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Evolution Stalled?
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Are You Happy with the Windows Mobile Built in Applications?
They are great, stop complaining!
4%
 4%  [ 17 ]
They are OK, I just get third party applications if I want more.
41%
 41%  [ 151 ]
They are barely usable, I resent having to buy applications!
51%
 51%  [ 188 ]
Crouton?
2%
 2%  [ 10 ]
Total Votes : 366

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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor


Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4532
Location: Los Angeles

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 1:00 pm    Post subject: Evolution Stalled? Reply with quote

Is anyone else frustrated by the apparent lack of evolution of the built in programs for Windows Mobile? For the Smartphone I'm talking about Pocket Outlook and Pocket IE. We still don't even have Pocket Word or Excel even though many Smarphones now have QWERTY thumb boards. Can anyone explain why Pocket Outlook is still basically the same as it was when the first Smartphones came out? I know we have a third party application or two out there but the built in email is basically as anemic as it was the day it was born. Pocket IE? Even the third party applications make you struggle with things like cross hairs and little boxes! We have Photon coming and what next, Muon and then Crouton? Will we ever get some better built ins? Most of the changes in Windows Mobile have been aesthetic or under the hood. I'm glad for those too of course. Am I off base here? Does anyone else feel my pain?
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WorksForTurkeys
Smartphone Pupil


Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wouldn't mind so much if there actually were some usable replacements or additions. Some of the PDA software developers (eg. Landware, SPB, SBHS) have stated in email responses that they currently have no intention of supporting the smartphone platform. For the most part, the third-party application software available today, is the same software available a year ago.

I don't need a word processor for a smartphone; I do have an Excel alternative that works; I don't have a usable financial product like Quicken or SPB Finance (and none appears on the horizon); IE SP is unusable, but RSS agregators exist and seem more useful.

As the hardware manufacturers announce their QWERTY smartphone proliferation, the software developers are intentionally lagging seriously behind.

Microsoft needs to vigorously promote the platform to its developer community (I would have stated "more vigorously" except that they don't appear to be doing anything at all so far.)
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Kris Kumar
Contributing Editor


Joined: 02 Jul 2003
Posts: 4267
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not only have the native applications not been improved but they also haven't been tweaked to better handle landscape screen.

My biggest gripe - the Call History screen has the time at the very bottom; I always have to scroll down to view the time when the call was received. Come on Microsoft, even a kid developer can fix this.

Make the Windows Mobile applications open source!
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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor


Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4532
Location: Los Angeles

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kris Kumar wrote:
My biggest gripe - the Call History screen has the time at the very bottom; I always have to scroll down to view the time when the call was received. Come on Microsoft, even a kid developer can fix this.


That has made me nuts for years!
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byteme
Smartphone Theorist


Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 257

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it any surpise given how they refuse to give us a true close button?
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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor


Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4532
Location: Los Angeles

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't even believe they debated that one. Give us the button already! Desktop users have managed to handle its awesome power for over a decade. I think we Smartphone/PPC users can handle it too. Rolling Eyes
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mzh
Smartphone Pupil


Joined: 23 Jul 2003
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My biggest gripe with the built-in applications has more to do with the wasted space.

I understand that Microsoft is providing at least basic capabilities with their built-in applications (calendar and tasks pop to mind).

I'd like the capability to use the space they waste. I haven't used either Calendar since Papyrus came out and Tasks was recently replaced when SBSH added Task support. I'd like to be able to load more useful (third party) apps into ROM.

I know, I know.. it's never going to happen. It just seems wasteful to have applications that will never be used on the device.

Ron.
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DaleReeck
Smartphone Pupil


Joined: 30 Aug 2004
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think apps like Pocket Outlook have stalled because MS hasn't had a reason to develop them more. They still sell plenty of Windows Mobile licenses, even with anemic POutlook and Office apps.

I thought that maybe with push email now, MS might have had more desire to develop Pocket Outlook. But the method of delivery, Activesync, is still very limited (i.e., HTML mail still gets stripped out). That is the area where MS falls short of being a Blackberry killer. The hardware is good (Motorola Q, Samsung i320) and the push email system via Exchange functions well, but the software on the PDA end is mediocre at best.
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Kris Kumar
Contributing Editor


Joined: 02 Jul 2003
Posts: 4267
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DaleReeck wrote:
The hardware is good (Motorola Q, Samsung i320) and the push email system via Exchange functions well, but the software on the PDA end is mediocre at best.


Absolutely correct. In our recent review of the Q, that is what I observed. The hardware has evolved a lot - memory, screen, screen layout, scroll wheel and keyboard, but the software doesn't seem to really make much use of the enhancements.

- The scroll wheel is more of a distraction, the user is better off using the joypad.
- The landscape screen is not being used properly because the top and bottom bars take up a lot of room. The native application like the contacts and email havent been tweaked for landscape profile.
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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor


Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4532
Location: Los Angeles

PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In many ways, it is the same OS they rolled out in the beginning. My next weekend rant will cover another aspect of this. Very Happy
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