Windows Mobile 6 Review

In case you hadn't noticed, Windows Mobile has been utterly dominating the smart phone wars in the U.S., mostly thanks to sleek, low-cost devices like the Samsung BlackJack, Motorola MOTO Q, and T-Mobile Dash. But the software under the hood has been much less than perfect, with slow performance and annoying bugs being at the top of users' pet peeve lists. With Windows Mobile 6, the software has finally caught up with the hardware. Improved stability and speed, a host of messaging enhancements, and the addition of Office Mobile for even budget-priced handsets should make mobile workers happy.

 

The new Windows Mobile 6 (see our Windows Mobile 6 slideshow for more screenshots) will be offered in two editions. The Standard version, formerly known as Smartphone Edition, covers devices that don't feature a touchscreen, while the Professional version, formerly Pocket PC Edition, was designed for touchscreen devices. The biggest difference between the two editions is that Professional devices can be used to create Office Mobile documents, while Standard WM6 phones can only read and make light edits to Office docs. Since Smartphone Edition devices are the hottest sellers right now, we focused on the Standard version of the software for this review.

 

As for upgrades for Windows Mobile 5 users out there, Microsoft would only tell us that it was up to its carrier and hardware partners to make that determination. But it's safe to assume that all companies involved would prefer that you upgrade to a new device. You can be sure we'll be evaluating more Windows Mobile 6 hardware in the days and weeks to come.

 

To evaluate Windows Mobile 6 we used an HTC S620, which is nearly identical to the T-Mobile Dash. Here are some of the highlights of the OS and how we think they stack up.

 

Today Screen: Vista-Like Look & Feel
The first thing you notice when firing up a Windows Mobile 6 phone is the new look and feel of the Today Screen. The Vista-like icons and larger fonts aren't just eye candy; they make the OS less intimidating and more approachable. Another plus is the integration with Microsoft's Windows Live services; taking a page from Palm's Treo 700 series, a search bar just beneath the current time enables users to launch a Web search without having to open the browser.
 
As with WM5, the top row is lined with icons that correspond with recently opened programs, but they're much larger. Scrolling beneath the search bar you'll see upcoming appointments, as well as the number of unread messages. You don't have to enter your address book to start searching for that contact you want to call; the Smart Dial feature automatically pulls up contacts as you start typing a first or last name using your device's keyboard or keypad.

 

Office Mobile: Attachment Viewing sans Zooming
For heavy mobile e-mail users, the addition of Office Mobile to Standard WM6 devices is huge. Unlike WM 5 Smartphone Edition, you can finally view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files without having to use a third-party app that forces you to zoom in and scroll around just to read a document. For some, this added functionality alone could mean the difference between paying $99 to $199 for a Standard edition device and springing for a Professional WM6 phone. However, you're on your own when it comes to PDF docs.

 

Also, note that you cannot create Office files on a Standard edition device. You can't even take notes out of the box unless you spring for OneNote 2007 (about $80), which includes a Windows Mobile client. Or you get crafty and load a Word template you can edit and save as a separate file each time. Of course, you could also just download a separate note-taking app like PhatNotes, but regardless users who like to brainstorm on the go will have to do a little extra work.

 

E-mail: Search and Shortcuts
This is the biggest area of innovation for WM6, and it shows, starting with a very cool search capability that works very similarly to Smart Dial. Just start typing while you're in your Inbox and the software automatically displays messages with that key phrase, whether it's a part of the sender's name or in the subject line.

 

Even better for business users that tap into Exchange 2007 is the ability for WM6 to let you search your company server for e-mails, ones that aren't stored locally on your device. You can also download individual attachments without having to sit through an entire Send/Receive operation. And Exchange 2007 WM6 users will love that they can set their out-of-office message directly from their devices, even if owning a WM6 smart phone means never having to do that.
 
Exchange users don't reap all the benefits, however. By moving its database of e-mail settings for various service providers to the Web and keeping it always up to date, setting up new accounts is much less cumbersome with WM6, compared with WM5. In addition, all WM6 devices can now display HTML e-mail, and the OS does a much better job at highlighting phone numbers and e-mail addresses to make responding to contacts easier. Last but not least are e-mail shortcuts for flagging, deleting, or moving messages. Just press and hold the H key when you're in the Inbox to see the list of shortcuts at any time.

 

Windows Live for Windows Mobile: Mail, IM, and Search
We were not very impressed with Windows Live Messenger. The fact that this app integrates with your contacts so you can see who is (and who isn't) online at any given time is nice, as is the ability to share photos and voice clips. But we would prefer an instant messaging program that supports all the major IM services. The mobile version of Live Messenger doesn't even support Yahoo IM, even though the desktop version does. Other aspects of Windows Live for Windows Mobile were more useful, including the search bar and Windows Live mail. You can have your Hotmail or Windows Live Mail pushed down automatically, and the software gives you the option to merge your Outlook and Windows Live contacts.
 
Calendar: Fewer Blobs, More Detail
That's the best way to describe WM6's improved calendar program. A new Office 2007-like ribbon on the top of the screen shows you at a glance what blocks of time are open and which ones are booked for a given day. And the week view actually displays the details of upcoming appointments instead of forcing you to open a colored block. We especially appreciate the ability to view the status of meetings along with the attendees. You can even forward meeting requests. 

 

Web Browsing: Slightly Faster, Weak on Multimedia
One glaring weakness of WM5 was the speed of the browser. In many of our reviews we've noted that WM devices generally take longer to display a Web page than Palm OS and Symbian phones, even over a high-speed Wi-Fi or 3G connection. Microsoft has been hard at work on a new single column view that is designed to speed things up to 40 percent. In our tests, we found the WM6 version of Internet Explorer Mobile to be faster than WM5, but not dramatically so. Using a Cingular EDGE connection, it took us about 18 seconds to start reading CNN.com's homepage, and about 16 seconds for the New York Times site to start displaying. That's not bad, but it could be better.

 

Unfortunately, robust multimedia support is still lacking. For example, we could download audio podcasts from the New York Times and play them back as MP3s within Windows Media Player Mobile, but we couldn't link to any of the videos. We also couldn't play any videos on CNN.com, even though the site uses Windows Media Player. YouTube is also off limits out of the box, although Adobe offers Flash Lite player for WM devices.

 

We like the new Home Page for IE Mobile, which has easily expandable menus of your Favorites and browsing History, as well as a Windows Live search bar. That tool returned pretty good results, especially when hunting for local businesses, and we appreciated the Call link next to each listing. A pop-up security alert and yet another message prompting us to verify whether the number was correct made this feature a little less appealing, but we're hoping Microsoft eliminates these unnecessary obstacles.

 

Performance and Overall Verdict
Even with all of its new features, we appreciate WM6 most for what it doesn't do, namely, randomly crash or hang when performing routine tasks. During a week of testing our device never once froze, and we noticed sluggishness only when trying to perform other tasks while downloading new messages. Opening and closing applications was surprisingly fast and there was less of a lag time when performing actions like pulling up contacts or deleting messages.
 
Although the coolest capabilities are reserved for Exchange 2007 users, we recommend WM6 because of the platform's improved ease of use and performance. The next version of Windows Mobile is supposed to blur the lines between touchscreen and non-touchscreen devices even further, but as long as you don't need to create Office docs on the go, there is enough under the hood of Windows Mobile 6 Standard to make it the next smart phone OS you use. Is WM6 worth ditching your current device for? Not quite, but if you're in the market for a new smart phone WM6 is the way to go.

For more on the new OS, check out the Windows Mobile 6 slideshow.