Smartphone Thoughts: Chris Pirillo on the iPhone vs. Windows Mobile for Business Use

"I was a Windows Mobile device user for about seven years. I was against the iPhone at first, thinking my Windows device suited my needs just fine. Then Ponzi bought me the iPhone. MajorDef wrote in to ask which is better for business… a Windows Mobile device, or an iPhone? I am a product tester for Sprint, and recently got my hands on their new HTC Touch mobile device. It’s not a bad device. It’s very small and lightweight. It does everything I need it to do. But it just doesn’t compare to my iPhone. I get frustrated trying to push a button that doesn’t work on these Windows devices. After playing with this Sprint HTC Touch for about five minutes, I literally shook my head and said out loud “How did I ever DO this?”. Keep in mind that for seven years, I was perfectly happy with my Windows devices. Enter my iPhone. It’s not just an amazing media device, it’s a joy to use. It’s smooth, it’s functional, it works the way I never thought it could work. It syncs perfectly with my Outlook, which is where I primarily live with my work. It can share my contacts, calenders and tasks. I can connect it to Exchange. It’s just magic. Is it perfect? Hardly. But, it’s the closest to perfect that any mobile device has ever come."


This is from last week, but I thought it was worth sharing - on a dedicated Windows Mobile site like this one, you might consider this flame bait, but I'm hoping we can have some intelligent discussion on what Chris is saying. As a long-time Windows Mobile user, I think Chris' criticism of the platform has significant merit - he's not just some random user that picked up a Windows Mobile phone for five minutes and said he didn't like it. He's used it for years, is aware of the good and bad, and finally decided he couldn't put up with it any more. That's significant. What the video and post your thoughts - is Chris right?

From my perspective, I've only had about five minutes of hands-on time with an iPhone so I'm not the best person to compare the two. But in my hands on time with the product, it's impossible to deny the beauty and fluidity of the product. Apple did a great job with the design. But look deeper from a business user's perspective: can you process a significant amount of email with no physical keyboard? I know I can't - I absolutely need a keyboard. Can you use it as a business tool without third party applications? No, browser-based widgets are not applications. Perhaps some people can, but I know many of you rely on powerful third party software to get more done. And what about the whole Exchange issue? Chris' comments about how great Outlook/Exchange works with his iPhone were news to me - he didn't really go into details, but mentioned Plaxo. I know some people who won't use Plaxo because it's such a potential privacy nightmare. That's my brief take on the subject - what's yours?