Microsoft Still Doesn’t Get Mobile

I thought I’d take today to rant about Microsoft a little bit regarding their mobile strategy. After all these years of Microsoft making Windows Mobile and it’s predecessors, one might think that they “get mobile”. That Microsoft has the design and engineering know-how to take the best of what’s currently out there and put it into one device and take the spare time to innovate – bring us new and exciting idea.

Take something as simple as the alarm on a “Pocket PC” or Windows Mobile Smartphone. One might expect that in this day and age, given that these devices are touted as the all-in-one converged device, that it could support more than one alarm clock and could work reliably. One look at all of the alarm programs out on Handango and SmartPhone.net, and you’d see that CLEARLY there is a gap here that Microsoft has served poorly. Many posts on sites such as PocketPCThoughts.com will tell you that people continue to have problems with failed alarms. That’s just not acceptable – you need to be able to trust your “system” to do what you need it to do. If your “system” is a smart-device, than that alarm needs to go off when it should.

Or how about audio & video? How about giving me a device that I can use to listen to audio where it remembers where in the track I was when I exited the program so I can pick up where I left off?

Fortunately for me, I can afford to purchase third-party applications that allow me to do these things. And one might argue that Microsoft is intentionally not creating these features in their operating system so as not to step on the developers toes. And that would be good, except for the fact that a vast majority of Windows Mobile users will never visit the third-party application sites or install an application unless provided by their carrier or employer. Buy the developers if necessary, but get these features into the next version of the OS. Its time.

Microsoft has been accused of copying other people’s software features in the past and incorporating them into their products. Why stop now?

Recent sales figures show Apple, being in the mobile phone market for little more than 6 months at this point, eating Microsoft’s lunch. That is, Apple, as a single developer and manufacturer, BEAT all other Windows Mobile-based smartphones for the last half of 2007. Microsoft needs to DO BETTER at creating devices that the average consumer can easily and predictably use. Only then will they increase their market share. They’ve been at the game long enough. Now its time to play to win.

Watch your time! (with Outlook)

Usually, when someone makes this comment, its usually because you’ve got something else coming up on your calendar and your running close. But not today.

I’m giving you the heads-up on the change to Daylight Savings Time and the corresponding patches being put out by our technology “partners”.  Microsoft has put out patches for their operating systems and applications, but it appears that they might have missed something.  First, if you’re not aware, applying the patch just to XP won’t be enough if you’re running Outlook.  You need to apply a patch to Outlook as well.  Here is where the problem comes in.  The patch is suppose to make adjustments to the database file that Outlook is based on, as Outlook stores timezone information in each appointment.  But from my observations, it is moving some appointments out an hour, but leaving some alone.  This can cause you to be an hour late for some appointments, but be on time for others.

It appears that this “problem” only manifests itself for appointments in what I’m calling the “adjustment period” between the new Daylight Savings Time start date and the old.  But Outlook is the key – if you use a wireless device like a Smartphone, a Blackberry or a Treo (Windows Mobile or Palm-based), your appointments could be affected.  And remember, this is AFTER I applied the necessary patches… 

So beware.  Have your users check their appointments to make sure they’re set for the right times.

I call BS on Wireless Industry’s claims

To get a sense of what I’m talking about, check out this article at MSNBC - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17068164/page/2/

Now, I’d like explain why I’m calling BS on the wireless phone companies.  First, they claim that unlocking phones will “undermine its security, said another Verizon Wireless spokesman, John Johnson. His company limits Bluetooth applications in part to prevent illegal access to users’ personal information, he said, a problem in some European markets”. Bull.  There are thousands and thousands of unlocked phones on GSM carriers’ networks right now, at this very minute.  Most of Europe has unlocked phones.  All this means is that you can put your Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) from multiple carriers in your phone (just not all at the same time).  So if I have an unlocked phone, I can put a T-Mobile SIM in it one day, and an AT&T SIM in the next.Second, the reason they give for locking the phone is “to protect their investment”. In the US, carriers generally subsidize your cell phone purchase – most people never pay full price for your phone.  So in consideration for this subsidy, they lock you to their network.  OK, sounds reasonable.  EXCEPT for the fact that they also lock you into a contract for which you need to pay an Early Termination Fee (ETF) in order to get out of the contract early.  Why?  Why can the wireless carriers lock you to their network AND lock you into a contact?  Why? Because they can.  Because we, as consumers, let them.  So to wrap up this rant and bring it full circle, I would like to call on all wireless consumers to support any actions by any groups that release us from the shackles of the wireless carriers and give us our freedom to TRULY CHOOSE.  And being free to change carriers while abandoning our (sometimes costly) investment to do so is not freedom!  LET US FREE!