2006: Windows Mobile Smartphone Goes Mainstream

[Kris Kumar]

It is that time of the year; time to say bye-bye to 2006 and welcome 2007 in. Before we say bye-bye let's take a look at the Windows Mobile Smartphone world in 2006. We saw a lot of Smartphones, thanks mostly to HTC, we saw stylish Smartphones in all shapes and forms - candy-bar, flip and QWERTY. QWERTY and landscape form-factor has hit a sweet spot, the market loves them. Carriers are offering more than one model, from more than one manufacturer. Smartphones became affordable in 2006; thanks to the model options and carrier discounts we don't have to buy them from i-mate or eXpansys at a heavy price. This was the year of quality. Smartphones with Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 2.x are probably the most reliable Windows Mobile devices ever, even the critics are raving about them. 2006 will be remembered as the year when push e-mail came to Windows Mobile. There were other minor enhancements in the form of A2DP, Internet Sharing, better battery life and more memory. In short Windows Mobile became a strong contender in the smartphone market. Steve Ballmer even went on record to say that Windows Mobile has no real competition. For me the thing that clearly says that we have hit the mainstream is the media coverage, I am talking about the TV, print and Web advertising spots, news articles and discussions. What are your thoughts? We want to invite our readers to comment on what they liked and didn't like in 2006 about their Windows Mobile Smartphones.

[Stinger]

It's great to see Smartphones doing so well in North America and it's no wonder since guys get the best devices!

Sadly here in the UK, Smartphones are finding life very tough. When Orange released the SPV C500 (aka Typhoon) a few years back, Smartphones really burst into the mainstream. Everyone seemed to own one and was really excited about Smartphones in general. However, since then it's all fizzled out. I used to see a lot of C500s but these days I hardly see any Smartphones.

I speak to a lot of people about their mobile phone choices and the general theme is that high phone subsidises (a HTC TyTN costs under $200 inc. tax on a 12 month contract) mean that people wanting a Windows Mobile device choose a Pocket PC. People who don't want such a big device or want something more phone-centric tend to choose a Symbian device. Symbian devices (especially from Nokia) are marketed heavily and the range available in the UK is bewildering. I'm the same myself - at present I own a HTC TyTN for productivity and a Nokia N80 for play.

It's no surprise either when you look at how many Smartphones are available from carriers. Orange sell the (wifi-less) HTC Tornado. Vodafone sell the HTC Tornado and the Samsung i320. The other three big carriers (T-Mobile, O2 and 3) don't sell a single Smartphone between them! By comparison, T-mobile sell eight different Pocket PCs models. I'm sure one of the biggest stumbling blocks for carriers is the lack of UMTS Smartphones, though even the MTeoR isn't being sold by any of them.

Maybe the UMTS Motorola Q will change everything in 2007?

[kiwi]

hmm.. dont include Canada in the North American assumption.

The best mainstream smartphone here is either a Treo 650 or Moto Q.

The Crackberry is the most popular "smartphone" here... I cringe the thought of someone asking if my new TyTN phone is a "new blackberry"

B

[Kris Kumar]

I have been a bit out of touch with the European market, but I was under the impression that the early start is helping the Smartphones. Until about 6 months ago or so, every single Smartphone would launch first on the European network and then get launched in the US. Also HTC's plans to have direct presence in Europe was the other reason.