Windows Mobile Gets a Spanking

Posted on December 17, 2007 by Bruce Keener

I managed to come down with a cold this weekend and it has zapped my energy and creativity. But at least I can post some links to stories that caught my attention, as with the following Windows Mobile ones:

  • Ed Hansbury’s What Is Wrong With Windows Mobile Converged Devices. Ed is a Microsoft MVP and has promoted the Windows Mobile operating system and devices for years. Yet, in the linked post he unloads on how Win Mo converged devices have not worked out so well for him.
  • This Gizmodo article talks about several WM problems and how they will be fixed in future versions of Windows Mobile.

I know several of you use and like Windows Mobile devices, and thought you might have some comments on these articles. I continue to use my x51v pretty often, and thought very highly of the Treo 700 and T-Mobile Dash WM devices.

But, I do wonder if Windows Mobile is aggravating enough (complicated?) for the general market that it will lose market share to BlackBerry’s and iPhones and other devices. What are your thoughts?

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  • Pat

    Bruce,
    I have the new Ipaq 111 as a replacement for my broken X50v. I keep a very small cellphone and the Ipaq as my primary mobile devices. I don’t like the small screens on the converged devices, and use my Ipaq as my notebook when away from my desk. I have a Acer Tablet at work and an Acer notebook at home to manage my personal GTD workflow. I have not found any significant WM6 shortfalls that have impeded my taskflow efficiency. I have a few 3rd party apps that add enhanced views of my calendar and task lists (SBSH Pocket Breeze), and I enjoy using Pocket Mindmap for brainstorming and task mapping/planning. The key critical specification for me is at least a 3.5″ screen.
    Pat

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Hi Pat,
    I hope you are enjoying your new iPAQ. I always loved the quality of the iPAQ devices … very well designed.

    Tablet PCs came along a little late in my career for me to ever use one, although I think if I had kept working for another few years I would have certainly gotten one. But, in thinking back on what worked best for me, I too liked the mode of having a small cellphone and a separate Pocket PC with a decent sized screen. Some people can take a converged device and run with it, so to speak, but I think a lot of us need the screen size of a typical Pocket PC to be really effective.

    Like you I have not really found anything about WinMo that held me back … a few third party apps were sufficient to make it into a very functional device for me.

  • Capo

    That iPaq 111 looks like a sweet device. Reminds me of my old 4155 – the first and last PPC I really loved. I just eBay’ed my x50v – I hope it serves its new master well. I never ran into a significant shortcoming in Windows Mobile that didn’t have an app available to remedy.

  • mike moore

    I’m waiting for the HP211 (or 210 or whatever they finally decide on) because I’d like to go back to my 4705 days of a 4″ screen and VGA at a price of $399 (supposedly anyway) versus the $600+ that the 4705 cost new.

    I use a Motorola Q and actually prefer the centered “thing” (D pad??) because navigating around is quick and you really can use it with one hand or more accurately one thumb. I even adjusted to the small screen because you only read one line at a time. I use mobile web sites on both devices for the most part anyway.

    What will keep me with two devices though is PhatPad, I use it a lot and it doesn’t work on the Q. To a lesser extent there are other programs that I have on both devices that are just easier to use on a PPC with a stylus (Resco Explorer) and some others that work on the Q, sort of (Repligo). The best part of the Q is it’s always connected and a PPC is only connected when using Wi-Fi (to me looking at a PPC via Activesync while my full size PC is a foot away never made much sense).

    For me, I use my PPC most of the time at home and at work but I don’t take it elsewhere. If I go to the store I take the Q (smaller, lighter, no stylus to drop) and it has List Pro, PhatNotes and access to Google maps if I lose my way home.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Sounds like you have using the 2 devices down to a science, Mike, and it sounds like the combo works very effectively for you. The two-device mode of operation seems to be the way a lot of folks go … doesn’t seem like a perfect converged device has been made yet. The ones that have a true Pocket PC form factor generally have processing speeds that are too slow to suit most of us.

  • mike moore

    The Q has 312mhz and my PPC is 2x at 624mhz. I can’t explain it but they’re both about the same processing most items. I don’t know enough about “mhz” to be able to explain this. Is this an easy one?

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Hi Mike,

    It’s amazing how devices like your Q and my Dash (with only 200mhz) can be so responsive. What gives them that ability is a good bit of optimization by the carriers, but more so, the fact that they are not supporting the full WM operating system and a full (say 3.5inch) VGA display. Supporting a VGA display takes more processing power, as does supporting the full WM OS (with built-in handwriting recognition and so forth). I know my Treo 700 was a good bit slower than the Dash because it did support the full WM OS … it did have the dinky screen without VGA, so at least its processor did not have to deal with that, but still it was noticeably slower than my Pocket PC.

    When I mentioned converged devices that have a true Pocket PC form factor I was thinking of devices such as the 3125, which have a full VGA screen and a full WM OS. I have not used one of those but have been told they can be “painfully slow” at times. Understandably because a less powerful processor is being asked to do the job of a faster one.

    Slightly different topic: you and Capo and I have all talked about the value of third party software. That is one thing WM really has going for it. You can find software for just about anything you want, which cannot be said for other operating systems. Heck, I even have guitar tuning software on my Pocket PC. Of course, Palm does has a lot of third party software and BlackBerry is gaining support, but I do not think either has the reach that Windows Mobile has.

  • mike moore

    Thanks for the explanation. That helps me understand why the Q is as fast as my PPC. I hadn’t considered the lack of a complete Wm5 OS as the reason and, of course you’re correct. Also thanks for the Treo information. I was going to get that instead of the Q originally but decided that I didn’t like its size, weight and the antenna. I prefer to carry my phone in my pants pocket and the Treo wouldn’t work for me. Knowing now that if I had purchased it that it wouldn’t compare to a PPC in response time makes me really happy I didn’t get it.

    What I’m really hoping to do in the future is get a converged device that has 500-600mhz, a touch screen and is as thin as a Motorola Q or as small as a Centro. I’m certain they can be made but the battery life would undoubtedly suffer and have a negative impact on the phone part of the device. I guess I’ll be staying with two products at least until the PPC is no longer made by anyone which unfortunately may not be too far in the distant future.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Glad to be helpful Mike. Personally I see nothing wrong with a 2-device approach, and suspect it is very common. Good luck on finding that perfect converged device … it will be available someday (we all hope).

    As for the Treo, I don’t want to sour anyone on it. It was slower than what I would like, but the 312mhz processor and 1800mah battery made for great battery life, and its call quality and signal receptivity were excellent. I remember making calls with it in the middle of Nebraska with no towers in sight for miles. It’s all about trade-offs. At one point, the battery life gains were a significant enough plus for me to outweigh the negatives of the relative slowness. Plus, I should note that I used the earlier 700 model which only had 32mb RAM, while the newer ones have 64mb, which should make them at least a little more snappy.