Oliver’s Twist on Windows Mobile
On Wednesday, InfoWorld’s Oliver Rist posted an article titled “Windows Mobile needs fixing, fast” on the InfoWorld website. In the piece, he detailed Apple’s ability to beat Microsoft on the mobile front if the Cupertino, CA-based company were to make some “quick fixes” to the iPhone; which, needless to say, left this mobility junkie a little more than puzzled.
Rist went on to explain how Windows Mobile 5 and 6 were “troubled technology” that have brought him nothing but reader complaints, which seems to be a tad bit of a generalization. Need we forget the countless number of enterprise solutions realized by businesses through the deployment of Windows Mobile handhelds and applications? Oh yeah, Apple Stores themselves are utilizing Windows Mobile solutions through their wireless point of sale Symbol handhelds. Well, as the saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
While Rist does bring up some good points about the iPhone’s potential utilization of its built-in OS X platform, the manner in which he degrades and downplays Microsoft’s role in the mobile enterprise world is downright laughable. He even goes as far as to say that “users can’t rely on it out there in the wild, wooly, and unsupported field.” However, what Rist declines to mention is the number of highly sensitive deployments actually utilizing Windows Mobile technology today. The United States Government, an institution where reliability requirements are a must, has deployed Windows Mobile-based software and devices for use in military efforts and is deploying 500,000 handheld devices to outfit census workers for the 2010 census taking. Meanwhile, the iPhone will let you watch YouTube clips of a bulldog riding a skateboard.
And as long as we’re on the topic of reliability, the iPhone’s lack of SDK facilitates the need for a constant internet connection in order to use its browser-based applications. Last time I checked, ubiquitous wireless internet coverage has yet to be achieved, leaving any sort of enterprise application deployment short of reliable. While Rist’s insistence that “Nothing ticks off salespeople more than relying on a tool to help close a deal and having that tool suddenly do a face-plant midspiel,” is certainly true, what he fails to mention is that such a “face-plant” is achieved via iPhone as soon as an internet connection is lost; rendering the device useless for any sort of enterprise work.
It’s not that Rist has bad intentions by prodding Apple to target a more enterprise oriented audience, it is the manner in which he bashes Windows Mobile that is just dirty pool. Furthermore his suggestion that Apple should “Pump some lattes into a few MBAs up there in Cupertino” is also somewhat of a stretch. From a business standpoint, Apple’s MBAs seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. Apple has seen there stock skyrocket from around $90 at iPhone announcement, to today’s current posting of $141.15.
What may be the actual case is that Apple is content to roam freely in the consumer electronics market. In terms of growth, they have dominated the industry. And with Piper Jaffrey stock targets at $205, they should be more than willing to stick with their current business plan. Microsoft has always been an easy target for analysts and bloggers alike. However, to claim that they stand to be beaten on the mobile front may be biting off a bit more than Apple is willing to chew. For now, Microsoft continues as the leader in mobile enterprise solutions. And with the current landscape of the mobile industry, things look to stay that way for years to come.
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Hi Nathan:
Do you have a direct link @ Infoworld to the article you mentioned above?
The Oliver Rist article can be found @
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/18/29OPenterwin_1.html
Hi Nathan:
I think Oliver Rist is seeing this from an end user perspective as far as mentioning sales persons and Customer Relationship Management Software plus the issues associated with them in regards to Windows Mobile problems. From an IT perspective which you are taking, all your comments truly makes sense but it does not reduce the concerns Oliver highlights since it is based on reader complaints Oliver has received.
IT tend to stay with what works and going from Windows Mobile 5 to Windows Mobile 6 is not an automatic given.
I do not see the iPhone as an IT related device at this point anyways therefore is not something I would even try to equate to a Windows Mobile used in an IT environment.
It’s interesting that despite the many enterprise solutions available for Windows Mobile, they are still small fry in the smart phone market. Symbian has 70% of the smartphone market and even Linux at 15% has left them for dead. MS has only managed 4-7%. Apple didn’t put half a gigabyte of OS X into the iPhone just to leave out a lot of enterprise wish-list items – give it time, Apple has promised at least 2 years of free new features and updates for the iPhone and the enterprise apps are already appearing and will turn to a flood when Apple eventually releases an SDK. MS as well as Symbian & RIM have a much bigger job on their hands trying to scale the 20-40MB Windows Mobile, Symbian and Blackberry OSes up to compete with the 500MB desktop-class OS X on the iPhone. As Oliver Rist writes, Apple does really only need to tweak a few applications and add a few more functions to to tick off the remaining checklist items to answer the enterprise-space critics.
As far as Windows mobile is concerned, my $1000 HTC-made Windows Mobile powered O2 XDA IIs is as unreliable as Windows 95 and as clunky to use as Windows 3.11. Who would have designed an architecture that wipes all of your data, preferences and applications if the battery goes flat or when it spontaneously hard resets like happened to me again a month ago? Why Microsoft of course. Who would have designed the user interface of a small handheld device with a tiny little Start menu rather than nice big buttons or SMS texting hidden away multiple clicks deep in the interface or a contacts address book with tiny buttons making it impossible to quickly phone someone or wifi that refuses to connect reliably or synching that stuffs up all the time. Of course the answer is the guys in Redmond.
We have endless problems with Windows Mobile on our campus where hundreds of our upper management use WM-powered PDA phones and they are our biggest support headache – bigger than supporting the 6,000 PCs on campus. Don’t try and tell me Windows Mobile is an enterprise-class OS as we’re seriously considering changing to Blackberry campus-wide. Anything to get away from Windows Mobile Hell.
I think I know which way the higher echelons will want to go when the iPhone finally makes it to us Down Under.
-Mart
By the way, I should mention that I originally got my Windows Mobile-powered PDA phone with the lovely 3.5” LCD and slide-out full keyboard because I was so enamoured with all of the software available for it – I have bought hundreds of dollars worth of software including Destinator PN GPS turn-by-turn navigatlon with a Bluetooth GPS receiver, car kit, a complete theological library, dozens of novels and books to read in MobiPocket Reader, and other packages and formatted video and movies which I stored on an external 1GB card as I had high hopes that this platform would be the be-all and end-all for mobile convergence. I even purchased various Spb packages and other utilities to try and overcome the deficiencies in the OS.
However, I found it just so painfully difficult to achieve a smooth, productive experience with such a convoluted inconsistent interface and slooow unreliable OS that I have recently given up after having to reinstall everything for the umpteenth time and be forced to go thru that click and drag tutorial as if you’ve never used the PDA before? I mean how can you take a platform that as good practice requires you to keep cab files of installers on your external card to re-install your apps if your battery happens to go flat? Seriously?
And everyone goes on about the iPhone’s lack of buttons, but I hate all the buttons on my PDA – half of the chromed plastic buttons don’t work anymore just from normal wear and tear and I actually find it easier typing on the tiny onscreen keyboard in preference to the slide out plastic keyboard which has now gone all shaky. Oh for a keyboard like the iPhone’s that only appears when you need it and re-configures it so you actually get a “.com” button when you’re in the web browser for example – what a great idea!
Then there are examples of the ridiculous number of steps required to log onto our campus wifi network requiring clicking thru multiple dialog windows etc. Of course more often than not our PocketPC devices fail to connect or stay connected to the LAN anyway.
Anyway, I finally gave in and have moved back to my old Sony Ericsson P900 (which cost me $1000 when I bought it) and using it is like a breath of fresh air. It certainly has it’s own share of problems, but nothing like the WM device. True Windows Mobile has been slowly improving but it still has so many gotchas – That TOUCHFLO interface on the HTC Touch? Can you say yet another example of trying to add a glitzy skin on the same old rotten core. At least Apple carries their great design sense right down to the underbelly of their creations – Windows Mobile always feels like you’re delving into a smelly, leaky maintenance closet when you go in a level or two.
When the iPhone comes out here I will certainly be looking at it with great interest.
-Mart
It's still too early to say if the iPhone will displace WM-based devices but my initial reaction is that the iPhone is more of a toy than a serious device. Sure WM has its share of problems but thus far, it is something that cannot be solved. In fact I recently wrote an article on my blog on why some people will always hate their PDAs, although that was from a WM point of view.
Even with Symbian, I have friends who are users of such platforms, that when they see what WM can do, have embraced it.
I am not sure exactly why a lot of enterprises face a lot of problems with WM. But for me, I am do everything that I need to do, mapping, navigation, organization, emails, surfing and personal finance, all without problems. So I am really curious as to why they face such problems. Could it be due to the flavoring added by the makers that causes such problems?
Is WM perfect? Far from it. But show me a perfect device and I will show you its imperfections.
Tariq, we have WM PDA phones from a variety of manufacturers including HTC-OEM'd O2s & DoPods, HP and others. They all give us grief in the enterprise situation, so it’s not just a few manufacturers – it is the OS.
Regarding your classing the iPhone as a toy, you might like to re-think considering recent stories like this:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=298472&intsrc=article_pots_side
This company found that the full web 2.0 experience on the iPhone ran their VIPS application beautifully, something they couldn’t get working on the Treos all their sales people had. I’d agree the wee beastie is currently lacking a number of features that other phones have, but it’s only an automated software update and iTunes sync away Apple to fix these issues for current iPhone users.
In many ways, Apple’s current position of restricting development to Ajax and Javascript, though it has downsides, does mean developers don’t have to write for a whole new platform but can use the cross-platform Web 2.0 platform (with local execution for when the user is out of touch with the net) to deliver on the desktop and on mobile devices such as the iPhone. When the SDK finally gets released we’ll see it get even stronger. Remember, RIM has only just recently released the SDK for the Blackberry and they haven’t suffered for it.
-Mart
Hi Mart,
It's nice to hear your thoughts and cases against mine.
I do agree that the older generations of th OS is very problematic in the enterprise department but the latest version of WM was targeted at such users so you might see an improvement when people switch to this newer platform? If you say that Apple can fix their problems with software updates, MS could have also done that considering that WM6 only came out recently, and after news of the iPhone. Also, WM now has this Windows Update feature, and although there has been no updates thus far, does not mean that it is definitely a white elephant.
As for my opinion on the iPhone being a toy, I would still stick to it until I get to test one out for myself. The link to the article seems to have some problems so I could not view it. However, my reason is as you have explained later on in the post, that is because I do not see external developments being made available. While Apple can open it up, it is a matter of whether they would and when. Until that happens, we would have to judge the iPhone as it is. Its not that I do not trust the company, but its just that WM has come a long way since it began and I think the developments are pretty good.
At the end of the day, its all about getting a device that would suit your needs, an advice I keep telling those who ask me about which model to buy. If you have given up all hope on WM because it gives you problems, and the iPhone can solve them, by all means, embrace it.
Hi Martin:
Sorry to disagree with you but I do feel your pain. Your headaches would be drastically reduced if on a corporate level you deployed the same make/models. Having issues with the various make/models is not an OS issue but a make/model issue due to the manufacturers own modifications of the OS. Stayng with a common make/model throughout the enterprise will greatly minimize the headaches for any IT person.
Also, it helps in the end to take mobility access as a core functionality and not as an added feature to existing corporate data accessibility. Just my 2 cents.