What is wrong with Windows Mobile?

Posted by Chris Leckness on 03/26/08 in Featured Posts, Microsoft, Windows Mobile 6

Lately, there have been a ton of people complaining about Windows Mobile and articles written in the last few months asking how Microsoft should proceed to fix their Mobile OS, Windows Mobile. Well, I haven’t commented on many because I personally think that nothing is “wrong” with Windows Mobile as a whole. Sure, there are things that bother me and others, but nothing is really “wrong”. I know, you are sitting there thinking, “Chris is a Windows Mobile Device MVP, he is supposed to say this….” No, you are not correct if you are thinking that. Yes, I am an MVP, but I don’t love Windows Mobile because of being an MVP. My love for Windows Mobile goes back way before I was an MVP. I have tried Palm, Symbian, and the iPhone. All three have things I like. None of them have enough to take over my preference for Windows Mobile.

This post isn’t here to tell you why I don’t think Windows Mobile is “broken”, it’s merely to solicit feedback from the readers on what you think is broken. In a couple weeks I’ll be back in Seattle for the 2008 MVP Summit. The MVP Summit is a yearly, week long event in Redmond where Microsoft MVPs get together to learn, give feedback, and discuss their MVP Proficiency. Luckily for me, I will get an opportunity to attend sessions for Windows Mobile and Zune. So, feel free to leave your Zune feedback here to or you can leave it on GotZune.

So, here we go… Please leave comments here with your complaints and/or suggestions to fix Windows Mobile (even though it’s not broken :) ) I will do my best to get these suggestion to the Windows Mobile and Zune Teams at the Summit. In case you haven’t figured it out, it takes time for changes to be implemented. I have been an MVP for 4-5 years now and I am finally seeing changes that I have heard other MVPs suggest when I came onboard.

Read on if you want to hear my take on Windows Mobile and why I don’t really think it’s broke….

Like I said, this post was made really to solicit feedback to take to Redmond with me in April, but while I am here, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to throw my 2 cents out there, for whatever it’s worth.

There have been a handful of articles in the last few months calling Windows Mobile broken, most notable is the one by Jason Chen at Gizmodo. There were also a couple good ones written in defense of Windows Mobile, in fact, one of the is from Steve Laser here at Mobilitysite.

If you click to read more to see a wall of text taking up for Microsoft and debating every complaint with Windows Mobile, you are going to be disappointed. I am not going to compare Windows Mobile to the iPhone OS.

Windows Mobile is not Broken, our ideas and expectations have been raised. Why? Simple, competition. Symbian and Apple have stepped up the bar in the customer UI area. These articles were few and far between before the iPhone. So, what I am saying is not that the OS is flawed, but simply put, our perception has changed with the advent of new technologies and improvements.

Should Microsoft step up to the plate and “catch up”? Sure. They can’t whip up a new OS overnight though. Should Microsoft copy other ideas from Symbian and Apple. No no no… Take some lessons, but please don’t “copy” the OS.

What if Microsoft made 1 phone running their OS? What if they could tweak Windows Mobile to fit their one device and form factor? Would it be a good phone? Maybe, we’ll never know though and no, this isn’t a pop shot at the iPhone. Think about it… Microsoft provides an OS. The OS is provided to the Device manufacturers. The devices makers then provide a device based on the Windows Mobile OS. The OS on this device is often not “out of the box”, but sometimes it is. In the US, the Cell Providers demand features be added or removed, they might ask for a new interface and this is on the device manufacturer now. Look at the T-Mobile Dash. If you have never seen Windows Mobile, you might not even realize you are using Windows Mobile.

My point is that Microsoft leaves plenty of liberty to the manufacturer of the device and/or the Cell Providers. If Microsoft made their own phones with their own OS, things might turn out a little different.

Windows Mobile isn’t broken, our perception has changed. It *is* time for Microsoft to play catch up in some areas, but really, be honest with yourself… Is it really that bad? I don’t think so. I have a Palm Treo running Palm’s Access, I have an iPhone, I have a Nokia N95, and a couple other nice non-Winmo phones. They are mine as are many of my Windows Mobile phones. I use the AT&T Tilt day everyday as my main phone. (Although I am carrying the Samsung Ace right now) I don’t hard reset 3-4 times a day like some people claim. I push my phones pretty hard and don’t really see many troubles. What troubles I do see are so minor that they are not worth complaining about. I will be honest though, I do NOT partake in much “hacking”. I do minor today screen mods and add the programs I need to do what I like to do. That might make a difference in stability.

In closing, please leave feedback on Windows Mobile or Zune here. If you care about getting your thoughts and suggestions to Microsoft on these two subjects, help me help you. If you care to debate or criticize my opinions, you are welcome to do that as well. Thanks for reading.

Written by Chris Leckness · Filed Under Featured Posts, Microsoft, Windows Mobile 6
Tagged: Microsoft Windows Mobile Phone Chris Leckness

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Kelly

Well, I have spent countless hours trying to get my hp iPAQ to detect my memory card so I could download all the tools I would love to be able to use for clinical after having paid >$300 for the device. However, no luck. The PDA is useless to me if I cannot add memory. I am so very frustrated, I just want my money back so I can order a PDA with everything I need already downloaded and ready to go. This is a nightmare. I am a NP student and cannot waste any more time on this. So I will be carrying 150 pounds of books to clinic tomorrow.

jevans

Next time you get to talk to them, I'd like to be able to sync with both my work and home but without my personal items showing up at work or my work showing up at home.

doogald

As of July 11, I will be a Mobile Me subscriber myself (when my .Mac account is upgraded.)

Ok, that said - I have a terrible time with syncing when there are more than two things being synced. It's a nightmare when I am doing dot mac, Windows Mobile, and Apple iCal/Address Book syncing (especially iCal). I really do hope that Apple improves things with Mobile Me.

whydidnt

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but I just had to comment --
doogald said:
"Or create a microsoft competitor that does the same, whatever. I would love to be able to sync to a web service so that I am not tied to a PC."

I think Apple is reading these comments and owes you a finders fee on this, seeing as that is exactly what their "Mobile Me" app is all about. It's sad that Apple seems to be first to the plate with a lot of this stuff, despite MS's supposed experience in providing mobile solutions.

Daniel

More control over icons and screen layouts. A way to change boot screen images and shutdown images. Ability to use full songs as ring tones. Hotmail and MSN mail support

doogald

I thought of something else. Mac OS X Leopard has a great feature called data detectors in their Mail app that can detect things like "let's have lunch next Sunday at noon" and allow you to quickly create a calendar event at the appropriate time and date. While that functionality may be pretty sophisticated for an embedded OS, I do think it would be great to have a menu item as you are reading a mail message that let's you create a calendar event, task, or even a contact using the text in the current mail message as a note (with the subject as the title of the event/task/etc.)

Several times I have received a mail message like this and I have to hit home, go to my calendar, hit the menu option to create a message, and then manually add all of that text, hoping that I have remembered everything.

Chris, thanks for being a face at the table for us.

Sachin Palewar

I think WinMobile is a shrunken windows and probably to make its adaptation easier and make it resemble windows for desktop so many unwanted things are included in the mobile OS.

I would like to say that 'START' button should simply be done away with and home screen should contain big finger-friendly icons for programs so that user does not need to tap on programs menu first to open the programs window. All other mobile OS seem to follow this approach, windows mobile does not need to be different on this.

Paul

I have had a Treo 750 since last May (an upgrade from the Treo 650). My thoughts on Windows Mobile are that it really is a work in progress. No mobile operating system is perfect and phones are a very subjective choice.

My experiences are that the memory management on Windows Mobile really does need to be improved. Whilst my Treo is collecting dust, my SE P1i allows me to run all the same apps (Exchange ActiveSync, RSS, Web browsing) and still see a couple of days of battery life.

Speaking of battery life, the power management code really needs reworking. Battery life on Windows Mobile leaves a lot to be desired. Whilst yes I have a 3G signal constantly on (I am on 3 in the UK which only offers a 3G signal), I am not a heavy voice or data user. I would probably get 10-15 emails pushed out and make about 20 minutes of calls. It shouldn't chew the battery to the point I am only getting 12 hours of battery life. That was acceptable in 1990 but these days at least 24 hours should be the norm. I believe part of the issue is with the way the software releases a HSDPA signal (it doesn't for a very long time).

Internet Explorer is just plain horrible. My thoughts are that either manufacturers should ship something like Opera (which is slightly better) or Microsoft should looking buying someone like Skyfire.

The standard applications are ok and I appreciate the argument that if you want to make the device better, there are alot of great applications that can WM an enjoyable experience. However, when you do the sums, WM can become costly when a lot of manufacturers are throwing in these applications for free or are designing their devices so that they are work and lifestyle devices (e.g. Blackberry Pearl). WM7 really needs to be better than the competitors and do alot better than Microsoft's performance with Vista in order for the company to achieve the dominance they want.

Just my 2c worth.

Aaron J. Walker

Ann: I had the exact same problem happen to me.

My Live account was working perfectly then it just stopped. I've tried sending from the account. I tried to delete it. I tried to create another account but nothing is working.

I had actually begun to use my Live account for many things and was enjoying it but it has inexplicably stopped working with no apparent fix available :(

Ann H

I can't find things. I can't find out how to make it stop making a shutter sound when I take a picture. After 3 months of it working, my Windows Live Mail stopped synching. I've deleted messages and tried to delete the account but can't find out where I can do that. Every time I click to view my Photos it takes me to my photos folder on the internal memory instead of the storage card even though I told it to put all my photos there. Sometimes when I have the phone in my pocket, Media Player starts playing and it's locked and it takes awhile to get it to stop, usually resulting in me having to leave whatever room I'm in to spare my coworkers from having to hear Metallica. The work around? Always turn the volume all the way down. Lame.

Just a lot of little things that expose the seams of Microsoft's many organizations. When Exchange synching ships on the iPhone, I just may switch.

And that's saying a lot considering I work at Microsoft.

Jason

Part of the problem with Microsoft is there Open-Source philosophy but don't get me wrong. As this in many respects has been a benefit to both Microsoft & the consumer. Lets face it though. In all Microsoft does a fairly good job with their OS & this is especially true with Windows Mobile. However the shortfall is with them trying to integrate so many applications into the OS that don't do the job.

As Windows mobile users we are all guilty of installing apps on our device to make it more useful. With these apps being programmed by third parties & making them work on every device can be a challenge. We all would be a lot further ahead if Microsoft would do a better job with Windows Mobile out of the box. No matter how fantastic an OS is it is never going to suit everyone or every situation.

Perhaps in the future Microsoft could work closer with third parties to insure problem free integration their products with Microsoft.

If Microsoft clearly wants to succeed they need to spend a little money on advertising. People do have a lot of choice. Rim seems to be the front-runner with the Blackberries. Business professionals have relied on them for many years & Microsoft was slow to catch on. They need to spend some cash a advertising. They need to get their message out as to why there OS & Windows Mobile device are superior to the competition. Another poster referred to the Ford ad with line of cars that use the Microsoft Sync technology. They need to do the same thing with Windows Mobile.

HP was ruining cool ad last year that related to Windows Mobile. The guy goes to a business meeting with only his HP mobile device. When he arrives he connects it to the projector & give his presentation. All his colleagues are in awe.

Windows Mobile devices also need to have more memory & storage. This is especially true with coveraged device. O2 has some devices that have at least 2G of memory. On whole coveraged devices only have one memory slot. This is in part to keep the form factors smaller. However it wouldn't take up that much more room to have 2 micro-SD slots.

david k

regarding advertising and wireless carriers.... the situation reminds me of the mini-computer business. HP and Apollo and DG would advertise about computing speed and cost - but not what one could do with their systems. Tht's because they sold hardware.

Wireless carriers today are much the same.

Carriers need to distiguish themselves based on user-experience. This is where MS and the carriers can do more together to create better user-experiences. and that does not mean stuff like MEdiaNet and charges for what we can get for free on the internet.

Anyway, advertising is not the way to help MS "catch-up" with Apple -- it will take actual ease of use, a better user-experience and improved functionality in key areas like people have spoken about in this thread.

Jeffrey Dee

I agreem with one comment, WM devices lack the out of the box experience. But on the positive side, it opened a wide range of opportunities for Third Pary Developers to offer what WM lacks. You can now customize your WM device to your desire. Interface? There is Pontui, Ifonz, SPB Shell, Touch Commander and many more. Internet? There is Opera, Skyfire, IRIS and many more. Mail? There is Fleximail. And the list of software replacements seems endless.

If Microsoft was to do the out of the box experience, then users will be saddle with minimal ways to customize your device. Competition is good. And that is what Microsoft has done with their OS. They opened WM to the world of INNOVATION.

doogald

Oh! Scott Trotter reminds me! One more thing - work with Google on syncing with your Google account. Google Calendar is pretty stable, and they have just announced a contacts sync API. Over the air syncing with Google products would be great.

Or create a microsoft competitor that does the same, whatever. I would love to be able to sync to a web service so that I am not tied to a PC.

(I should note, though, that I can already do that with Verizon's Wireless Sync client, but the app that they licensed from Intellisync simply sucks.)

(When you talk to the Zune guys see if you can get them to the same - sync the Zune to a web client rather than a proprietary one so that we Mac and Linux users can join the social.)

Scott Trotter

This may echo a lot of what was said above, but at least you're hearing some consensus develop. The problem with Windows Mobile ISN'T the platform itself. The problem is that the out-of-the-box experience is totally LAME!

In almost every case, each of the built-in applications can--and should--be replaced with something far superior. Opera is a way better browser than PIE; FlexMail is a way better email client; Pocket Informant is a way better PIM; PhatNotes is a way better note taker; Pocket Player is a way better media player; Mobile Shell, Pocket Breeze, iLauncher, Pocket Plus are all way better Today or home screen utilities; and on and on.

If Microsoft want to avoid getting totally blitzed by the iPhone, then they or their OEMs need to license best-of-breed applications and utilities like those I listed above, bundle them together into a coherent package, and make THAT their standard offering.

The other thing they need to do is to move away from desktop syncing as the standard way to move data into and out-of the device. Syncing is an important feature, so it should go away, but Microsoft needs to support additional paradigms, such as syncing with cloud-based services directly, or treating the device as a completely stand-alone unit and installing everything over the air.

Aaron J. Walker

Yes, as David K said, Microsoft, in it's entirety, cannot seem to find a decent ad agency.

Has any seen the new MSN ads "Nobody wants to look stupid" or some such nonsense?

Microsoft leaves it's ads to their "partners" who would rather sell you a 2-year voice/data plan than tell you why Windows Mobile is the best choice.

Since the carriers and OEMs obviously don't care about showing customers why Windows Mobile is a better choice, Microsoft had better care.

Windows Mobile needs a good ad campaign. I do see people with the Blackjack II not because it is Windows Mobile, but because it is slim, cheap, whatever. Microsoft is going to have to show people that Windows Mobile is the best choice OS for their phone. Too many people still don't know the difference and think a "phone is just a phone."

Look at RIMs ads for the Blackberry. Numerous people who don't talk about how the device looks or if it comes in Wine Red. They talk about how using a Blackberry makes them succeed in business and makes them money, keeps them connected to the other people that help make them money, and .... not much else. RIM is selling financial success by using a Blackberry.

iPhone ads are also solution centric. "The iPhone helps me solve X,Y,Z problem" while showing off how easy it is to use and nice it looks. Apple is selling problem solved in a very nice package.

Windows Mobile? Non existant.

The web site ads are okay, they do show how easy it is to get stuff done, stay connected and have some fun on the device but that assumes people know enough to look for them. How will they know if no one tells them Windows Mobile is the "perfect" solution for all their phone needs?

And they most assuredly need to get some beefy, hunky guys, with deep, masculine voices instead of the procession of scrawny, nerdy, geeky types that show up time and time again in their ads and on voice overs.

The only one that seems to be on the right track is their Sync ads with Ford. They are at least memorable. And, because they are so well done, I'm thinking it is Ford's ad agency and not Microsoft's.

CodeBubba

Chris,

No major complaints here, really. Replaced my X50/Mid with an hx2495b a few months ago. There sure do seem to be a lot of gripes about A/S 4.5 though I haven't experienced any serious problems with it. Generally I just plug the box in and it syncs. Works fine on both my office laptop and my Dell box at the house. WM5 seemed a bit unstable for awhile until I discovered that it was more likely Pocket Plus - since removing it the thing runs for days and days with no resets.

PIE - Basic but works OK.
WMP - Same thing ... Basic but works OK.
Pocket Office - For what I use it for (Word Mobile, Excel, etc.) it works fine.

Sorry I didn't have more to complain about!

-CB :D

kcmatt

And... Voice recognition.

How about speech as a text input for all applications!

kcmatt

One word... Finger-friendly.

david k

lots of great feedback already. i'll nevertheless repeat a few complaints for emphasis.

1) why does activesync nearly bring my laptop to a standstill when it is syncing? why does it need to sync all my mobile favorites when none have been added or deleated? please make activesync faster and more transparent. please allow sync with more than 2 pcs.

2) please improve the media player. the capability to play music and films is a big part of what makes a smartphone fun. tone control, better volume control, more supported media types. please allow out of the box support for all streaming radio formats. please!

3) please improve the upgrade process. going from 6.0 to 6.1 should be easy, and maybe even over the air. improvements/upgrades to core software like outlook and the media player should be available separate from an os upgrade. but it does have to be 1 click easy and it does have to work flawlessly. this probably supports the earlier comment about having more spine to limit carrier intervention on the os. and it would be worth it.

4) please improve text sizing control, or support stronger standards, for mobile websites. example: mobile versions of engadgetmobile and engadget. on one text is huge, the other it's tiny. this was never a problem in 5.0.

5) please allow more homescreen customization capabilities without 3rd party applications. even if that means just more preloaded templates.

6) please improve the internet browser. i'm talking speed here. and stability. 'mobile' version sites are going to fade away, so the browser will have to be able to handle 'real' websites. right now it's a struggle.

7) please do a better job of advertising the winmo experience. apple ads show features that exist on winmo devices but carriers never demonstrate. in the end, what people see is what they know. they know very little about winmo, because no-one shows them much.

these comments are based on my experieces, formed from using an audiovox smt 5600 running winmo 3se, a blackjack 1 running 5.0 and now 6.0 on cingular and att.

i hope this helps!

Jeffrey Dee

Hi. I have been a WM user for 4 years. There is still no OS that allows you to specifically tailor your device to your own needs. The Iphone? Steve Job has said that all Third Party Applications must pass their standards. And that sucks! WM is open to all Third Party applications without the need for Microsoft seal of Approval. There are hundreds of Third Party software that can enhance/replace standard WM applications.

The only gripe with WM is Memory Management. You have to soft reset the device to clear-up available Memory. Microsoft has not been able to come-up with a solution that will reset/clear the available Memory.

c1oudrs

You said,

Should Microsoft step up to the plate and “catch up”? Sure.

Well said.

Windows mobile DOES need to dominate more because the stakes are extremely high, in my opinion, The more doors they (microsoft) leave open, the bigger chance someone is going to come up behind them.

Specifically what I'd like to see is an independent operating system rather than the crippled younger brother of PC windows. Don't feel sorry for winxows mobile anymore. Unlike many, I don't mind buying more dynamic third party software. What I do mind is the seeming subconscios acceptace that somewhere down the line that windows mobile will have to have a PC to help the mobile system 'over the rough spots'.

Take active sinc. Can windows mobile sinc with windows mobile? No. Can my bluetooth Advantage search my bluetoothed Axim . . uh no. Developers of windows mobile need to start thinking out of the PC box. If you presuppose wmobile to be crippled, it always will be in my opinion.

Uhhh. Wait a monute--WINDOWS IS PLURAL! Has that not ever seemed a bit strange? Windows mobile, I mean, only having one non-resizable window? Hello, microsoft? There is a hidden message here that might not be beneficial.

Don't get me wrong, I like windows mobile--the poor, poor dear. Its a MOBILE operating system after all. Can't expsct too much. In the meantime big brother Vista is eating itself out of being a competant UMPC operating system, its bloat opening the door wider for linux.

hyedipin

I agree with Jake on activesync. It is not active, and it is anything by syncing.
For application installation/removal, the new generation should just have simple installation directly on the device, forget installing/removing via host device.

Windows Mobile also should work smoother. Whenever you run or switch an application, even with 400mhz+ processor, there is always choppy visuals. You get half of the screen loading, the other half takes few seconds to refresh. It just doesn't feel smooth or solid. But what is?

Windows Mobile just doesn't make it because it is not complete. You cannot rely on it for complete e-mail client, no real internet browsing eventhough it should be capable of (My first computer was 100mhz and was able to surf the web just fine!), and the standard multimedia support is just from the last century.

JakeRich

My number one set of gripes is with Activesync. The word for it is "awful." The connections are unreliable and difficult to set up, the speed is pathetic. And when they removed wireless syncing, that was the dumbest thing they have ever done. And why am I limited to syncing with only two PCs? I have a desktop in my office, another at home and a laptop from my company for travel. I want to sync with them all so that my life is in order.

So, my suggestion is to fix it. Give back wireless sync. Put in sync over a network. Speed it up. Make it make sense when installing. Allow me to define where the file sync folder will be on both the PDA and the PC. Generate meaningful error messages so I know what to do--an eight digit number tells me nothing. Open up sync to other than just outlook, or provide an API so others can jump in and use it. And let me sync with more than just two PCs.

whydidnt

Well, so many of the previous posters have hit my biggest gripes. PIE is a joke, it is slow and ugly. The built in media player is nearly as bad. It should be easy to add codecs, view in full screen and not be a resource hog. MS really needs to start pushing the envelope as far real support for higher resolution screens. There current support for VGA is embarrassingly awful. Why can't they make screen elements, native apps, etc. screen appropriately instead of simply pixel doubling everything?

Finally, MS needs to find a way to get their hardware partners to start pushing the envelope. It's 9 months since the iPhone has been released and there still isn't a WM device that can compete with the iPhone's hardware - a big 3.5" HVGA screen (without a wasteful bezel), 8 - 16 GBs of flash memory and an small pocketable form factor. Perhaps they could offer a marketing bounty to the first OEM that can provide a better set of hardware features than the iPhone. The upcoming Sony device is a joke compared to the iPhone - 3" screen, up to 1 GB of memory and it's bigger too! Is there something about WM that makes it difficult for OEMs to include a large supply of flash memory? I'm thinking there might be something inherent in the OS, since even the Advantage uses a separate drive for it's large internal storage. If so, MS needs to fix that as well.

Graham Best

I'm happy with Windows Mobile operating system. Anything I don't like with the applications come with it can be replaced by the number of strong third party applications. I wish that the platform was more stable, however, as it takes days to install and reconfigure everything.

What we really need is a 'flagship' hardware model. What I want is a Axim x50v with Windows Mobile 6.1 with a 3G phone. I'm really hoping that the nVidia APX 2500 GPU will make this happen... But I haven't seen anything since my x50v that has inspired me to upgrade.

UMPC's aren't going to replace smartphones in the next five years. They just take too much power. It seems that recently Microsoft has been pushing this as the portable solution, but it's not a smartphone solution right now.

Phaang

I've been using a PDA device since the old Pilot 1000 days. I migrated to Windows devices many years ago, and continue to use Windows Mobile 5 on my Axim X51v. The one thing that always irritated the hell out of me was the implementation of time zone changes. This is a mobile device. It moves into the time zone when I do. Why shift all the appointments' time when I change the local time on the device? I don't understand that philosophy for a mobile device. If I call someone in another time zone and say "let's meet for lunch at 11:30 when I get there", I don't want to have to make all kinds of adjustments and calculations to overcome this silly function.

This has been well discussed by many others already, so I don't expect it to change in any future iteration of the OS, but I gotta try, right?

Thanks

doogald

Chris,

The things that bug me about Windows Mobile (and, for the record, I am using WM6 Standard, I think - the one for non-touchscreen smartphones)

- the stock Calendar app is not searchable. This is silly. *Every* database on the device should be searchable!

- the stock Calendar app does not support creating events with categories. I use them to segregate my appointments; I need this functionality. For this and the prior reason, I had to buy a third party app that I'd rather not have bought.

- Internet Explorer is really bad. It is slow to render and renders many pages badly. This is not as critical for me, but IE on the phone should be to IE on the desktop as iPhone's Safari is to Leopard's Safari.

- I'd prefer the ability to choose my e-mail reply address from the Mail application. From what I have seen, I cannot choose a reply-to address. (Explanation: I use gmail to collect all of my mail because of its excellent SPAM filter, so I'd like to be able to choose the correct reply-to e-mail address when I reply or forward messages.)

- Better than that - integrated junk filtering. That would be awesome. I get about 150 messages a day, about 130 of them junk. Maybe more. Having to delete all of them when I send/retrieve mail bites.

- Last mail feature: an easy way to mark all messages read.

- Better control of home screen elements. I'd like to be able to put launch icons there, plus be able to better control what elements get placed there and where they get placed.

- Better support of soft buttons. I have only one on my phone, and it would be great if there was support for different presses - press and hold does something different from a single press, pressing both Start and the soft button at the same time does something else, etc.

- Better support for profile scheduling. I'd like to be able to have the phone stay quiet after 11 pm and start squawking again at 6 am without having to do it myself.

But here are the things that I like:

- Contacts is just fine

- The OS is rock solid. I can do something, take a call, and not worry about the phone locking up, dropping the call, etc.

Aaron J. Walker

I don't think Window Mobile is broken either. I've tried all the others (Palm, Symbian) and prefer all I can do with Windows Mobile every single time.

However, on topic, could you please ask them to fix/improve Pocket/Mobile Media Player? Besides the numerous rants against PIE, NO ONE ever, ever, EVER talks about the extremely disappointing Media Player.

I would like it to be the same as it is on my desktop. That's it. Nothing fancy. Just have the same (or most) of the functionality like I enjoy when I use it at home.

And I don't mean visualizations or more album art, I mean playlist creation and saving, and then syncing that back to the desktop like I created on my device. And volume control/EQ.

Actually, that's only three thing I see wrong with Media Player on my Motorola Q9h. If Media Player Mobile did those three things, I wouldn't need Pocket Player (which allows me to exceed the crippled volume level for noisier environments like on the treadmill at the gym when you are competing with the noise of 30 other treadmills, people yakking instead of exercising, the music from the facility and the use of other noisy equipment).

Other than that, I don't use the "out of the box" apps from Microsoft. My PIM is third party, I don't surf the web much from my phone and am unlikely to. Live Search is wonderful.

But here is another: integrate all of the great features of Live into Windows Mobile. Like Live Writer. I should be able to blog in a mobile version of Live Writer and then have it sync back to the desktop version.

And if Voice Command is standard on XP and Vista, why isn't it standard on Windows Mobile?

Bill Gates constantly talks about voice and touch as the new frontiers of computing, which I whole heartedly agree, then why take it out of Windows Mobile? Give us back voice command as a standard feature.

And last but not least: Windows Mobile 6 Standard should be able to natively create Office stuff just like Professional. I don't like touch screens, I don't want a stylus, that's why I went with Standard, I want a keyboard.

I should not have to have a third party app (Documents to Go) to do what Windows Mobile 6 can do out of the box on the Professional edition.

And lastly (for sure this time) and my biggest gripe by far: stop letting OEMs and carriers tinker around with Windows Mobile so much. It's your OS! Act like it! Enhancements yes, but taking out whole features? NO!

It's called backbone.

If Apple could do it and not let anyone dinker around with the iPhone PLUS give regular enhancements to the OS/UI without having to get AT&T's permission, surely Microsoft should expect (demand) the same.

Whenever Windows Mobile 6.1 comes out, Microsoft should be able (and demand) to release it directly to owners of Windows Mobile devices of 6.0. Period. No discussion. No hold ups.

The same should be true if they come up with any improvements, enhancements, etc. Threaded SMS feature? A free download right now. The same way you give out Service packs for XP and Vista should be the same for Windows Mobile. No arguments allowed from anybody.

When a whole new version comes out (say going from 6.5 to 7.0) then I could see having to wait for a new handset, I understand you and your partners are trying to drive sales and make money. But not for any other purpose or because AT&T wants to stick it to the consumer by making them pay for stuff that's already standard in the OS.

Sorry, this was longer than intended but I love Windows Mobile and only want to see it improve. It's not "broken," just in need of a few tweaks.

If you take nothing else from this, please ask them to improve Media Player and get a backbone for their own OS.

Paul Menig

Chris, I think Microsoft needs to do a better job of enforcing its standards. I bought an E-Ten X800 device. It should be faster, but is slower. The voice mail icon does not work with T-Mobile correctly. The GPS is a dream for use with Intelligolf. Memory management is an issue and forces me to have to reset to regain memory. MemMaid is not effective enough. Besides, I should not have to work to reclaim memory. I run Spb Plus so that I get a real shutdown to save memory.

All in all, I agree that Windows Mobile is superior for most things. I have found I went to an iPod Touch for video. Using Spb DVD takes too much effort to get videos onto the machine and the quality is jerky at times regardless of frames per second settings.

I work for Daimler Trucks North America(ie Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks in the rest of the world) and personally deal with the closed architecture (MB) versus the open architecture (Freightliner). Both can be winners. As I get older, I'm beginning to favor the old IBM/Apple closed architecture, make it simple and reliable versus the IBM PC/Microsoft world of completely open standards. Of course I am e-mailing this on a business trip using the hotels "free" open Wi-Fi system.

I know people are starting to complain about the SDK from Apple and the tight rein they are putting on people. But I prefer that in some ways to having to worry about viruses getting into my PDA. The virus software I have to run on my PC's at home slow them down unacceptably. In fact, rather than going from XP to Vista, I am beginning to move my household (2 laptops, WiFi, shared drives and a desktop PC) to the Apple world. I now have an iPOD Touch for my wife, a larger one for me and have my wife using the MacBook Air--just enough for her--light and cool. Think of it as a bit larger UMPC for people over 50 that need larger print and keys.

I'd be happy to discuss further with you. I've been a loyal Microsoft devotee for better than 23 years. I purchased Windows 1.0 on my own when my company would not support it. I was an early adopter of PDA's and used the Symbian devices in the late 90's.

PS. The iPhone does not do anywhere near enough for me yet to move to that machine. I need UMTS for Europe and Japan, I "need" the GPS for the golf program. And my wife has to be able to play Yahtzee with me in restaurants and theaters. iPhone is not yet ready.

What is wrong with Windows Mobile?

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