Why Windows Mobile Still Sucks

I’ve been through a number of mobile devices over the last few years, with my most recent change bringing me to the T-Mobile MDA. Read up on it, if you’re not familiar with the phone…this rant isn’t about this phone in particular.

No, this entry comes as a result of my frustration with Windows Mobile 5, and the MDA.

The following is a list of beefs I’ve got with WM and the MDA:

  • It’s freaking slow. I dumped my Nokia Communicator because it was too slow, and the MDA / Windows Mobile combo is faster…but not a lot. I often have to wait 1-2 seconds switching between applications.
  • It’s not built for quick navigation. You’ve got to whip out your stylus, if you want to get anywhere quickly. The MDA has a decent number of hardware buttons built in, but together they still don’t cut it.
  • Closing applications is a royal pain. That makes things even slower, as your "running apps" list just keeps building (regardless of how many times you click the "X" button). This annoyance is particularly agitating, as it’s been around since the early versions of PocketPC; I dealt with it on my first iPaq.
  • You can’t mount the storage card as a removable disk without installing ActiveSync garbage. It’d be helpful to pop a USB cord into my handheld and browse the built-in memory, or the card.
  • Picking up reception is sketchy when you’re leaving a dead zone. In my office building, the reception is shotty. But outside, it’s great. Sometimes it can take 5 minutes for the phone to re-establish reception…even if you’re standing underneath a repeater.
  • The built-in e-mail app is is rubbish. Trust me.
  • WM5 is just like Windows: sometimes it just hangs up, and you’ve got to reset.

It’s not usually my style to just rant…but with the new Sidekick III recently released, it’s tough. I’m so fickle.

Mobile, PDAs Comments 7 Jul 15th, 2006

7 Responses to “Why Windows Mobile Still Sucks”

  1. Matt Says:
    July 18th, 2006 at 7:15 am

    I’d say the number one reason why Windows Mobile still sucks is… It’s Windows.

    And it’s not even as good as regular Windows. That’s pretty bad right there.

  2. Anonymous Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 1:03 pm

    Now, if the SK 3 were unlockable, I’d grab it in a snatch. What it did, it did well and the online database made life so much easier to deal with.

  3. Alejandro Says:
    August 18th, 2006 at 9:58 am

    I think Matt is right…

    Thanks for the list, I will have to think again when buying anything that has WMX

  4. Oskar Syahbana Says:
    August 27th, 2006 at 9:16 am

    Wow great, Windows mobile suck because it’s Windows… what kind of argument was that? IMO, although not as stable as PalmOS (and not energy efficient either), the latest version of Windows is alot more powerful thatn the latest version of PalmOS (or even Symbian probably in your case).

    To make your removable card acts like a removable disk (without needing to install active sync), you need a third party software for it. I’m going to take a look on my collection… forgot the file name

  5. John Lambert Says:
    August 29th, 2006 at 3:25 am

    Your complaints are why I stuck with my wonderful Treo 650 instead of upgrading to the 700. The 650 runs Palm, and I can do almost everything without the stylus, including my favorite app: Sudoku. I think of this gizmo as my Sudoku game that’s also a useful phone & PDA.

  6. thomas Says:
    September 29th, 2006 at 12:06 am

    Thanks for this post - I’m considering an upgrade but maybe I’ll keep my SE K750i for a bit longer.

  7. Martini Geek » Blog Archive » T-Mobile Takes the Lead Says:
    October 15th, 2006 at 7:22 pm

    [...] Regular Martini Geek readers will remember that I hate my MDA, and have been waiting for an adequate replacement that doesn’t suck. [...]

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