Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Return of the Mobile Madman: It's a Love-Hate Relationship
Posted by Raphael Salgado in "THOUGHT" @ 12:00 PM
Ever feel like a "paying beta tester?" Ever think that manufacturers are just not listening to the customer? Ever wanted to jump ship and leave the Windows Mobile platform behind... but just couldn't?
I'm convinced that I'm in a love-hate relationship with Windows Mobile devices. If you recall my previous article, "Is This The Diary of a Mobile Madman?" I explained how I went through a total of ten devices in a continuous 16-month period and ended up with a Treo 700w on Verizon Wireless. Some of you predicted I'd abandon that device soon enough. In all honesty, I had no idea that those individuals would be right. Read on for the rest of the story.
I'd like to think that, like Elizabeth Taylor with all her past husbands, the "honeymoon period" that most people experience with their freshly-unpacked mobile devices would have eluded me by now. If that's the case, having the Treo 700w was undoubtedly a bittersweet experience.
As much as I hate to admit it, whoever said that the Treo 700w was "memory deficient" was absolutely right. Palm, if you're listening, it was very clever marketing to say, "128MB memory (60MB user accessible)" without ever mentioning that it was all Storage Memory. In my experience, up until its initial release, many were speculating how much RAM was actually available on the 700w, because that information was never officially given! It would appear that the 32MB of RAM (of which less than 15MB of it is free after bootup) would become the "grand field test."
To their credit, every application that's compatible with the Treo 700w and other square-screen devices runs as it's supposed to. It's when you want to run them together that you'll find tremendous difficulty and frustration. For example, with my unlimited data plan, the first program I want running is Agile Messenger for my instant messaging. Of course, that program will be running in the background, waiting for chats, while I go off and do my normal routine - surfing the net, playing music, etc. I launch Internet Explorer and surf for a little bit, then go back to Agile Messenger, only to find that it quietly shut itself down somewhere along the line. If I relaunch it, then return to Internet Explorer, my current surfing session is gone and I'm back to my homepage. Add the fact that Microsoft Voice Command can take up to an additional 2MB of precious memory to sit patiently waiting for instruction, and you'll see why Palm quietly disabled Voice Command by default.
It's even been noted that with the latest 1.10 firmware update from Palm, the threshold/sensitivity for Internet Explorer Mobile has been increased from 2MB to 5MB, meaning that if there's less than 5MB of RAM available (which will happen quite easily), it'll shut down to prevent memory errors.
The bottom line is, if I wanted a device that's not going to be able to multitask, I might as well have gotten a Palm OS device. Good news (sarcasm) - the Treo 700p is being released as we speak. :roll:
On a sidenote, the kicker that did it in for my Treo 700w was the problematic Bluetooth implementation. I have a Motorola H605 headset, and if another device, such as a Bluetooth GPS, was registered and listed as a paired device, less than half my calls would actually route to the headset. My 700w also crashed often when trying to do the initial pair to any device, requiring a soft reset. As mobile as I am, not being able to use the Bluetooth headset and a Bluetooth GPS (not even simultaneously, mind you) is a big 'no-no' for me.
So, where am I now? Luckily, the people at the Verizon Wireless store in Jersey City know me so well that they were able to change out my device (for the last time) for anything else in the store. I spent over an hour with the XV6700 again, and the Samsung i730. While the infamous "DSOD issue" plagued my previous XV6700, I read numerous reports by DSOD-free users who bypassed the Verizon customizations or even removed the contents of the device's Extended ROM. On the other hand, the Samsung i730 recently received its "official" Windows Mobile 5 upgrade.
Frustrated, I had even considered dropping the Pocket PC platform altogether and go for a RAZR V3c or even an LG VX9800, and possibly tether it to a crazy-expensive device I was planning to get - the Sony VAIO UX180P Micro PC. But, the battery life and hard drive speed of a notebook PC is still no match for a Pocket PC, so I had to stay with a Windows Mobile device. Yes, I know, Verizon Wireless has an extremely limited selection compared to the GSM world, but dreading all the proprietary accessories I'd have to buy for the i730 (car charger, additional sync cables, AC adapters, etc) and the bulky form-factor, I decided to cross my fingers and return to the XV6700.
If there are any manufacturers out there who are reading this, I would like to point out a few simple yet helpful points in order to make your future devices successful, and your future customers happy (yes, cha-ching cha-ching, money money, sales sales - apparently the only language they speak):
Now, I gotta go cancel that preorder on SonyStyle.com... :|
I'm convinced that I'm in a love-hate relationship with Windows Mobile devices. If you recall my previous article, "Is This The Diary of a Mobile Madman?" I explained how I went through a total of ten devices in a continuous 16-month period and ended up with a Treo 700w on Verizon Wireless. Some of you predicted I'd abandon that device soon enough. In all honesty, I had no idea that those individuals would be right. Read on for the rest of the story.
I'd like to think that, like Elizabeth Taylor with all her past husbands, the "honeymoon period" that most people experience with their freshly-unpacked mobile devices would have eluded me by now. If that's the case, having the Treo 700w was undoubtedly a bittersweet experience.
As much as I hate to admit it, whoever said that the Treo 700w was "memory deficient" was absolutely right. Palm, if you're listening, it was very clever marketing to say, "128MB memory (60MB user accessible)" without ever mentioning that it was all Storage Memory. In my experience, up until its initial release, many were speculating how much RAM was actually available on the 700w, because that information was never officially given! It would appear that the 32MB of RAM (of which less than 15MB of it is free after bootup) would become the "grand field test."
To their credit, every application that's compatible with the Treo 700w and other square-screen devices runs as it's supposed to. It's when you want to run them together that you'll find tremendous difficulty and frustration. For example, with my unlimited data plan, the first program I want running is Agile Messenger for my instant messaging. Of course, that program will be running in the background, waiting for chats, while I go off and do my normal routine - surfing the net, playing music, etc. I launch Internet Explorer and surf for a little bit, then go back to Agile Messenger, only to find that it quietly shut itself down somewhere along the line. If I relaunch it, then return to Internet Explorer, my current surfing session is gone and I'm back to my homepage. Add the fact that Microsoft Voice Command can take up to an additional 2MB of precious memory to sit patiently waiting for instruction, and you'll see why Palm quietly disabled Voice Command by default.
It's even been noted that with the latest 1.10 firmware update from Palm, the threshold/sensitivity for Internet Explorer Mobile has been increased from 2MB to 5MB, meaning that if there's less than 5MB of RAM available (which will happen quite easily), it'll shut down to prevent memory errors.
The bottom line is, if I wanted a device that's not going to be able to multitask, I might as well have gotten a Palm OS device. Good news (sarcasm) - the Treo 700p is being released as we speak. :roll:
On a sidenote, the kicker that did it in for my Treo 700w was the problematic Bluetooth implementation. I have a Motorola H605 headset, and if another device, such as a Bluetooth GPS, was registered and listed as a paired device, less than half my calls would actually route to the headset. My 700w also crashed often when trying to do the initial pair to any device, requiring a soft reset. As mobile as I am, not being able to use the Bluetooth headset and a Bluetooth GPS (not even simultaneously, mind you) is a big 'no-no' for me.
So, where am I now? Luckily, the people at the Verizon Wireless store in Jersey City know me so well that they were able to change out my device (for the last time) for anything else in the store. I spent over an hour with the XV6700 again, and the Samsung i730. While the infamous "DSOD issue" plagued my previous XV6700, I read numerous reports by DSOD-free users who bypassed the Verizon customizations or even removed the contents of the device's Extended ROM. On the other hand, the Samsung i730 recently received its "official" Windows Mobile 5 upgrade.
Frustrated, I had even considered dropping the Pocket PC platform altogether and go for a RAZR V3c or even an LG VX9800, and possibly tether it to a crazy-expensive device I was planning to get - the Sony VAIO UX180P Micro PC. But, the battery life and hard drive speed of a notebook PC is still no match for a Pocket PC, so I had to stay with a Windows Mobile device. Yes, I know, Verizon Wireless has an extremely limited selection compared to the GSM world, but dreading all the proprietary accessories I'd have to buy for the i730 (car charger, additional sync cables, AC adapters, etc) and the bulky form-factor, I decided to cross my fingers and return to the XV6700.
If there are any manufacturers out there who are reading this, I would like to point out a few simple yet helpful points in order to make your future devices successful, and your future customers happy (yes, cha-ching cha-ching, money money, sales sales - apparently the only language they speak):
- Standardize. Would it kill you NOT to choose your future device's specifications by writing them on index cards and throwing them up in the air? HTC's Hermes is a perfect example. Beautiful device, decent specs... but a microSD slot? :? What company paid you to influence that decision? Why do I have to keep buying new accessories each time? Samsung and E-TEN: I have a new word for you: "mini-USB." It's only five pins, it's tiny, it's cute, and it's easy. Quit making up new connectors for the same old thing. I don't want to have to buy my accessories from some Hong Kong dealer on eBay when my local CompUSA sells mini-USB cables by the truckload. And if you're going to keep denying us 3.5mm audio connectors, at least keep the 2.5mm pinouts the same.
- Keep up. E-TEN gives a perfect example. They manage to squeeze out yet another quadband device (M600+) that still crawls at GPRS speeds. :evil: Is EDGE that hard to implement? I'm told that it's as simple as a software upgrade on the tower's end - can't it be done on the device's end? And for those who still release tri-band GSM devices, shame on you and everyone who you're associated with. You may deny an entire country the proper use of your device, but hey, it's your monetary loss. And, if 64MB has been working for everyone else, the least you could do is provide the same (hint hint, Palm).
- Support. 8O Yes, I know. I can hear the violins playing, too. God forbid you have to answer to someone who has already paid you. But, this is the reason why you're in business in the first place, or have you already forgotten that? If the device can handle an upgrade, give it an upgrade path. Not everyone can toss a PDA aside (even me) for the next one because it has the latest 0.002.01 patch we need to make our current device worth keeping. And, if you hear rumors that your support team is not doing a good job, it's probably accurate. Perhaps if you gathered up some active forum members (present company included) and gave them a salary and a spot on your support staff, your reputation may be remarkably different than what it is now.
- Innovate. I hear Blackberry is doing well with a "scroll wheel." :roll: You'd be surprised that some people would pay just a little bit extra cash for just a little bit extra effort. Innovation can be on the software side, too. Palm did a great job in really making their first Pocket PC device actually user-friendly and intuitive, that even my 4-year-old daughter could pick it up and dial without my intervention. Scary proposition, isn't it, guys?
Now, I gotta go cancel that preorder on SonyStyle.com... :|
