Has HTC Overcome the Limitations of Windows Mobile 6.5?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=2641&tag=col1;post-2641' target='_blank'>http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/...=col1;post-2641</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"I understood that Windows Mobile 6.5 was going to be a fairly minor update to bridge the gap between WM 6.1 and 7, but as I stated in my Windows Mobile 6.5 review I found too many things still missing from the update that I expected to see even with this understanding. Given the experiences I had with 6.5, I was expecting the same issues on the HTC HD2. I was pleased to discover that HTC didn't just settle for Windows Mobile 6.5.0 and took it to the next level with several optimizations to make the experience better. There are still a couple of issues I want to see addressed in an update prior to Windows Mobile 7, but HTC did a great job with the HD2 and we may see updates to address these issues too."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1259000595.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>Matt Miller has put together a great write-up that talks about the HTC HD2 that he was given at Mobius 2009, and about the latest version of HTC Sense (Touchflo 3D) that covers up even more of Windows Mobile 6.5. HTC has done a really good job of hiding Windows Mobile - perhaps too good of a job. For instance, it took me several days of searching off and on to find the interface panel that would allow me to set how much of an email to download (5KB, 10KB, etc.). HTC hides this part of the interface - I had to access Inbox via the "real" shortcut rather than HTCs covered-up interface. All in all though, I really appreciate the work that HTC has done to make Windows Mobile finger-friendly - their calendar program and new appointment interface is absolutely brilliant.</p>

[randalllewis]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: (Ugh, sorry about the cliche.)

Microsoft could do a lot worse than to simply contract with HTC to design the UI of Windows Mobile 7. I think this is the best looking and most intuitive UI on a phone today. The iPhone was great-- three years ago, but HTC has left Apple and everyone else behind.

[kerrins]

how do i set up my home screen like that?
The one thing that really bugs me about 6.5 is that when I tap and hold (mostly to delete emails, texts and downloads) the delete is not in the same place each time. Sometimes it's on top of the choices sometimes the bottom...put it in the same location every time!

[V-iPAQ]

One thing still waiting for, that iphone got right straight away:
let me display and input different languages w/o needing hacks or 3rd party software (hacks)
for a 'unicode' device, WM is pretty crappy.

[Rob Alexander]

I agree that the Sense UI is lightyears ahead of the default Titanium UI in WM 6.5, but I also think that SPB's Mobile Shell is better than both. It does everything that Sense does (except animate the weather reports) and it's much, much more customizable. That's who I'd like to see MS subcontract the UI development to.

[kanzlr]

i coudln't disagree more.
I find Sense to be cumbersome and sometimes even a bit laggy on the HD2.
And MobileShell must be the ugliest UI with the most inconsistent design I've seen. It has a very 90ies photoshop bevel look to it. wäh.

Titanium, actually is very fast, customizable via plugins and tools and offers instant access to everything. Finally disabled Sense and am back to titanium. wtg MS.

[Fritzly]

I do not like Sense too; granted I am a minimalist so I am biased....
What I found really disappointing in WM 6.5, and WM 6.5.1 too, is, as many others hae already pointed out, the inability to customize Itanium and the Start Menu.
Unfortunately this prove, at least in my opinion, the total disregard MS has for the Mobile sector; I really do not think that add the ability to modify what is in the "Today" page or allow people to arrange the icons in the Start menu the way they want would have been a gigantic task.

[Sven Johannsen]

how do i set up my home screen like that?
You buy an HTC device that uses it, or wait till XDA Developers hacks it onto a device you own. I wouldn't hold my breath for HTC retrofitting it to even other current devices of thiers....like the Pure. (hint, hint, poke, poke)

Sense UI, Titanium UI, SPB's Mobile Shell, even stock old school WM, etc. The good news is there is a choice. Some at the user's discretion, some at the vendor's. That is one of the benefits/strengths of WM. Whether the iPhone's UI is old or not seems user dependent, but the reality is that what you get is what you got...live with it.

[JKingGrim]

I do not like Sense too; granted I am a minimalist so I am biased....
What I found really disappointing in WM 6.5, and WM 6.5.1 too, is, as many others hae already pointed out, the inability to customize Itanium and the Start Menu.
Unfortunately this prove, at least in my opinion, the total disregard MS has for the Mobile sector; I really do not think that add the ability to modify what is in the "Today" page or allow people to arrange the icons in the Start menu the way they want would have been a gigantic task.
..But you can customize the start menu. In 6.5.1 tap and hold an icon and drag it. In 6.5 tap and hold an icon and you can send to the top.

Not that I like the new start menu. Terribly organized. Takes forever to find a new program because the list is not alphabetized.

Titanium is not supposed to be customizable which is very bad, but it has been hacked.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Whether the iPhone's UI is old or not seems user dependent

Of course it's old. It's just a dressed up Palm Launcher. Hah! :D

[Bob Anderson]

The good news is there is a choice. Some at the user's discretion, some at the vendor's. That is one of the benefits/strengths of WM.

Sense, TouchFlo, whatever ... I went to my local cell phone store to make sure I could still turn all that "stuff" off - and go with the default! I think it saps CPU cycles and always has "rough edges" where the handoff to the native UI is less than perfect.

In all honesty, I hope MSFT doesn't hire HTC do the homepage coding for WinPhone 7, that would actually have the opposite buying effect for me!