332 replies to this topic

[drummerboy]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I have to agree with waveydavey... I've been a windows CE user since the first Cassiopea days and have had more devices than I will ever admit to my wife. The iPhone is a pretty device, and it's staggering what the marketing power of Apple has achieved, but when it comes down to it, the iPhone just ISN'T good enough. I've been tempted by it's music player and the pretty looks, but when it came to the crunch, I couldn't do it. I couldn't waste money on a device that would just annoy me and that I would eventually end up giving to someone I didn't like... Just to be mean.

I had a discussion with an colleague at work who was convinced that his iPhone was the dogs you know what's & better than anything I could produce... he then asked me to set up his email for him...
nuff said. :)

With WM devices like the touch HD (my current pal) and the upcomming Toshiba beauty, why do we need the iPhone? The plain answer is that we don't, but it does come down to the question of requirements - and surely such competition can only be a good thing, Apple's ongoing development will hopefully keep pushing Microsoft to better and better things.

[The Guru]

drummerboy said:

Apple's ongoing development will hopefully keep pushing Microsoft to better and better things.

If nothing else we can thank Apple for that, otherwise WM7 would never have been considered IMHO.

[waveydavey]

I think WM7 would always have been on the radar, but I don't think there would have been a WM6.5. It looks at the moment like 6.5 is primarily an interface upgrade and for that we DO have Apple to thank.

[GRiPHone]

An interesting discussion - and I guess I am not surprised to see people defending WM devices.  If you had asked me before November 2008 I would have been there with you - I have after all been a WM (etc) user since migrating from Psion/Palm in 2000 when Pocket PC (iPaq) was first lauched.

However - in November I bought a pay as you go iPhone 2.0 - and have been using it extensively alongside my HTC Touch Pro (my latest WM device - I have had 4 iPaq models, 3 XDA models, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, HTC Touch Dual, Qtek 9100, HTC Tytn I and II - and loved them all in their time).

So do I agree or disagree with you? - Heck - we are all entitled to our own opinions - but how do I feel - about this ... really?

I'm not an IT Professional - I am an Architectural Technologist:
  
I need reliable email, contacts and calendar, I don't need mobile Office - I have a lap top with 3G for that.  
I want music and video on tap that works with my iTunes - I commute 3 hours a day.  
I want to be able to enter text - emailing and texting easily and quickly - the iPhone is brilliant for that!  I want a reliable device that doesn't have to be reset.  
I want a device with foolproof backing up that I don't have to buy as an extra bolt on.  
I want regular ROM updates fixing bugs.  
I want my applications to be up to date - and be told when updates are available.
I want applications that are generally under £1 - and rarely over £5.

Does my WM device do all of that - honestly - no!  
Does my iPhone do it - honestly - yes!

I completely understand you points of view - but - there is one very big point to remember - iPhone is only in its infancy.  WM has been around very much longer - evolution is happening and WM is currently the Hare!

Would I have bought an iPhone if MS hadn't just sat on their laurels and actually done some major rethinking about how WM was to advance and come up with a device truly for the 21st century?  Probably not.

It is clear that the iPhone has become a very popular device - it is important to realize that it isn't just the hype that is responsible for that.  Most of the guys in this forum do not represent the 'average' Joe in the street - heck I know I don't - you guys are in a whole different league - so - you are the elite in terms of mobile users. You were never going to be satisfied with the simplicity of the iPhone.  However - with the sales of iPhones booming - you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time ... as they say over the pond - go figure!

The end to my story so far - I have a Touch Pro and an iPhone.  Which do I need more?  That's easy - the iPhone (my touch pro is often left in my backpack)!  If I lost the iPhone would I be lost?  No!  Would I buy another iPhone - yes - in a heart beat!  Would I buy another WM device - not on the basis of the current crop!
  
Interesting discussion - my fourpennyworth!

[waveydavey]

You make a convincing argument Griph, but iPhone and WM aside, there are plenty of other device on the market that will do what you need that are stacks cheaper than the iPhone. Why not one of those?

[GRiPHone]

waveydavey said:

You make a convincing argument Griph, but iPhone and WM aside, there are plenty of other device on the market that will do what you need that are stacks cheaper than the iPhone. Why not one of those?

I haven't seen any thing that does what I need so well - bearing in mind its infancy - its an incredible device - what sort of devices are you suggesting?  I don't even think it was expensive.

[GRiPHone]

drummerboy said:

I had a discussion with an colleague at work who was convinced that his iPhone was the dogs you know what's & better than anything I could produce... he then asked me to set up his email for him... nuff said. :)

Nice one!  But don't paint all us iPhone users with the same brush.  Whilst I am not an IT professional - I am heavily involved with our system at work and regularly have to mess around with basic IT admin - e.g. RDP, Active Directories, managing BackUp Exec for our back up (6TB) etc, and I know how to set up Mail Accounts - I wouldn't however want to do that remotely from a WM device - I have an Advent 4213 with HSDPA for that.
The iPhone just does it for me!  I'm not saying that the iPhone does everything WM does - I KNOW it cant - but it does do what it does very well indeed - and I dont regret the choice - after 7 months!

[GRiPHone]

windows said:

Apple scores really with then controlling all aspects of their products so therefore have been in the main able to maintain a fashionable house style which goes well with their marketing. Plus an ease of use interface appeals to many users.

I agree 100% - and something that MS really should learn from.  I actually tried typing an email on my Touch Pro the other day - using the hardware keyboard - I am VERY much faster on the iPhone virtual keyboard - another point for the 'easy to use' interface.

[GRiPHone]

I use my Sennheiser PX100's Dave - much better sound reproduction than the crap white ones - but then I never user the crap phones that came with WM devices either.  I don't need you to slap me round the head though!  Honest!
:)  
I made up my mind not by the hype - but by actual use of one.:p

[waveydavey]

I wouldn't slap you Griph! :). I'd probably suggest that maybe the Sennheisers are wasted on the iPhone hardware (because of the well documented poor audio). That said I've never seen a good honest technical review of any WM hardware for hardcore music use. I know the OS is up to it, but I'm not sure about the individual hardware. Then I'd suggest that wires are yesterdays news and that a bluetooth headset is the way forward anyway......but then I'd remember you can't use one of those...... ;)

I think personally, and I mean no offence to anyone, that anyone who's iPhone can replace their Windows Mobile device is not using their WM device to its full potential. Now I'm not blaming Apple or the user for that, but that's a fact. I think that with the 3 way partnership between MS, the operators and the hardware manufacturers there's no-one out there to say "this is what your WM device can do for you today". Apple does it all day long on TV (with the caveat of "sequence speeded up and steps removed but we'll not go there....grrrrr....) so why isn't someone doing that for Windows Mobile. Again, it's all down to marketing.