Why BlackBerry is already dead and my new love is Windows Phone 7

This blog has been awful quiet lately, due to some personal reasons and way too much work! So we've launched a new product (ClickMobile Professional), which is running on practically anything that has a decent touch on it, and our first implementation is already on the way, but if you are constantly following the mobile spoon you know I try focus less about my work and more about other mobility topics that interest me.

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So here's one for you; last week, while visiting a few customers of ours on the west coast, I've witnessed a 2 incredible things:

1. Old ones are treated badly!
Oh, no, I'm not talking about old people. I'm talking about old "things", stuff, gadgets, smartphones… OK, you caught me… BlackBerries… 
Let's start with the fact I barely saw anyone walking around with a BlackBerry anymore. I'm sure people still use them, but I guess they try to avoid doing it in public…

Yep, all I saw were iPhones, iPods, Galaxy S, and the likes. As one of the business executives whom I've met with said: "We are a technology company, and as such our field users must be equipped with modern, and advanced mobile devices. We will never give them BlackBerries… "

Ouch… did you just feel that?!

(Who would have thought RIM will be in such position 2 years ago?)

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2. Windows Phone 7 is chasing me!
Yes, I know, it took me some time to get used to my new Omnia 7, but after a while – I'm addicted, I just can't stop using this amazing thing. While I was abroad (to remind you I do not live in the US), I had to switch to my BlackBerry due to data plan considerations etc.

I found myself missing the virtual keyboard of WP7 (which to my opinion is is by far the best virtual keyboard to date, even much better than the iPhone's one), which is weird, because I used to think physical keyboard is always better than a virtual one.

Today I'm actually typing much faster using the virtual keyboard of Windows Phone 7.

In fact, in many areas of what's typically called "productivity", I have found that Windows Phone 7 is doing a much better job than BlackBerry. And that's in RIM's bread and butter…

But that's not all…

On top of that, I had this strange feeling that someone over at Microsoft has noticed I stopped using WP7 and kept on reminding me about it…

Everywhere I went, signs were staring at me, watching my moves, reminding me of Windows Phone 7, the Metro design, the hubs, the flat icons and signs… everywhere…

Here's one example taken from the LAX airport:

Rings a bell?

As you can see, the rounded signage, looks incredibly similar to the buttons of the Windows Phone, which makes sense by the way, since this was exactly the intention of the makers of Windows Phone 7.

Those signs are everywhere, and exactly like most people find their way around by using them, WP7 users will quickly learn that using Windows Phone 7 is not only simple, it's also kind of addictive as well… and if that's not enough, whenever you try to quit, those signs will chase you and hunt you down, until you break…

Which I did…

And so after after a few days of pure agony, many issues with my Bold 9700, and an urge to return home, I made the move and went back to my beloved Windows Phone 7…

---

If you are interested to learn more about the principals behind the Metro design – here's a great place to start: UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 v2.0.

 

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7 comments | Read more...

This blog has been awful quiet lately, due to some personal reasons and way too much work! So we've launched a new product (ClickMobile Professional), which is running on practically anything that has a decent touch on it, and our first implementation is already on the way, but if you are constantly following the mobile spoon you know I try focus less about my work and more about other mobility topics that interest me.

---

So here's one for you; last week, while visiting a few customers of ours on the west coast, I've witnessed a 2 incredible things:

1. Old ones are treated badly!
Oh, no, I'm not talking about old people. I'm talking about old "things", stuff, gadgets, smartphones… OK, you caught me… BlackBerries… 
Let's start with the fact I barely saw anyone walking around with a BlackBerry anymore. I'm sure people still use them, but I guess they try to avoid doing it in public…

Yep, all I saw were iPhones, iPods, Galaxy S, and the likes. As one of the business executives whom I've met with said: "We are a technology company, and as such our field users must be equipped with modern, and advanced mobile devices. We will never give them BlackBerries… "

Ouch… did you just feel that?!

(Who would have thought RIM will be in such position 2 years ago?)

---

2. Windows Phone 7 is chasing me!
Yes, I know, it took me some time to get used to my new Omnia 7, but after a while – I'm addicted, I just can't stop using this amazing thing. While I was abroad (to remind you I do not live in the US), I had to switch to my BlackBerry due to data plan considerations etc.

I found myself missing the virtual keyboard of WP7 (which to my opinion is is by far the best virtual keyboard to date, even much better than the iPhone's one), which is weird, because I used to think physical keyboard is always better than a virtual one.

Today I'm actually typing much faster using the virtual keyboard of Windows Phone 7.

In fact, in many areas of what's typically called "productivity", I have found that Windows Phone 7 is doing a much better job than BlackBerry. And that's in RIM's bread and butter…

But that's not all…

On top of that, I had this strange feeling that someone over at Microsoft has noticed I stopped using WP7 and kept on reminding me about it…

Everywhere I went, signs were staring at me, watching my moves, reminding me of Windows Phone 7, the Metro design, the hubs, the flat icons and signs… everywhere…

Here's one example taken from the LAX airport:

Rings a bell?

As you can see, the rounded signage, looks incredibly similar to the buttons of the Windows Phone, which makes sense by the way, since this was exactly the intention of the makers of Windows Phone 7.

Those signs are everywhere, and exactly like most people find their way around by using them, WP7 users will quickly learn that using Windows Phone 7 is not only simple, it's also kind of addictive as well… and if that's not enough, whenever you try to quit, those signs will chase you and hunt you down, until you break…

Which I did…

And so after after a few days of pure agony, many issues with my Bold 9700, and an urge to return home, I made the move and went back to my beloved Windows Phone 7…

---

If you are interested to learn more about the principals behind the Metro design – here's a great place to start: UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 v2.0.

 

If you like this post, subscribe to our RSS Feed.

So how will 2011 look like for Windows Phone 7?

So there has been a lot of activities around Windows Phone 7 lately, from the rumors about html5 support coming this year to Nokia's shocking announcement about switching from MeeGo to WP7.

Here's a summary of all the recent updates:

1. Yes. Nokia gave up. They no longer trust themselves for creating mobile OS, they will now switch to Microsoft's side, believing they can differentiate themselves from Samsung, HTC, LG, and Motorola by creating great handsets with great operating system.
2. The agreement between Nokia and Microsoft means a lot for Windows Phone 7. It seems like on top of the positive reviews, we finally started witnessing actual impact on the smartphones market.
3. Nokia/WP7 also means some problems for Microsoft – by reading between the lines it seems like Nokia will get permissions to tweak the OS which is something that so far was completely restricted.
4. Microsoft sold 2 million phone licenses in Windows Phone 7’s first two months, and the phone is now available from 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world. I must admit this is an impressive start.
5. First Windows Phone 7 update is just around the corner, will probably be here in 4 weeks. It will have copy/paste (I'm getting tired of this overrated feature… )
6. Besides this update, there is no concrete date or statement about the next update. So far we rely only on rumors talking about end of year. this is shame because I believe MS should struggle to release updates far more often than twice a year. Let's not forget: WP7 may be exciting (and I think it is!) but it's far more limited than Android and iOS.
7. Coming soon are the following features:

   • Copy and paste functionality via first major update, coming in the next month
   • Twitter integration directly into the People Hub in 2011
   • Support for Office documents in the cloud in 2011
   • Dramatically enhanced Web browser experience based on IE9 in 2011
   • A new wave of multitasking applications in 2011
   • Targeting significant volume of Nokia Windows Phones in 2012

Here's a video showing how multi-tasking will look on Windows Phone 7:

To conclude – tons of activities, growing momentum for Microsoft, but to end users like me, who cares only about getting new features – it seems like the rate of updates is too little and too slow. I hope Microsoft will get some customers feedback and react accordingly.

22 comments | Read more...

So there has been a lot of activities around Windows Phone 7 lately, from the rumors about html5 support coming this year to Nokia's shocking announcement about switching from MeeGo to WP7.

Here's a summary of all the recent updates:

1. Yes. Nokia gave up. They no longer trust themselves for creating mobile OS, they will now switch to Microsoft's side, believing they can differentiate themselves from Samsung, HTC, LG, and Motorola by creating great handsets with great operating system.
2. The agreement between Nokia and Microsoft means a lot for Windows Phone 7. It seems like on top of the positive reviews, we finally started witnessing actual impact on the smartphones market.
3. Nokia/WP7 also means some problems for Microsoft – by reading between the lines it seems like Nokia will get permissions to tweak the OS which is something that so far was completely restricted.
4. Microsoft sold 2 million phone licenses in Windows Phone 7’s first two months, and the phone is now available from 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world. I must admit this is an impressive start.
5. First Windows Phone 7 update is just around the corner, will probably be here in 4 weeks. It will have copy/paste (I'm getting tired of this overrated feature… )
6. Besides this update, there is no concrete date or statement about the next update. So far we rely only on rumors talking about end of year. this is shame because I believe MS should struggle to release updates far more often than twice a year. Let's not forget: WP7 may be exciting (and I think it is!) but it's far more limited than Android and iOS.
7. Coming soon are the following features:

   • Copy and paste functionality via first major update, coming in the next month
   • Twitter integration directly into the People Hub in 2011
   • Support for Office documents in the cloud in 2011
   • Dramatically enhanced Web browser experience based on IE9 in 2011
   • A new wave of multitasking applications in 2011
   • Targeting significant volume of Nokia Windows Phones in 2012

Here's a video showing how multi-tasking will look on Windows Phone 7:

To conclude – tons of activities, growing momentum for Microsoft, but to end users like me, who cares only about getting new features – it seems like the rate of updates is too little and too slow. I hope Microsoft will get some customers feedback and react accordingly.

Html5 is coming to Windows Phone 7…

First Nokia (going to develop WP7 smartphones?), then Html5…

According to Mary-Jo Foley, the major update that will come towards the end of the year for Windows Phone 7 will include a new Internet Explorer (9) and just like the desktop version, will include Html5 support.

Regardless to Foley's known reputation for inside information when it comes to Microsoft, it makes perfect sense to align the mobile version with the desktop one and in fact to the market.

I've been using Windows Phone 7 (Omnia 7) for a few weeks now, and after a rough start, I'm now completely addicted to the live tiles, the unique user interface, the hubs and everything that Microsoft did to make it different than anything we've seen so far. In fact, it's the first time in 3 years I've replaced my main phone (which always were iPhone) with the Omnia 7.

Html5 is becoming more and more popular (it even got an official logo now!) and we even see enterprise mobile applications go that path.
iOS, BlackBerry 6, Android, webOS – all support Html5 already, so it's definitely time for Microsoft to jump in as well.

Read more in here

2 comments | Read more...

First Nokia (going to develop WP7 smartphones?), then Html5…

According to Mary-Jo Foley, the major update that will come towards the end of the year for Windows Phone 7 will include a new Internet Explorer (9) and just like the desktop version, will include Html5 support.

Regardless to Foley's known reputation for inside information when it comes to Microsoft, it makes perfect sense to align the mobile version with the desktop one and in fact to the market.

I've been using Windows Phone 7 (Omnia 7) for a few weeks now, and after a rough start, I'm now completely addicted to the live tiles, the unique user interface, the hubs and everything that Microsoft did to make it different than anything we've seen so far. In fact, it's the first time in 3 years I've replaced my main phone (which always were iPhone) with the Omnia 7.

Html5 is becoming more and more popular (it even got an official logo now!) and we even see enterprise mobile applications go that path.
iOS, BlackBerry 6, Android, webOS – all support Html5 already, so it's definitely time for Microsoft to jump in as well.

Read more in here

Try Out The Qwiki Search Engine

A friend of mine showed me the QWiki Alpha (Link). This stuff is amazing.

Instead of looking for terms, topics, filter search results, open multiple tabs in your browser – this engine wraps it all up for you in an almost human way. Visual presentation with many pictures, text, videos, and audio. 

You look for a person? The summary will tell you who he is, what he has done, how old is he, etc. A kind of summary that would probably take longer to look for "manually", while skipping between different websites. .

Now think of how great such kind of search concept can be for mobile devices? Where multiple tabs is harder, navigating through Google search results is cumbersome, and traffic is slow.

From the site:

"Qwiki's goal is to forever improve the way people experience information.

Whether you’re planning a vacation on the web, evaluating restaurants on your phone, or helping with homework in front of the family Google TV, Qwiki is working to deliver information in a format that's quintessentially human – via storytelling instead of search.

We are the first to turn information into an experience. We believe that just because data is stored by machines doesn’t mean it should be presented as a machine-readable list. Let's try harder."

Perfect way to find information on the fly, on the move, don't you think?

(Thanks Uri for the tip!)

1 comments | Read more...

A friend of mine showed me the QWiki Alpha (Link). This stuff is amazing.

Instead of looking for terms, topics, filter search results, open multiple tabs in your browser – this engine wraps it all up for you in an almost human way. Visual presentation with many pictures, text, videos, and audio. 

You look for a person? The summary will tell you who he is, what he has done, how old is he, etc. A kind of summary that would probably take longer to look for "manually", while skipping between different websites. .

Now think of how great such kind of search concept can be for mobile devices? Where multiple tabs is harder, navigating through Google search results is cumbersome, and traffic is slow.

From the site:

"Qwiki's goal is to forever improve the way people experience information.

Whether you’re planning a vacation on the web, evaluating restaurants on your phone, or helping with homework in front of the family Google TV, Qwiki is working to deliver information in a format that's quintessentially human – via storytelling instead of search.

We are the first to turn information into an experience. We believe that just because data is stored by machines doesn’t mean it should be presented as a machine-readable list. Let's try harder."

Perfect way to find information on the fly, on the move, don't you think?

(Thanks Uri for the tip!)

Palm, I mean, HP is back! TouchPad, Pre3, and Veer were just announced

So by now you probably heard about HP's new announcements involving 2 new smartphones and a tablet. Here's Mobile Spoon's attempt to summarize everything as short as possible:

Palm is out, dead, finished, kaput. It's sad. It's tragic. It's horrible. RIP Palm, we really liked you. (History, Praise). Welcom HP webOS, HP Pre3, HP TouchPad, HP Veer.

Size does matter: Palm Pre was no match for today's giant smartphones. HP decided to make it bigger. Pre3 is bigger than ever with a 3.6 inch screen, sliding QWERTY, 5 megapixel camera, HD video and more.Processor is pretty strong with 1.4GHz.  
Read more about HP Pre3…

Sometimes small is big: Palm Veer seems cute, but judging by Gizmodo hands-on review it may be too little for most people. On the other hand, tiny smartphones are rare and this may become an advantage in case there are people out there looking for something small with big ambitions.
Read more about HP Veer…

Tablets are the future. Ask Apple. We all knew it's coming, we just didn't know how exactly it will look like or what specs will it have.
The HP TouchPad feels more like a real PC than a tablet. The amazing cards based multi-tasking plus some additional menu buttons on the top right corner turns the main screen into a desktop-desktop like interface. The keyboard includes an additional row for numbers. In the mail interface you can configure one of few options: presenting only the mails content, presenting a dual view (inbox and content), or even triple view with 3 columns: folder, list, content…  (like the kids say: LIKE).
Anyone remembers the Slate? He he he… (evil laugh…)

On the other hand, different reviewers already stated the OS seems to feel slow even though it has a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

Here's a nice video demonstration:

Read more about HP TouchPad…

To conclude: Looks good, OS is sweet (and as long as it doesn't risk anyone, both iOS fanboys and Android geeks love it), apps are still missing and performance might be improved until the 3 models are released.

But does anyone thinks HP stands a chance against iPad 2 and the Android Pads that are coming? (I don't…)

3 comments | Read more...

So by now you probably heard about HP's new announcements involving 2 new smartphones and a tablet. Here's Mobile Spoon's attempt to summarize everything as short as possible:

Palm is out, dead, finished, kaput. It's sad. It's tragic. It's horrible. RIP Palm, we really liked you. (History, Praise). Welcom HP webOS, HP Pre3, HP TouchPad, HP Veer.

Size does matter: Palm Pre was no match for today's giant smartphones. HP decided to make it bigger. Pre3 is bigger than ever with a 3.6 inch screen, sliding QWERTY, 5 megapixel camera, HD video and more.Processor is pretty strong with 1.4GHz.  
Read more about HP Pre3…

Sometimes small is big: Palm Veer seems cute, but judging by Gizmodo hands-on review it may be too little for most people. On the other hand, tiny smartphones are rare and this may become an advantage in case there are people out there looking for something small with big ambitions.
Read more about HP Veer…

Tablets are the future. Ask Apple. We all knew it's coming, we just didn't know how exactly it will look like or what specs will it have.
The HP TouchPad feels more like a real PC than a tablet. The amazing cards based multi-tasking plus some additional menu buttons on the top right corner turns the main screen into a desktop-desktop like interface. The keyboard includes an additional row for numbers. In the mail interface you can configure one of few options: presenting only the mails content, presenting a dual view (inbox and content), or even triple view with 3 columns: folder, list, content…  (like the kids say: LIKE).
Anyone remembers the Slate? He he he… (evil laugh…)

On the other hand, different reviewers already stated the OS seems to feel slow even though it has a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

Here's a nice video demonstration:

Read more about HP TouchPad…

To conclude: Looks good, OS is sweet (and as long as it doesn't risk anyone, both iOS fanboys and Android geeks love it), apps are still missing and performance might be improved until the 3 models are released.

But does anyone thinks HP stands a chance against iPad 2 and the Android Pads that are coming? (I don't…)

My Samsung Omnia 7 Just Got An Unplanned Hard Reset. Still No Sign For Copy & Paste…

Not sure if it has anything to do with the coming WP7 update, but my Samsung Omnia 7 just got a weird restart which ended up pretty badly with no less than a complete irreversible end-to-end definite hard reset.

No, I didn't get anything new, nor copy & paste, but what I did get is a complete DELETION of my camera roll pictures, settings and downloaded apps…

Yes, I'm totally pissed off at the moment, and although much of the data was backed up, or synced with the cloud, the pictures that were not shared on facebook are now lost…

Which brings up another thought: WP7 upgrade is close – backup your data.

Using 'Pictures' hub, you can upload pictures to SkyDrive, and facebook integration is also easy – would be a good idea to back them up before it's too late…

So, not sure if Microsoft picked me to be some kind of beta tester for their upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS update, or maybe it's some kind of revenge for the hard start we had, I'm almost back in business now, thanks to my Live account, Outlook and Gmail. My apps are still missing, and of course my pictures, but that doesn't stop me from continuing and promote WP7: the more I use it the more I like it.
Hopefully the real upgrade will not delete my stuff once again…

Technorati Tags: Windows Phone 7,WP7,Samsung Omnia 7

3 comments | Read more...

Not sure if it has anything to do with the coming WP7 update, but my Samsung Omnia 7 just got a weird restart which ended up pretty badly with no less than a complete irreversible end-to-end definite hard reset.

No, I didn't get anything new, nor copy & paste, but what I did get is a complete DELETION of my camera roll pictures, settings and downloaded apps…

Yes, I'm totally pissed off at the moment, and although much of the data was backed up, or synced with the cloud, the pictures that were not shared on facebook are now lost…

Which brings up another thought: WP7 upgrade is close – backup your data.

Using 'Pictures' hub, you can upload pictures to SkyDrive, and facebook integration is also easy – would be a good idea to back them up before it's too late…

So, not sure if Microsoft picked me to be some kind of beta tester for their upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS update, or maybe it's some kind of revenge for the hard start we had, I'm almost back in business now, thanks to my Live account, Outlook and Gmail. My apps are still missing, and of course my pictures, but that doesn't stop me from continuing and promote WP7: the more I use it the more I like it.
Hopefully the real upgrade will not delete my stuff once again…

Technorati Tags: Windows Phone 7,WP7,Samsung Omnia 7

44% Of Verizon Android users intend to switch to iPhone

Wow, here's a shocking piece of news to start the day with:

According to a new survey, 44% of Verizon users (Android and BlackBerry) are planning to switch to an iPhone.

While I can understand the BlackBerry users, the results of the Android users are a bit of a surprise. I always said that iPhone is superior to Android when it comes to end user experience (consistent, clean, better looking), but 44% is a lot.

(I know, I know, this is the point where all the techies are thinking: "what is he thinking!? You can't do this and that with iPhone! Android is superior…" I'm sorry to say: I'm a techie myself, I appreciate the advantages Android has over iPhone in many areas, but I still think that for the average user, iPhone brings a much better user experience. And user experience is really a lot in smartphones).

Reasons to switch, according to the survey are: user interface (60%), web browsing (58%), media capabilities (51%), memory (43%), and camera (41%).
Weird, I thought Android has some models with better camera, memory and similar media capabilities, but as I said, the user experience is probably a factor everywhere.

If this is indeed what we are about to see in the next few months we are facing a change in smartphones market and yet another jump to Apple, this time, in favor of Google and the 'gang'…

You can read the rest of the survey in here

4 comments | Read more...

Wow, here's a shocking piece of news to start the day with:

According to a new survey, 44% of Verizon users (Android and BlackBerry) are planning to switch to an iPhone.

While I can understand the BlackBerry users, the results of the Android users are a bit of a surprise. I always said that iPhone is superior to Android when it comes to end user experience (consistent, clean, better looking), but 44% is a lot.

(I know, I know, this is the point where all the techies are thinking: "what is he thinking!? You can't do this and that with iPhone! Android is superior…" I'm sorry to say: I'm a techie myself, I appreciate the advantages Android has over iPhone in many areas, but I still think that for the average user, iPhone brings a much better user experience. And user experience is really a lot in smartphones).

Reasons to switch, according to the survey are: user interface (60%), web browsing (58%), media capabilities (51%), memory (43%), and camera (41%).
Weird, I thought Android has some models with better camera, memory and similar media capabilities, but as I said, the user experience is probably a factor everywhere.

If this is indeed what we are about to see in the next few months we are facing a change in smartphones market and yet another jump to Apple, this time, in favor of Google and the 'gang'…

You can read the rest of the survey in here

iPhone 4 Unboxing… The Horror Version

I was never the "unboxing" kind of guy. Still, when my wife got her new iPhone 4 few days ago, I couldn't help but testing my new Samsung Omnia 7 video capabilities…

3 comments | Read more...

I was never the "unboxing" kind of guy. Still, when my wife got her new iPhone 4 few days ago, I couldn't help but testing my new Samsung Omnia 7 video capabilities…

So what is really happening with Windows Mobile?

This one was originally posted at MobileFever.

Few months ago Windows Phone 7 was released. It was Microsoft's biggest attempt so far to get back into the mobile competition after losing the crown few years ago to RIM's BlackBerry and later on to iPhone and Android.

I've been trying Windows Phone 7 for a couple of weeks now and the more I use it, the more I like it.
Well, maybe 'like it' is the wrong term here… I'm practically slowly falling in love with it.

Sure, it doesn't have even half of what iPhone or Android have to offer, and switching from iPhone was not an easy task for me, but now that I'm getting used to it I honestly think it's already a better productivity platform than BlackBerry, and with the right investment it can give a decent fight to Android and iOS.

In order to make it happen, Microsoft must invest heavily on WP7, which is what it does, neglecting what used to be the leading mobile platform in enterprise mobility: Windows Mobile.

I'm getting tons of questions lately about Windows Mobile: is it dead? is it going to remain supported in the next few years? will there be new versions of it?

There's a formal answer to those questions and the answer is: YES.

Microsoft has announced months ago that Windows Mobile will remain functional and supported for many years under the name of Windows Embedded Handheld (current version is 6.5, just like the latest version of Windows Mobile which is 6.5.3). The announcement was there but we didn't see anything happens since, but thjs is finally changing now: Microsoft is finally rolling out the latest release of Windows Embedded Handheld to OEMs such as Motorola (Symbol), Intermec, etc. (more details in here). There are even plans for future releases and an actual roadmap.

For field service organizations which are often looking for rugged devices those are great news. Windows Mobile 6.5 was available so far only on consumer based smartphones such as Samsung Omnia or HTC Touch HD2. Since those devices are now considered to be old and not so popular among consumers, it's hard to find them. But for rugged devices, the upgrade from version 6.1 to 6.5 is important (although not drastic, as it mostly has to do with some minor UI improvements).

But there is also an informal answer: Windows Mobile is dead. For consumers.

How does it matter you ask?

It matters.

Since many of the enterprise organizations are now deploying Android handsets and iPhones, the expectations from all the mobile devices are to be touch-only based, friendly, modern. Deploying a different operating system which doesn't exist any longer on the consumer side might become an issue for many IT managers.

In a year from now, when practically everyone will be using smartphones and probably tablets as well, and more than half of them would be Android based – it will be much easier to define strategies around one mobile platform rather than having different mobile OS deployed. By that time we will probably see more Android models (and 'more' means much more, as we already have over 100 different models, think what will happen in a year from now), and we will probably see some rugged Android models as well.

Preferring an Android platform with few models over a mixture of few mobile OS including WinMo would be legitimate, even a smart move.

Add to that the development factor: .Net Compact Framework is no longer part of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (which gives a hint about the importance of it), and most of the mobile developers today are working on iPhone and Android applications. We already see a trend where mobile software vendors start pushing other alternatives than the Windows Mobile applications. New technologies will first be supported by applications on iPhone, Android, etc. (I've yet to see some augmented reality demo on Windows Mobile…) and the gaps will become bigger each day.

The end result, therefore, (and of course this is only my own opinion), is that even though Windows Mobile was not officially announced as dead, the changes in the market, the changes in Microsoft's priorities (WP7 mainly), and the fast movement towards Android in the enterprise – will all turn this once powerful OS to be irrelevant.

1 comments | Read more...

This one was originally posted at MobileFever.

Few months ago Windows Phone 7 was released. It was Microsoft's biggest attempt so far to get back into the mobile competition after losing the crown few years ago to RIM's BlackBerry and later on to iPhone and Android.

I've been trying Windows Phone 7 for a couple of weeks now and the more I use it, the more I like it.
Well, maybe 'like it' is the wrong term here… I'm practically slowly falling in love with it.

Sure, it doesn't have even half of what iPhone or Android have to offer, and switching from iPhone was not an easy task for me, but now that I'm getting used to it I honestly think it's already a better productivity platform than BlackBerry, and with the right investment it can give a decent fight to Android and iOS.

In order to make it happen, Microsoft must invest heavily on WP7, which is what it does, neglecting what used to be the leading mobile platform in enterprise mobility: Windows Mobile.

I'm getting tons of questions lately about Windows Mobile: is it dead? is it going to remain supported in the next few years? will there be new versions of it?

There's a formal answer to those questions and the answer is: YES.

Microsoft has announced months ago that Windows Mobile will remain functional and supported for many years under the name of Windows Embedded Handheld (current version is 6.5, just like the latest version of Windows Mobile which is 6.5.3). The announcement was there but we didn't see anything happens since, but thjs is finally changing now: Microsoft is finally rolling out the latest release of Windows Embedded Handheld to OEMs such as Motorola (Symbol), Intermec, etc. (more details in here). There are even plans for future releases and an actual roadmap.

For field service organizations which are often looking for rugged devices those are great news. Windows Mobile 6.5 was available so far only on consumer based smartphones such as Samsung Omnia or HTC Touch HD2. Since those devices are now considered to be old and not so popular among consumers, it's hard to find them. But for rugged devices, the upgrade from version 6.1 to 6.5 is important (although not drastic, as it mostly has to do with some minor UI improvements).

But there is also an informal answer: Windows Mobile is dead. For consumers.

How does it matter you ask?

It matters.

Since many of the enterprise organizations are now deploying Android handsets and iPhones, the expectations from all the mobile devices are to be touch-only based, friendly, modern. Deploying a different operating system which doesn't exist any longer on the consumer side might become an issue for many IT managers.

In a year from now, when practically everyone will be using smartphones and probably tablets as well, and more than half of them would be Android based – it will be much easier to define strategies around one mobile platform rather than having different mobile OS deployed. By that time we will probably see more Android models (and 'more' means much more, as we already have over 100 different models, think what will happen in a year from now), and we will probably see some rugged Android models as well.

Preferring an Android platform with few models over a mixture of few mobile OS including WinMo would be legitimate, even a smart move.

Add to that the development factor: .Net Compact Framework is no longer part of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (which gives a hint about the importance of it), and most of the mobile developers today are working on iPhone and Android applications. We already see a trend where mobile software vendors start pushing other alternatives than the Windows Mobile applications. New technologies will first be supported by applications on iPhone, Android, etc. (I've yet to see some augmented reality demo on Windows Mobile…) and the gaps will become bigger each day.

The end result, therefore, (and of course this is only my own opinion), is that even though Windows Mobile was not officially announced as dead, the changes in the market, the changes in Microsoft's priorities (WP7 mainly), and the fast movement towards Android in the enterprise – will all turn this once powerful OS to be irrelevant.