10 Things WM Needs To Learn From S60
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 10 things S60 needed to learn from WM, 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 10 things WM needs to learn from S60, following my first post. Many common points between both our posts, and many new ones, worth checkin out.
there’s one thing that has to be told…there’s been 2 more generations (o more) after the qtek 9100.The comparison from the sp1 (N95) should be with the tytn II or at least the tytn… simply ’cause the wizard (9100) came out at the same time as the nokia 6600!!
PS: i own an N95, after having many WM devices… and im really happy with it, its better overall :D
1. Yeah, I think the Wizard was the first Windows Mobile 5 device around, and it was the first with the TI OMAP processor, so it wasn’t exactly bug-free both in terms of hardware and software. I told you before, I went through 3 Wizards before I got one that was stable.
2. This is left over from when the Palm OS was a competitor to Windows CE. Everyone with a Palm would “beam” files to each other through infrared.
3. I don’t even use that list. Just put your cursor in the to field, type the person’s name, it will show up in a pop-up list. Hit the down button to choose the one you want, select it with the enter or action button, then start typing the next name and repeat.
4. No kidding! The HTC Touch branded devices come with a new one called HTC Album which has support for iPhone like finger gestures and animations, which is pretty cool. But guess what? You can’t browse different folders.
5. You can access the Start menu from anywhere. It’s always there in the upper left. And you don’t have to go to the memory control panel to open other applications. The most recently used ones are listed in the Start menu at all times and those are probably the ones that you’ve most recently opened. So to switch to an application that you were just using, hit the Windows icon key on your keypad and then type the letter that’s underlined in the name of the program in the recently used programs listing towards the bottom of the Start menu.
6. I don’t remember on WM5, but WM6 has a “Device Lock” Today screen item that you can show. Tapping it will lock the screen and buttons for you.
7. Nah, you can’t make playlists on the device unless you install extra software (like this free one: http://www.pocketpcfreeware.mobi/download-playlistmgr-v0-5-2.html) I usually make my playlists on the desktop and then sync those over.
8. Agreed. Windows Mobile 6.1 is supposed to bring a much improved web browsing experience with better zooming capabilities. Hopefully it will also keep the “One Column” view option as well ’cause I like that one.
10. It’s only Windows Mobile Pro that doesn’t have profiles. Well, it has sound on, vibrate, or sound off. On your Wizard, actually, if you hold down the Comm Manager button on the left side, it will toggle between Sound On mode and Vibrate mode. Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) on the other hand, DOES have profiles like you would expect.
11. Some devices have been shipping with the Handango InHand software these days. See: http://www.handango.com/client/Home.jsp It’s a program that you can install on the device that lets you browse the Handango software catalog, purchase and download programs directly.
There is a lot to comment on here and as a loyal “Symbiant” (UIQ) now using WM6 because of SE’s North American UIQ model range I’ll do my best…
1. Stability. WM6 is more stable than WM5 and with tons of RAM, my Tilt is probably more stable than most WM6 devices, quite acceptable and on par with both my UIQ (2.1) and S60 (FP1) experience.
2. Beam. What can you say? Evidently these guys are old enough to remember Star Trek. But that should be an easy one to get over.
3. SMS. You’re right. Furthermore, incoming SMS, concurrant with incoming call and using PDA function tends to freeze WM phones. All in all, SMS processing seems to be a weak point of the OS…There is no really great threaded SMS app for WM either.
4. Image Viewer. I use a third party application for images and it is is great. Too bad the screen on my tilt and most WM devices is only 62k colours (not even close to my old P910 let alone N95 levels of screen beauty).
5. User Friendliness. Like any different language, you’ll get it when you’ve hung out in it a bit. The biggest issue – IMO – is that the UI designers seem to think that the best WinMob interface is Windows on a teeny tiny screen. It isn’t. But it is one of the great advantages of WM: you can make it look and work as you wish…once you shell out another $20 for the right software.
6. Keypad Lock. Again, third party fix.
7. Music Experience. M$ Media Player Mobile is death! So, again, third party app. CorePlayer is one familiar to many Symbiants and they make a version for WM.
8. Browsing. Thank God for Opera!…on any phone – except the “Jesus” iPhone – ‘nough said!
9. Search. Other than that little, unofficial search app that was hidden in some corner of nokia.com, the S60 search was pretty abyssmal. Stock WM is no better/ no worse.
10. Profiles. Yeah! You’d think it was suppossed to be a phone. A couple of good profile managers – one is particularly robust – but nothing approaching the old Magic Profiles Pro for UIQ…yet. S60 profiles were pretty poor compared to what was available on UIQ 2 and, when I abandoned ship, there were no S60 profile apps from the developers.
11. On device software. I guess that it depends on your carrier. ATT had plenty of demo ware on my tilt and have set up an URL with more apps just for me! Thankfully, I could delete most of it and get myself additional storage space on the unit itself. There is always the Handago on-device catalogue…if you really want to waste some storage space.
I would go N95 though, not to be an arse, but I really cannot imagine typing “http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2008/01/10-things-wm-needs-to-learn-from-s60.html#more-935″ with nothing but keys numbered 0-9!
Cheers!
Richard
[...] Rita (dotsisx) has published her own list of 10 things that Windows Mobile can learn from S60. Pretty interesting list with some common opinion. Don’t miss it! Hope MS is hearing all [...]
thats a common thing i hear with standard keypad phones. But honestly who types out url’s like that on any phone? We all bookmark our sites and its just one click away. Just load up s-guru page and there’s the link to your article. Adding bookmarks is only a one time, painless event with a 1-9 keypad phone. Also the google trick works wonders, just load google and t9 your site and the first result is usually your hit. Add to bookmarks and done.
richard, all you said is truly right, but we don’t have to go for a 3rd-party software for each and every aspect of a device. Looks @ the S60 platform, many people can manage better than fine with just the built-in image viewer, profiles, music player, browser… that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Had a Dell Axim X51v. Point 1 is the main reason why I prefere Symbian or Linux for a PHONE. BTW, not saying the other 10 reasons are untrue…
The Axim is now used for 2 things… Bookreader with VGA display at home (mobipocket, microsoft reader) and as a UPnP music player and A2DP sync being hooked up to the stereo for … my N95 and N800…
Dodsisx,
I like what you just said. I think about it this way:
Along the range of available “smartphones” you have
1. iPhone – great user experience, well put together UI, not customizable to the user in terms of UI or adding additional apps (in stock state). Great for non geeks (most of the market).
2. Current S60 – decent stock UI – not too tough to figure out for non-Geeks, moderately customizable, but no touch screen.
2a. UIQ – once king (IMO)- can Motorola help bring more share?
3. WinMob – terrible stock experience, daunting range of options, highly customizable.
So…for the bulk of folks, I have to say that the iPhone is the best way to go. I have played with them extensively, but would never actually use one as a daily phone.
S60 is definitely middle of the road – and unless they get some speed and touch-screen-ology the iPhone experience and its “pull” on the consumer market is going to leave NOK in the dust.
WinMob. The market doesn’t have to worry. The “Windows in your phone” thing sounds great, but until they realize that Windows in your phone is more difficult to do than “shoe-horned PC in your phone” and create an enjoyable stock user experience it will be thousands of models all with slivers of share.
about the VGA resolution i think you are wrong, pretty much all winmo devices have QVGA screens just like S60 devices. only about 5 or so winmo phones have VGA.
the reason the screen looks better is because winmo manages that space better (as you said in the other 10 things).
Adam,
thanks for the comments. Concerning the start menu being accessible from anywhere, I use Skyscape applications, which override the Start menu (as well as most games I think) so it’s not that intuitive. Plus it’s true that the most recent apps show up there, there is now way for me to know running processes easily except go over to that Memory menu inside the Settings.
Concerning the profiles, the album viewer, the InHand software, it’s just selective devices who run these options, so it’s not a WM feature (it’s a manufacturer’s feature) and here I am comparing the OS itself, and not the add-ons that each manufacturer puts.
Richard,
I think you would love to read this post I wrote a while back. It stresses on this point most particularly:
http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2007/12/on-the-definiti.html
i dont want to be critical, as you are expressing your opinion, but i think that you are comparing apples and oranges. you are comparing a windows pocketpc phone (touchscreen) with a non-touchscreen s60 device. without a doubt the windows device will be more of a pda, as its form factor lends itself to that kind of usage. i reall think that you should compare the windows smartphone (non-touchscreen) devices to any s60 device you like.
both s60 and windows smartphones feel more like a phone with pda abilities added to it when compared to wm pocketpc devices.
i also think that your comparison would be much more informative if you compared current devices from both camps. no offense, but the 9100 is a dinosaur, and if one of your readers went out to buy a brand new device, they would not be purchasing a wm5 device in 9/10 cases as most devices have a wm6 upgrade available or have been replaced by a wm6 device.
no since you did bring up the search feature on the n95-2, i will give you my opinion on its comparison to the search feature that comes standard on my rogers branded jack (blackjack2). i have owned the n95-2 and i now own a n82 (which i love) and i can honestly say that i hate using the search feature because it is so slow. i was very happy to see it on the homescreen and i love what it does, but i just think it takes way too long. on my wm6 device, i can instantly search through messages right from the messaging app by entering letters that are in either the recipients name, or that are in the subject line. there is also a search program in the application file that looks very basic, but is much faster then nokia’s search. it is night and day.
i would love to read your thoughts on some of the wm6 smartphones available today vs an e-series or n-series device
regards
george
George,
First of all, I know these aren’t the newest devices on the market, but I stressed on the fact that I was talking about old versions of each platform in the beginning of the post, so I don’t believe I am misleading anyone with this post. Plus, when I have new devices, I will surely update my opinion on any of these post.
Second, I am not comparing the platforms, I am talking about down-to-earth features that can be implemented on any platform or operating system, and that lack from one side or the other. If I wanted to compare the OS, I would have taken each feature, from the basic theme installation to web browsing and did a side-by-side point-by-point comparison. This is not what this post is intended to be about. as I said, it’s about the overall user experience on both platforms and the things that lack from one but are present in the other and that could easily be implemented.
Third, I do agree that the touchscreen presence on a device makes it seen like a pda, but this isn’t and shouldn’t be the official criteria. Look for example at the iPhone, to name a very common example, it’s a touchscreen device, that was built with phone and multimedia first, and not business/pda use in mind. It will learn to become that with time, with the implementation of 3rd-party apps, 3G, voice dialing,…
Fourth, I don’t know what search option you use on your wm6 device, maybe it’s an operator’s thing, maybe it’s an official WM thing, in all cases, i have found the search option on my qtek 9100 to be horrendous, slow and seriously lacking some sort of category divisions.
Fifth, I know WM6 ROMs are available for the qtek 9100 and I will get one on mine when I get some free time, in the following weeks. But this is not how it’s supposed to be. The avergade joe wouldn’t know about new ROMs, let alone try installing one!
hi, i did not mean to imply that you were misleading anyone.
i would argue that windows has already learned most of the lessons and implemented them into their smartphone platform (wm standard). they make two different platforms for two different users. i have owned the 9100 too, as well as the qtek s200 and to0 many other wm pocketpc phones and smartphones and while i like the added functionality of the pocketpc, i always end up hating it! i like the smartphone platform because it has a better phone experience. in saying that, my favorite phone right now is the n82, but i have started using a blackjack2 as my daytime or business phone and using the n82 for my personal time. the n82 can do everything i need it to do for my business use, but not nearly as well as the wm6 device.
then i should try and get my hands on a WM smartphone, any developer care to send me one for a couple of weeks to test?… i guess not
I accidentally came across this article and I can say only one thing – what a load of crap! 90% of the points is just author’s perception. Some of the points are just plain wrong, because of author’s ignorance.
I’m not defending WM, I’m actually a Microsoft hater… I love Linux. But until Linux for the phone is here (almost – Android, OpenMoko etc), I’m sticking to WM. Several years ago I had a Symbian device – SE 910a (it’s UIQ, not S60 though). It was THE MOST unstable device I’ve ever used. It would crash/reboot every day on its own! Plus Sony was not releasing any critical fixes/updates. Anyway, I switched to WM and like it, while waiting for Linux :)
[...] 25 01 2008 Dotsisx at Symbian-Guru has listed 10 things S60 needs to learn from WM and 10 things WM needs to learn from S60. There are many good points in both posts, although in some cases tied to a certain phone model. [...]
For the last years I have been using a Loox 720 PDA with a full VGA screen (no phone). I’ve used it in my everyday work with MultiIE v3.1 as an add-on to IE in order to ease my work. I also added Wisbar Advance v2.0.1.10 to make it more Windows-like.
After bying a new HTC Touch Dual and filled it with more than 250 (and counting) of my favorite programs, tons of movies, mp3’s, new Today plug-ins and enhancements like HiCalc, Smallmenu, Mortplayer… If you still prefer your crummy Symbian “Smartphone”, then ask any business executive what OS they prefer. Yuo can only add programs to Symbian S60 but there are no way to really modify your device to whatever you nedd.
[...] up my thoughts about S60 and Windows Mobile in 2 posts: 10 things S60 should learn from WM and 10 things WM should learn from S60, and eventually gave up on Windows Mobile as a whole. I still follow the news about the platform [...]