Phoning people. Sending text messages. Mobile data services.
That’s what you need a phone to do.
And will the much rumoured Microsoft Zune Phone do this? We shall see.
Devin Coldewey at CrunchGear reckons that Microsoft is in, “…Pole position to announce something like a Zune phone.”
“Could this coming January hold the surprise announcement everyone wants to hear?” he asks.
No.
Is the short answer.
Microsoft have continually delivered rubbish operating system after rubbish operating system and I tell you, it’s going to take a heckuvalot to persuade me that they can deliver anything other than another damp squid.
Windows Mobile has it’s fans in the enterprise. That’s fine but in today’s fast-paced consumer market, Windows gets stuffed by the competition.
The annoyance for me is that normobs buy Windows Mobile devices. They DO buy them. Based on the research I’ve done — all of it anecdotal I should point out — they don’t buy again.
It’s easy to be wowed by the HTC ‘HD’ devices. They are *gorgeous*. Beautifully engineered in many cases. Entirely let down by the operating system.
Microsoft have made improvements.
They’ve glossed over the delays and the crashes by making a reasonably attractive front-end interface.
This doesn’t help when you try and do an instant message conversation, send an email and browse the web simultaneously. It just wilny’wurk. As they say in Scotland.
And that isn’t my reading of Windows Mobile. It’s supposed to be better than that.
Almost three years ago I was writing publicly about how shit Windows Mobile was. And I tell you, it fills me full of negative confidence to find out that I’m right and a trillion dollar company and all their Windows Mobile resources is wrong.
I can break your Windows Mobile device in 10 seconds by doing as I described above. Run MSN, do some web browsing, have it try and stream something and check your email. Watch it melt. THEN phone it. And watch it forget what sodding day it is.
Can they pull a Zune phone out and shock the planet?
Meh.
We shall see.
Either way based on existing experiences, I reckon a Zune phone, should it materialise, will go nowhere. Unless they do something really different.
Unless they get out Uncle Bill’s Business At The Speed of Thought book and actually read it and think, ‘Heck, we could actually deliver this right now.’
And that would be a sight for sore Mobile Industry Review eyes.
Given the Zune is only marketed in the US, I doubt there's much return in creating a new platform for it right now, so if it is announced I reckon Windows Mobile (possibly skinned, like HTC do with TouchFlo) is a cert. But that's OK, because the US is used to putting up with sub-par crap where mobile phones are concerned so it won't raise the kind of fuss it ought to.
* No I'm not having a pop at Americans – I just think they deserve better.
** Yes I know there's a bunch of people running around with the latest Nokias, but as Ewan has noted previously, these are not easy to get for many consumers.
*** No the UK isn't a mobile nirvana and yes it has lots of its own problems.
**** Yes I know times are changing in the US, but I'm talking about right now.
Hand me any recent winmob device …
'I can break your Windows Mobile device in 10 seconds by doing as I described above. Run MSN, do some web browsing, have it try and stream something and check your email. Watch it melt. THEN phone it. And watch it forget what sodding day it is.'
just out of interest, which windows mobile device do/did you use?
well, on my v1615(htc tytn II) I can listen to music(media player/ htc audio manager/pocket music), chat with my friends using beejive(gmail contacts, messenger contacts etc) , have a 3g connection updating my Imap in the background(go to check whats new if I fancy and back), recieve and reply to txt messages even throw in some solitaire if am bored and it still keeps going on…! Am I just lucky?
battery life is where my gripe is 🙁
Simultaneously? Without continual screen update and the device being 5 seconds behind you? THAT I would like to see.
Battery is an arse on almost anything that's connected 🙁
Yes simultaneously, but then my device is tweaked. First thing I install(if i ever hard reset) is an app called pocket toolman(have you tried it?) which allows me to increase the file system cache and file system filter cache, works a treat.
I suppose out of the box, your statement is correct. If you dont know your way around a WinMo device you probably end up not wanting to pick it up ever again however for how much the device is capable of doing, forgetting the interface, in my opinion it would be difficult to pick up any other device out there which can compete. I am currently looking for an upgrade and the only device I am considering is the touch HD, too bad its only on orange(stingy with internet usage). I would be interested to know which device you rate the highest at the moment.
Yes simultaneously, but then my device is tweaked. First thing I install(if i ever hard reset) is an app called pocket toolman(have you tried it?) which allows me to increase the file system cache and file system filter cache, works a treat.
I suppose out of the box, your statement is correct. If you dont know your way around a WinMo device you probably end up not wanting to pick it up ever again however for how much the device is capable of doing, forgetting the interface, in my opinion it would be difficult to pick up any other device out there which can compete. I am currently looking for an upgrade and the only device I am considering is the touch HD, too bad its only on orange(stingy with internet usage). I would be interested to know which device you rate the highest at the moment.
well, on my v1615(htc tytn II) I can listen to music(media player/ htc audio manager/pocket music), chat with my friends using beejive(gmail contacts, messenger contacts etc) , have a 3g connection updating my Imap in the background(go to check whats new if I fancy and back), recieve and reply to txt messages even throw in some solitaire if am bored and it still keeps going on…! Am I just lucky?
battery life is where my gripe is 🙁
Simultaneously? Without continual screen update and the device being 5 seconds behind you? THAT I would like to see.
Battery is an arse on almost anything that's connected 🙁
Yes simultaneously, but then my device is tweaked. First thing I install(if i ever hard reset) is an app called pocket toolman(have you tried it?) which allows me to increase the file system cache and file system filter cache, works a treat.
I suppose out of the box, your statement is correct. If you dont know your way around a WinMo device you probably end up not wanting to pick it up ever again however for how much the device is capable of doing, forgetting the interface, in my opinion it would be difficult to pick up any other device out there which can compete. I am currently looking for an upgrade and the only device I am considering is the touch HD, too bad its only on orange(stingy with internet usage). I would be interested to know which device you rate the highest at the moment.