[23.01.08]10 Things Windows Mobile Needs To Learn From S60

**nauriceprivat** · #1 (**permalink**) 01-23-2008, 11:52 AM

Written on
January 22, 2008
– 12:29 pm | by Dotsisx
When I first held
the Qtek 9100

in my hands,

I knew something
was wrong. Many
things actually.

It wasn’t about the device itself, it was about the operating system. The first impression is still here, and though at first I couldn’t put it into words, now I can. Windows Mobile was built with “windows” in mind first, and “mobile” second. It is a PDA platform that has learned to become a phone, over time. Symbian is the absolute opposite. Symbian was built with “phone” being put first, and it acquired the “smart” adjective of “smartphone” with time. This one divergence in the history of both systems is probably the reason behind every single other difference you will notice if you used both of them.

Following the first post in the S60 vs WM series, where I explored [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...], I am now compiling the 10 things I believe WM could learn from S60.

Once again, before I start, I will stress that these are my own impressions, and that I am mostly talking about S60 3rd (not FP1) and Windows Mobile 5 (not the newer WM6). So here they are: 10 improvements WM needs to learn from S60.

1 - Stability, stability, stability

If I had to name only ONE problem with WM, it will be stability. It is the most annoying problem I have ever faced. I have been told that WM6 is more stable than my WM5, but who knows? The problems I was facing: device freezes (just like Windows) with or without a reason, random reboots, device stuck in boot-load when being turned on, memory card not seen at times. The last problem I have faced is that the device thinks there are 2 memory cards inserted, SD card 1 is empty when it is opened, SD card 2 has all my software and documents. But when I try to launch any software using the Programs application, I can’t because the device looks for it on SD card 1. So in order to launch the software, I have to open the file explorer, go to Program Files, find the folder and then launch the .exe file. More than annoying. I seriously can’t wait to sell the Qtek, just because of this kind of problem. I don’t understand why Windows Mobile has to be as buggy as Windows, or,…, well actually I do.

2 - Send/Beam

First of all, why should I be an english expert to send a file. “Beam” file, what the ‘eck is “beam”? Every single device on earth and its neighboring planets uses the word “Send”, so why should it be “beam” on WM? Plus, why is the Beam option unactive if my bluetooth is off? Let me choose Beam and then tell me my bluetooth is off and ask if i want to activate it. Silly. And more, why can’t I Beam several files to one contact? Is that against the Geneva convention or the USA constitution?

3 - SMS Recipients

Besides not being able to create contact groups in WM (silly!) which means you can’t SMS a certain group instead of one contact, sending SMS to several persons is seriously unbearable. If you select “add recipient”, you are presented with a list of all contacts and you can only add one per one. No check/uncheck or “mark several” option. Which means you might end up adding the same contact twice or 3 times and forgetting some other contacts along the way.

4 - Can you even call that an image viewer?

While the image viewer works well concerning the fact that it only opens one folder at a time, it is dead slow, dead stupid and you can’t flip through pictures in full screen mode (go back to the browser and choose another image). Plus, it seems sooooo 1990ish. I know WM devices aren’t perfect for picture snapping, but they should be great for viewing, with their VGA screen resolution.

5 - User friendliness

What sick mind decided to put all the software in WM inside Start > Programs? I mean I know it’s Windows Mobile, but seriously? I know this doesn’t seem as a HUGE problem when you read it, but imagine you have an application running and want to open another, what do you do? Close the running application, (which doesn’t close btw, but disappears while remaining running in the background) and hit Start then Programs and choose your software. Then if you want to go to back to the first application, click: Start, Settings, and then navigate to Memory, open it and see the running applications and choose it. Are you kidding me?! I know this shows all running software, even Gallery, Log, Contacts (hint: S60 hides those), but still it is deadly unproductive, eats a lot of RAM and painfully slow to operate.

6 - Keypad Lock

Did i miss it or is it simply not there? No way to lock the keypad… Either turn the screen off, which locks all keys, either leave it running, on your own risk. Funny.

7 - Music Experience

Let’s not delve into this MAJOR issue with WM, but the fact that it comes with windows media player has you excited at first, until you discover that the music player has a layout from hell (took me a whole hour to understand) and that can’t even create a playlist on the go (no way that I can find, at least).

8 - Browsing

Funny how S60 devices, with a QVGA screen, a slower processor and terrible access point settings, can provide an amazing browsing experience compared to WM. Websites render in a horrible way on WM, let alone a horrible speed. If S60 provides desktop-like experience, I don’t know what WM provides. I guess its mobile-like experience, with every page layout being changed and some items not even being displayed. I did a side by side comparison, when I had the N95 8GB and it kicked the Qtek 9100 in the butt. Even heavy pages like engadget.com opened 20-30 seconds faster and were shown exactly like I know them on the pc. (kudos for S60 here)

9 - Tailored Search

The best thing about the FP1 the I got to try over the N95 8GB, is the new standby device Search. I wish WM can include that instead of the silly search option they have. The fact that S60’s search divides content by categories and even subcategories is really nice and that is the type of functionality I have always wanted to have. It’s intuitive to use and very productive, nothing compared to the windows-like search option in WM.

10 - No Profiles

Are you kidding me?! How can a device call itself a phone if you can’t change a profile from meeting to silent to general to outdoors and many other, with the click of one button? It’s plain stupid.

Bonus - 11 - On-Device 3rd-party software catalogue

Even though the Download! application on S60 isn’t perfect and doesn’t provide every 3rd-party software known to men, it is still a nice thought and a great way to get started. I found that the software description before download and the way the download/installation process goes together are really terrific. I would love to see something like that for WM, a way for newbies to get started and for power users to find some software they maybe didn’t know about.

This is it, stay tuned for more S60 vs WM posts, as these 2 aren’t the only ones. As always, we are looking for your words, advices, examples,… anything that noticed if you used both platforms. What do you like most about S60 that you think lacks in WM?

Edit: I have just came across this post by jaganath, who wrote the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...], following my first post. Many common points between both our posts, and many new ones, worth checkin out.