Filed under: Audio, Video, Windows Mobile, Apple, Mobile Minute
Anti-iPhone day at Download Squad
The iPhone gets a lot of attention these days, and rightly so. It's an attractive phone/media player with a beautiful interface. And Apple brought the idea of an innovative finger-friendly multi-touch display to the masses. But you know what? The iPhone isn't for everyone. There are plenty of things it can't do, or that you can do better with another device. And while the price of the phone continues to drop, you have to pay a rather pricey phone bill every month if you really want to make use of the phone. With that in mind, Download Squad brings you anti-iPhone day. Throughout the day, we'll be looking at alternatives to the iPhone. To kick things off, I wanted to review some of the posts of DLS past that have already shown that there's little you can do with an iPhone that you can't already do with a Wndows Mobile-based phone.
Program Launchers
Somewhere between the time when Steve Jobs first demoed the iPhone and the day it actually hit the shelves, third party developers decided it would be cool to create an iPhone-like interface for Windows Mobile. Probably the most interesting project is FreeStyleWM, which started out its life as WhoNeedsAniPhone.
But not every third party developer wanted to replicate the iPhone interface. Some were just inspired enough to go out and create their own easy to use, finger-friendly program launchers and other applications. Thus GoodWin and iSwish were born.
Meanwhile, before the iPhone was even threatening your pocketbook, folks were puting out software that takes Windows Mobile and makes it feel like an entirely different operating system. Over a year ago, we brought you a roundup of applications designed to make Windows Mobile look and feel a bit more like Windows XP or Vista.
Programs
But it's not all about fancy application launchers. It's also about applications. Apple generated a lot of buzz by putting a version of the Safari browser on the iPhone which lets you access practically any web page. You can zoom in and out of web sites smoothly to get an overview or to read the text. But Safari for the iPhone can't handle Flash video. You know what can? Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile. Opera renders pages quickly, allows you to download files easily, and has that nifty zooming interface that iPod users have come to know and love. It also supports Flash Lite 3, which allows you to watch YouTube and other Flash videos.
But what about media players? That's where the iPod/iPhone really excel, right? Well, kind of. Sure, Apple's media player is slick. But it can't play OGG or WMV files or any number of other audio and video formats. So while MortPlayer, GSPlayer, TCPMP, and CorePlayer for Windows Mobile might not be as pretty as iPhone software, they're certainly a whole lot more functional.
For more information on Windows Mobile alternatives to iPhone applications, check out our article on some of the best text entry, multimedia, and other applications for Windows Mobile.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nadav said 9:31AM on 8-29-2008
this is not how you do an anti iphone day! an alternative to an iphone isn't an iphone wannabe with an iphone skin, its a REAL ALTERNATIVE. cover windows mobile or palm.
Reply
Brad Linder said 9:34AM on 8-29-2008
Umm... I did cover Windows Mobile. I mentioned 4 media players, a web browser, and a few GUI programs for Windows Mobile in this article, with links to other articles with even more extensive information. Stay tuned to see additional articles from other writers taking a very different approach.
burnblue said 11:57AM on 8-29-2008
Though you _are_ covering Windows Mobile, Nadav has a point.. you could have mentioned a program launcher or two that's not inspired by the iPhone. I'm sure you know other possibly superior alternatives out there.
By the way, what happened to the regular Mobile Minute series?
Brad Linder said 12:00PM on 8-29-2008
After writing 30 or so features in the series I kind of ran out of steam. I'm also still using a Dell Axim X50v which runs WM2003SE because I didn't feel the need to "upgrade" to a device that came with a monthly bill. Since much of the new WM development is for WM5 and 6 only, we decided to just make use of the Mobile Minute tag occasionally and kill the series. It could be resurrected at some point in the future though.
James said 12:14PM on 9-02-2008
Brad: I was in your boat (only worse -- Axim X3i) until I realized most HTC phones are very easy to unlock and reflash. Just find something used from a generation or two ago (think ~2006) and you can pick it up for a song. I have a TyTN (ATT 8525) that I'm using on T-Mobile, and it's *awesome*. Sure it's not quite as peppy as a Diamond or Touch, but it gets the job done for about 1/6th the price.
Victor Agreda, Jr. said 9:33AM on 8-29-2008
Nadav, stay tuned, we're here all day. Please hold all flames until the ride has come to a complete stop.
Reply
LethAL said 9:38AM on 8-29-2008
Only one day? :P
Besides that, I was hoping you'd mention devices, rather than/as well as programs.
Reply
Todd said 9:42AM on 8-29-2008
Futile. No amount of "talking it up" will make Windows Mobile any better. So bad it's crashing display modles of Sony's ultra hot Xperia to an unrecoverable state:
"...The scuttlebutt at IFA is that the XPERIA X1 has been delayed to the end of the year. To blame is the software is Windows Mobile 6.1, which appeared to be actively destroying the display units Sony has on display at IFA."
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/sony-ericssons-xperia-x1-delayed-to-end-of-the-year/
Redmond is no longer capable of producing useful products.
Reply
kali4 said 10:01AM on 8-29-2008
Didn't Sony try to pass the blame from the exploding batteries off as software management problems from other manufacturers instead of admitting they made crappy batteries? I agree that WinMo isn't ideal, but at least I can copy/paste search terms from the internet on it.
Richard said 11:16AM on 8-29-2008
You should be pointing the finger at Sony for their inability to get Windows Mobile running on their device - not Microsoft.
HTC, Samsung and Motorola (to name a few) have all managed it.
burnblue said 11:57AM on 8-29-2008
Todd, there have been countless devices that are running the operating system without a hitch. HTC has no problems demoing their WM devices, and the Touch Pro has pretty much equal specs to the Xperia. Trying to scapegoat the OS is a bad move here for Sony.
Christina Warren said 12:00PM on 8-29-2008
Stay tuned for Googleholic, Todd -- I think you'll be pleased.
kali4 said 5:11PM on 8-29-2008
Remember Sony,
When you point the finger at somebody, there are three more pointing back at you...
Jash Sayani said 9:58AM on 8-29-2008
You could have made this post on Android launch day with snaps of some cool Android apps... Waiting for that day.. :D
Reply
Dagwood said 10:09AM on 8-29-2008
I look forward to your posts. I happen to like my windows mobile phone. New skins and software is fun to play around with. If you happen to know a way to get an updated offline wikipedia, I am all ears...eyes.
Reply
l337sp34kr said 1:04PM on 8-29-2008
What happened to the OpenMoko?
Reply
Quikboy said 7:44AM on 8-30-2008
Hmmph. I know a good few WinMo users, and they seem to be running their phones fine. Even casual users could go with something like the T-mobile Shadow or the HTC phones.
Sony is just using the OS as a scrapegoat. A painter can blame the quality of his paint as the reason for his sloppy work, but that's not really true, is it?
"Redmond is no longer capable of producing useful products."
Funny, how if that were actually true, it'd be a wonder as to why millions of users still buy Microsoft products. You're just one of those dumb haters who just hate. Idiot.
Reply