Congratulations. You've spent the weekend managing not to buy an iPhone, which is more than we can say for at least two Download Squad writers. Today we'll take a look at some of the features that make the iPhone special -- and show you how your 2 year old Windows Mobile phone or PDA can accomplish most of the same tasks.
Icons and Appearance
First up, we've got to give your Windows Mobile device some of that iPhone gloss, including pretty icons and a sliding screen lock. There are a few programs out there that do this, but we're partial to RE's Launcher and Unlocker for the sheer audacity of the guy hosting the files on his website.
After Apple had asked a number of folks hosting similar programs to remove their files from websites and forums, this intellectual property lawyer comes along and agrees to host the files on his website as sort of a dare to Apple. Not sure what the overall outcome has been, but the files are still available.
Keep in mind, these icons are designed to look similar to those on an iPhone. They are not identical. And mroe importantly, they don't open iPhone applications. They open Windows Mobile and 3rd party apps. Click on the calendar and you'll get the standard Windows Mobile calendar you've grown to love and/or get annoyed with. But if you want a more detailed calendar, you can always spend a few bucks and upgrade to Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion for a lot less than the $600 a new iPhone will set you back.
And of course, your interface is infinitely customizable, using programs like Spb Mobile Shell and Wisbar Advance.
Web Browser
The Safari web browser on the iPhone is pretty awesome. It includes tabbed browsing, and a full desktop view of web pages, complimented with the ability to zoom in for a closer look.
These are two features that are sorely missing on most mobile browsers, including the mobile version of Internet Explorer. But you know what? Opera's got you covered. The free Opera Mini 4 beta for Windows Mobile, Palm, or Blackberry includes desktop-style browsing with zooming.
Opera Mobile (es it all. Opera Mini is available for Windows Mobile, Palm or Blackberry. For $24, you can get the more full-featured Opera Mobile, with support for tabbed browsing, or you can use Opera Mobile 8.65 beta for free through October.
Here's a little screencast we put together using the Opera Mini online emulator. Trust us, it looks a lot better on a real phone.
Now, we're not going to say that Opera is faster than Safari. And it won't necessarily support all of the 3rd party web-based apps designed to run on the iPhone.
But Opera renders pages faster than most mobile browsers on the market, including the mobile version of Internet Explorer. And it runs on your phone, not just the iPhone.
YouTube videos
The iPhone includes an integrated YouTube viewing application. But you can also access YouTube videos from some newer Windows Mobile 6 phones.
Last month YouTube launched a mobile site. Unfortunately, YouTube Mobile is really meant more for standard cellphones capable of viewing 3GP videos. Most Windows Mobile phones need not apply. If you browse to the site with Opera Mini, you won't be able to stream the videos. And while you can access the video stream using Opera Mobile, you'll need a video player like the HTC Streaming Media Player to actually watch the stream.
Unfortunately, that media player only comes with comes installed on a handful of Windows Mobile 6 devices running the professional version of the OS. But as Werner Ruotsalainen points out, it'll run just fine on Windows Mobile 6 standard and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. You'll need to download and install an unofficial installer file, so try it at your own risk.
This method for streaming YouTube videos will not work on Windows Mobile 2003SE or older devices. And you'll need a direct connection to the internet. ActiveSync and WiFi connections don't work.
If you're looking or a way around these restrictions, you might want to try downloading flash videos from YouTube and watching them on your PDA using TCPMP. It's a little clunkier, but it enables you to watch pretty much any video available on YouTube, not just those on YouTube's mobile site.
Text Entry
A lot has been made about the fact that the iPhone doesn't have a keyboard. But Windows Mobile devices have been coming with "soft keyboards" for years. You can tap away at the screen with your stylus, or use handwriting recognition. There are even a few methods for entering text without a stylus or a hardware keyboard, including full-screen keyboards and TenGO Thumb.
The iPhone keyboard makes use of predictive text to guess which button you're going to hit next. But TenGO thumb goes one step further and just gives you six big buttons to hit.
TenGO works much the same way as predictive text entry on your standard cellphone. As you tap on six regions of your screen, TenGO determines what word you might be typing and automatically enters that word. If you don't like the choice, several other options will appear in a little box above the keyboard. Just tap the correct word.
You can also enter new words, increasing the size of the dictionary as you go. TenGO thumb costs $13, or you can download TenGO Free if you're OK with using a stylus and a smaller dictionary. Or if you'd rather use a standard qwerty keyboard, you can. Prefer letter recognition? No problem. The key advantage Windows Mobile has over the iPhone here? Choice.
Multimedia
Sure, the iPhone is an iPod and syncs with iTunes on your computer. But if you can make do with applications that don't start with "i," there are plenty of options for playing music and videos on your Windows Mobile device.
To start with, every Windows Mobile phone and PDA comes with Windows Media Player. But you can also load up freeware software like MortPlayer or GSPlayer for playing OGG, MP3, and other music files.
For video, nothing beats TCPMP or its commercial cousin, The Core Player when it comes to support for file formats.
Conclusion
We're not trying to say that Windows Mobile phones do everything better than the $600 iPhone. Apple has released a product with a slick streamlined interface, decent battery life, and the nifty ability to automatically shift from portrait to landscape orientation when you rotate the device.
But there are definitely some areas where a Windows Mobile device has the edge (pun intended).
- Windows Mobile phones work with a variety of mobile carriers, while the iPhone only works with AT&T and its EDGE "high speed" data network.
- 3rd party iPhone programs are limited to web-based applications, while there are thousands of powerful free and commercial applications that you can install on Windows Mobile devices.
- There's no instant messaging application included with the iPhone.
- The iPhone comes with 4GB or 8GB of memory. That's it. There are no expansion slots.
- Want an extended battery for your iPhone? Tough.
- Have we mentioned that the iPhone costs $600? You can pick up quite a few Windows Mobile Smartphones for that price.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2007 @ 10:25AM
Lynol said...
At first I thought your post would show me something I have been waiting for: A video that copies the functions on the iPhone commercials, in sequence, then the features the other smart phones have that iPhone doesn't. But no!. Apart from the iPhone, there seem to be no videos, including phone-maker TV commercials, that show the others in action.
Such a video would really help me compare them with the iPhone in actual use, and I suspect there are others like me.
How about it please?
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7-02-2007 @ 10:51AM
Brad Linder said...
You can pick up an 8GB SD card for under $100: http://tinyurl.com/2rngv7
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7-02-2007 @ 10:53AM
Mosh Jahan said...
The iPod captured a fledglingn MP3 market. The iPhone comes too little too late into a market already saturated with smartphones. Even RIM has had to cave and offer the Blackberry in software form for Windows Mobiles, which I see as a sign of game over for Blackberry devices. I own a HTC Touch and apart from when I need to type emails and texts, I find it very easy to use without a stylus. The iPhone's flashy UI is captivating just as the OSX UI was at first. Then the novelty wears off and you realize that the world runs Windows and it's just too much hassle to run two different operating systems and all your favorite apps are on Windows.
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7-02-2007 @ 10:55AM
hawkeye said...
Now all we have to do is make WM6 not freeze, change between apps quickly and easily, not require us to manage memory manually, and make smooth screen transitions.
My main hope for the iPhone is that it forces more developers to think of mobile users when they design their sites (or forces Opera to bust out the real hotness with a native WM app not a slow java app). And I hope it forces Microsoft to do more than just a minor upgrade to Windows Mobile for the first time in a decade.
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7-02-2007 @ 11:26AM
resource said...
No phone has 8GB today.
Phones with expansion slots dont get you 8GB and there will be a 16GB iPhone before you know it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ww4xatwrNs
Windows Mobile vs. iPhone
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7-02-2007 @ 12:40PM
donely said...
This "analysis" always comes up when Apple releases a new product. Quotes like "this has all been done before" and "they're too late in the game". It's also the same you always hear from Linux-fanboys. Whenever MacOS or Windows come in a new version they are quick to say "Linux has had XX feature for XX months/years".
But what people don't realize is that what Apple does is INTEGRATE it into a nice package where "it just works". You won't get everything you want, but you get most of it and it works well and is extremely well integrated with lots of gloss so it is both useful, easy to use and nice to look at. This is what makes Apple somewhat unique and why certain products they have made are successful and they can afford to charge a premium. I think we will see the same with the iPhone (and iPhone 2, 3, etc.). Whether they will be as successful with iPhone as they were with the iPod depends on how the other players in the market react. Usability will become a big competition parameter. Nokia/Motorola/SonyEricsson/Samsung will definitely need to work on integrating features such as video/picture sharing, MMS creating and sending much easier and fund to use, so average-Joe will be able to do it easily.
that was my two cents...
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7-02-2007 @ 1:32PM
Kathy Davie said...
Can I do voice dialing on the iPhone? What about accessing my bank account and switching funds around via the iPhone?
Also, I played with a friend's iPhone. I am not impressed with its on-screen keyboard. As a woman, I have small fingers and still had difficulty hitting the right keys. And it's intuitive word-guessing is not that accurate...
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7-02-2007 @ 2:22PM
Aaron said...
Thanks for posting. This does help those who were thinking about upgrading and not already using Windows Mobile to see some pretty level headed comparisons of the features of both without falling into "Anything Windows sucks period" that is the mantra of Apple users.
But I suspect the Windows Mobile users were able to see through the marketing of Apple since the phone was first introduced. Anyone already using a Windows Mobile device going back to the Pocket PC days knew this stuff already and didn't fall for the hype.
As you said, Windows Mobile is infinately customizable through a wealth of free and commercial third party apps to get it to look like or do just about anything.
Windows Mobile isn't perfect (no OS is), but it works the best for me. That's why I kept $600 in my pocket this past weekend ;D
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7-02-2007 @ 3:27PM
lynol said...
Thanks for the link in message 5, "Resource". That helped a little bit, but doesn't cover what I typically want to do when using the phone. This is the basic stuff I do on my home phone - during a call, I might look up my calendar and addresses, reference an email or web site, handle another call, or sometimes all of those during a single call.
The iPhone commercials seem to allow one to do these things relatively easily as do other smart phones (according to many, such as Aaron in message 8). However, I have tried using a friend's spare Nokia E70 for a few weeks, but get hopelessly lost (on the device, and in the manual!). Obviously I am mssing something pretty basic.
So I would LOVE to see a video showing the execution of these functions on other smart phones so that I can consider them as well as the Apple product. I'm starting to question why such videos aren't well publicised.
BTW, I am technically literate but getting old. Being able to drive a phone without pulling out the reading glasses is a big attraction!
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7-02-2007 @ 3:44PM
RickW said...
Kathy Davie: You have to realize the iPhone is a new product that can be updated via software. This isn't the "final" product by any means. This may not be the version you want, but with free software updates it will continue to have more and more features in the near future. Don't knock it yet.
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7-02-2007 @ 4:17PM
blop said...
My God, should just send this to Mr Gruber. Check this post: http://daringfireball.net/linked/2007/july#mon-02-rivals.
While my Dell x50v was (*is*) a great piece of hardware the software/OS isn't. I will *never* get another Windows Mobile device as long as there's hope for a device with a *user experience* to be had, be it the iPhone its follow-ups or even copy-cats. WM is slow, sloppy (the guy who thought of 2-3 level deep menus on a *mobile* device, wait let's say that again: M O B I L E D E V I C E - *desktop* windows style nontheless - should be [insert word of pain here]) and fiddly.
Functionality is there and there are some great apps for PocketPC:s that's not what I'm disputing. Functionality, however, does *not* equal usability (and I know some of you will try to argue against this until death, which of course is your loss).
No, Apple isn't a great hardware developer and they don't always have the cutting, cutting edge technology (this is normaly where the techies chime in complaining at this and that having not even touched the device). What they are great at is *software* and *user experiences* (complaints on Apple's Windows attemps does not count). No the OSX interface doesn't get old to me because all those fancy animations of Exposé and it ilks convey something *useful*; In the case of Exposé, I see all my windows/apps at a button press (middle mouse button in my case) and pick the one I want. All this and lots more on an old G4 iBook - it's all smoooth by the way. IMO, animations etc *help* if, and only IF, they are consistent and doing something useful (convince me that playing a movie "over" the edge of a 3D cube, i.e. corresponding halves on each virtual desktop, on a new fancy Linux install with Kompiz et al installed is useful).
Of course, for saying this I will get flamed to warmer regions. But instead of getting my flamesuit ready I'll just walk away. I'm just getting so pissed off at people who thinks that just because device A has functionality X that device B touts so proudly they think that this X is *exactly the same*. Then why don't you throw all your shovels away? I'm sure you'll find a plank, a flat rock or some such thing nearby that already has functionality X - digging - already. Why the need for a shovel when you could just use that plank? Feh.
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7-02-2007 @ 9:41PM
bonelyfish said...
YES! Sure they do in ugly way and make your (not so smart) phone look like a cheap China made clone. Poor geek.
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7-03-2007 @ 5:39AM
Mysterius said...
I'm sure Apple will continue to offer free service packs-, er, I mean OS updates, for the iPhone, just like they do for OSX, right?
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7-03-2007 @ 1:20PM
Klippoth said...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_NDWuoHt1U
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7-04-2007 @ 3:24PM
Klippoth said...
I did a video that illustrates the HTC Wizard running WM6 running Netfront's LocationFree software.
Youtube Video Of LocationFree
It isn't quite the same as watching Youtube videos anywhere I go, but I think I'll be happy enough using it to watch my TiVo anywhere I can get an Edge or wifi connection...I prefer "CSI" to "Stupid Cat/Human Tricks". And of course, I use mine for packet sniffing & wep hacking, and you know Apple will never put out any software for such scenes. I mean, intuitive interface is great if you just don't have the ability or desire to actually have the power of a tweakable OS with unlimited features, but if you want tt have choice, such as IE, Opera, MiniMo (Mozilla), or NetFront, as opposed to being stuck with safari, then be my guest. That's how you end up with an intuitive interface - take all of the choices out of consumer's hands. Then all you need is a big idiot button labelled "Internet", which is about the equivalent of everyone just clicking on the Big Blue "E" on their Windows machines, and we see where that got us...
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8-09-2007 @ 2:59PM
Sashoi said...
I Got My Iphone And I Love IT, I dont own any products from Apple other than my iphone,But If you need a simple phone to use, the iphone is the way to go, it comes with no instruction booklet because u dont even need one, within an hour of having my phone i knew how to work everything on it......Money well spent in my book......Videos show incredible on this thing I only wish the screen was bigger some times cause I get all caught up into the movies I'm watching on it. TRust me you wont miss your damn messengers because I sure as hell don't
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