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Transition from Windows Mobile to the iPhone – Pros n Cons

December 17th, 2008 • Filed Under

I was a Windows Mobile user for a while now and was quite happy with the OS though it has some flaws, I was running out of my existing contract with 3 Mobile and wanted to try a different provider I do a bit of international calls from my mobile and I was after some deal where international calls are included in the cap and 3 Mobile for one was offering this but I had some issue with the service provider and decided to take my business elsewhere.

I was looking to get the Touch HD @ first but its not in Australia yet so I started looking @ other options and Virgin was having a deal with the iPhone 16Gig for $100 a month I get 5GiG data and $520 credit on the cap which includes international calls, the call rates are a bit high when compared to other providers but I was happy with what I was getting.

There are a Cons and Pro for going over to the iPhone. We will look @ some of this in this post. Some of the Cons are overcome by JailBreaking ( JB ) the iPhone. I havent JB my iPhone ..yet. so keep that in mind while going over the cons

Lets go over the Cons first :

The Keyboard : Dont get me wrong here the Software Keyboard itself is nice and easy to use than the stock one that used to present on Windows Mobile which is impossible to use with out the stylus, though device manufacturers like HTC has their own custom keyboard which is quite finger friendly. My issue here is the visual representation of keys, In windows mobile if you hit CAPS on/off the keys on the keyboard reflect those changes but on the iPhone it stays in upper case regardless of caps on/off.
The Cut / Paste : This is definity a big minus, there are so many instance like in browsing , email etc where you are going to miss this feature.
Data tethering : In windows mobile you could jumpin to CommManager and enable it with a click, connect your device and PC via usb and off you go, but on iphone its possible but Apple wont let you do it, thats annoying.
Iron Fist Rule of Apple : Unless apple give an application the green light it simply can not be used on the iphone, how ever good the app may be if its not on the App store you cant install or use it. To add insult to injury apple supposedly have a remote wipe feature where by which they can delete any app on your phone with out your consent ( Ream more on iphoneatlas.com ). They claim that this is not used to removed JB apps but malicious content. They also have a limit of 10MB on download item when using 3G data connection. It’s annoying when u wanna update an app on your iPhone and the app is over 10MB.
No A2DP : This was a great feature on the Windows Mobile that you will have to say goodbye to. iPhone uses have raised this issue from the very beginning and Apple has not provided any info on whether this will be introduced in the near future.
Landscape Email : There is no option to type your email in landscape mode ( there is a app TouchType for it ). But why should I pay for something that should have been there as a basic feature and since we are on the topic of email there is no way to have different signature for different account that sucks. ( the TouchType app fixes that too )

Update : Found a free application that offers Landscape Email : Easy Email

No Voice Dialing / MMS : for Christ’s sake this is a phone why dont you have Voice Dialing ?? ( there is a free app Say Who but why no out of the box solution ? ). MMS, though I am not a huge fan of it, I am sure many users will be missing this feature.
Camera : No video capture option, its not like I take a lot of videos on my phone but I would like to have the option for video capture on there.
Battery : It’s basically the same deal as with the iPod, you have to return the whole unit to Apple for battery replacement. Mobile phone users are so used to the idea of getting a replacement battery and swaping it, so this process is bound to tick off many people.

Then there are few more things like restrictions on ringtones, icons, etc etc. Might also result in lack of Sleep, Spending too much time on the App Store, etc

Now its time for the Pro’s :

The WOW Factor : When you are playing games like Labyrinth , Crash Kart, etc people will be looking @ it like is he for real. Most of the cell phone users just know their phones as an instrument to call others and thats it. But with iphone its much more than that. With the new Windows Mobile devices like Touch HD / Pro the wof factor is starting to spread on to Windows Mobile too.
Innovative Applications : With Windows Mobile there are very few innovative applications, but with the introduction of iPhone there has been a lot of apps that you will find very helpful in day to day activity. ( I will do an article on these in the near future )
You will spread the iPhone craziness : 2 weeks in to getting my iPhone , 4 others ( friends / colleagues ) have got an iPhone, see the WOW factor
Web Browsing : Though there is no Flash support for the Mobile Safari browser, browsing the web is a treat on the iphone when compared to the Mobile Internet Explorer. ( Though using a 3rd party application like SkyFire or Opera is a much more pleasant experience )
Large Screen : Its got good screen real estate. Which makes the web browsing and other app usage a great experience. Others are taking a bite out of the Apple ( pun intended ) and bringing it across to their devices eg: BlackBerry Storm, Touch HD, Samsung Omnia, etc
Frequent Updates , to address issues : Apple has been fixing many issues with new updates, that being said they have also been bringing in new problems like 10 MB limit OTA using cellular data.

Who should go for the iPhone? if you like new tech toys , you will love this gizmo. Its fun, its innovative and the user experience will be like no other device you have used before. It truly has been a Game changer in the Mobile world, forcing other to bring more innovation into the mobile world.

So which device would you choose as your next upgrade ? An iPhone 3G or one of the Windows Mobile device like the Touch HD ?

There Are 16 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Kristy on 18 December 2008:

So would you say iphone is better than Windows Mobile?
Comment by Saijo George on 18 December 2008:

It finally comes down to what you want from the device. I like the user friendliness and fun of the iphone and i love the freedom and power offered on Windows Mobile. Based on the review decide for yourself where you will be able to sacrifice and based on that judgment you should be able to select which device suits you better.

I can not pick one out of the two as a winner as both are winners in their own ways.
Comment by Mike on 28 December 2008:

I’ve heard the Touch HD makes the iphone look like a toy
Comment by Gavin on 22 January 2009:

Yes, it does… But it’s not as user friendly… it does so much more and is for serious users. I think if I had the iPhone again, I would soon need the features of my Touch HD.
Comment by mk on 25 January 2009:

Wow. I’m really glad I didn’t get an iPhone especially for the “Iron Fist Rule of Apple” the camera and the battery cons.
Comment by mike on 1 February 2009:

I would never get an iphone for the very reasons mentioned above. Apple is out to make things difficult for customers out there. And its ridiculous to pay so much for a 3G phone that doesnt do MMS, video calls or A2DP. And then there’s the 2-megapixel camera? “Apple, come on! You gotta be kidding me!” Those are definite deal breakers for me. Not to mention the fact that you need to jailbreak an Apple to make it better – that is so ridiculous.

I am leaving the Iphone out from my shopping list until Apple ships a version that address all the major issues above.
Comment by Mariano on 12 February 2009:

I’ve got the HD. Not only because the Windows Mobile even though is not the best is very stable, but too because I use Windows based PC. I use a Pocket PC since 2003. Very used to. My iPhone was with me for 4 months, sold it then. The screen is beautifull, but the HD is incredible, just incredible, a piece of paper with light. The battery and lack to write with anything in the screen but a finger is….
Comment by kotash on 21 February 2009:

thxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Comment by zAk on 19 March 2009:

The Touch HD is a far superior product. It definitely makes the iPhone look like a fifth grade kids’ passtime toy!!
And as for Windows mobile, I agree that it has it’s flaws, so does the iPhone. But it is much more flexible [work, multimedia, passtime] and powerful.
Comment by Yeyo.. on 23 March 2009:

Ok, I can admit that the iPhone out matches other cellular devices in the app category…HOWEVER, now-a-days…every god damn phone has MMS messaging…Few has the video sending capabilities and practically every phone out in the market that’s been recently created has picture messaging…

I’m into new techs, however, if they lack one SIMPLE action, they whole thing just sucks…HOW would you like it if they made a new Halo game…and they didn’t bother to implement the sword, hammer, or sniper into the game? HMM wouldnt that turn away so many buyers?

Or if your more of an RPG gamer…how would you like it if there’s a NEW FF game that can be beaten in under a few hours and theres not much side quest and what not?

Or maybe your a car type of person…FOrd, GMC, Nissan, whatever the make…they created a new line of sport, sedan, convertibles, etc. They got all this features, BUT it only goes 70mph…Like thats its top speed…and it lacks the PRESENT features like onstar and high crash ratings…

Wouldnt those small yet VERY impactful things definitely turn you away??

Honestly, if they came out with a new iphone with MMS, but it lacks in the number of apps or features it has…It wouldnt be worth buying…atleast not to me…

When it comes to small things like voice dialing/MMS, and a badass phone like the iPhone lacks it…THERE IS ABSOLUTELY no fucking reason for it not to have it. None. I stand by every word you just read, because I personally find that bullshit and that is where Apple fails in the market. Windows Mobile 7 will surely out sell its competitors when it is released…Apple will have to fix those cons it currently has and add more better features to really come out on top. Which I highly doubt!
Comment by deepak on 8 April 2009:

iFonz 0.9.7
Comment by Fab! on 10 April 2009:

The iPhone is really in a class of its own. So I give it credit for testing the waters and making it look natural right from the start.

But I love my HTC Touch Pro. The WinMo platform just has so much more going for it. Here’s my pros and cons on WinMo:

Pro

*with manufacturers like HTC making their own successful today screen UI it shows that WinMo can be anything BUT WinMo when you’re using it. it doesn’t HAVE to look like Windows.

*it’s got the benefit of being more wide spread than the apple-only mac os x that’s in the iPhone. uniformity will restrict iPhone from really changing, whereas WinMo can go anywhere…be anything.

*the hardware that runs WinMo phones is already getting more sophisticated. things gps and bluetooth are pretty much standard, whereas iPhone’s hardware will remain the same (memory, processor)
Comment by Fab! on 10 April 2009:

Whoops! Forgot the cons:

…wait, what?

Just playing!

Mostly I think one of WinMo’s shortcomings is that by default it’s not a very user friendly environment. I’ll conceed that 6.5’s addition of the honey comb and scrolling “zune-like” today screen shows that they’re working on it.

But like I said, with things like HTC’s TouchFlo3D and many others, it’s not such a big deal.

Also, they need to integrate with Zune somehow. They have Windows Live Mobile already, which is awesome.

But then you really won’t need a Zune after that I guess
Comment by marcoxxxx on 15 April 2009:

Think we need to go back to the basics here….who leads and who copies. We need to thank Apple for at last making a much needed revolution in the phone market to make it all-in-one solutions. I for myself have an HTC, I love the device and I hate WM which is totally un-userfriendly though agree totally editable vs Iphone. Then if I just look at the basic…iphone has the best screen (HTC and all other devices have not matched)…it’s the best soft/hardware integration to be fast and precise…and integrates the best surfing and music softwares out there…then that probably represents 80% of everybody’s time on a PDA…if it wasn’t for my work emails needing WM…I would have an iphone in my pocket…unless other brands start finally getting serious about have an excellent device both inside and outside without trying to flog quantity on the market that are not perfect. This is just version 2 for the iphone where other devices are at version 10 or 15….I can only guess their perfect product will be at n°3 or 4 version….like they did with the ipods..which I struggle now to find any flaws.
Comment by richard on 23 April 2009:

lack of cut and paste is just basic!

Colleague at work has to copy down info on a piece of paper, then type it back into his iphone – caveman!
Pingback by Transition from Windows Mobile to the iPhone – Pros n Cons | Mobil Teknoloji Haberleri on 13 September 2009:

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