyone who latches onto every rumor will seem like a genius for predicting it. Of course the same people predict it every 6 - 12 months so eventually they might be right. Now that that the rumor has been debunked again, the speculation has gone is in a million different directions. I am not going to try and guess what Microsoft is doing. We're going to potentially find out at CES anyway. What I find more interesting is the rumor above from Mobile Magazine. While I can't vouch for its veracity any more than a Zune phone rumor, at least its something different! This is something I've wanted to see myself. I've been using the Windows Mobile platform since it was Pocket PC 2002, starting with the HP Jornada 565. At one time the interface was the best thing out there, at least in my opinion. While I don't necessarily think the interface is actually bad today, despite all of the criticism it gets, its definitely old and clunky. Its not the best thing out there anymore. And after 7 years of the Windows Mobile platform, just a week ago I took a big leap and went from the T-Mobile Wing to the T-Mobile G1. Even I've left and while I hope to see Windows Mobile take enough advances that I'll reconsider the move it would take a total overhaul of the OS. So I hope this rumor is true.
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12-19-2008, 01:02 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 367
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I also have used Windows Mobile since the iPAQ H1910 (I believe it was a Pocket PC 2003 device, but I forget) and loved using the platform mainly because of the availability of great programs that made my devices truly deserve the name Pocket PC. My biggest gripe isn't the OS itself, but the devices - at least the ones from T-Mobile. I still can't believe how memory constrained and slow the Wing is - it would have been a perfect device for me if it had a faster processor and more memory. I do still use my Wing as a PDA but no longer as a phone.
Android is too new and the G1 too ugly, so I went to a Blackberry Curve from my Wing. I really like the Curve and use it even more heavily than I did the Wing. However, I'm not sure my defection is permanent. As mentioned, I still use the Wing as a PDA (no SIM, in Flight Mode) and I'd really like to see something truly exciting in the WM space to woo me back. And no - throwing a touch screen on the device and a touch interface doesn't cut it. First because I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens, but also because the touchscreen interfaces I've seen don't (or can't) complete hide the WM OS.
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XBox 360 S, 16GB iPhone 4S, iPod Classic 160 GB, Dell Inspiron Mini 1018; Macs: Mac Mini 2.4 GHz 6 GB RAM; Macbook 2.0 GHz 3 GB RAM; MacBook Air 11", 24" Cinema Display
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12-19-2008, 02:39 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 519
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I think you're spot-on about the rumors. Every time I see one of these, I have to wonder if the analysts are just predicting it because it "makes sense", or because they have some actual inside information. They've been talking about overhauling the WinMo interface with Zune since about the time the Zune came out (which is when a lot of those Windows Mobile on Zune30 shots came from). Sure, I'd love to see a worthy new interface from Microsoft as much as the next guy, but I'm going to wait until we get some stronger confirmation than this before I ditch my current phone.
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12-19-2008, 03:45 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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Well, the lack of any strong indication of direction from MS is exactly what did cause me to ditch my Wing (which was terrible) for the G1. The G1 does a lot of things really well...I'm surprised how happy I've been with it because I wasn't overly excited about it. But now that I see how much I enjoy it even if MS comes out with something great a year from now I could be entrenched in a new platform by then. I buy too many applications to switch platforms constantly.
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12-19-2008, 04:01 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 429
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I don't think that the UI is the biggest problem with Windows Mobile. A Zune Phone is not the answer. My Epix would be great if I didn't have to reboot it twice a day, 4-6 times if I'm actually using it for anything. I think cleaning up the fractured ecosystem, making the operating system more independent of the devices, would go a long way toward making Windows Mobile a better platform than a "Zune Phone."
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Current devices: iPhone 3G. Previous devices: Samsung Epix and 1st gen 32GB iPod Touch BlackJack II, iPaq 6945, iPaq hx4705, Dell Axim x30 high, iPaq 3765.
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12-19-2008, 04:16 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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Oh, no, I think the UI is the major issue with WinMo. There are performance issues and I would guess most of those come from substandard hardware and poorly implemented UI enhancements. Most of the actual functionality of WinMo is great.
I mean...they need to start from scratch. Wrapping the OS in a new UI isn't enough. But the current UI is ancient. Its 8 years old and designed for Win95 era desktops. I think we're past that.
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12-19-2008, 05:42 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,608
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HTC's UI enhancement wasn't enough of a step forward? Of course the underpinnings are the same but I rather liked the Touch Diamond. UI seemed sluggish though when I played with one and that was after a soft boot.
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Last edited by Macguy59; 12-19-2008 at 05:45 AM..
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12-19-2008, 06:17 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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Nah, none of the UI enhancements are true UI enhancements. They're all glorified launchers. Its almost impossible to use the devices without mostly being in the native UI.
And the reports of sluggish TouchFlo behavior turned me off of buying a $400 phone real quick 
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12-19-2008, 08:11 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 541
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Tucker
Nah, none of the UI enhancements are true UI enhancements. They're all glorified launchers. Its almost impossible to use the devices without mostly being in the native UI.
And the reports of sluggish TouchFlo behavior turned me off of buying a $400 phone real quick |
Given that original Windows Mobile UI is really dated even glorified launchers make it a much nicer experience, not only visually but also in usability terms - TouchFlo makes most of the functions of the device finger friendly.
As for sluggish TouchFlo - I had HTC Wizard for some time (it's similar in specs to the Wing being mentioned here) and I don't think any, even the earliest beta versions of Diamond and TF3D would be that slow. In any case my Diamond with current official ROM build works really nice and smooth .
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12-19-2008, 02:09 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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It helps but its a stopgap. If you want to use a stop gap forever then by all means, go for it. But I'll wait until WinMo gets a refresh to see what they can do with it.
And I heavily investigated my options. The X1 mysteriously vanished from Sony stores. The employee I asked thought performance issues were the reason. I played with the Touch Pro and found its performance to be mediocre at best.
These phones are just too expensive to justify that sort of issue.
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