Where's the features from Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 2003, WM5, WM6, etc?

[thekonger]

I've made no assumptions.


A Windows Phone that has all of the legacy features that Windows Mobile had and updated them to work intuitively with the Metro UI would have worked for everybody. Nobody would feel left out unless they didn't care for the UI. However, on this very forum, you'll see a lot of threads where people get upset at Windows Phone's shortcomings. Why? Because Microsoft is staying too close to the Apple way of doing things rather than keeping some of the old Windows Mobile way of doing things.

The only reason Microsoft failed in the past was because their phones were too expensive, bulky, ugly, and too limited and detached in how you interacted with their devices. Apple solved that problem for them with the touch capacitive glass-covered UI. Instead of just taking that UI paradigm alone and making their version of it with the extra freedom and functionality of their tried and true Windows Mobile devices, they played it safe by copying pretty much everything Apple is doing with their platform....back in 2007


Those old Blackberries did a lot of things that your Windows Phone can't and you don't feel limited in any way? Really? I came from a Blackberry and I wasn't content with any smartphone other than BB until I finally got Android 4.0

Ultimately at this time WP8 does a lot more for me than iOS and Android. I can't speak to BlackBerry as I have never owned one and never will. It's a dinosaur and no matter what anyone tells you, it is dead. Sell all your BB stock. Okay, don't do that. But I would.

There are many aspects to a good smartphone, including: the OS, the UI, the apps, how it integrates, and the phone itself. BB doesn't really do well on any front. MS rules the business ecosystem and it has a ton of great apps now. It integrates contacts and social data well and is a pretty darn good phone from what I have experienced.

Does it lose a lot of the legacy functionality from previous WP OS's? Yes, every system that uses a new architecture does. Assuming a new system will automatically support all the functionality of a previous system is a bit naive. I still can't run Mac 9.X software on my OSX iMac.

 

[George Ponder]

I could see the appeal of some of these features. Personally don't really care for file manager or bluetooth file transfer.... wait... my 920 has a bluetooth share mode for pics and documents.

And what mass storage do you need? You can connect your Windows Phone 8 device to your computer and view all the storage files (documents, pictures, videos, etc) from Windows File Explorer. You can even create new folders.

I wouldn't mind seeing a block call feature and custom notifications but won't loose sleep over those features.

Microsoft didn't take Windows Mobile anywhere. They started from scratch and opted not to simply upgrade Windows Mobile as they've done for years. It's an operating system that is still developing and you don't know if some of these features will crop up in future updates. It sounds like some of the features you are missing are already there though...

 

[Wael Hasno]

Byzantium, I haven't read all your posts but I read enough.. You just keep mentioning the same stuff in different words but you also keep mentioning "12 years", "features", "legacy".. Mate, that was then.. I own a Samsung Omnia for almost 4 years now (Windows Mobile 6.1) and believe me, there's not a single feature I'm using on it, in fact, I even charge it once per week or 2 because I barely use it. The only reason I haven't switched is because I can't afford a Windows Phone yet. Sure, my Omnia was a great deal when it came out and most of all, it was relevant but right now, I don't see how some of its features can pass on to a Windows Phone. The market has changed a lot and so has the public.. I mean, seriously when you saw someone with a Windows Mobile, you'd think he's some kind of rich and successful businessman or a real tech pro.. Now even the average kid has access to a smartphone so whether we like it or not, we have to adjust ourselves to that and get used to it.

Windows Phones are awesome already, there's always room for some more tweaking but let's take it one step at a time. I just don't see how your arguments present a real issue in the near future.

 

[eric12341]

Ringer profiles, custom notification sounds, bluetooth file transfer, mass storage mode, file manager, no ability to create and save playlists, no way to block calls, no native sending of contacts, and a bunch of other things that even dumbphones can do but Windows Phone does not.

Microsoft took Windows Mobile and basically made their version of the iPhone. What they should have done is taken all of iPhone's strengths and none of its weaknesses in order to fend off BOTH iPhone and Android in the smartphone market.

There's NFC file transfer (something iPhone can't do), MTP which is like USB mass storage,you can create playlists and block calls in later builds and you can send contacts, almost all of your points either don't matter or are false. I also would like to know what these bunch of other things are.

 

[steeleblue]

I had my first WinMo phone in 2003. I too miss some of the old functionality. File manager the most. But I understand what MS did. If you start from scratch the first thing you do is list everything you want and then proceed to start scaling down. If you try to put it all in at the first implementation, you never get there. I know, I've been in those meetings.

MS did a pretty good job of including basic functionality and ensuring that it runs well. As time goes by I'm sure they will add more. I do however think not including a way to get immediately to the dialer is a miss. One shouldn't need a third-party app to do a basic phone function.

As for my fav, the file manager, I'm doubting I'll ever see it. But maybe access to just one user directory where I can actually organize my files will come eventually. I'm pretty happy with the OS now. It will only get better.

Oh, and to the poster who said WinMo was a failure, it wasn't, it lasted longer than any other OS. It was only complicated if you made it complicated. Anyone who used a Windowns PC could find their way around. But it was a bit sluggish by today's standards. Of course, the tech is light years ahead now too. I still have a couple laying around and actually had to use one this summer while waiting for these phones to come out. That old phone is about 6 years old but ran like a champ once charged.

 

[casab1anca]

Ringer profiles, custom notification sounds, bluetooth file transfer, mass storage mode, file manager, no ability to create and save playlists, no way to block calls, no native sending of contacts, and a bunch of other things that even dumbphones can do but Windows Phone does not.

Agreed that custom notification sounds and volume controls would be useful, and I'm hoping these will be added in a future update. But you seem to forget that WP already does a lot of things out of the box that other smartphones can't -- linked contacts, social integration and live tiles to name a few. WP8 already supports Bluetooth file transfer and contact sharing through NFC, and call blocking is rumoured to be in the upcoming update.

 

[Sheikmans]

I have the exact same question. I was a happy wm user, and I don't understand why MS seems to not use their WM knowledge while building this new platform...
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Board Express

 

[spaulagain]

The OP and the WM users in this thread obviously don't know the level of time and the process development takes for an OS like Windows Phone.

Like its been said a million times, Windows Phone is not an evolution of Windows Mobile. It is a completely new OS from the ground up. That means EVERYTHING had to be rebuilt and all the "features" of Windows Mobile simply don't exist and are not portable to the completely new OS.

Building an OS takes time with marketing and business side making key feature decisions, the design team spending months creating and refining ideas, programmers building, then testing, working with partners like Nokia and ATT. This all consumes a lot of time and as a result priorities have to be made and not every desired feature makes the cut. Even if it was an existing feature in the pervious OS.

In the case of Windows Phone, Microsoft had to first focus on the UI design language, usability, etc. As that is ultimately what Windows Mobile failed at, and what Apple was doing well at. Then they had to focus on big key features like Social Network integration, Xbox, camera, etc. As those features are what would drive the consumer to Windows Phone. Little tiny features like PDF attachment, volume bar, are at the bottom of their list. And that list is carefully prioritized by the company based on user share of interest, time required for developing, marketability, etc.

Also, those kind of things are easier to roll out in small updates later rather than the big features that need to go out on big releases like WP8.

You are demanding that after the house burned down, and the foundation reduced to rubble, that Microsoft completely rebuild the house and keep all the original interior decorating and furniture. They built an all new foundation, gave it better look, added new key features, and made it more efficient. But you're complaining because they didn't add the nickel plated handle to the toilet (Which btw has to be re-plated because its tarnished from the fire).

 

[SinisterDuck]

I did a little research, and it turns out MS added functionality in WP to share PDFs via SkyDrive, which makes sense considering some phone models only have 8 GB of storage. It also conserves using data to upload files. And this is the way the industry is turning via Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc. So it's not so much that MS removed that function, but shifted it.

So for the few features WM had that WP doesn't, there's another to scratch off the list.

 

[SinisterDuck]

. . . Also, those kind of things are easier to roll out in small updates later rather than the big features that need to go out on big releases like WP8.

Spaulagain, that's some nice insider insight into the considerations of building an OS, and makes a lot of sense.

 

[jaj324]

Bottom line......WinMo was pretty good, not great, but pretty good before BB, iOS and then Android came out. After that it went from pretty good to the laughing stock of the smartphone world. MS had to prove that they could develop a mobile OS that was nothing at all like WinMo. Any similarities would be considered a weakness for Windows Phone. MS actually considered not calling it Windows Phone out fear that it might be associated with WinMo.

 

[willied]

I think some people aren't getting the point. If WP would have all of the good features of WM, along with what it has now, it would be that much better, and therefore would be easier to quantify as better than other mobile OSes. As it stands, there are certain people WP alienates because it doesn't do this or that. For me it's fine, but there are definitely some things that need to be added soon.

 

[gsquared]

Its better to let a lot of things to the 3rd party developers. Let MS focus on the core of the OS.

 

[iamtim]

As it stands, there are certain people WP alienates because it doesn't do this or that.

...and there are certain people that Android, iOS, and BB alienate for similar reasons. There is not an OS in the world - much less a smartphone OS - that will be everything to everybody. WP is WP; it's not WM and it's not going to act like or be based on WM. Nor is it Android, iOS, or BB. Sure, some of the "missing features" may show up in updates down the road, but they very well may not. So those people who are alienated by WP because it doesn't do "this or that" should weigh the importance of "this or that" and choose to stick with WP without "this or that", or pick a phone that runs an OS which has "this or that".

 

[anon(1019781)]

Its better to let a lot of things to the 3rd party developers. Let MS focus on the core of the OS.

That's both a good and bad statement to make. A lot of things should be left to developers, but those things should be jobs that the OS either shouldn't do or does too basically, such as the image viewer in Windows 7. There are absolutely a number of things that the OS should do, and Windows Phone is currently the smartphone OS that does the least of what an OS should do, and I think a good number of consumers say that and say "no thanks".

 

[Dave Blake]

Because it works... I think I know a little about the history of the WinMo days... I had a PPC6600 where every time the battery fell out I lost all data and had to reinstall everything through my PC that was fun. Then there was the PPC6700 the greatest of the WinMo devices. I flashed ROMs till my processer smoked and they all sucked. Send a PDF in a WinMo device on EVDO it better be a small one.

Is that an excuse for Microsoft to not offer features in a smartphone? No its not. We have to have some things for a smart Phone OS to work these days... We have to have security, stability, and potential for growth... Do you see anything in that list missing from WP8... I don't and as this OS grows more and more of the excuses that WP haters use will disappear. How's about instead of looking at what's missing lets look at what we have for a change.

 

[inteller]

No ringer management, no vpn capability, no real multitasking...I could go on and on, but those are all things WM had. If you try to dismiss that stuff you are just a blind MS apologist.

 

[Dave Blake]

No ringer management, no vpn capability, no real multitasking...I could go on and on, but those are all things WM had. If you try to dismiss that stuff you are just a blind MS apologist.

Is that finger pointing at me inteller...?!

 

[iamtim]

No ringer management, no vpn capability, no real multitasking

I dismiss the first and the last, because what's in WP8 works for me. The second, however, yeah... that's an issue. Hopefully that'll show up in the upcoming update. Am I a "blind MS apologist" because I'm happy with the "ringer management" and lack of "real multitasking"?

 

[stephen_az]

In case you guys weren't aware, Microsoft has been making smartphones since the year 2000, 7 years before the iPhone came out. It had TONS of features to compete with the featureset of Symbian, Blackberry, and Palm Treo.

I can see why Google and Apple don't have all the features of those smartphones since they entered the smartphone market late, but why is Microsoft not putting the 12 years of features they've had in all those mobile platforms into Windows Phone? Where's the separate volumes? Where's the notification center? Where's the advanced email functionality? Why can't I directly attach a PDF to an email in WP8?

Is anybody out there old enough to remember that Microsoft was rolling out stylus-based smartphones WAYYYYY before the iPhone? Why are all those features suddenly gone? Why has Windows Phone been out for 2 years already and Microsoft still hasn't put those 12 years of legacy smartphone features into Windows Phone? Don't you guys think that Windows Phone could take off so much faster if Microsoft took advantage of those 12 years of features and rolled out the most feature packed smartphone on the market, making both iPhone and Android look like toys in comparison?

Where's all of this?

View attachment 24375

Seriously, guys, why are we suddenly ok with a company who has made advanced smartphones for 12 years suddenly roll out a smartphone with very few legacy smartphone features the same way Apple did with the iPhone?

In case you weren't aware, WM was a failure in the end and you couldn't give away the phones. When you lost to BlackBerry who was then steamrolled by both IOS and Android, there was something seriously wrong with the direction of the OS. Microsoft realized this later than they should have done, but did at least recognize they needed a complete reboot. Quite frankly if virtually the entire market migrated to OSs that do not offer those legacy features, it is a pretty safe business bet they are things not important to most of that market. Essentially, one can rebuild from the ground up and play in the same park as the other competitors, or play by yourself in an empty stadium. On top of that, you would be adding OS bloat and potential for both bugs and integration issues that need not exist since you are adding things most people do not have on top of their lists for required features. Personally, I happen to think Microsoft's strategy of integrating UI concepts between mobile and desktop OSs is far more practical than dragging elements of the XP era and a failed mobile platform into a reboot of its mobile OS. BTW, yes I owned multiple PocketPCs and WM phones. While they worked for me, with the exception of a couple WM phones that required UI skins and enhancements and were subject to frequent battery pulling reboots, I have yet to miss the devices.