jkontherun: "Smartphone Makers: Better Wake up and Smell the Applesauce"

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/smartphone-make.html' target='_blank'>http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/s...phone-make.html</a><br /><br /></div><img vspace="5" hspace="5" border="0" align="left" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1213555486.usr1.jpg" /><em>&quot;Well the long awaited iPhone 3G announcement has come and gone and the July 11th availability date will be here in just a few weeks. The pundits have analyzed its capabilities, shortcomings and torn apart the new AT&amp;T iPhone data plan. We've seen the experts critique the newest iPhone on a feature by feature basis and lament the exclusion of feature X or the shortcomings of feature Y. I'm here to tell you that just like the original iPhone these shortcomings don't matter in the overall scheme of things. Companies that make smartphones better be shaking in their boots right now as the iPhone 3G is going to continue to change the game and in fact change it faster than the original iPhone did...Apple realizes that the very small phone savvy (read geek) market segment is so small it doesn't matter. Apple has rightly determined that the target market of the iPhone, and it hasn't changed with the 3G model, is the mainstream consumer market that doesn't even know what a smartphone is.&quot;</em><br /><br />An interesting article written by James Kendrick. I think he's dead on with how the iPhone is pitched as an easy to use product - the commercials alone have an impact that I don't see from any other phone maker. My wife chuckles at me because when I see an iPhone commercial as we're skipping commercials on our PVR, I always stop and watch them. I can't say I do that with any other mobile phone advertisement. The only other recent phone commercial I can even <em>think</em> of is a Motorola RAZR variant commercial - the one where they're dancing around in the subway mock-fighting. Which one do you think has more impact on a potential consumer? The commercials for the iPhone impart a sense of empowerment when you watch them - I can easily imagine people who'd never purchase a smartphone seeing those commercials and thinking &quot;Hey, I can do that - it's easy!&quot;. Why don't other companies do commercials like that? <MORE /><br /><br />What I'm not so sure about is Kendrick's &quot;Aunt Sue&quot; concept. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens when the iPhone is released in Canada to see who in my circle of friends and family picks one up. I don't know many people who aren't computer owners but would be comfortable with a $60+ monthly cell phone bill. To me, that doesn't make much sense, and it's not really about the cost - if they're not already online, they probably don't see the value/need to be online, so why would a phone change that? I don't doubt that Kendrick knows people like that, but I'm not sure how many there really are.<br /><br />On the other hand, I can see people who are basic-level computer users who wouldn't think of wanting to get online with a phone looking at those iPhone commercials and thinking that's a logical next step for them. One barrier I've seen many people complain about is the idea of them feeling like they're having to pay twice to get their email: once to their ISP, once to their wireless carrier. Amongst my circle of friends and family, the data plan pricing barrier is one that's more of a problem than the cost or selection of hardware. I'm hoping that when Rogers Wireless launches the iPhone in Canada, which is coming up quick, it will shake things up on the data plan front.<br /><br />Has the iPhone impacted your circle of friends and family in ways that other mobile phones haven't? What can Windows Mobile do, moving forward, to appeal to those people who bought their first smartphone with the purchase of an iPhone?

[whydidnt]

I'm not sure about the Aunt Sue thing, but I agree with you Jason. It's unlikely someone who cares so little about the internet at home is going to spend the $ for an iPhone and it's $30/monthly (in the US) data charges.

In my circle of friends, nobody has an iPhone. Heck only one or two people besides myself have any smartphone except for company issued blackberrys. While it's pretty easy to see that WM still provides more flexibility and access to more features than the iPhone. I think Microsoft should be more worried about losing many of the geeks that currently use WM devices but don't really take full advantage of the platform. Those people are going to be the first to jump on the 3G iPhone. Certainly Apple will attract some folks who want the internet on the go, but found current WM offerings too expensive or too intimidating. But, I don't think it's going to be those who are new to the internet.

Apple has done a masterful job marketing the iPhone. Look at how much it's talked about, despite the fact that it's really only captured a tiny percentage of the market.

[randalllewis]

Right on Jason. I have complained in your message threads for years about the lack of marketing for products that are more functional, more innovative and as good as or better looking than various Apple competitors. Apple is largely a product design and marketing firm. I have seen flashes of good marketing from Microsoft and other companies, but nothing sustained or as viral as what Apple does.

HP is doing as very well with its creative and sustained "computer is personal again" campaign, but that is about it. In phones, I would agree that of all companies Motorola has done the best job selling a particular phone with the RAZR. There are other good phone ads campaigns, but they have no sustainability. The HTC Diamond has the potential as a product to be the next hot thing if HTC and the carriers market it. They are starting off well with the buzz factor, but let's see how they do when the phone is in wider distribution.

[David Tucker]

Seriously? I call shenanigans. Let's start with the biggest one:

She brags that she is amazed that she can get and send photos of her family members with email (http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/smartphone-make.html#), even though she's so intimidated with computers that she's never used one.Maybe this is true for Aunt Sue. She has to be the most unique case in the world. I only know one iPhone user and that's my brother. He's never had a smartphone either but he loves his. Mostly because he can listen to music on it. Its eliminated his iPod.

Does the Aunt Sue scenario exist? For the iPhone's 7 million users I'd be surprised if that scenario cracked 4 digits.

Geeks can rightly point out that there are many smartphones on the market today that do more things than the iPhone and do some things better than the iPhone but I'm here to tell you that it just doesn't matter. Apple realizes that the very small phone (http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/smartphone-make.html#) savvy (read geek) market segment is so small it doesn't matter.

This is the part that just makes me laugh. This is the common argument for why the iPhone is the most amazing thing since sliced bread. There is only ONE thing that the iPhone does that dozens upon dozens of other phones out there don't do. Its GUI. And even with as good as it is...I prefer Mobile Shell on my Wing to the iPhone GUI and the Blackberry UI is pretty darn good too.

Once you get past that, the iPhone is a great multimedia smartphone. Its an absolutely awful business device. And that's the real joke. "The Geek Market" isn't the market that is buying Blackberries and WM phones. Sure, there's a few of those in there too. The big market is...business. This is the SAME market that Microsoft used to push Apple out of the lead in the 80s.

Everyone that I work with has either a Blackberry or a WM device (though overwhelming Blackberry). The iPhone is not seen as something that can support us for heavy work related use daily. I've taken a look at its PIM features and they're super basic.

So its fine to make all of these claims but if Microsoft makes their goals this year of 20 million phones & RIM keeps doing what it does...that seems proof enough who is buying what.

[ScottC]

There is one big thing all competitors should be afraid of, and it isn't that the new iPhone has 3G and GPS. It's the selection of enterprise features added in the new firmware.

It has policy support (WM only JUST got this, and only on WM6.1)
It has Cisco VPN support built in (WM doesn't do this)
It has remote wipe through Exchange
It has application push support (WM doesn't do this)

I don't see major enterprise users switching to the iPhone, but any company with up to about 100 devices will take a serious look at how the iPhone can help them. And depending on the quality of the applications released in the App store, they may find it to be a better choice than WM or Blackberry.

If any platform is in trouble, I'd say it's Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile. Blackberry is so far ahead in the enterprise market that they'll do just fine.

[adamz]

It has application push support (WM doesn't do this)


What's the Managed Programs control panel for then?

http://www.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000001050/review/imgE3.jpg

[Rob Alexander]

I was pretty harsh in my comments on the last iPhone article you guys linked (Is the iPhone a portable computer?), but I think this guy has identified a basic truth even if he has exaggerated a bit to make the point. I agree with some of the comments here that Aunt Sue is unlikely to go from no computer or other electronics to laying out hundreds of dollars plus large monthly charges to try an iPhone. But that's not really the point since Aunt Sue was just a metaphor for people who are not phone geeks. Here's what I've seen in my world.

I teach at a small liberal arts college so my circle of people ranges from young to old, from geek to Luddite. The vast majority of people I know do not have a smart phone at all. Most of the students have phones with roughly the capabilities of the RAZR, that is, they use them mostly for talking and texting, but they don't check email or browse the web on their phones. A few do have iPhones, but I've never met a student at my college with any other smartphone.

The few of us who do have smartphones are adults, basically geeks, who like to play with whatever cool toys are new. Most of us do not have an iPhone because it really does lack features we came to depend on long before the iPhone existed.

So why do I say the author is basically right? Because I've watched the few people who do have iPhones and seen how other people react to them. If I am with some people and I pull out my Touch, get onto Google, and answer a question that we were discussing, everyone says thanks for the answer, but no one focuses in on the phone and carries on about how great it is. But I've seen a student do the same thing and other people ooh and ahh over the phone, ask to hold it, and so forth. Let's face it, there is something charismatic about the iPhone that makes people want to try it. And that's where I see him as being right. If someone takes someone else's iPhone and, without instruction, makes it do things they would find useful, then they're much more likely to go out and get one themselves. I see these people as not being smartphone geeks, but every day people who already pay for a cell phone and who suddenly see that their phone can do more. I'd have to tell the same person what to do on my Touch to get the phone to do something impressive. That doesn't carry the same wow factor to regular folks.

Startphone geeks mostly won't be happy with the iPhone, unless their actual needs were quite light in the first place, but everyone else won't care what the iPhone lacks because it's more than they ever considered having in the first place. And as the author of the article says, there are many, many more people who aren't gadget geeks than those who are.

[virain]

Who is Aunt Sue? Middle age woman, housewife, that is pretty much a stereotype.
Look at it from different prospective, look at "little girl" named Sue. She can be pretty much your little sister or daughter. What does she has in her bag? iPod. Now she is old enough to have her own Phone. What would she get? iPhone You would want to see your kid happy, wouldn't you? Specially, when it cost you only a couple hundred bucks, and she pays for service working in MacDonald's. Time for a College? Your dear Sue grow up with Apple products, remember that iPod you bought her for her 10th birthday? Then iPhone at 15? It is logical she would want to have Apple Mac for higher learnings. And now she goes to work. She grow up on Apple products, she doesn't do that well with PC, she and few of her friends (same age) ask boss to get Macs so they are more productive. And why not?
People who grow up in late 80's 90's are more MS PC generation. We played first computer games on, it we study on it, we work on it. New generation is more USED to Apple products. And that generation is the one that takes over the market, the trends, the style, while PC generation, the "old guys" thinking of retirement. And as for some mystic Sue who doesn't know how to use a computer? What planet is she from? My mother, 70 y.o. has no problems sending emails, browsing the net, among other things on her laptop.

[Don't Panic!]

I've been saying the same thing as James since Microsoft started this Pocket PC thing. Microsoft just doesn't pitch to consumers. I still believe had Microsoft aggresively marketed to consumers when the Pocket PC first came out in 2000 there would have been no iPod or iPhone crazes like we have now. The Pocket PC was the original Web browsing, Email sending, MP3 listening, Movie viewing, Games playing, Offfice Apps editing, Remote control eliminatin machine that could fit in your pocket. With all that going for it Microsoft left out the consumer market all together and went after the Enterprise dollars. I still scratch my head at that decision.

[David Tucker]

She grow up on Apple products, she doesn't do that well with PC, she and few of her friends (same age) ask boss to get Macs so they are more productive. And why not?

Because enterprise applications aren't generally cross-platform? Your hypothetical scenario was the same exact one that failed Apple in the 80s. Capturing the mindshare of the consumer doesn't help Apple break into the workplace. Especially when the devices Apple makes are about as anti-business as you can get. Its harder to use an Apple product for work than it is to use a PC for fun.

Apple probably won't return to its dark late-90s days anytime soon but I think there is a pretty firm cap on how much growth they can achieve.

[onlydarksets]

Why can't it be a boy named Sue?

[rlieving]

I would consider myself a Windows Mobile power user and I think the WM platform has reached the end of it's life cycle, to be surpassed by better products. With the advent of Exchange support on the iPhone, that just gives me one more excuse to jump ship.

But why would i? I have had nothing but problems with my WM device. Sure it's highly configurable - but configuration is REQUIRED to make it an acceptable device. I had to buy SPB Mobile Shell to make the UI usable, PocketInformant to make the contacts usable, and defragmentation/memory management software to keep it running.

And even then, there is the inevitable registry corruption, which means 3 hours of rebuilding the phone and reloading the software. (I keep a 50-point list at Ta-Da of all the various tweaks to return it to the preferred settings.) A hard reset is required every 6 months - it's the first thing Sprint tells me to do if something goes wrong.

At it's core, it integrates with Exchange as advertised. But even that is sullied by the fact that the battery (with ActiveSync turned on every 15 minutes) cannot even last 12 hours. A dead battery does not sync.

So going back to Aunt Sue...does she want a high maintenance phone that has to be tethered to a docking station, except when taking walks around the block or making it home at night? Does Aunt Sue want to get a phone, only to have to turn around and buy a whole bunch of software to make it work properly?

To be sure, the iPhone is not perfect, which is why I won't be waiting in line on July 11th. It won't serve as a modem for my computer for instance - and I am taking a 'wait and see' on the data plan - especially the new costs for a 'family plan'. (Sprint, my current carrier, beats AT&T on data plans costs.)

But one thing is for sure. I will NOT be getting another WM phone because the platform is so flawed and so horrific to maintain. I'm not Aunt Sue, but I just don't have the time to worry about the details. And so, I will be seeking something more stable, better looking, MORE USEABLE. Palm is even back as a candidate. I am also thinking about the Android.

But Balmer can have my WM phone. Because a person can only take so much.

[virain]

Because enterprise applications aren't generally cross-platform? Your hypothetical scenario was the same exact one that failed Apple in the 80s. Capturing the mindshare of the consumer doesn't help Apple break into the workplace. Especially when the devices Apple makes are about as anti-business as you can get. Its harder to use an Apple product for work than it is to use a PC for fun.

Apple probably won't return to its dark late-90s days anytime soon but I think there is a pretty firm cap on how much growth they can achieve.
Isn't that why Apple opens up Apple Store and invests millions of dollars to attract developers? I think they learn the mistake of the nineties.

[Phillip Dyson]

Capturing the mindshare of the consumer doesn't help Apple break into the workplace.

My company has already started investigating open a secure exchange connect. Why? Because some people will be getting iPhones. Up til now we've been a Goodlink shop.

Didn't the congress start complaining about the whole device locking issue shortly after the first iPhone released? I wonder why? Granted it didn't go anywhere.

I suspect that Microsoft started the whole Home Use Programe, allowing people to purchase MS software at severely discounted prices because they realized that if people use something at home, then they start asking about using it at work.

Heck, I started using my Windows Mobile device personally before I started synching it with my Work computer.

Just my $.02

[whydidnt]

I've been saying the same thing as James since Microsoft started this Pocket PC thing. Microsoft just doesn't pitch to consumers. I still believe had Microsoft aggresively marketed to consumers when the Pocket PC first came out in 2000 there would have been no iPod or iPhone crazes like we have now. The Pocket PC was the original Web browsing, Email sending, MP3 listening, Movie viewing, Games playing, Offfice Apps editing, Remote control eliminatin machine that could fit in your pocket. With all that going for it Microsoft left out the consumer market all together and went after the Enterprise dollars. I still scratch my head at that decision.

I'd almost take this one step further and say it's almost like they tried to push AWAY consumers. It's pretty obvious MS never tried to attract a consumer focused OEM to deliver PPC's as a consumer device focused on game play and entertainment. However, with a few tweaks to the media player, a more user friendly skin on the UI and an OEM willing to add memory and the proper controls, the original PPC could have been very competitive in the market you mention.

[onlydarksets]

I'd almost take this one step further and say it's almost like they tried to push AWAY consumers. It's pretty obvious MS never tried to attract a consumer focused OEM to deliver PPC's as a consumer device focused on game play and entertainment. However, with a few tweaks to the media player, a more user friendly skin on the UI and an OEM willing to add memory and the proper controls, the original PPC could have been very competitive in the market you mention.
Well, other than the home PC market in the late 70s/early 80s, MS has a horrible track record of predicting trends.

[TMAN]

I have been a user of Mobile devices since the Apple Newton and 200LX days. I can honestly say that the iPhone is one of the most stable devices I have ever used. The Apple Newton 2100, HP 200LX, and iPaq 3870 have been the cream of the crop in stability for me. Does the iPhone do everything my HTC Advantage does? No. But I don't have to reboot it when I get a call in.

If something interrupts the iPhone syncing process I am not forced to re-sync all data from the PC and risk losing any changes I may have made on the device.

I had the PPC-6700 on Sprint. I would have to reset that device at least once a day. It is now literally a door stop in my home office. I use the HTC Advantage as my company phone. It is large enough to use for taking notes. The funny thing is, I use the iPhone with Visto for corporate email because it provides a better email experience that Pocket Inbox on the Advantage. For the record, I used Seven on the PPC-6700 and HTC Advantage but stability became and issue.

As much as I loved Windows Mobile, it just does not cut it when it comes to speed, stability, battery life, and ease of use. I am making that statement as someone who has pretty much owned every device that has been made. The iPhone is a true multi-purpose communications device that works all of the time.

[Stinger]

Apple has rightly determined that the target market of the iPhone, and it hasn't changed with the 3G model, is the mainstream consumer market that doesn't even know what a smartphone is.

Hardly revolutionary. Nokia has been selling smartphones to the mainstream for years. The N95 is still outselling the iPhone.

[Jon Childs]

I got my wife an iPhone last christmas, set it up for her before I wrapped it so she could use it right out of the box, and she hasn't had a single problem with it. I don't even know how to reset the iPhone because the need hasn't come up, and believe me it would if something went wrong with the phone. She absolutely loves it.

My AT&T Tilt however requires constant tweaking to continue working. The only thing I have installed is Live search and iGuidance. The GPS/iGuidance combo just seems to need to stop working every once in a while and needs to be reinstalled. I tried google maps too but it hung my system too often. If the 3G iPhone has some decent GPS software I am definitely switching. I will most likely switch anyway because it seems just too easy to use, and I can live with google maps. Although I will really miss verbal directions. The random slowdowns and reboots are just not worth it with a 3G iphone out there.

[onlydarksets]

Although I will really miss verbal directions.
Don't forget that TomTom is releasing their map software for the iPhone.

[PdaAddict]

I would consider myself a Windows Mobile power user and I think the WM platform has reached the end of it's life cycle, to be surpassed by better products. With the advent of Exchange support on the iPhone, that just gives me one more excuse to jump ship.

But why would i? I have had nothing but problems with my WM device. Sure it's highly configurable - but configuration is REQUIRED to make it an acceptable device. I had to buy SPB Mobile Shell to make the UI usable, PocketInformant to make the contacts usable, and defragmentation/memory management software to keep it running.

And even then, there is the inevitable registry corruption, which means 3 hours of rebuilding the phone and reloading the software. (I keep a 50-point list at Ta-Da of all the various tweaks to return it to the preferred settings.) A hard reset is required every 6 months - it's the first thing Sprint tells me to do if something goes wrong.

At it's core, it integrates with Exchange as advertised. But even that is sullied by the fact that the battery (with ActiveSync turned on every 15 minutes) cannot even last 12 hours. A dead battery does not sync.

So going back to Aunt Sue...does she want a high maintenance phone that has to be tethered to a docking station, except when taking walks around the block or making it home at night? Does Aunt Sue want to get a phone, only to have to turn around and buy a whole bunch of software to make it work properly?

To be sure, the iPhone is not perfect, which is why I won't be waiting in line on July 11th. It won't serve as a modem for my computer for instance - and I am taking a 'wait and see' on the data plan - especially the new costs for a 'family plan'. (Sprint, my current carrier, beats AT&T on data plans costs.)

But one thing is for sure. I will NOT be getting another WM phone because the platform is so flawed and so horrific to maintain. I'm not Aunt Sue, but I just don't have the time to worry about the details. And so, I will be seeking something more stable, better looking, MORE USEABLE. Palm is even back as a candidate. I am also thinking about the Android.

But Balmer can have my WM phone. Because a person can only take so much.

My sentiments exactly!!!!

[Dyvim]

My sentiments exactly!!!!
Those are my sentiments as well. I enjoyed hacking my Windows Mobile devices for several years, but finally got bored with it and tired of all the little troubles. It's such a pleasure to have a device that just works. I use mine all the time now- probably more than I ever used any WM device (and I was pretty into my Toshiba e800 and e830 in 2004-2005). Then again my needs are relatvely simple: light phone, web browsing, light email, light contacts, eBooks, music, photo viewing and video with a fair amount of Google Mapping thrown in. For all these things the iPhone is perfect (even if it requires some workarounds for eBooks). Yeah my Toshiba e830 and HTC Advantage have bigger screens with more pixels, but they're a PITA to use compared to the iPhone and movies never ran as smoothly or looked nearly as good.

And I love the iTunes movie rental service for plane flights. I'm a watch once and forget kind of person not a DVD-collector, so it's (almost) perfect for me. Gone are the headaches and frustrations of trying to rip DVDs to an acceptable format and bitrate for my WM devices and scouring the internet for the best settings to use in TCPMP to get stutter-free video on my Advantage (which turns out to be pretty much impossible). Now, I just rent, transfer, watch, and forget. I've got 2 flights tomorrow and already rented a couple of flicks.

[Macguy59]

I I see these people as not being smartphone geeks, but every day people who already pay for a cell phone and who suddenly see that their phone can do more

Bingo. My girlfriend and her daughter are planning to upgrade to 3G iPhones for this very reason. Ironically they both have Blackberries (Pearl and Curve).

[Macguy59]

Its harder to use an Apple product for work than it is to use a PC for fun..

Based on what ? You're using an awfully broad brush

[kiwi]

Here in Toronto, the streets and subways are filled with people with Blackberry's. Your Aunty Sue types, the young hipsters, every man and his dog seems to have a Blackberry - Perls and curves..

BUT I have also noticed quite a few iPhone's here as well. I am sure there are more down at the Uni. of Toronto etc.

For my circle of friends, my iphone has allowed me to share photos and video clips (ie. myu bungy jump when in New Zealand recently) a lot more easier than WM was able to.

The screen is bigger and the navigation is fast and EASY.. Was chatting to a chick at the pub the other night and was able to show her my NZ bungy video then.. :cool: I think she enjoyed it. lol!!

Anyway, Its just works easily and well. Thats why I stuck with the iPhone and slowly ditched my WM devices.

[whydidnt]

Anyway, Its just works easily and well. Thats why I stuck with the iPhone and slowly ditched my WM devices.

I think this line really sums things up. "It just works". For a large percentage of the population, they want it to "just work". They don't want to tweak, install other programs, learn how to interact, etc. They want to buy the phone and use it without reading the manual. How many WM devices can provide this same experience?

Sure it's not as flexible and there are several shortcomings that cause a power user to think twice about moving to the iPhone, but in all honesty I don't think Apple cares. They would rather target the 70% who don't care about tethering, A2DP, cut/paste, etc. It's a larger market, that's easier to market to and support.

Of course, Apple's hype machine has made the iPhone seem much more successful than it really is. Seriously, I rarely see an iPhone in use. I see Blackberrys everywhere, many Nokias, but rarely an iPhone. I'm not convinced 3G will change this. The price will help, but the more expensive plans will hurt..I'm not sure this new model is going to be as successful as Apple is projecting it be, simply because the carriers are really looking to lock people in when they purchase one. Seriously, I'm not able to order one online??

[Janak Parekh]

I see Blackberrys everywhere, many Nokias, but rarely an iPhone. I'm not convinced 3G will change this. Perhaps it has to do with the area you're in? iPhones are everywhere in NYC. It's rare that I don't see at least 2 or 3 people with iPhones every time I take the subway.

--janak

[onlydarksets]

I think this line really sums things up. "It just works". For a large percentage of the population, they want it to "just work". They don't want to tweak, install other programs, learn how to interact, etc. They want to buy the phone and use it without reading the manual. How many WM devices can provide this same experience?
Here's a great article on whether it's a "feature" if you have to hack it:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20080618/tc_zd/228825

[Phillip Dyson]

Here's a great article on whether it's a "feature" if you have to hack it:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20080618/tc_zd/228825


This is a very interesting article. I would say its an editorial piece since its largely opinion, but I do agree with it up to a point.

And that point is you can debate that the hackability of a system is a feature. And I mean the ability to hack a system. Not the necessity to do so.

[jimtravis]

Savy marketing has contributed to iPhone sales by making non-tech consumers aware of the iPhone. It is rare when a night of watching network TV does not include several iPhone commercials featuring web access, and equally rare when you see any other company advertising a phone or mobile web device on network TV. Apple does not say they offer the only mobile device that can access the internet, but the only advertisements non-tech consumers see featuring mobile web access are for the iPhone which results in the non-tech consumer equating mobile full web access to the iPhone only. Congratulations to Apple for an excellent advertising campaign similar to their excellent marketing program for the iPod, and when will the competitors learn they have to advertise in non-tech spaces? In addition to the TV network advertisements, I pass several lighted advertisements for the iPhone, and other Apple products on the bus home from downtown vs. zero for competing products. During the exponential growth period for the iPod, subway stations in Boston, and other cities, were plastered exclusively with iPod ads, and then the light rail vehicle would enter the station, and it too was plastered with only iPod ads. The iPod became the in device to have; dancing silhouettes sold quite a bit of hardware. I have noticed the return of the silhouette ads in the downtown area as well.

Only recently, I have noticed a few advertisements for some Samsung phones in non-tech areas, but still not even close to the frequency of iPhone ads.

Update 6/25/08 - I used the green line light rail for the first time in about two weeks today. I saw 8 to 10 double trains, and the exterior of every train was plastered with the new iPod silhouette ads. By plastered, I mean a big ad in the front, a big ad in the rear, and about 10 ads on each side of the train. Apple is returning to the silhouette concept for the ads, and saturation marketing. Hey, it worked for them before, why not try again.

[Dyvim]

I've been off network (and all other forms of) TV for about a year, but before I dropped off, I remember tons of commercials for LG phones like the Voyager and Chocolate, Samsung's Blackjack, and Motorola's Q and various RAZR incarnations (as well as the announced but not yet released iPhone). So unless something's changed I think there are plenty of TV ads pitching phones to the non-tech crowd. Granted the only "smart" phones of the bunch were the Blackjack and the Q. But the LG ads were on all the time- it was like carpet-bombing- I could barely stand it any more. Just saying that Apple isn't the only one who knows the value of advertising although Microsoft needs to learn (and hire a decent ad agency).

[jimtravis]

My comments were based on my viewing habits in the last year since the iPhone was introduced. Maybe we watch different programs, but I would see at least 2 iPhone commercials a night (sometimes in the same hour long show), and rarely saw an ad for a competing product.

I agree Microsoft needs to learn some advertising savy.

The Toshiba e830 is also my favorite WM device.:) I still use an e830 every day even though I own many newer devices. The Toshiba e830 was the best PDA I ever owned. Since Toshiba did not sell the e830 in the US, I had to procure it on eBay. I liked the device so much, I bought a second. I had very positive experiences using prior Toshiba PDA's and was very disappointed when Toshiba did not distribute the e830 in the US, and when Toshiba stopped making PDA's. I frequently used the e830 to give demos at the local PDA User Group using the VGA out option from the e830 to the classroom video projector.

I alway felt that Toshiba was the innovator in the WM area, and Sony was the innovator in the Palm OS realm.

[Muntasser]

For all intents and purposes the WindowsMobile we grew up with is dead. I have had 3 WM devices and after jumping into the pool with my last one (JasJam) have decided enough is enough and switched over to the much more reliable and user friendly Symbian OS (N95-8GB).

Symbian/RIM/iPhone/ and before the year is out Android will have crushing market share over Windows Mobile and the only WM devices to survive are those that use technologies to differentiate themselves from the pain and misery that is life with Windows Mobile.

I particularly like the concept of the HTC Touch Diamond: i think this is a real leap forward for WM devices --> Great design, compact size, and a brilliant user interface with TouchFlo3D (brings back the wow factor missing for a long time in WM) for which HTC should be congratulated.

Microsoft was never going to do it - so manufacturers have to step up to the plate.

In a previous post on this thread someone made a particularly good post about the number of modifications you need to make to a Windows Mobile device before you can use it.

I can't believe that periodically (at least every 6 months) I would have to spend almost 2 days tweaking and installing cr*p on my device to make it worth using.

My N95-8GB is lightning fast, never crashes and packs brilliant photo and video capability to boot - a triad that seems incompatible on the WM platform, although this is ever so slowwwwwly changing.

The only thing I miss is a few medical programs but mainly because I'm too cheap to pay for them. Skyscape has been available on Symbian too for a while now :D

Otherwise all the functionality of my WM device is available on Symbian.

[jimtravis]

We have varied experiences with our devices, and our opinions are based on our personal experiences as they should be. Some users are very satisfied with their experiences using the same device/platform other users are very disgruntled with. I respect other opinions, and believe the person who posts a negative opinion did indeed have a negative experience using a device, and/or OS.

I fall into the category of a very satisfied WM user. I have owned about a dozen WM devices (yeah, I am a gadget geek), and have enjoyed using them all. I was reluctant to purchase my first PocketPC because I heard the horror stories about the devices, and ActiveSync. I was pleasantly surprised by how stable, and easy to use my first WM device was (an Audiovox Maestro), and enjoyed the plethora of mature 3rd party apps available. After about 16 Palm OS devices (told you I am a gadget geek:D), I switched to WM. I rarely have to reset the devices, they do everything I want from a handheld, and (please no flames), I like the interface. If you have used a Windows desktop, you can use a WM device. I have tried utilities, and programs to spruce up the interface, but usually end up uninstalling them. If you prefer a more graphical, or sleeker interface, fine - I respect your choice, but it is not for me. Most devices came with a free Home application that had big, colorful icons, but I always returned to using the Today screen. 95% of my WM (and Palm OS as well) use is via finger navigation without a stylus. The stylus is usually only used for selecting a link from closely packed links on a webpage.

I have added 3rd party apps for productivity purposes, not to spruce up the interface. I doubt the 3rd party apps I use (databases, html editor, FTP clients, slingbox, etc.) are standard on other platforms. I do use CorePlayer for videos because it can play just about any video format without conversion. Other platforms may have a better standard media player than the one included with WM, but can they play just about any format video without conversion? If not, I would be purchasing CorePlayer, or its equivalent, for other platforms as well.

Pocket IE, what can I say - it is old, and needs an update. Pocket IE does a real nice job on the mobile web, but a poor to fair job on full internet pages. 90% of my web use is the mobile web by choice on any device with a <5" screen, and Pocket IE is fine for the mobile web. I do not like horizontal scrolling on any device, and panning is horizontal scrolling by another name. When I do need the "full web", I use Opera Mini (free) which does an excellent job on both the full, and mobile web.

If another platform meets your needs better than WM, or you find WM unstable, it is understandable why you switched. For me, WM has been very stable, and meets all my needs.