Windows Mobile: Is it lost?

I am currently sitting in my living room after making a decision in regards to my testing of the HTC Touch Pro. The device is now packed away and ready for shipment back to ExpansysUSA after a most wonderful few days of usage that really opened me up to the benefits of the Windows Mobile operating system. The highlight of this phone has been the Touchflo 3D interface, and I give many kudos to HTC for pioneering this new method of refreshing such a complex OS. While there is a lot of magic to be had in all of the finger swiping and tapping, I believe that this could have been the downfall of the overall user experience as well as the success. To put in simple terms, the TouchFlo interface is at times the victim of sluggishness on behalf of the OS even when there are only one or two applications operating simultaneously! This is somewhat a shocker for me when considering the new and improved specs of a 528 MHz processor, 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM...well, in a way it's really much of a shocker at all. I really expect to see a lot from a device when it is marketed as the next best thing, and I have honestly been let down by HTC's latest offering in the Touch Pro. As much as I would like to be open to remain with the TouchFlo aspect of this slider qwerty, there are also too many cumbersome qualities in using it on a daily basis. After getting used to the form factor of the qwerty bar via personal experience with my Nokia E71-2, Treo 750 and Samsung i780, I am hardly intrigued by what any other design brings to the table. Since I don't have to fiddle with any moving mechanical parts, qwerty bars provide ultimate portability and quick access to phone features when on the go. It wasn't until I had to deal with sliding open the Touch Pro's qwerty that I realized this without a shadow of a doubt. Running around in town to run errands today showed me just how much I prefer the tactile keyboard to any onscreen or slider alternative, for I couldn't just instantly pull the HTC from my pocket and begin using the features efficiently. With the TouchFlo I didn't take to the onscreen qwerty layout and its intermittent feedback, and I found that the slider took too much time to operate. The full-fledged feature pack of the Touch Pro are great for me when I am at home and relaxed, but it is a different story when in the midst of a hectic day. Inspired by my missing the qwerty bar I have at this point gone back to using the Samsung i780 for a limited time before eventually returning to the E71-2 model.

Going through yet another underwhelming device is causing me to question whether there is any worthy challenger to the compact portability and simple usability combo offered by the Nokia E71-2 and its Symbian operating system. Windows Mobile surely has some benefits its arsenal of smartphone benefits, but not enough to override the incompetence of lackluster audio and media support...not to mention touchscreens that are essentially double-edged swords. Touchscreens can easily be a user's best friend or most hated enemy in regards to operating system navigation. If it's a great day when the OS is working properly and feedback speeds are quick, you've got a potential winner. But cross that threshold of too many open applications and you are in for a multitude of sluggishness and irritation. Without the touch sensitive screen the E71-2 easily surpasses my Treo 750 and Samsung i780 when it comes to overall stability. Another scary thought about this situation is that my Nokia E90 Communicator is also brought into question due to its bulk, but on the other hand it is such a unique device that's worth holding on to. With the recent returns of the HP 910 and now the HTC Touch Pro it really doesn't look like I have a good track record with these WM units. Maybe Windows Mobile is stuck in a time warp that is doomed to be devoid of innovation and marketability. I even doubt that that either the Treo Pro or the Sony Ericsson Xperia will have any effect on the phone competition...well, the Treo at least has some potential with its new features and revamped design.

Maybe I should focus my interest on something else since Windows Mobile smartphones don't appear to be going anywhere at this time. It looks like it's just me and my Nokia E71-2 from here on out...with the Palm and Samsung as sidekick backups.

TRENT
Sent from my Samsung i780