Windows Mobile no more

The New York Times reports that Microsoft has released their new version of Windows Mobile, spiffed up and ready to compete in the rough-and-tough market of mobile devices.

Except that I'm not sure that Microsoft "gets" the phone market. There are two things that tell me this: the new name for Windows Mobile, and the sample picture provided by the NYT.

The name first. Microsoft has changed the name from "Windows Mobile" to "Windows Phone". This is a marketing move, partly to get away from the reputation of previous versions of Windows Mobile. I think it is also a look to the future, in which Microsoft sees people carrying "phones" and not other devices. I share this vision -- I think that in the future we will carry general-purpose devices for phone calls, internet access, books, music, and real-time purchases, and I think that we will call these devices "phones" even though they are a far cry from the land-line phone or even today's smartphone.

I'm guessing that Microsoft is going to focus on these general purpose devices, and drop the specialized devices like the Zune. Look to see Microsoft phone devices with extra capabilities, not new Zunes or e-book readers or non-phone tablets.

But I don't know that we're at the point of convergence. I see a market (of a limited time) for specialized devices. The Kindle and Nook readers are much better book readers than iPhones or iPads. I still carry a separate camera. The decision to jump to a converged platform may be a bit premature.

One other issue with the name: people may get confused. The Microsoft-powered phones will be running "Windows Phone", of course. But the devices themselves will be called phones... or "Windows phones". The name "Windows Phone" refers to the device and to the operating system. An upgrade to Windows phone will mean new drivers... or maybe more memory. I'm not sure that microsoft has thought this one through.

The other issue is a design issue. If you look at the NYT article and the accompanying photograph, you can see a sample of Windows Phone. (The hardware and the software.) The phone is running Office One-Note. But look closely -- the display image does not fit on the screen! The One-Note screen is bigger than the available screen on the phone, and you have to scroll to see the rest of the screen.

Scrolling is evil. Perhaps less evil on a smartphone than on a desktop PC, but still evil. If possible, don't make me scroll! (And it certainly seems possible to redesign the screen to avoid scrolling.) Microsoft in my opinion made a big error here. (Do all of the Office apps require scrolling? If just some, you have an inconsistent experience across the product line.)

So I give Microsoft recognition for looking at the future of phones, but I have to give only partial marks for execution. I think Microsoft needs to think a bit more before it has a ready-for-prime-time product.