If you’ve never heard of a Windows Mobile phone, or never particularly cared what kind of software runs on your phone, prepare yourself. In the coming months, Microsoft will release a steady drumbeat of ads intended to make you want a device powered by its software.
Should you care? Probably. Should you make a Windows phone your priority? Not necessarily.
If you already have a phone that runs Windows Mobile and want to upgrade, the new 6.5 version will improve your life slightly. Otherwise, other mobile phones are probably a better bet.
Windows phones have been around for years, mostly competing with BlackBerrys for the allegiance of business users. But while BlackBerry crossed over into the consumer realm with more user-friendly phones, Windows Mobile remained in its corporate cube, because of devices that could be so frustrating to use that few people would choose one without a corporate mandate.
For much of the last year, Microsoft has been saying that its new mobile software upgrade would significantly simplify the user experience. And the upgrade does simplify things, but not much.
Instead of poking around with a stylus, Windows now features icons that are big enough to hit with your fingertip. That helps you navigate the phone’s software menu and interact with various programs, but when it comes to the one application smartphone owners use the most — Web browsing — it falls far short.
Sure, Windows 6.5 supports Adobe Flash technology, so you can watch videos on more Web sites than you would on an iPhone, which cannot use Flash. But unlike the iPhone or the Palm Pre, a Windows phone still lacks a multitouch screen, so you can’t pinch and pull the display to a chosen size. Instead, you press buttons and sliders in a scheme that sorely lacks precision.
A Microsoft executive, Greg Sullivan, said that in company tests, users were able to complete tasks more easily on its new software than on any other mobile browser. Using a new Toshiba TGO1 phone that Microsoft sent me, I tried to log into my Gmail account for five minutes and failed.
Likewise, instead of simply connecting you to a free Wi-Fi hot spot, Windows forces you into a three-step decision tree that would make a technician’s heart sing, but would strike fear into the heart of just about anyone else who just wants to log on. (Quick: what’s your phone’s “EAP Type?”)
I also tested a new HTC Pure ($150 after a $50 rebate and a two-year contract), an AT&T Windows Mobile 6.5 device. It was slicker than the Toshiba, because HTC has, like some other hardware manufacturers, customized Windows Mobile with its own interface.
HTC’s “TouchFlo” software gives you an optional home screen for quick checks on weather, messages and the like. It’s helpful, sure, but the core flaws of the Windows software remain.
Perhaps the biggest difference between an old Windows device and one running version 6.5 is the app store, which is available only to those with new phones. (Each major carrier has at least one.)
The Windows Mobile Marketplace has only around 350 apps to start, which is a bit of a shock, since there are more than 20,000 Windows Mobile apps available online. More should come to the Marketplace fairly quickly, but it has much ground to make up on BlackBerry (3,000 apps), Google’s Android software (around 10,000 apps) and, of course, Apple (85,000 apps).
Unlike competing app stores, the Marketplace doesn’t yet have a Web site, so you can browse apps only on your phone. Still, the lineup of apps includes some well-known offerings for a fee, like Pac-Man ($7) and Scrabble ($8), as well as the usual complement of free social networking apps, like Facebook and MySpace.
One other benefit to owning a Windows phone is the My Phone service. For no charge, My Phone automatically stores your phone’s content on a password-protected Web site. From there, you can more easily post photos to your social network accounts or manage contact lists, for instance.
You can also retrieve all that critical data if your phone somehow is wiped clear in a major system crash, like the one this month that deleted all the data from T-Mobile’s Sidekick devices. That data had been stored on the servers of Danger, a business owned by — drumroll please — Microsoft.
Mr. Sullivan said the My Phone service was operated on Microsoft’s internal servers, rather than those of an affiliated Microsoft company, and was therefore as reliable as the company’s Hotmail system.
For many, the My Phone service will be most valuable when they lose their phone. For $5, Microsoft will give you a week and a handful of tools to find or lock your device. Even if the phone was set to vibrate, for instance, My Phone will force it to ring.
Here, Microsoft throws its longtime users a bone. The My Phone service is available even to those with the previous two versions of Windows Mobile.
Speaking of which: if I were an existing Windows Mobile user, I would consider buying a new 6.5 device, but only with a one-year contract.
The device would cost more, but I would at least put myself in a better position to upgrade to Windows Mobile 7.0, which may appear next year, and will, I hope, include enough improvements to make the Windows logo a more meaningful feature on a phone.
Quick Calls
Jabra, a mobile audio specialist, has unveiled a new headset, the Stone. It has no forward-pointing microphone boom, so it’s much stealthier than competing headsets, and the microphone still picks up your voice fairly well. The carrying case doubles as a portable charger ($130, at att.com, starting Nov. 8). ... Let’s Talk, an online mobile phone retailer, recently began offering Future Proof, a free service that guarantees to buy back your phone for a predetermined price, in case you want to upgrade to the next great thing. ... TED Talks, the lectures from the well-known TED Conference, are now available on Google Android phones (the Mother TED app), free. On iPhones, look for the TED app.
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