Windows Mobile Love
September 29th, 2006
I have noticed a heavy advertising push for Windows Mobile lately, and I love it. Windows Mobile devices are awesome - I wish everyone had one.
I have seen full page ads in Business 2.0, Wired, and most recently at the gym. I have been fighting a cold and thought 30 minutes on the stair machine would help sweat it out. Bad idea, but I did pick up an issue of Fortune to help kill the time (I’m not ready to throw away all traditional media in favor of NewsGator Go! just yet) and on the third page was a two page ad on Windows Mobile… nice!
And on top of that, I had lunch today with Brian Casazza, CEO of 9squared and a really cool, sharp, and energized guy! Brian was sporting the Windows Mobile Cingular 2125. I had this phone until it get run over by a car (don’t ask) and am now using my older SMT 5600 (still a great device) - the 2125 predecessor.Â
A day full of Windows Mobile.
Entry Filed under: Mobile
October 1st, 2006 at 8:31 pm
I’m always amazed by how so many people can love one technology and others can really hate it.
You know me, I’m not a Microsoft basher. But man, Windows mobile was a horrible experience for me. I had been using a blackberry for years and I made the switch about 9 months ago to a TMobile MDA.
From about day 2 on, I really regretted it. Mail didn’t sync, buttons were hard to use with my hand (who wants to use a stylus), many of the apps I tried didn’t work well, etc. I found myself having to actually ask for mail all the time and wait for it to sync, and this didn’t work wel much of the time. I realize this is more T-Mobile than it is the OS. But this thing is so hard to use compared to a blackberry, especially when your main goals are just always having your email, calendar, and contacts handy and up to date and doing some basic web surfing.
For my use, the Blackberry is the perfect device.I switced back after 2 or 3 O/S crashes in one day and feel like I really wasted my money on that MDA. Within about 30 minutes of having my blackberry back, I felt a huge sense of relief.
October 1st, 2006 at 11:15 pm
Yeh, I hear ya David and that sucks you had a crappy experience w/ the MDA. I gotta be honest I don’t use my Windows Mobile phone for email… check this previous post - http://www.standingmobile.com/email-the-killer-or-killher-and-killme-app/.
If email was my main mobile use case, I may be down with the Blackberry too. The Blackberry is clearly a kick ass email device. From what I hear, email on Windows Mobile has improved greatly but I can’t say from experience.
My main use case for my device is RSS – I promise I am not just saying that because it is my app;) For example, we took the family up to the mountains for a hike and BBQ today, Holly drove, and I read some great RSS feeds. I clipped a few articles for later reading, and really took advantage of an otherwise unproductive drive.
I also like Windows Mobile from a developer’s perspective. Using the compact framework, I have access to a comprehensive library that allows me to quickly and easily access the file system, leverage a full set of cryptography libraries, access GPS and bluetooth devices, build web service or REST clients, embed a browser in my app, create a rich UI using the client side controls, etc. etc.
Easy to develop apps means more apps and that means a happier customer and that is ultimately why I like Windows Mobile.