We all know that Windows Mobile 6.5 is an interim update to Windows Mobile and the big one is coming with Windows Mobile 7. Maybe I am missing something, but isn’t Microsoft a very, very large company with $billions at its disposal? I understand that Windows Mobile is not at the core of its business, but Microsoft still has more to throw at the mobile smartphone market than almost any other company in the world.
So, why is Windows Mobile 6.5 no more than an artificial update which offers little more than some skewed icons and minor changes here and there? This update does nothing to enhance the reputation of the OS and can only lead people to look elsewhere. It could also ensure than some will expect Windows Mobile 7 to be a lacklustre effort as well and they would have already moved elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at what is new and what each addition means-
The interface has been made finger friendly with a large listing of apps and functions set by default. When I say that it has been made finger friendly, I mean the majority of the setup still requires a stylus. Well done…
There is a new lock screen which can be swiped like and iPhone. OK- quite nice, but not overly original.
The honeycomb layout of icons is supposed to be more intuitive when choosing one with a finger and it works well. What I mean to say is that it is only marginally better than the old layout.
My Phone and Windows Marketplace are included alongside a ‘dashboard-like’ Today screen experience. Nice to have, but again not making me jump up with glee.
I just don’t get it. I do not understand why Microsoft released 6.5 and why it did not spend that time working on 7. There is nothing here that will entice people to the platform, nothing that competes with the iPhone OS or Android and nothing that feels as if it took more than 3 days to knock up.
I still have a lot of respect for Windows Mobile and still believe it to have the potential to rise to the top again, but time is passing by incredibly quickly in this industry and Microsoft is simply not competing at the moment.
As I see it 6.5 is actually a “custom\cooked” 6.1 rom. If the aboutscreen would say something about “xda-developers” everybody would say “hey…nice work guys….great rom”. MS only bought some time….poor…very poor and they worked so long to refresh so litte.