Let’s face it: the native UI of Windows Mobile 5/6.x can not compete with the UI found on other platforms like S60 and especially the iPhone. In case you don’t trust me – please look at the two screenshots below:
Yes, folks, I am aware that the iPhone’s colors are not ideal for reflective screens. But today’s market isn’t about us power users anymore…the reason why the iPhone grows so fast is that it recruits its owners from the plethora of non-smartphone users around the world.
Manuifacturers like HTC have reacted to the Cupertinian threat by sprucing up their Windows Mobile devices with proprietary UI systems like TouchFLO 3D. While this definitely helps them compete against the Apple boxen, the long-term effects of these UI systems are what makes me feel bad about them (and makes me understand why Apple prohibits programs that duplicate internal functions).
People expect phones based on one platform to behave similar. As most folks are lazy when it comes to adjusting to new technology, the availability of inferior device with a “similar UI” is enough to prevent many of them from upgrading to a device with a “different UI”. This concept is what builds brand or platform loyalty.
Tools like TouchFLO break this tradition. A user coming from a HP ipaq will be shocked to see the new “artsy-fartsy crap”, whereas people switching from a HTC Touch to an ipaq 914 will miss the “smooth transitions”. The end effect is the same – the customer feels unhappy as he has to relearn.
Custom user interface replacements are similar – believe it or not, but many users eventually forget which feature is OS native and which one not if only they are similar enough. Thus, users switching to an iPhone 3G without their favourite apps could very well end up disappointed: my new iPhone’s music app can no longer do xyz…
So far, so good – but who’s the one to blame for the situation? IMHO, the majority responsibility lays on OS manufacturers. If customers demand features which are not in their OS’s, OS vendors should IMHO try and step up to generate an unified experience (think Palm OS and media players – Palm eventually bundled PocketTunes with almost every handheld it shipped). Microsoft should have overhauled its UI constantly (and Apple should stop making features desktop-exclusive)…if that would happen, many problems would be solved…
What do you think?
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