Can the aging Windows Mobile gain ground as slick, fast-moving competitors move in? Philip Berne gets specific about the next version of the OS and what Microsoft can do to dominate yet another field.
It is going to be a big year for Microsoft, and we expect that Windows Mobile will be able to weather a storm that will knock some smaller players off their rafts. We've seen the future of Windows Mobile, and though we're bound by non-disclosure agreements not to talk about what we've seen, we can safely say that in the next couple of years, Microsoft will address some of the lingering issues that have long been criticized in the mobile OS.
Global Search
Instead of looking back at the bland year Microsoft has put behind them, we want to look at a few features that will be in the next versions of Windows Mobile. Global Search uses the name of an incoming caller to search your phone for e-mails, text messages and documents related to that person. So, if your boss calls and asks if you just got an e-mail she sent, Global Search puts all e-mails from your boss in front of your at the touch of a button. You can also see calendar appointments with your boss, her alternate phone numbers, and other related information on your device.
Internet Explorer on a phone, this time, with feeling
Second, Microsoft will finally be including a desktop-grade browser with Windows Mobile. Just as Apple has included a full version of their Safari browser with the iPhone, Microsoft will include a full version of Internet Explorer 6 in an upcoming version of Windows Mobile. Plug-ins will work, so expect to see some real flash on a mobile phone soon. Why not use Internet Explorer 7, the most recent version? For the answer, you'd have to ask Microsoft. This is an obvious leap for smartphones to make, especially as more users demand a real Web browsing experience, with real Web 2.0 application capabilities, on their mobile devices.
Finally, the next versions of Windows Mobile look much better than the current version. This is a relief, because the upgrade from Windows Mobile 5 to 6 brought almost no visual enhancements. In fact, we often had to check documentation with a new phone if we weren't sure which operating system it was running. The next Windows Mobile will look prettier, and will probably include snazzy animations and graphical enhancements to compete with the iPhone.
One Windows Mobile OS for everyone?
But ultimately, we think Windows Mobile is a business OS, and Microsoft should segment their phone development that way. For business users, Windows Mobile is a handy, capable OS with some of the best scheduling and productivity apps in the field. For consumers, however, the OS is abysmal, with lousy media support and Web browsing and an interface that reminds us of our worst moments stuck in front of a PC terminal.
It is time for a Zune phone. It's time to turn Jay Allard and the Xbox team loose on the mobile market, and let them create something from scratch. The best part about the Zune is its graphical interface. Why not port it to a phone? Even a simple Zune device would be a refreshing change from all the smartphone OS interface designs we see on today's market.
Sweat the details
Currently, Windows Mobile phones are slow, buggy and less reliable than their Palm and BlackBerry counterparts. Though many Windows Mobile phones, like the Pantech Duo and AT&T Tilt, rely on an aspect-ratio change from portrait to landscape, not a one can manage the feat without a spinning beach ball and a long pause. We're not sure what causes these issues, and even the manufacturers with whom we spoke couldn't give us a definite answer, though none were willing to lay the blame squarely on Redmond's doorstep. Still, Microsoft needs to be willing to take these steps to firm up the system in place before they start scooping on cool, yet resource-intensive features that may bog the phones down.
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