Been out of the forums a good while, trying to catch up. The last several posts have been very interesting. I am finding it interesting how a lot of the former webOS users are coming to the same conclusions that I came to during my 3 week stint with the Arrive.
I also enjoy the responsesfrom the current Windows Phone 7 fans. I am trying to belong to both communities so I really try and see the discussions from both sides and in the end, I think everyone is right
The number one missed feature from webOS is the multitasking. Mango is better than nodo, obviously, but as everyone agrees, it is not webOS. That being said, the argument of "get used to, it aint webOS" is a funny one. Mango obviously will "never" have the fluidity of webOS, the whole underlaying layout for the OSes is just that much different. However, just shutting down the conversation isn't all that helpful either. I've thought ALOT about what makes webOS good with multitasking (fluidity, no thoughts it just works) and what's bad (battery life, performance). While I don't expect Microsoft to replicate webOS there are some improvements that I think could asuage our concerns.
1) Allow us to "pin" an application so that it is always open and in the running apps thingy. I would get REEEAAALLLYYY annoyed anytime an app I had been using was no longer in the quick app thingy. Then I'd have to go poking around in the launcher
2) Put a little X at the bottom of each running app in the quick app tihingy so we can easily cleanup running apps by quickly tapping the X's and not having to go into the app then hit the back arrow, which is clunky at best
There are a lot of other points to discuss, hopefully I'll have time to hit on them cause they are very interesting. But, I have to share this thought.
webOS, almost certainly...is dead. It will NEVER get the mindshare it needs to succeed at this point. It's become clear to me that webOS was always competing with Microsoft. Think of it this way: you are a company, a school district, a politician, and you are going to release some mobile apps. At this point, IOS is 100% gurantee, Android is a pretty close shoe-in too for a target. At that point you might write your app for Windows (soon to work on the phone AND desktop with Windows 8) or for webOS...which is doing nothing. It'll be Windows almost every time (or nothing).
So anywho, whether you agree with my explanation, at this point there is no chance of a new handset being released in 2012 with webOS. The only webOS phone on par with even the oldest windows 7 phone is the Pre 3, which is now dead. That leaves IOS, Android or Windows Phone 7.5 for us refugees.
Chances are if you loved webOS you will HATE Android (I wanted to beat my Evo 3D with a hammer after 1 week of use). IOS is IOS. The 3.6" is the deal breaker for me. After using the 4.3" screen on the EVO 3D, I can't go back. That leaves Windows Phone 7.5
WP 7.5 is modern (can actually do things like UPC code scanning, AR apps, photo editting apps, open the camera within 20 minutes of wanting to take a picture, and other such things). WP 7.5 has cardish multitasking...SO much better than stupid icons in IOS and Android, just needs some more refinements. It's, of course, stupidly fast and smooth. Lastly, it is just starting. The promise of HP to make your data seemless across all devices was ditched, but Microsoft is running with it. This is where Microsoft will start to catch up and eventually overtake Apple. Windows 8 tablets + Windows 8 desktops + Windows 8 phones will equal a nearly seemless user experience. Once Windows 9 hits, we will forget about how we used to have to manually copy files or drag and drop music or worry abuot accessing our pictures on one device but not another.
This all leads to this thought constantly running through my head:
"MAN I miss webOS, maybe I should just get a Sprintified Pre 2. But no UPC scanning, AR, and fun apps like adding speech bubbles to my vacation pics and sending them to my family. Plus, its going to be slow. Windows Phone isn't as good as webos, but it doesn't drive me insane like Android. Plus, when WP8 and Windows 8 comes out it will likely be pretty awesome.
Yep, I am going Windows Phone 7.5, just need a good device