I have said this before and I will say it again, even before Windows Mobile 6.5 came out, Windows Mobile wasn’t dead. If anything, it was in hibernation. But seriously, the OS in itself isn’t dead, it’s just the expectations of what consumers want has been raised with the introduction of the iPhone and then Palm’s WebOS and Android following behind. My biggest complaint with Microsoft is the lack of frequent, easy to roll out updates in between the 1-2 year major release time periods. I understand fully why it’s not really possible, but still, it’s a problem. It’s this problem that has hindered consumer acceptance of Windows Mobile.
In this article, I want to share some info about me and my journey through the days of Pocket PC all the way to the Windows Mobile 6.5 release last week. I was kind of harsh on WinMo 6.5 and I want to put it into perspective on why I am so disappointed. I also want to share why I purchased an iPhone 3GS on the same day that Microsoft launched Windows Mobile 6.5. To do all this, I will have to share a long history of where I am and where I have been in all this.
To start out, the title of the post comes from an article on iSuppli.com with the same name, “Reports of Windows Mobile’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated “. I read this article after a story that Malatesta over at WM Experts yesterday. The article talks about the companies that have decided to leave Windows Mobile behind and the market share numbers. The author, Tina Teng made a good point about Microsoft’s foothold in the industry…
“The battle over smart-phone software has spread beyond the operating systems,” Teng observed. “To win in today’s environment, a company needs not only an operating system but also device support, an application store, a broad portfolio of applications and support from the developer community. While Windows Mobile is losing some share to competitors in 2009, most of the alternatives cannot match Microsoft’s complete suite of offerings.”
I agree with this, but I think Microsoft should really focus their “suite of offerings” on what the consumers want rather than ignoring the communities for years like they did with the “X” button for so long. Consumers are screaming for the Zune integration, a Zune Phone, an Xbox phone, consumers want the good things that Microsoft has to offer all tied into a stellar mobile OS.
Why do I love STILL Windows Mobile?
There is no way to explain in an unabridged format, so here we go. I started my journey through mobile devices playing around with the monochrome Palm devices. For a couple years, I was getting all I could get out of them. I lost my Palm III at some point and went a few months without a toy. I went out and bought a Casio BE300. I loaded all the software needed to make it more than a calculator and in about 2 weeks, realized that it was more trouble than it was worth. This is about the time my dad told me that Dell was getting ready to launch a Pocket PC called the Dell Axim. Up to that point, I had only seen a couple Pocket PCs out there. One of my friends had a Toshiba and I asked him how much it set him back. When he told me $600, I just about fell off the bar stool at the Mellow Mushroom. I loved it though and when I found out that the Dell Axim X5 was going to cost just $299, I immediately ordered one.
That purchase single handedly put me into the game. It’s the reason anyone is reading these words right now. Thanks Dell. So, I bought the Dell Axim and started Aximsite.com, a site where I initially intended to blog my adventures. (Although nobody knew that what I was doing was blogging at that time, nor did I) Aximsite quickly grew once I added forums and in the next couple months my life changed forever. Aximsite grew faster than I could afford, so i started getting a couple advertisers to help keep us online. For 3 year, Aximsite was the place to be for Dell Axim and general Pocket PC discussion. We did tons of reviews, tutorials, and more that spanned the launches of the X5, X3, X3i, X30, X50, and X51. It was a great time and Pocket PC, the OS, was doing just fine. A couple other sites were created building off Aximsite’s success. iPaqHQ, PSPSite, DellDJSite, and more. iPaqHQ turned into Mobilitysite, DellDJsite is now GotZune.com, and PSPsite is merged into Mobilitysite as well. Another was Tabletsite.com, which is reopening soon.
From about 2005-2008, I worked to merging Aximsite into Mobilitysite slowly. It’s been totally merged for a little more than a year now. Because Mobilitysite evolved from Aximsite and iPaqHQ, the scope of coverage has been mainly Windows Mobile. For the last couple years, we have dabbled into other aspects of mobility, but when I am mainly focused on Windows Mobile as well as most of our staff, a strong bias occurs. I think last few months have seen some open mindedness from our people though. I am talking about Microsoft’s competitor operating systems more and some of our other writers don’t even own Windows Mobile devices. In fact, I just started using an iPhone myself, but I will share more about that later. Since Mobilitysite has always been known to have a WinMo bias, some of our veteran staffers have been a bit quiet because they are using iPhones and didn’t want to post their views here. That’s when I decided to start iPhone.Mobilitysite.com, just for them.
Back to my love for Windows Mobile. Because of my contributions to the Pocket PC/Windows Mobile community, I was awarded the Microsoft MVP Award in Mobile Devices in 2005. I have been an MVP ever since then, except for 4 months that I moved over to Zune MVP. I came back to being a Mobile Device MVP pretty fast though. I loved Zune, but I felt that I should stay in the Mobile Device area. Being an MVP doesn’t mean you have to bleed Microsoft blood though. I am free to support and/or evangelize what ever I choose. There is no stipulation in being an MVP that says you have to die for the product, but in the past, I would. I have blindly claimed Windows Mobile number 1 for years. Until the iPhone came out, I was not questioned. The iPhone comes along in 2007 and changed the whole game.
In the months leading up to the launch of the iPhone, I was quite critical of many aspects of the iPhone. Even though I had no hands on knowledge, I was ready to discount the device and continue pledging my allegiance to Microsoft. The night before the iPhone went on sale, I decided to call into work and go stand in line to see what the fuss was all about. I did this, grabbed the iPhone, and really liked some aspects of the phone. I still own that iPhone, but rarely turn it on anymore. I gave it a chance, but there were things like exchange support that turned me off. All the complaints I had about the iPhone were remedied within a year of it’s initial launch though, but by that time it was too late. HTC was starting to push out Windows Mobile devices to die for in the US. The Diamond and Touch Pro lines made me fall back in love with Windows Mobile. HTC made Windows Mobile better. Samsung started pumping out some hot devices too. Before long, HTC and Samsung became the new Dell for me personally. I loved Dell products for the longest time. I wouldn’t buy a laptop or desktop that didn’t say Dell on them.
Over the next year and a half, Windows Mobile 6.1 came out, HTC started tweaking the OS with add-ons like TouchFlo and things were looking up for the OS that Apple made to look ugly now. Admittedly, this is the timeframe where I had a lot in my personal life interfere with my websites and I lost time and passion to really grow the sites. I got lazy with reviews, videos, etc and I almost decided to just shut the sites down and move along. I showed up to the Spring 2009 CTIA conference and some of my colleagues can attest to the fact that I had lost my passion. I spoke of quitting altogether. I woke the 2nd day of CTIA and something clicked and I somehow my outlook changed in my sleep. I had a meeting with HTC and was show some really hot new phones that weren’t out yet. ( TP2, Diamond 2, Snap, and more) I fell in love with the Touch Pro 2 and when it became available a month later in Europe, I immediately bought it. It was the “Holy Grail” and nothing else being released excited me. Up until this past Tuesday, Windows Mobile 6.5 launch day, it was my daily driver.
On that Tuesday, I was sitting at my day job disappointed with the small step Microsoft took with Windows Mobile 6.5 after a years time waiting, and decided that I was going to simplify my mobile device arsenal and use what works for me despite my love for Windows Mobile. When I got off work that day, I drove to the AT&T store and purchased an iPhone 3GS. I decided that I should stop resisting that great device and do what felt right at the time. A few days later, I am not regretting the purchase. The funny thing is that another MVP, Clinton Fitch, got an iPhone 3GS the same day.
I was less than kind to Microsoft in my initial thoughts on Windows Mobile 6.5, but I still love Windows Mobile. I am not happy with the current state of the development and I am appalled at the Marketplace, but I realize that things are going to get better for Windows Mobile when Windows Mobile 7 is released. Even though I have chosen to get an iPhone, I am not giving up on my 1st love.
Moving forward, I will continue to cover Windows Mobile, but I will also cover others as well. I will make a post here and there on Mobilitysite about iPhone, but I plan to share most iPhone content on iPhone.Mobilitysite.com. I still plan to support Zune on GotZune.com since I really love Zune Pass and my Zune 120 is awesome, but if iTunes had a subscription based service, it might be a tougher choice. On the iPhone blog, I plan to go back to what people liked about me and my reviews back in the old Aximsite days. I plan to do more software and accessory reviews again. I am reinvigorated with a new platform and to be honest, I am excited to share again.
In closing, I do think that Windows Mobile’s Death is greatly exaggerated. I think Windows Mobile will be back strong in not time. I don’t want my temporary enlistment into the dark side’s army to let anyone think otherwise. Windows Mobile is not broken, it’s just that my expectations have also been raised. Windows Mobile 6.5 does not meet those expectations. Here’s to hoping that 7.0 meets them.
If you read all this, I appreciate it and I am sorry for the wall of text. Thanks for reading me and Mobilitysite. I hope everyone out there does realize that I appreciate everything and everyone reading
source:mobilitysite
