There has been a lot of talk about smartphones. The iPhone is selling like hotcakes, and Android is rapidly picking up steam. Where does that leave Windows Mobile? We know one thing: Windows Mobile 7 has to bring some real innovation to the mobile OS to be a game changer. Here is what it needs to have for a chance to make a comeback.
Contributed by jkabaseball Rating: / 1 February 02, 2010
Microsoft really hasn’t changed Windows Mobile since Pocket PC 2003. This includes Pocket PC 2003, Pocket PC 2003 SE, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6, Windows Mobile 6.1, Windows Mobile 6.5, and finally another version, Windows Mobile 6.5.3. That’s a lot of the same old, same old. Windows Mobile 7 needs to be something totally different and completely new.
Less Like Windows
Microsoft hit gold when they introduced Microsoft Windows for the PC. It has been the most popular OS since it was introduced. Microsoft thought “Hey, it worked for the PC, it will work for the smartphone.”
Sorry Microsoft, you are wrong. There is no mouse, and you can’t have menus and file explorers on the phone; it doesn't have the same screen space and input capabilities as the PC. What Windows Mobile 7 needs is to be simple, and easily managed by your finger.
Windows Mobile 6.5 has really done a great job at throwing a Band-Aid on this, but it’s still not very finger-friendly. The nested menus works well in organizing programs on the PC, but are a killer at the mobile level.
Going through all your folders to get to a file won’t fly. The iPhone’s home screen has all the apps installed on it. This means with one touch, you have the app you want.
One of the killers for Windows Mobile is that Microsoft will release an update to their OS, and only a few current phones get the update. This leads to two things. First, it has people with the same phone running two or more different OS levels, which makes it harder to get programs running on the phone.
Second, it deters people from even buying the phone. Why buy a phone out now when you know that there is a new version that you probably won’t get? Microsoft leaves it up to carriers whether or not to have the update available for the phone, and the carriers don’t get anything out of it, so they typically don’t bother.
Windows Mobile 7 needs to have a Windows Update built into the OS. Give the carriers a couple of days to test the updates and get any fixes out, and then push the update via Windows Update to all the devices.
Browser
I just took a look at my last cell phone bill. I used 45 minutes, 200 texts and 70 MB of data. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has this kind of usage. I tend to use my smartphone as an Internet device that happens to have a cell phone built in.
This means I use my browser a lot. Microsoft needs to create a new browser that is way better. The current one is slow, lacks many features and can't support modern websites. Yes, I know the screen is smaller, but high end devices are capable of viewing full web pages. Perhaps we could even get Silverlight support? It would be great if they could throw some tabbed browsing in there as well.
One of the longest-running rumors about Windows Mobile 7 was that Zune's media player would be integrated into it. The Zune HD is a great MP3 player; when it came out, many thought it was better than the iPod Touch. If Microsoft can integrate the Zune experience, it should be a huge success.
You can see some Zune influence in Windows Mobile 6.5. Apple brought the iPod experience to the iPhone very well. Microsoft needs to do the same.
Microsoft has the Zune Pass, which should be a killer rival in Apple's market. For $15 a month you could stream unlimited music to your Windows Mobile device, and then get an additional 10 songs per month to keep. That means you get streaming for under $5.99 a month. Forget 30 second previews; you can listen to it and buy it when you feel you really like the whole song.
The built-in Windows Media Player is lackluster and a hassle to use. It needs to be integrated into the OS and not seem like another application installed on the phone, as it does now.
Multimedia
It’s not just about music anymore. It’s about videos and Youtube. The next Windows Mobile operating system needs to work well with Youtube, for a start. Users will want to seamlessly be able to view and upload videos in a heartbeat.
There is a Youtube App for Windows Mobile, but it needs to be standard and integrated. Take a video on the phone, and the options menu should include an option to upload it. How about HD output? If it’s not HD, we don’t want it; you’re lucky we don’t want 3D yet. An HDMI port would be great.
While we are talking about multimedia, how about built-in native MMS support? There is no native support in Windows Mobile. Sprint managed to release an application that sometimes works, and most of the time does nothing. If I’m spending $200 on a smartphone, it needs to at least do what the free phones can do.
Gaming
Almost as widely rumored as Zune integration is integration with Xbox Live. No information has leaked as to what this includes, but there are a few ways of handling Xbox stuff on Windows Mobile. First they could integrate your friends, achievements, scores, and chat into an app. This would be really pointless, and not very exciting. They need to integrate the Xbox Live games, or at least the new retro arcade demoed at CES 2010.
Microsoft allows people to create their own games for the Xbox 360 on Live. I think this would be a great area to expand to Windows Mobile. I’m not sure if the games for the Xbox 360 would run on the smartphone, but I think that they could develop a separate API and create killer development teams for games. Since you can use Visual Studio and programming languages that are common for the PC, games could be rolling out for phones as soon as Windows Mobile 7 is released.
Previously, Microsoft was pretty laid back about requirements. If it could fit on the phone, you could run it if your provider wanted it. Microsoft needs to lay down some hardcore hardware requirements and force providers and manufacturers to put the mobile OS on only worthy phones. Putting it on under-performing phones kills the brand and frustrates customers.
We know that Windows Mobile 7 will require a multitouch screen. This means most phones currently on the market don’t have a chance of running it. Built-in WiFi should be required. Microsoft should tell manufacturers to either go for the whole experience, or stick to a non-smartphone.
Perhaps they could create an app or get with the carriers to provide VOIP instead of using your minutes, and better yet, when you have service in a location, you can use WiFi. I know all the offices I have been in have issues with cell signals.
The screen needs to be equal to or better than the Zune HD, 480 x 272. A built-in accelerometer is a must; it has really shaped the iPhone and is used in many apps.
As far as storage space, I don’t think it needs to have 8+ GB of space. It would be great, but an expansion card is a lot cheaper. It needs to have a powerful CPU capable of high end graphics. nVidia is releasing the Tegra 2, and there is a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon coming out -- oddly, around the same time as Windows Mobile 7. A dual core 1.5 GHz processor in a smartphone would be a market-dominating device.
Docking
I know this is probably not going to happen, but if we could dock the smartphone in something which gave us access to a full monitor, mouse, keyboard, and USB ports, it could replace your computer in the coming years. If the phone included a dual core 1.5 GHz processor, I think that it could be enough power for a full-blown OS with perhaps a mobile skin while not docked. Is this going to happen? Slim chance, but it would certainly be a game changer for all computing devices, from cell phones to PCs.
What we know
There is very little we actually know about Windows Mobile 7; Microsoft has been very hush-hush. There will be some exciting news in March, as Balmer said. What we do know is from job postings at Microsoft. We know that Microsoft has hired a few people to work on the Xbox Live aspect and also hired some people for Zune integration. A few special press people have been given a sneak peak and said it will be a game changer for the smartphone industry.
Conclusion
Windows Mobile was one of the first smartphone operating systems around. It has changed little since then, however; others have come out and left Windows Mobile in the dust. Microsoft is throwing everything into Windows Mobile 7, and it should be a game changer for Windows Mobile. Microsoft has been quiet about the details, and we won’t know what to expect for a couple weeks, when Microsoft will let us see a demo of what they have been brewing.
Microsoft Patch Update for July
