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Culture

Fully Equipped: Time to ditch Windows Mobile?

As it gets ready to release its next interim upgrade to its Windows Mobile system before it puts out Windows Mobile 7, Microsoft is facing fierce competition from Apple, Google, Blackberry, and now Palm as it seeks to hold on to market share.

David Carnoy headshot
David Carnoy
Windows Mobile 6.5 is rumored to offer cosmetic upgrades, not major feature changes. Mobilemag.com

For all the talk there's been about Microsoft's big Vista problem, much less has been made of its smaller operating system, Windows Mobile, which has some major problems of its own. Truth be told, I'm a longtime Windows Mobile user and I have to say it's been a frustrating ride. There are things I really like about the OS--and things I find really irritating. However, the frustration stems from the fact that every time I think it's really going to turn a corner, Windows Mobile continues to disappoint. And I'm seriously considering giving up on it.

Take my current situation. I own a Sprint Mogul. Like with all cell phones--and smartphones for that matter--I was smitten with it when I first got it. It was a nice upgrade over the PPC-6700--not only in terms of design, but it performed better all around. Alas, with time, it's experienced its share of problems, even with a couple of firmware upgrades that gave it faster data speeds from Sprint's newest 3G network (Rev A), added GPS, and fixed a few bugs. I need a new battery, the keyboard doesn't work as well as it used to, the phone freezes a fair amount, and when I touch icons or open fields on the touch screen, it often takes a few taps to get the reaction I want. (Some people refer to this as the Windows Mobile "delay" syndrome).

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