What Would You Ask The Windows Mobile Team?

[Jon Westfall]

After using these devices for any amount of time, invariably one ponders "Why is it like this?" or "Why didn't they do it <i>this</i> way???". And if you hang around the community long enough, you start to wonder "What is the next big improvement" or "How are the working to fix &lt;blank>?". Finally, you graduate to the level of the deep philosophical thoughts like "Why the sound of a dog barking?" or "Why doesn't Activesync just work better?". <br /><br />And now, you can ask these pressing questions to the Mobile &amp; Embedded Devices team, courtesy of Pocket PC Thoughts!<br /><br />Here's the deal. John Starkweather &amp; team have agreed to be interviewed by our readers. If you've got a pressing question, a desire to know what features are being developed, or one of those deep philosophical questions mentioned above, post it in this thread! At the end of this week, I will go through the thread and pick out 6 - 12 of the most interesting, topical, or bizarre questions (and maybe add 1 or 2 of my own) and we'll send them off to be answered, and then posted back here of course! So put on your thinking caps, and <b>post your question</b>!

[tnels!]

Will microsoft exploit the touch screen interface as Apple did with the iPhone, or will they leave this up to 3rd party developers ?

[Gator5000e]

I have a few items I would like to see addressed. First, I wonder why a telephone number can not be called directly from the appointment as you can from an e-mail. In an e-mail, the phone # is usually highlighted in a blue hyperlink and you can dial by clicking on it. Very handy. But it would be even handier if this one was able to do this in the Calendar.

Second, I wonder why HTML e-mail screens in WM6 can not be automatically formatted to fit the screen like the pocket view in PIE? It is a real pain to have to scroll from side to side to view an entire message. PIE seems to do a good job of formatting pages in the pocket view, so I would like to see this with HTML mail.

Third, when calling a phone number from Call History, you click on the number and then you get sent to another screen where you have to click the number again. Would be nice to just click on the number in the history list and have the phone dial the call right away.

Thanks.

[Eriq Cook]

Somewhat minor but has been a little annoying: I password-protect my device using a 4-digit # (and automatically locks after 2 hours of inactivity). On older devices running Windows Mobile 5, when I type in my passcode, the device would automatically unlock. Now, I must type in the passcode, THEN tap unlock in the lower left corner. It's an extra step that's a little annoying. It's very minor I know but still wish it worked like it did in WM5.

[ChrisCoyle]

Why can't activesync honor the categories that are attached to contacts, appointments and tasks in Outlook.

In MS Outlook I have tagged all contacts at work with one of: "Company", "Vendor", or "Partner". At home I've tagged all contacts with one of the following: "Family", "Friends", "Food". I would like only the "Company" contacts from work and the "Family" contacts from home to sync onto my PDA/Phone (and for "Family" contacts not to end up on my work machines).

[signothefish]

These 3 items come to mind:
* Why can't Microsoft come up with a secure way for us to use Activesync over WiFi so we can once again have that capability?
* Will Pocket IE ever get interactive zoom and pan?
* Why do we rely on the OEMs to provide us updated ROMs for newer versions of Windows Mobile? Seems it would be a better for Microsoft to allow anyone to upgrade to a newer version for a fee, regardless of our device or who we bought it from.

[Eriq Cook]

A few more things regarding MS VoiceCommand:

This may not be for the WM team to answer, but when is the next version of MS VoiceCommand out?

And will the call announcement bluetooth bug be fixed??? I was very used to having incoming calls announced, but with devices running WM6, calls are announced through the Bluetooth headset (and not the device speaker) during active calls, so I have to disable it entirely now. Picture this scenario: I'm talking to a client using my bluetooth headset, and a loud blaring voice announcement mutes my client out with no warning notifying me of who's calling. And to make it worse the person I'm speaking to can HEAR the announcement as well. It worked flawless on my devices running Windows Mobile 5, where calls were announced through the device speaker during ACTIVE calls. And yes, I do know how to adjust the settings. It simply doesn't work anymore the way it should. This is a big issue for me.

Last question regarding VoiceCommand: When will we see dication in VC? And is it currently being tested? VoiceCommand already has a built-in dictionary, and since VoiceCommand can also query names in contacts when placing phone calls, this feature shouldn't be terribly hard to implement. It'd be a killer feature to make new calendar appointments (using names already in your contacts) and write emails and text messages by voice instead of using a keyboard.

[Eriq Cook]

I have a few items I would like to see addressed. First, I wonder why a telephone number can not be called directly from the appointment as you can from an e-mail. In an e-mail, the phone # is usually highlighted in a blue hyperlink and you can dial by clicking on it. Very handy. But it would be even handier if this one was able to do this in the Calendar.

...

Third, when calling a phone number from Call History, you click on the number and then you get sent to another screen where you have to click the number again. Would be nice to just click on the number in the history list and have the phone dial the call right away.

Thanks.

Agree!

[Paragon]

Updates.

Will we ever see Microsoft directly release updates to the end user? I don't mean OS upgrades to new full versions of the O/S, just the run of the mill updates. At present it can take many, many months for the simplest patch or fix to filter down through MS>OEM>carrier. Even then many times the update is never made available by the carrier. This can be very frustrating.

We know that the ability now exists to flash a ROM at the file level which means that the process to install OS patches that are outside anything that directly effects carrier specific functions is possible.

I understand this is somewhat of a political issue as well. I think there has always been some hesitation in this area for fear of interfering with a carrier's devices and their customers. However the platform has now grown considerably in recent times. It has now matured to a state where this issue needs to be addressed, if it is going to continue to satisfy its users.

I must add that Microsoft's decision to give OEMs free licenses for WM6.0 upgrades has had a very positive affect on the number of WM6.0 upgrades made available to the end user. It seems to me, more OEMs and carriers issued more upgrades this round than ever before. Excellent work!

Dave

[Eriq Cook]

Why do we rely on the OEMs to provide us updated ROMs for newer versions of Windows Mobile? Seems it would be a better for Microsoft to allow anyone to upgrade to a newer version for a fee, regardless of our device or who we bought it from.

I've seen this question asked many times. It does make sense, but my understanding is that since no device is exactly alike, the OEM's must thoroughly test the ROM and make adjustments for each device before releasing to the public. With the complexities of Windows Mobile, I don't think Microsoft can make a ROM update work universally across all devices without work from OEM's.

I do agree with Paragon as far as non-rom updates. Heck, why is there a "Windows Update" icon in my system settings if it's never used?

[patrickj]

I like Voice Command, as mentioned above, but I'd also like to hear about plans for integrating voice control more tightly with the OS itself, across the board. So, for instance, system-level commands could be issued - 'Clear IE cache' or 'Close All', 'Silent Mode' sort of commands.

Plans for a (much) better browser?

Where's the theme music? Any grand marketing plans to raise the profile of Windows Mobile and Windows Mobile devices to compete a little with all the iPhone ads in the US? I think we all know examples of great products beaten into the ground by marketing, despite being superior to the competitive product that ultimately succeeds.

How has the iPhone impacted Windows Mobile development?

[friedmanj]

Many of the users I support are international travellers. There are many BlackBerry data plans that allow for unlimited international roaming, but I am unaware of any that exist for Windows Mobile devices. Is Microsoft working with carriers to address this?

[toaddodger]

Are there plans to upgrade the web browser?

How about more JavaScript support?

Tabbed browsing would be really nice too, so I can jump from my search pages and not have to hit the Back button multiple times to get back to my search. Or so I can jump to a new tab from MobiAtom instead of having to leave and again hit Back multiple times.

I tried DeepFish, but so far I don't think that is the solution to compete with the iPhone. You have to take the iPhone seriously as a competitor since they just showed that iPhone purchases lead to iMac/Macbook purchases. So how about getting together with the hardware manufacturers and getting the multi-touch screen? And the automatic orientating screen? And more system memory? VGA? And then one-upping them with a folding display. "Partner" with HTC and Motorola. Stop letting them impede advancement (I'm assuming it's them and not you)

And lastly, how about not incrementing each version of Windows Mobile (2002, 2003, 5.0, 6.0) unless there has been some serious innovation? The way I see things, being currently on my 3rd PPC/WinMo platform, is that I'm really using PPC 2003 SP2. Let's make this thing more fluid, more stable, and more intuitive, while keeping the core business value that makes Windows Mobile a better piece of "software" than the iPhone.

And fix ActiveSync.

[maikii]

When will they fix ActiveSync, by far the weakest thing about Windows Mobile?

[Gator5000e]

Tabbed browsing would be really nice too, so I can jump from my search pages and not have to hit the Back button multiple times to get back to my search. Or so I can jump to a new tab from MobiAtom instead of having to leave and again hit Back multiple times.


Actually, PiePlus from www.Reensoft.com works really well for tabbed browsing. It lays over PIE but adds many features to PIE. while it's not the cheapest program around, it is worth it given the amount I use it - every time I hit the Web. Works for WM5 and WM6 although it does not say WM6 is supported.

[Silver5]

When will there be a more advanced web browser introduced? It really is time for this.

Will you add the ability to use VOIP services reliably? My Nokia can can do this but my WM devices are pretty horrible in comparison.

When will you allow for more than just ONE push email account?

Why is there no OS update without waiting for the device manufacturer?

Can you PLEASE add profiles to Windows Mobile Professional? This is standard in smartphone...why does the upgrade omit it?

Better security is necessary! Not just password protection, but the ability to "wipe" the device and "scrub" like the BB devices do when the password is incorrectly entered too many times. This must be done with WM as well.

There needs to be a much better email application. There is no reason for there to be options and features missing in Windows Mobile that are available with Blackberry and Palm. Email filters? Where are they? How about junk folders? Automatic Bcc?

[VanCuren]

I agree with Silver5...I would like to access more than one "push" account as well. I work with two different organizations and need access to both exchange servers. Right now I have to choose which one is most important.

Also, because more Enterprise companies are beginning to use WM, including CKIP wireless encryption should be included. Larger companies use Cisco network gear. You would think MS would include CKIP if they want to encourage Enterprise customers.

[Jason Lee]

Why do I have to rely on the carrier to release and update for the operating system? Especially the non-carrier specific parts of the OS.

I know all the complex reasons but are there plans to move in that direction?

I mean, come on.. Apple did it. :)

[possmann]

Why the lack of uniformity across the platform? Specific to:

Phone Numbers - any time I see a phone number I should have the option to click on it and either dial it or store it to a contact - regardless which application I am using.

Scrolling - the last thing I wantto do is be forced to scroll horizontally to view my email - option to "wrap text or fit to screen width" should ALWAYS be availible

[burtcom]

I echo the calls for a more direct route for updates :)

-- at least, MS should put some heavy pressure on the device providers to release bug fixes more frequently.

(you listening, E-TEN?)

And I still can't get a Bluetooth synch going with my Vista machine...

[IraqiGeek]

Will Microsoft allow Phone Edition devices to share their 3G (HSDPA/UMTS) internet connection over WiFi? Sort of allowing the phone to act as a small access point.

[GaryK]

I have a HTC Universal and I rarely dock it to sync. My syncing is done wireless. This is fine for Outlook, but my files don't get synced. There should be a way to sync files using the phone connection. I keep forgetting to dock on a regular basis.

[Gerard]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned VoIP. I'll second that. Microsoft Research China darn near perfected VoIP connections with video working even over dialup (although admittedly in a very jerky way), years ago. If this or something based on it were implemented in ROM, I think it'd be far more widely used. As it sits, to talk with someone using Portrait they have to have it installed as well. Better would be to integrate whatever needs integrating into PC versions of MSN Messenger, making calls from WM devices to PCs a breeze.

Portrait needs only an IP address or an MSN/Hotmail/Live email address. Just write one in and make a call, and at the other end, provided the recipient has the program running, they get a ringing tone and invitation on screen to accept the call. Free world-wide calling with video... oh, right, cellular and other telcom providers are probably breathing down Microsoft's neck, asking that they not provide this more broadly. Is that it? Pathetic, if so, because all that's needed is a connection, any sort.

Otherwise I'd like to see more text scaling possible, system-wide, without potentially damaging any program's interface or settings dialogues. With so many different screen resolutions under the WM banner, some programs really suffer, with dialogue boxes being truncated or outright made to disappear while others work just fine. There ought to be a settings applet or something, where either the system would automagically accomodate calls from individual programs to scale text correctly and per user taste (and eyesight capability), or the user could custom-tweak the font scaling and related dialogue boxes/menus to suit on a per-program basis. As things are, this is an unaddressed issue and makes for a bit of a messy and difficult user experience.

[mja8105]

My 2 issues are:
why is it so hard to find the % battery left. three tiny bars are irrelevant
why do birthdays show up as multiple entries when synchronized with outlook? it seems like if i call a contact that i have a birthday listed, their birthday gets duplicated as an appointment/event

[ianl]

My 2c worth:

please ensure SDHC (ie. cards>2Gb) support is so embedded in ROM updates such that manufacturers/developers *cannot* extricate this capability from their devices and release without it.

The advent of SDHC is a really big development, and one which is widely desirable, but device manufacturers are very reluctant to include it, even in new devices, for their own murky marketing reasons. This topic is not even discussed by most of them.

[Don Tolson]

My pet peeves...

a) SDHC card support, please!!!!!

b) Outlook Tasks -- how come the display of 'active tasks' no longer works? Used to be, when the Today screen said '6 Active Tasks', you could tap on it, and configure the next screen to show the six currently active tasks. Under WM6, the definition of 'active' between the two screens is different.

c) Support for Call Display from the cell providers -- currently, names of incoming callers are only shown if the caller is contained within the Outlook Contacts db. Cell service providers provide Call Display for any incoming number (except those protected) on other phones. Why can't this be supported on WMobile Phone app?

[buss]

ActiveSync! It worked well for me with my XP machine, but when I migrated to Vista at home syncing became a nightmare. I am not sure where the problem lies, is the PPC or the Vista OS. But, hey as a consumer it is all Microsoft. When a producted is released within a family of products they should work together. Quite honestly, I think that this should be an obvious issue for MS to address, but since the release of Vista the problem has not be corrected.

(Thanks for the opportunity to pose these questions, looking forward to seeing the results)

[JesterMania]

Why does ActiveSync constantly timeout when downloading e-mails over a wired connection? I once attempted to download approximately 200 e-mails to my device and after 30-50 or so, ActiveSync times out. If this is a limitation, why is it that I can download a few thousand e-mails from my Exchange inbox to an Outlook .pst file all in one shot without any problems using the exact same connection on the exact same server?

[wallaceff]

I used PhoneAlarm to change my profiles (why wasn't this included when my very first Nokia 5110 could do this??). My Nokia could also display the information of the Cell tower id (usually a reference to the suberb etc). I use PhoneAlarm to change my profile depending on my location (eg. when at home, picks up some of the tower/SIM data 'xxxx' so changes my ringing volume etc, same for work).
There doesn't seem a way to improve this with WM so that I get "Melbourne" displayed? Any attempted hacks result in registry overload and no incoming SMS's.
In short, why can't I get the Cell Tower ID name easily when this is something thats been around for 10 years or so? I want this so that I can better automatically change my profiles on my phone.

[tjl129]

How about some sort of over the air sync option for the consumer. I hate having to sign up for a hosted exchange mailbox in order to to take full advantage of my mobile device and push email. With windows home server being released that could even provide the platform to build this functionality onto.

[mjamalm]

I have seen what silverlight can do on both pc and ppc,so my Q is can we have silverlight UI in the next OS (photon) ,in another way can we use silverlight outside the range of web-based applications in the field of WM...

Imagine what would we have when we use silverlight experience in WM...

[virain]

First of all, make it more user friendly, and I mean finger friendly for simple operations such as scrolling and typing. Sync should be less complicated and available over wifi and/or bluetooth. Completely agree with posts about PIE and HTML email, tab browsing and resizing are must have. I understand that Microsoft should leave a room for developers to expand and perfect user's experience with OS, after all third party dev. made it as succesful as it is, but it shouldn't be just a "white canvas" It should give users basic, satisfactory experience, before they start loading it with third party apps. Anyway, OEMs don't give enough resources to devices to really expand it :wink:
And at last, not list, Microsoft guys! be more inovative! I understand that you have an army of lawyers breathing into your neck, telling you what you can do, and what you can't, in fact it looks like there are more DON'Ts than DOs. Fire them! Get those that WILL make what ever you do legal and patent protected! Why is it Apple can be inovative and you are affraid? Hire Apple's lawyers if that's what it takes! :devilboy:

[Darren Behan]

1) ActiveSync &amp; WMDC. This is 50% of the entire PPC experience and has honestly gotten worse and more unreliable over time. At least once a week I spontaneously loose my partnerships and am asked to set up my device again under Vista &amp; WMDC. Why is it so hard to get this right?

1a) Multimedia Synching. The experience is clunky at best. You couldn't pay me to use it on an on-going basis. When I tried it, half of the DRM'd songs would work one day and then not the next assuming WMP even remembered what songs I wanted to sync. WMP has been on the PPC long before the iPod was even though of and part of Windows for a decade. Again, why is this so hard?

2) Interface: The today screen has been fundamentally unchanged since the beginning of PPC's. It's what everyone looks at most of the time and is your chance to create an impression on non-PPC users. In truth it tells you virtually nothing of use and does so in a pretty plain Jane fashion. Plugins are a great idea and the first thing I do with a new PPC is to install a few key one's to get some meaningful functionality at my fingertips. Take a close look at Pocket Breeze or SPB Diary.

Also a little awkward to explain to a non-PPC user who asks if they can get one like mine that yes they can but they'll have to spend another $100 in 3rd party software because their brand new $700 phone doesn't have some basic functionality.

What was the thought process behind letting your best advertizement for the product lanquish like that?

3) Why, why, why did you abandon Microsoft Money for the PPC?

4) Second the questions about PIE &amp; Email previously stated.

db

[fredng]

There're several things I'd like to see addressed:

Stability - Of the 3 WM5 devices (2 phones, 1 GPS PDA) I use on a regular basis, I must say they are quite unstable after running a few apps, especially web browsers like Opera. I truly look forward to not having to reboot (which takes a whopping 90 seconds on the HTC Universal) twice a week.

UI Performance - it just lags. Pretty bad on the Universal, sort of acceptable on the HP rw6828 but still not ideal. Hate to do the comparison but iPhone really sets a much higher bar now.

PIE - it's simply not working well for most of the regular sites I use; Opera comes to the rescue, but after I got to try out Safari on iPhone I must say it's leaps and bounds superior. There is no reason why MS can't do it.

Unicode Support - WM is supposed to support Unicode, but why aren't international characters supported regardless of the system language? It is very annoying that one has to buy a Chinese/Japanese interface device to view documents in those languages. I bought a language add-on before to enable Chinese viewing on English device, but it simply made the system even more unstable (always out of resources, had to unload it to do simple things such as app installation). iPhone views all the web pages and Word/Excel docs I threw at it with Chinese/Japanese characters, and it is an English interface device supposedly only targeted at America.

Firmware update - someone really needs to figure out how to have firmware updates without needing to set everything up again. And also more frequent updates to offer bug fixes would be great as well.

No, I haven't bought an iPhone (need Skype and offline file storage, and Office doc editors to do some real work), but it surely got me thinking how to work around its limitations at times - if only to use Safari!

[Gen-M]

How would you explain to someone why they need BOTH a WM6 device AND a UMPC? What does one do better than the other, where do they overlap?

[melvynadam]

My mobile history: Psion 3a, Psion 5mx, Handera 330, Tungsten T3, HTC Wizard.

My questions (in no particular order) as a 2yr user of a WM device:

When will Word Mobile catch up with the old Psion 5mx word processing application and finally support Styles? As a professional writer I find Word Mobile frustratingly inept.
Are there plans to allow *.wpl playlist support from Windows Media Player in Windows Mobile? It's a Microsoft standard and yet it's unsupported. Always seemed a bit odd to me.
When will Pocket IE get an overhaul? This non-tabbed, functionally anemic, buggy application hasn't had a major feature added in years. A request for the PIE team - think big. How about an RSS reading component for PIE which synchronizes with the desktop?
Desktop Outlook has labels for appointments. Pocket Outlook doesn't. Why? Is anyone going to resolve this anomaly?
I'd like to see updates / patches / fixes released on a far more frequent basis (similar to patch Tuesday on the desktop). Is this a likely prospect for WM? There's not as much pressing need for it in terms of the security issues but it would give you a great opportunity to make the platform vibrant and provide users with an impression of ongoing development. At the moment the only people who make me feel like WM6 isn't stagnant are the hackers over at XDA-Devs.

[jasoncli]

For the love of God, please make alarms work reliably. I have owned 4 PPC devices (Cassiopeia, 2 IPAQ's, &amp; 6700) and all of them have had issues triggering alarms. Please Please fix, I'll be your best friend :mrgreen:

[anotheruser]

Sorry for the dupes, but:

- We've seen problem with sleep and then wake up, especially with SD cards. When can we expect real fixes for this?

- When can we expect true one handed operation for menus, email, calendar and the like.

- Why can't you get an activesync that works reliably, including over Bluetooth

- Why not enable WiFi access to browse network shares, join a domain, etc.

- Can you get rid of the stupid Start menu? Might be OK for a PC&lt; but not for a PPC?

- Why not just give in and give us an official "close application"

[Sagitario]

Hi, somebody once said that to render a better future, you sometimes have to look at the past.

There are a couple of things I loved in WM2003 and even pocket pc 2000 and are not available any more:

1. Why can't I reply to an email of one acount from another email account as I could in WM2003? Many of us don't have microsoft exchange servers. I could sync my ppc before I left the office and later reply to the emails from my other account.

2. TFT screens are great, but are lousy in direct sunlight. One thing I loved about my old Compaq iPAQ h3630 was that both the OS and the screen allowed clarity when the sun struck directly. This was totally lost after I bought my first TFT screened ppc. Another was the alarm scheme that came on PPC 2000. It started slow, and later developed to a more continuous sound after a minute. Why not have an option for that?

For new improvements:

3. Improve your task manager guys. A hardware Alt-Tab button or the option for CTRL and ALT shortcuts on QWERTY enabled phones would be such an advance for power users in things like Excel.

4. Improve you desktop search engine. As storage becomes larger, you start to loose sight of files. Windows desktop search is such a great enhancement for Windows. It would be great for Windows Mobile.

5. Improve the PIM interface. Mostly on the today screen. Both SPB Diary and SBSH Pocket Breeze integrate the Franklin Covey style for task and calendar appointments in one only area. Outlook 2007 brings this to hand. Why not add this too. A journal functionality with daily notes (that don't require being saved) would be great.

Thanks

[paschott]

Definitely gonna echo some of the prior posts on this one:

1. A true close command - I know you're making progress here, but sometimes WM chooses to close a program I'd rather leave open instead of a different one. I'd prefer to handle this myself.

2. App Switching. PC's have it easy with alt+tab to switch apps. We have nothing unless we find a 3rd party program or want to always use the start menu. WisBar does pretty well with this, IMO.

3. OS Upgrades - stop locking us into whatever the carriers provide. I have been burned on this twice now, even though the specs support new OS versions and the devices support those versions. At least some people work on getting around the carriers' artificial restrictions to get us updates and extend our usability, but they shouldn't have to.
Separate the functionality - Carriers provide drivers, you provide the OS. Specify that drivers should be at least minimally forward-compatible so we don't have the carriers decide to re-architect the drivers for each OS version and thus we cannot use them if we upgrade. (without using their package or, more usually, buying a whole new unit)
For the above, I'm willing to pay a reasonable cost to upgrade - not the 100's that we'd pay for PC Windows upgrades, but something more akin to the $50 or so we used to pay. That's worth it to me to avoid shelling out $200+ on a new device (often more).

4. PIE - compatibility, tabs, plugins, Web 2.0 - enough said. :)

5. HTML Email without Exchange 2007!

6. Give us an option (perhaps override with a Group Policy) to enable Wireless sync for ActiveSync. I couldn't use it with my iPaq because I had no wireless, then I had a device that could do wireless and the option was gone from ActiveSync 4.x. That would really help reduce the # of times I have to physically connect to a PC in order to sync certain types of data.

7. SDHC - it's just getting more common now and we're storing more and more data on our devices.

8. Less dependence on a stylus - not to eliminate it altogether as it's quite useful for lots of things, but definitely making it easier to operate the device with just fingers. I believe that this is in the works already - please give it some real-life user-testing by some of your enthusiasts before releasing it. (like most of the authors @ this site).

I know that the above aren't really questions, but I know the answers to some of them already like the lack of "close" functionality. (which most users just don't seem to like/accept) I understand security concerns for ActiveSync/WiFi, but that could have been handled with policies and still allowed home users to have some freedom. I can even see some arguments for the OS upgrades, though I think the core users will not want to keep shelling out hundreds of $$ just to upgrade.

Looking forward to seeing at least some response. Heck, I'd love to read what they answer to the compiled list of questions, if that's possible. It would be nice to know whether our concerns are truly heard or not.

-Pete

[Mark Larson]

This thread is depressing. So many questions, concerns and complaints, and MS sees fit to ignore all of them. Why must they be so stingy with new features? Why break one thing to fix another? I'm sick of the resisting-evolution nature of the WM OS, whether that is the team's fault or something else.

But then, I shouldn't be surprised - this is the same company that came out with a half-baked Vista after about six years of delays.

Tsk tsk Microsoft. :roll:

[Phoneboy101]

1. Why does the stability of ActiveSync get progressively worse? On my 1st WM6 device the HTC/T-Mobile Wing, the device's functionality slows down dramatically during ActiveSync, even when it is "synchronized". It makes answering a call nearly impossible. Add to that the aforementioned sync issues, and it's a joke.

2. Why did you break the tasks list in WM6? When "display active tasks only" is selected, it displays all tasks with a future start date. All previous versions of WM got this right.

3. Overall stability and phone functionality needs drastic improvement. Multiple daily resets get to be annoying. When the PDA is getting bogged down with other apps, the phone functionality needs to work anyway. I often miss calls because the caller ID won't display until after the phone has stopped ringing. Sometimes I hit answer, but the 3-6 second delay causes me to miss the call.

If I'm listening to an MP3, and typing an email, I shouldn't miss incoming calls because my device doesn't have the brainpower to handle it.

To summarize, I have Blackberry envy and iPhone envy only because those devices just work the way they should. When people ask me how I like my phone I say, "It would be a great phone if it worked as it's supposed to."

[Phoneboy101]

I have to add this because it is happening right now!

I get the sync error message that reads something like "There has been an error on the server requiring you to re-sync all device data."

I've had to do this about 10 times, for no reason other than an ActiveStink error. It takes 30 minutes to an hour to wait for it to reload all PIM info. I feel like I'm being held prisoner by my idiotic phone.

I don't have a ton of PIM data. I could almost transcribe it manually faster than it takes A-Sync to copy it to my device. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but why does a USB connection transfer data so painfully slowly?!)

[rusina]

Expand activesync's conversion capabilities to:

--tag pdfs for better viewing in pocket pc (it used to do be able to do this or it tried to with an early version--i don't remember which; no longer does)

--convert .flv and other video file format to preferred user's format

[dennispg]

are there any plans for direct bytecode execution hardware for the .net compact framework? or at least plans to take advantage of the jazelle extensions found in the newer ARM processors like the one found in the iPhone?

on that note, what about graphics hardware optimizations or mandating more oems to come out with devices with more powerful graphics hardware?

snazzy and flash graphics sell!

[pnowak]

I think some of the question above could be solved by using external software. Imho, the most important questions to ask Microsoft are questions about OS and core functionality, that could be solved only by MS:

* when will Microsoft develop something really new, something innovative like TouchFLO, iPhone and others ? (I speak about user interface. Tho core of WM is imho developed although I cannot make decision). How long should we wait to see something other than the list of big icons in Programs ? Is it really necessary somebody other to do it and press Microsoft to copy a new technology thereafter ???

* why did Microsoft replace the old good menu bar with the terrible "two hardware buttons" bar ? what about ergonomy ??? Why is it not possible to switch back to menu bar ?

[maxnix]

Why isn't there an option to cache PIE and Outlook storage on the SD cards?

I think there are at least 3 dozen good questions in this thread!

[Jason Lee]

aah. speaking of cache. Why can we not set the size of the pocket IE cache?

[shogunmaster]

1) Why can't I select 'Repeat' on ALL of the damn notificiations?!? The ones I need most are greyed out and I shouldn't have to use (pay for) Phonealarm!

2) If I have a mass emailer Contact List in Outlook, it disappears when I sync to my mobile phone. Why can't the phone retain these settings?

3) When the PDA is in Sleepmode, the clock doesn't change and I miss my alarms and calendar notifications. Fix!

[signothefish]

3) When the PDA is in Sleepmode, the clock doesn't change and I miss my alarms and calendar notifications. Fix!

Missed notifications is the most critical problem with many, if not all, Windows Mobile devices. Every single one I've ever owned (several Toshibas with PPC2002/PPC2003/PPC2003SE and my Sprint Mogul with WM6) has had this problem. It's a fundamental problem that seriously needs addressing. Why hasn't this been fixed yet? Is it a WM flaw or a flaw in our devices?

Also, when a task notification comes up, I have the option to dismiss it or to remind me again later. In addition to these options, I would also like the capability to delete the task(s) from the notification. This option would also be very nice in desktop Outlook. Can it please be added?

This one has really griped me for a while too... I'd like to have more options when a notification comes up. There aren't enough options to be reminded again in x amount of minutes/hours/days. WM6 has less options than older versions, so this is headed the wrong direction. What happened to the 8 hours setting? I would like a greater amount of days than just 1 day to choose from. Can there be some way for us to configure the choices and the amount of choices? I would even accept registry settings if necessary.

[amir77a]

My questions:

1. Why does Microsoft actively prevent internal answering machine capabilities from our devices? Even an option to record a phone conversation is not allowed. Other mobile phone manufacturers as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola etc. ALL allow such an applications to work flawlessly. I understand that the mobile phone companies are not interested in this capability, but what about the consumers interest. Other argument is the legal argument. Some countries (or states) have their laws which forbids call recording. In most of the countries in the world video recording of commercial sources is forbidden/ Does VCR devices is illagal too? VCR IS legal, whatever use the users will make is the users own problem, not the VCR manufacturers. I hope my point is clear.
2. When will Microsoft includes native Hebrew support in Windows Mobile?

Thanks for the answers.
Amir.

[timezone]

It is the small things that are annoying and to that end I am probably repeating some of the earlier questions.

1. When we click the X have the program close. If this is such a big deal then give us a system option to choose the result we want from this action.

2. Let us choose where cache and files should be stored. I use Opera because I have the option to store cache on the memory card. We should also be able to store all emails on the memory card instead of just attachments.

3.. To that end why is the database organized in a way that turning on the device can force the memory card to corrupt the database? According to Flexmail, “…when you put your device to sleep the Windows Mobile device “invalidates” the file handles to these databases if they are on a storage card, but not if they are in main memory. Upon waking up the database system tries to reconnect to the storage files, but there are situations when it times out and you end up with a storage file that may get corrupted. “ Based on their explanation it is based on the fact that cards are removable. I can think of a dozen ways on how this probably can be avoided. This issue affects other programs. Microsoft, fix it!!!

4. Give us easy ways to organize the screen with our own shortcuts, etc. Instead we have to search around for the hacks which at times can produce new problems.

5. Let us identify a time if desired when the alarms will not ring and the screen will not turn on. In particular the middle of the night.

6. Why is everything such a big secret? Give us a book describing the reasons for different settings and what the trade-offs are for adjusting the settings. It has been a long tradition to provide this information with Windows.

7. This is a great idea to answer questions but why just a few? Why can't we have a forum at Microsoft that allows people to post issues, concerns and upgrades and have a omnibus man to the programmers offer answers.

8. Will we ever see a day when a rom update can occur without requiring a re-install of all programs and settings? This is something we take for granted as a fact of life. But, I think there maybe some laziness on the part of Microsoft.

[absynth]

man where do i begin? first thing i hope is that iphone interface will get ms off their @$$ and wake up... I'm glad its doing well. hopefully that will send a message to MS to get with the times.. WM6 is far from impressive. it's "better" but hardly groundbreaking. I don't and will likely never buy an iphone because you can't install apps for it. that is a huge determining factor for buying a device in that price range.

java support for real.. 100% if they would just make the browser that really was full fledged.. things like utube.. and many other aspects of web would not be restricted... i can't believe that it's somehow impossible or terribly challenging.. rather than forcing users to hack their way though to get things to kinda work...

why does the voice command feature keep forgetting the voices i program into it?! I've had several devices do this. maybe someone out there knows why and there is a fix, but it should "just work" (something apple seems to have down pretty well).

ok here's another one.. profiles for active sync. it seems like i'm always fighting with outlook / ppc to sync nicely... for no apparent reason.. i get conflicts and have to hack through things to get to work. why can't multiple devices connect to outlook at the same time?

why can't when redoing things on a profile and "combine items" be smart enough to filter out duplicates?! who has had the fun of going in after syncing only to have to go in and manually delete repeating events.. one time i found like 6 items all the same sitting in my calendar because i overlooked one.

why does the API restrict the camera light from being accessed outside the camera? who here hasn't used their white LED to be a flashlight in dark places. it's a fantastic tool that i have to go into the camera and turn on. word is that they blocked it for "security reasons"? omg.. i got a virus on my ppc (what viruses are out there?) that turns my light on and DRAINS MY BATTERY (dear lord, the agony!). me and a friend were trying to make a simple app to do this and couldn't get to it.. pft..

anyway... it's just frustrating. i love/hate this OS. I stick with it because it's the best out there. the issue is that if someone else comes along with something better (iphone, with a few changes) comes along that really does offer an alternative could very well hurt MS's monopoly on pda phones and such. all i can say is that the clock is ticking.

Sincerely,
Caleb

[timezone]

the issue is that if someone else comes along with something better (iphone, with a few changes) comes along that really does offer an alternative could very well hurt MS's monopoly on pda phones and such. all i can say is that the clock is ticking.


Microsoft does not have a monopoly. They do have a significant piece after many years of an uphill battle. You can still choose Blackberry, Palm, and now the iphone to name a few. Palm should have a Linux OS soon and symbian has smartphones.

I also hope that all phones don't turn into iphone look alikes. That would be the worst thing that could ever happen. The scrolling, screen orientation and the way the browser can magnify an area or view a page is nice. Other than that the iphone is smoke and mirrors with excellent marketing.

[pnowak]

Microsoft does not have a monopoly. They do have a significant piece after many years of an uphill battle. You can still choose Blackberry, Palm, and now the iphone to name a few. Palm should have a Linux OS soon and symbian has smartphones.

I also hope that all phones don't turn into iphone look alikes. That would be the worst thing that could ever happen. The scrolling, screen orientation and the way the browser can magnify an area or view a page is nice. Other than that the iphone is smoke and mirrors with excellent marketing.

I think that we all know MS did a lot of work during battle. But this thread is especially about our minor and major issues with PocketPC. So it's time to say it all... especially when MS is listening now (it seems). If we are not satisfied in whole, be sure we choose another system (Palm, iPhone). But we are satisfied, so we are here and we want to say something to MS...

[Sven Johannsen]

I want to add my voice to the numerous mentions of AS/WMDC issues. I have the distinct impression that AS/WMDC gets the short end of the stick when it comes to addressing desktop sync issues. I find few issues posted relating to Exchange Sync. That tells me the emphasis is on Enterprise issues, not single consumer ones. AS/WMDC needs to work as well on the desktop sync as it does on the Exchange sync process. We are tired of individual consumers, those that do not sync with Exchange, being saddled with a marginally functional option. AS/WMDC needs to do what it advertises, or just admit that WM is an Exchange extension, not a Windows or Outlook one.

[mokla40]

When is MS going to provide a patch that will fix the "reminder" bug introduced in WM6. All of the 'reminder' capability for sms, email and calendar items is gone on WM6. Although many people have found a fix for this, with so many devices either coming out with WM6 or being upgraded, you would think that MS would want to fix this asap.

See especially: http://discuss.pocketnow.com/showthread.php?threadid=21167

and

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=304814&amp;page=7&amp;highlight=reminder

Thank you,
-Marc O'Krent
President
The Telephone Connection of Los Angeles, Inc.

[absynth]

ok my first post was a bit heavy handed.. just frustrated when i got to thinking about it.. to address a few other things.. WM5 which is what i'm currently using. owned a WM6 device for a week or so before returning it (not due to the deivce, but discount incentives if i waited 2 more months)

- Lock function doesn't fully lock device. i can by pressing a few buttons together bring up the screen calibration. I have also brought up time/date screen somehow while the device is locked

- MMS messages.. calm down caleb.. ok what gives? cell phones have had this stuff for years.. and yet.. somehow ppc's are incapable or using third party software (never could get that solution to work)?

-MSN messenger / live etc.. i really disliked how they tried to roll a bunch of features into live messenger. and i've heard it's actually quirky/dangerous for contact data.

- Pocket PC phone functions WELL as a PHONE. sometimes i've found myself jelous of "lesser" phones that, when someone calls.. they can flip the phone open and just start talking.. that is an absurd concept on any pocet pc phone i've had.. i have to look at the phone.. and make sure numbers are counting before i can be sure that i'm in fact being heard.. etc.. fortunately i don't mind this as much as others might, since i use the pda side more than the phone side.. however i can see how people who really talk a lot would actually find this tough to live with...

- OS level close X option. i mean if you want to force users to have apps stay open in the back ground.. at least provide an option to exit instead?

- Windows Mobile Media Player... why the hell can't you filter out .wav files? who here has ever used their sd card for music.. then to have it scan and add game directories of sfx or music from non-music folders filling the playlist full of crap? I believe earlier version of media player did this but the WM5 quickly became a useless application because of this. or at least not scan the whole SD card, let me tell it what folders to sync...

- when battery is low.. what can't you tell it to not TURN ON THE SCREEN.. i mean how smart is it, when most of us know the battery is getting low.. brilliant.. let's turn on the screen every few minutes to remind us.. and drain the battery faster!

- sounds and notifications. why can't a path be specified outside the default? i mean who wants to was memory by having to keep duplicate sounds in main memory when you have tons of songs on an sd card (most of us like folders, rather than keeping hundreds of songs in one big root folder)

bah.. i'm sure there are more. that's just more or less a "once over" going through some apps. i've got issues with the hardware makers too so it's not just MS's problem. two steps forward, one step back.. although, I will say that making an OS that is is dicated by hardware manufaturers is a flawed approach

also yes, to previous comments.. MS doesn't have a monopoly.. there are alternatives.. also yes, i agree.. when i applaud iphone i agree that it's not what everyone should become. the iphone does what it does well.. better than anything i've seen on ppc.. however that's all it does.. where ppc offers options.. expansion.. software choices.. developers can do a lot of innovative things.

i must say it's kinda funny that apple's spin is "think different" if you had the whole world switch over to mac overnight.. everyone would have like what.. 5 possible computers? if everyone had an iphone.. we'd all have the same "choices".. just kinda ironic. uniformity in an ununiformed world

Thanks
Caleb

[Jon Westfall]

thanks to everyone who posted! Due to the long weekend for us US people, I haven't gotten around to culling the list down until today. So after this point, feel free to discuss - but your questions probably won't make it to the developers!

Thanks again!

Jon.

[camilhn]

When will they add the feature of "backup" to the microsoft activesync
They used to have this in version 3.8
also do you think they will improve the synchrinization options to other outlook files (sub folders)
best regards
Camille