Editorial: The iPhone from a Windows Mobile perspective..

By URPREY, posted Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008
Reader Comments: 9

As a longtime Windows Mobile user, I have been very resistant to the iPhone for a myriad of reasons. Some of my reasons have been pride; I don’t want to “give in” after resisting the iPhone 2G so long. I don’t like having the same phone as everyone else; the iPhone is very pervasive and is now affordable to the masses so I see it everywhere. Fear of the unknown; with WM I was in my element and knew exactly what to do and where to do it.

I love to customize my phones to do exactly what I need them to do, so it was easy to dismiss the iPhone 2G: EDGE-only and no support for 3rd party apps. No customization – only what Apple gives you. Take it or leave it. I left it.

I had planned to get the iPhone 3G. This has been a very dry summer for Windows Mobile users in the USA. I’ve been forced to watch as the HTC Diamond, Samsung Omnia, i780, and now the Touch Pro were released in Europe without support for US 3G bands. I have no idea what the manufacturers are thinking, but they are beginning to alienate their hardcore users by continuously releasing killer devices without support for the US. Grasping at straws and growing tired of my Tilt, I have purchased a Treo 750, a Blackjack 2, and an HTC S630 to try and cure my boredom with WM devices. Although I had access to WM6.1 for the Treo, and I’ve hacked my Tilt to hell and back (thanks to XDA-Devs!) I was still bored to tears with my WM phones.

Enter the iPhone 3G

Once I saw the capabilities of the updated iPhone during the WWDC event, I decided I would go ahead and get one. I was actually driving to Florida during the conference, and my wife was reading the live blog to me via Engadget’s site (on my Tilt no less). I was prepared to stop at the nearest Apple store on the way down to pick one up. No such luck – wait a month – Thanks Steve Jobs! After being disappointed by the July 11th release date, I decided I wouldn’t get one after all. I thought that surely there would be a WM device that would wow me before the release date. Again I was disappointed.

After reading all of the anger and confusion surrounding the launch of the iPhone 3G, I was thankful I decided to forego standing in line to get one. I really missed being in the middle of the hype and excitement of such a big release, but at the same time, I was relieved that I didn’t have to deal with the headaches of availability, corporate discounts, activation, and other typical launch issues. Fast forward a few weeks, and I really spent a lot of time researching the phone again. Through my discussions/Twitter wars with jcjdoss (Mobility Today iPhone Editor) about which mobile OS was better, I decided to find out for myself.

I went through the hassle to remove my corporate discount so I could purchase a black 16GB iPhone from the local Apple store. Imagine J’s surprise when I posted in the Mobility Today chat room during the live podcast to check my tweets – sure enough, there was one from Twitterific on my iPhone. Immediately I got a direct message from him in the chat room to verify that I, Mr. Windows Mobile advocate, had indeed purchased my very own iPhone.

I have been using the iPhone as my primary device for almost two weeks, with an occasional foray back into one of my remaining WM devices (Tilt and S630). I don’t believe that a direct comparison of WM to Mobile OSX is fair because WM covers a vast number of devices, and it is way too easy to combine all WM phones together against the iPhone. Instead I’ve compiled a list of pros and cons during those two weeks.

Pros:

Sexy design
Slick interface
Finger-friendly
Large screen
Third party apps finally
App store
Seamless WIFI integration
Nice YouTube integration
Beautiful screen
Automatic backlighting is great and should be standard on ANY device
Syncing provides great, useful backups of media and apps – easy to restore
3G switch built-in
Safari renders better than any currently available browser
Multi-touch
Accelerometer is very useful (Dynolicious anyone?)
GPS
Threaded texting implementation very nice
Onscreen keyboard auto correction is fantastic

Cons:

Glossy back requires that you use a case of other protection to prevent scratches
No tethering (Netshare removed from App store)
Buggy – crashes constantly-I haven’t seen this many spontaneous reboots since my Treo 650
3G loses signal constantly
No user-replaceable battery
No video recording
Stuck with limited event sounds (ringtones cost $$ if you don’t know how to make them)
Lack of themes – stuck with boring defaults
No free trials for apps
No A2DP
No turn-by-turn GPS mapping software available
No background apps
No Flash support
Hardware still buggy – had to return my first one due to faulty earpiece speaker
No lock screen customization (would love to see appointments and news feeds)
Proprietary connector
Dependent on iTunes for syncing (why can’t I drag and drop my files?)
No method to hard reset without depending on external computer
Live TV support not currently available
Limited codec support for videos
Interface sluggish or non-responsive at times

Conclusion

I will publicly admit here that I like the iPhone 3G a great deal. The interface is fabulous, the hardware looks fantastic, and it feels great in my hand. The big screen is gorgeous. I immediately fell in love with the automatic backlight adjustment. I had no issues picking up the device and finding my way around quickly. As I flicked through the menus and icons, I remember thinking “Wow – now I see what people are talking about”. I had a few issues getting up my Exchange account to work with it, and it fingerprinted like there was no tomorrow, but I was finally able to understand why people liked it.

Over the subsequent two weeks in my daily use, I’ve been making note of things that I find are great, and things that Apple needs to improve. As a bonafide power user, I find that I still need to rely on my WM devices for many of my daily tasks such as tethering, Slingplayer, and GPS navigation. Whenever I have to revert to my Tilt, I’m struck by the lack of screen real estate and the lack of touchscreen responsiveness. I actually prefer using my S630 when I need a WM device because it’s much easier to use than the Tilt, but I digress.

My current plan is to keep my iPhone 3G and HTC S630. There are shortcomings with the iPhone 3G (as with any phone), but overall I’ve had a good experience with it. It has at least convinced me to sell my Tilt. I was never convinced that I could be happy without a hardware keyboard, but this has changed my mind. If it were not for a shortage of Windows Mobile devices this summer, I likely would have never tried (and subsequently liked) the iPhone 3G. I will continue to be a Windows Mobile Fan because I believe in the product and what it’s capable of accomplishing. However, it’s difficult to look at Windows Mobile the same way I did previously. Here’s to hoping the next iteration of WM gets here quickly, and that it delivers a robust user experience. If not, Microsoft may have its hands full trying to keep up with Apple in the mobile arena.

Quote

Bill Stebbins (URPREY) is an Associate Editor at Mobility Today and a die hard Windows Mobile enthusiast who truly believes in Windows Mobile. We appreciate his initiative by buying a new 3G iPhone and hope this perspective helps your decision for your next converged mobile phone

Thanks for the all comments. I'm really enjoying the interaction on MT.

Alli, the iPhone falls short of allowing me to leave my laptop at home. The lack of a standalone hard reset method is enough to make me drag my laptop along. The lack of A2DP and Slingplayer are not dealbreakers - they're more like major annoyances. I still occasionally use Office Mobile to do create spreadsheets, etc, and on my business trips I need my laptop without a doubt.

Alcedes, I definitely agree with you that Apple is only protecting its pocketbook by excluding A2DP.

I just picked up a Mio C320 GPS to hack and use in my car, so I have no need for turn-by-turn on the iPhone. TomTom would be very cool on it though.

Bluewater, you bring up some excellent points also. It's good to get everyone's perspective.

Posted by URPREY, Wednesday, Aug. 20th, 2008

As a person who's owned phones with a MS operating system ever since MS has been making operating systems for phones and who did try the iPhone 3G for approximately 27 days, here are my observations:

1. I returned it for the most common reason anyone would return a cell phone: no coverage. This is strictly an AT&T issue: they need to update their coverage maps and network.

Had I not returned the iPhone 3G, I would had soured on it eventually for the following reasons:

2. AT&T 3G is not Broadband

I live a 1000 feet from an upgraded AT&T cell tower. At times at home I would get 1.5Mb/sec download speeds on my iPhone 3G, though in general this figure varied wildly with time of day and location. But does 3G really matter on the iPhone? According to my AT&T contract, for $30 a month I'm only allowed to use the connection for e-mail and Internet browsing; streaming anything, video, data, etc., is strictly forbidden.

To me broadband is an always on 1Mb/sec or greater connection where, as long as it's legal, I decide what moves across it. AT&T/iPhone 3G link isn't broadband, and until it is, AT&T needs to either stop with the excuses and upgrade the network or be more honest with advertising.

3. No Real "Off the Grid" GPS Support

Watching the combination of GPS and Google Maps satellite view in real time in a moving vehicle is cool. Move "off the grid", beyond 3G or Edge, and the situation becomes un-cool instantly. Apple needs to lose the mindset that the iPhone 3G will be connected all the time and allow applications to accommodate off-the-grid situations. (One of my favorite applications on my WM phone is DeLorme topomaps, for when I'm not only off-the-grid, but off-road as well.)

4. The iPhone is not a Hand-held Computer

Given the hardware and OS, you would think it was. Walt Mossberg certainly thinks it is. Unfortunately, it isn't. Developers must have free access to the full capabilities of the hardware and a free-hand to develop applications they and their customers want. Without this freedom, the iPhone is simply a fancy iPod with a phone and Internet connection.

I don't have much confidence that AT&T will resolve issues with their network in the near term. I have no doubt that Apple will eventually resolve the immediate issues surrounding the iPhone 3G. And I can only hope that one day competition will force Apple to open up the iPhone platform to give it the attention from developers it truly deserves.

Posted by bluewater, Wednesday, Aug. 20th, 2008

Seems that competing interest would block integrated A2DP from being added to the iPod or iPhone. Adding that open standard would open the door for accessory makers to create accessories that don't require the 10% wholesale 'tax' applied to items that connect to the dock. Likewise enabling syncing without iTunes seems like something else that would compete with Apple's interests.

Posted by , Wednesday, Aug. 20th, 2008

I guess it all depends on what your needs are. I don't really care for GPS on a phone nor have I ever really used Sling. I like the design, the UI, and ease of use. However I am not happy with the current version. Apple needs to get their act together and fix the issue that plauge the iPhone.

Posted by Steve Trotto, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008

Look, I know everyone is expecting me to post, nananana, I told you so. But give me a break. There are a couple of problems with this post.

1. The iPhone is like a pretty girl with no brains, great for a date, but not anyone you want to be hitched with for life

2. Being the iPhone fanboy of the site (Which is in question at the moment) Who am I going to argue with. You can't take the stance that you like the phone Bill. That was the fun of it, now I have to argue with Mike, and that just isn't fair for him.

no matter, I am probably going to get a WM device until Apple can figure out how to fix their device, maybe they can ask the guys over at the iPhone Dev team, they seem to know what they are doing.

Posted by jcjdoss, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008

I must have Slingplayer and GPS navigation! That's probably why I won't switch to an iPhone anytime soon. Very nice read Bill! Can't wait to post some editorals myself.

Posted by Michael Herald, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008

Bitter, we are trying to really cover all bases and we appreciate you noticing. This obviously wont happen overnight buy we are very lucky to have a great crew!!

Posted by David Ciccone, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008

interesting read. I am really liking the way this site is taking shape. Its nice to see fanboys at least admitting to be so.

I just sold my T-mo dash to pick up and unlock a tilt and I am loving my return to touchscreen land. I have an Ipod Touch and love the interface, but my main concern was that I'd grow bored with the iPhone within a week or so.

Posted by Bittermormon, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008

Very thoughtful review, Bill.

My question is, are the lack of gps navigation, A2DP, and Slingplayer all that it would really take to make the iPhone perfect? Could you take it on a business trip to replace your laptop?

Posted by Alli Flowers, Tuesday, Aug. 19th, 2008