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I Want a New Drug

Jan 23rd

Posted by Steve Laser

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tweaks iPhone_blackberry

I’ve had a Windows Mobile (WM) device for 8 years, as I’m sure many of you have.  I feel so comfortable with it.  I know its capabilities, I have tons of great software, and best of all, I have support from this excellent forum and others like it.  If I want to find how to do nearly anything a Windows Mobile device is capable of, all I need do is ask.

But my comfort has grown into boredom.  I’ve done many things to alleviate this boredom and make my device more exciting and user friendly, such as upgrading the ROM to WM6.1, and adding Winterface, ZoomBoard and other modern applications.  But when it comes to using the device, ultimately I have to pull out a stylus, and that’s where my frustration lies.  When a customer calls and I need to look at the notes in his contact information or look up product information in my device, I get very frustrated by having to pull out the tight-fitting stylus and navigating a bunch of menus.

Supposedly Microsoft will unveil the next version of WM in the second half of 2009, called WM6.5.  But there are no firm details as to expected improvements.  And the new version will reportedly only be available in new handsets.  I’m not sure I want to wait at least six months for a new, exciting product, when I have no idea what to expect.  Will we still have to drag out a stylus for picking out contacts or playing some of my favorite games?  How will our user experience be enhanced?  Judging from past versions of WM, I suspect only incremental upgrades, and that’s ok, because I’m sure Microsoft doesn’t want to alienate their current user base by making radical changes.  But I feel radical changes are in order.

If you were to suggest a pocket pc or new phone to someone, would you recommend a WM product if they had no previous experience?  I don’t think I would.  I think it would be a steep learning curve as compared to the out-of-the-box user experience that competitors supply, such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, the upcoming Palm Pre, Symbian and Android.  I have many non-techie friends who have recently bought new handsets from BlackBerry and iPhone and were up and running quickly.  Can one expect that from a WM device?  Certainly a WM device has more capabilities, is more tweakable, has a huge software base, and of course huge communities to help one along.  But the vast majority of users are not looking to reflash ROMs, or edit the registry.  Which begs the question, what is a power user?  Is a power user someone who endlessly upgrades roms and software, tweaks the endless amount of settings and spends hours hacking away at the user interface, or is a power user someone who makes tons of calls, emails and text messages?

I think both are power users, but they are very different types of power users.  One is a power user and the other is really a power tweaker.  Take my wife, for example.  She is very non-techie.  When her work got her a BlackBerry Curve she was emailing and texting in minutes.  She has turned into a major power user.  Yet she has no idea how the inner-workings of her phone function.  And why should she care when everything works with no intervention?

I enjoy tweaking my device.  It’s fun.  I’m amazed at some of the incredible ideas people have come up with in order to enhance the WM experience.  But really, is this experience radically different than it was 8 years ago?  I submit it is not.  And that would be fine if I never saw a BlackBerry or iPhone.  But with that door open, WM suddenly seems old fashioned.  To be sure, you can dress it up in the beautiful cocoon of an HTC Fuze, and you can add finger friendly software, but that won’t attract the casual user who makes up the vast majority of customers.  Isn’t it obvious?  A recent article from Computerworld.com showed the numbers.  For the 3rd quarter of 2008 Symbian is first in sales with 15.4 million sales, followed by RIM with 5.8 million units sold, and 3rd place iPhone finally beat out WM devices for the first time, 4.7 million units to 4 million.  Of these nearly 30,000,000 units sold, how many owners are in the power tweaker category as opposed to the power user?

Are you happy with your WM device, or are you looking for easier access to your information and communication functions?  Do you want to spend your time tweaking or texting?

And while I’m at it, I have to say I am sick of using a mouse.  I only have two hands and the mouse is slowing me down.  It’s also time for a new desktop user interface that allows two handed use or we will be forced to evolve into three-handed people.

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  • Steve Mueller
    @steve laser

    And while I’m at it, I have to say I am sick of using a mouse. I only have two hands and the mouse is slowing me down. It’s also time for a new desktop user interface that allows two handed use or we will be forced to evolve into three-handed people.

    You lost me on that one. I don't like mice, either -- I use a thumb trackball at home -- but that leaves me a free hand to do something else. If you have a two-handed PC interface, you won't have a free hand, so that would make a third hand more necessary.

    What am I missing? Why does a one-handed interface make three hands necessary?

    Steve
  • i like what this article says...

    my first winmo phone was an audiovox smt in 2005 running 2003se that i got the day it was released. i was wowed - look at all these cool things it can do in such a small form factor. awesome!

    then i got the cingular blackjack1 running winmo 2005 the week it came out. i was wowed. i loved the keyboard, and the side mounted scroll wheel and back buttons that also act as shortcuts. the screen was bigger. it was thin. and the sleek non-reflective surface was classy and cool. when the winmo 6.0 for the device became available, i added it. hmmm.... the new winmo os didn't give me the 'thrill bump' i was hoping for... actually, it felt a bit like i'd been oversold its benefits by enthusiastic bloggers.

    when i first read about what we now call the samsung epix, i thought this is the device for me. i want to get on the touch-screen bus too! and a real keyboard works fine for me. but when i tried it, i found the epix to be... confusing and i hate hate hate the reflective plastic. what i learned is how i love being able to just use one hand to do things while the other is free to hold a bag, steering wheel, pint of beer... touch screens are nice because they are bigger, but the touching part is not doing it for me. :-)

    i looked at the fuze. wow, that was so s l o w even after i rebooted it. slow slow slow. and it requires two handed use to type anything unless you have big hands.

    and winmo 6.1 - it seems pretty much the same as 6.0, which didn't really bowl me over...

    so, i still have my blackjack. i'm still watching foreign tv and radio streaming via the internet. i love fring (though the recent update is buggy and crashes) skyfire is cool, but pocket internet explorer is fine (i must have over 200 links i dust off regularly), i still use my stereo bluetooth headset to have conversations or listen to music. i still upgrade google maps and like that (though the recent upgrade is buggy and crashes). and i'm still syncing my contacts, email and calendar, which is what i wanted most with my audiovox, untill i discovered i could do all these other cool multi-media things!

    after to consumer reports article a month ago or so, i've been tempted to get a blackjack2. the extra momory would be nice. and i guess i can live without the side mounted scroll wheel and bach button.

    i'm definately not a registry tweeker. and i don't expect i should need to be. i want things to be faster, smoother and easier without resorting to registry edits.

    so, i still read tons about new devices hoping i'll to be wowed again. but the thrill is gone. maybe the pre will bring enough new elements together in a good looking package to tempt me.

    i guess i'm a power user who is looking for more fun things to do in a more powerful standard device. wish me luck you two-handed touch screen people using your new finger-print magnet devices!!
  • steve laser
    MsLiberty, as a Psychotherapist, I have to ask, "How does that boredom make you feel?" Sorry, I couldn't resist! I'm glad I'm not alone in my thoughts.
  • Msliberty
    Yes, you described it so well. I am bored, I wanted to continue to upgrade and play, like we all did when computers and software kept improving. Every three years I spend $2500 for a new computer; every two years I upgraded my handheld (palms, handsprings, Axim); and then there was dead space. Nothing new. Angry Dell users complaining that Dell would not be moving ahead.

    I tried a few phones and said, OK, my cellphone will be for phoning, my Axim will be for mobile computing. I spend my time polishing my "all in one" and I do love it so.
    I wait for the new thing and nothing new appears. I buy a Blackberry Pearl, it is cute and pink -- but very plain. I win a Zune. Why do I need it? I don't. But it is pink and has 30 gigs of songs and book downloads so I don't have to change my Axim cards. But it really is just a fraction of my of my Axim, handheld joy. I buy a Lenovo netbook. It is cute and fire engine red and now I can travel and surf and synch my Axim. But it falls short, big time. I follow CES and say, yes, yes, finally Palm will pull it together. I don't know yet.

    I wish I was in tech, instead of a Psychotherapist. I help people with emotional distress all day. It feels good. Then I sign on to mobile computing sites and read and follow the next big thing all night. There has not been any next big thing in a long while. Yes, I am bored.
    Msliberty
  • Sad post, but I agree with many of the things you wrote.
    For over 3 years I'm using few winMo devices, iPhone and BlackBerry.
    The WinMo devices made me very happy because of all the tweaks and applications, the BlackBerry is indeed a perfect working tool but it's... boring.
    The iPhone is for me the coolest device but it's because of the games and camera- not because of the productivity features or the phone itself
    .
    I had some really bad WinMo devices, the ones you would never recommend on to your friends (just like you said).

    But, above all devices, the one I really liked (by far) was the Treo 750.
    It's fast, it's clean, it has some small useful add-ons, it has perfect single hand support, it's stable, it's good for development use, and even though it's soooo thick - it feels the best in the hand. Seriously.

    If it had WiFi I would have still used it.
    Since it doesn't have Wifi - I keep it on the table next to my laptop for great memories :-) waiting to put my hands on a Treo Pro.
  • You know, I can relate. I used to love "setting up" and "customizing" my WinMo devices. Now I prefer them just to work out of the box. I am quite pleased with my Fuze right now though. I haven't even had the urge to pick up my iPhone.
  • Dabbith
    It's funny, I came to my Tilt from a Treo 650p. I avoided WM for a long time because I didn't like it's interface or speed. I enjoy my Tilt and like many of the features it has that the Treo didn't (great voice dialing, built in GPS/WiFi, HSDPA). But when I recently used my 650 for a bit to set it up for a relative, I really stared to miss how quickly it runs and how easy it is to use without the stylus (assuming you have the right apps). There's great use of the 5-way navigator. Of course the OS wasn't that stable because it was Palm's first nvram device. All told, I think I was more productive with my 650.
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