Reader Poll: How does Windows Mobile 6.5 Strike You?
Our podcasting co-hort co-host isn’t that impressed with the Microsoft Windows 6.5 news out of Mobile World Congress. Matt asks: where’s the beef? He thinks that some of the custom shells from SPB, HTC, Sony Ericsson and Samsung out there already on 6.1 are better. It’s interesting to me because Windows Mobile was always designed with a desktop paradigm, even with its predecessor, Pocket PC. Microsoft wanted a familiar interface way back then. Might have been a good idea when we were less mobile, but since we’re more mobile, it’s less of a good idea. Follow? 
I agree with Matt that the lack of support for capacitive touchscreens is a gap. I realize that in some areas, a stylus and resistive touchscreen are the norm. But why not support both resistive and capacitive at this point? That would give carriers and handset OEMs good options for their local clientele.
Matt rightly points out that the Exchange / ActiveSync experience on a Windows Mobile, er Windows Phone, is second to none. No argument there either, but that strength is getting licensed away to Apple, Google, Nokia and others. Overall, I see the new Windows Mobile version as a very incremental update based on what we’ve seen so far. More concerning to me is what we’ll see from other platforms between now and when Windows Mobile 7 hits.Thoughts?
On that homescreen, they’ve butchered what’s great about the equivalent from WM Standard (that I’ve had for months in 6.1).
One of the huge benefits of it is you can see everything at once without scrolling. When not selected, there’s a notifications section which shows how many missed calls, voicemail, SMS, and email all in one panel, without needing to scroll between them. When it’s selected it shows you whichever has a notification. So if you have a voicemail, it’ll show you the voicemail screen, if you have a text it’ll show you the text, and you can still move between any of them pressing right and left. What is the point of separating these out into different panels? Because of that you have to scroll through the menu when otherwise it’d all fit on the screen. Basically, they’ve pretty much ruined it, as far as I’m concerned.
Perhaps I missed the memo but what is so great about capacitive screens anyway? Multitouch is just a gimmick and a lighter resistive touch screen can be just as responsive as a capacitive touch screen as the Touch HD has proven.
Besides I really doubt that manufacturers would release different screens in different markets. You Americans are already finding that OEMs aren’t bothering to release phones in the US because of the non-standard frequencies you use. Why would this be any different when the benefits are so doubtful.
Finally, it’s important to note that MS also think that this is an incremental upgrade which is why it’s version 6.5 rather than 7. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and their sales figures demonstrate that WinMo isn’t going anywhere just yet.
People who follow me on Twitter are probably sick of me saying this, but I’ve seen SO MANY handsets that I’d own if it wasn’t for the fact that they ran Windows Mobile. I just can’t get over the fact that a great looking, well designed handset like the Touch Pro is hobbled by a slow as molasses OS with a browser from 2001.
I’d love to love WinMo, but until it’s guts get an overhaul, I just can’t by a WinMo phone.
I’ve used Win Mo since it was just win CE. And let’s be honest, Win Mo -er- Phone 6.5 should really be labeled around CE 4.7… even the “major” releases of win mo have been very minor incremental changes.
Which is why I finally jumped to the iphone – got tired of waiting after a decade.
I have played with so many phones and there is no question that the ones with capacitive digitizers provide a better touch experience.
Whether you agree that a touch UI is important or not is another (and personal) matter. Resistive digitizers do not handle touch as well, even single touch based on the use of many, many phones with both kinds of digitizers.
As of now, the maximum votes are for “It’s OK” or “Not Impressed”. It will be interesting to know the browsers that people used when they voted for the poll.
Why is everyone crying about how it “seems” to be an incremental update, when clearly 6.1 to 6.5 *IS* an incremental update? It is in every way an incremental update, so there is no “seems” about it.
WM7 will be the alleged update that we all want to see, but there’s a point made above– what will happen between now and then? Knowing Apple– not much. They’ll announce something this summer that is an incremental update to the iPhone and every one of you will praise it as being revolutionary. Blackberry Storm? Other than James, nobody in the tech world is praising it. Android? Every Android phone in the works has been delayed by months, and the G1 is a fugly device on a fugly network.
Call WM6.5 what it is– an incremental update that is a great start on a long road to where they need to be. Everyone who has actually USED the interface is reporting favorably— even Gizmodo’s Apple-loving Jesus Diaz (whose articles I love reading, no matter the subject), so give it the credit it deserves.
As for the deep revamp that everyone is hoping for… I want it too, but it’s entirely possible right now to do it through third-party enhancements, so place some criticism on HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung, etc etc for not going deep enough (although each do a great job in their own ways). Should it be their responsibility? Not forever, but as long as they’re the primary OEM releasing the devices, they have as much fault as MS.
I’ve said it countless times, but I’m thrilled that I even HAVE a choice in the UI at all. I could have bought an iPhone and been frustrated with its one-style-fits-all mentality.
Anyway, the points from the article I mostly agree with, but some of the above comments are just a laugh to read knowing how ridiculous some of them are.
By the way, James, how’s the inking on the iPhone these days?
Got to wait for hands-on before making any rash decisions!
Hands-on is critical for a phone, no question. I can’t wait to try this out.
@Good, no inking required.
Lipstick on a pig. So they made a nicer looking home screen. people have been doing that on Winmo for years. It’s still a bug ridden, memory leaking, unstable mess underneath. Kind of like Windows itself.
How is inking “required” on a Windows Mobile phone?
I like my WM device (currently a Sprint Mogul). I like what I can do on WM. But the interface needs more that just a new shell. Finger friendly interfaces everywhere please. I’d like to be done with my stylus. More revolution, less evolution…its time to get going on this.
Jake, it’s not required, just like it’s not required on the iPhone (original question).
And if MAtt thought the current spb shell for 6.1 was good the version 3 – out to consumers late March is Amazing
@Philip Ferris
Wrod to SPB! without SPB i would have never made it as long as i did w/my Tmobile MDA (and of course the gang over at xdadevelopers and showing how to homebrew your own custom ext roms!).
still a meh for me. looking better but really does it run smoother? i hate to be that guy (i’m no apple fanboy mind you, i’m a sony fanboy if any fanboy.. hehe) but until WinMo can perform on a level compared to the iPhone; i won’t be back.
today i played w/WM6.1 again and was again not impressed at all. AGAIN the problem is mainly the resistive vs compacitive touch, you need the latter for touch to really work.
I’m running a beta of 6.5 on my HTC Touch HD and I have to say I’m thrilled… works very smoothly and the new Mobile IE6 is very fast — mind blowing so in point of fact. It is very finger friendly… Its a beta so I probably will replace it with another 6.1 ROM in a few days but I think most users will be pleased by what they will see
Mahesh wrote: “Why is everyone crying about how it “seems” to be an incremental update, when clearly 6.1 to 6.5 *IS* an incremental update? It is in every way an incremental update, so there is no “seems” about it.”
…and WM 6.0 was a weak improvement of WM 5 that failed to address broken UI concepts that were almost 5 years old when it was launched and WM 6.1 was an incremental update of WM 6 that also failed to improve much. That’s almost 3 years of micro-refreshes to what is basically still just WM5, and it will be nearly a full 4 years from WM5 until we possibly see a truly refreshed OS in WM 7.
Really, you have the patience for this kind of failure to make progress? When one sees the leaps and bounds advancements in the mobile OS’s from Apple, Android, and soon Palm, who wants to re-up with another sad micro-update to WinMo?
@Good2Life that’s all very well and good to say wait for a hands on, but think about what you are saying from the standpoint of those of us who already think that 6.1 is a horrible piece of garbage:
1) 6.1 is a buggy, slow OS with a horrible browser
2) 6.5 is an incremental upgrade
3) therefore, even without a hands on, since it IS just an incremental upgrade, I can say that most likely, it’s a buggy, slow OS with a horrible browser.
I have high hopes for WinMo 7, but the question above was whether people were impressed by THIS outing on the part of Microsoft — and given the logic behind your own argument, that this is incremental, it’s not to far of leap to say “no, not really”.
As for everyone praising the iPhone, you are quite right — fanboyism is fanboyism, whether it’s someone defending the iPhone as if it were the second coming of Jesus, or someone defending WinMo 6.5
-ollysk2
the main problem (i’d say pain in the ass) with winCE/mobile is/was from the beginning, that microsoft never considered these devices as independent plattforms but appendices of desktop workstations. therefore still the inability to synchronize freely to as many other pc’s as one likes.
The one great thing about WM that everyone is missing the boat on is that it keeps the stylus and handwriting recognition. Even Android got this wrong. After having the iphone for some time I am really missing my stylus and am looking longingly at the new HTC designs out there.
As for hardware keyboards, I never understood them. A good handwriting recognition app is much much faster than a hardware keyboard, and takes up much much less space providing a thinner sleeker device.
I think Microsoft would be fools if they didn’t hurry up and just outsource the entire WM OS to HTC, and let them redo it from the bottom up.
So is that why Windows new OS is Windows 7, so that Windows Mobile 7 is the smartphone branch and it all ties together?
It’s funny spinedoc, you think hardware keyboards are silly and a good handwriting recognition app is faster/better, I couldn’t disagree more. I am *much* more comfortable typing, even on a cramped keyboard, especially when it comes to all the alphanumeric data I deal with (part numbers, email addresses, urls). Having horrific handwriting doesn’t help, either
Heck, ideally I’d have 2 hardware entry setups, numberpad for quick one-handed messages and QWERTY for longer ones.
To the original topic, I’m frustrated with the continued application of lipstick to the pig and wish they would have just focused the resources on getting WM7 out sooner.
I forgot to add “just goes to show, these kinds of preferences are all very personal.” Didn’t mean to insinuate that spine was wrong.