So iPhone is a run-away success. Now who didn't see this coming? And what is to be learned from it? It’s been in the making for like 4 years. This could be a long discussion by itself. But one thing that is sure about any smart pocket devices, most of all smartphones, is that the only way to lead in them is through innovation and ease of use.
How Microsoft has been successful in the PC world, by hook or by crook, is a different matter altogether. I often wonder, if Gary Kildall had accepted IBM’s offer to write DOS for PC, the world definitely would be a very different place today, at least the cyber world.
Thankfully, at least the mobile world already is a different place... Let’s face it, Microsoft has never come up with one original idea for software. Every piece of software written by their developers is a hastily put together pile of code copied from someone else’s products. Is anyone keeping count of how many times they’ve been sued for this? Well here lies the good news for the smartphone users: Microsoft did not copy Symbian! Their smartphone OS is loosely based on their own sluggish and bug infested Windows. So not only Windows Mobile has no unfair advantage in the smartphone world, its inherent design will never let it surpass its competition.
A fellow software engineer friend of mine, who was then working at Microsoft, sent me the source code for Windows XP (most geeks out there have already seen this code I am sure). Windows Mobile cannot be much different from its parent. Allow me to share its source code, though I cannot share the entire source, here is main code:
/* Windows Mobile */
#include "win95.h"
#include "win98.h"
#include "winXP.h"
#include "somethingMobile.h"
#include "longErrorList.h"
#include "oldStuff.h"
#include "finguresCrossed.h"
#define INSTALL_HARD
char make_prog_look_big 1600000 ;
void main()
{
while(!CRASHED)
{
display_copyright_message();
display_start_button();
do_nothing_loop();
if (first_time_installation)
{
make_50_megabyte_swapfile();
do_nothing_loop();
random(hang_system);
}
/* printf("Welcome to Windows 95"); */
/* printf("Welcome to Windows 98"); */
/* printf("Welcome to Windows XP");*/
printf("Welcome to Windows Mobile");
if (system_ok())
random(hang_system);
else
system_memory = open("a:\swp0001.swp", O_CREATE);
while(something)
{
sleep(5);
get_user_input();
sleep(5);
act_on_user_input();
sleep(5);
}
create_general_protection_fault();
}
In the long run, the clunky, resource hungry Windows Mobile has an uphill task ahead of it in the long run compared to its purpose built mobile OS's like Symbian.In the last couple of years, Symbian has out-sold both Microsoft and Palm put. Even in Japan Symbian having a virtual monopoly with its ties to NTT DoCoMo, the leading player in the world's most advanced mobile market. Symbian already has a market share 72% in smartphones. The question is really not of who’s winning the competition, right now its more like, is there really any competition?
--
Bilal Zaheer
http://elanist.com/bilal
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12 comments:
I don't care about market share, but Blackberry's OS is much faster than Symbian, even on slower CPU's it runs smoother. Of course they're focused on enterprise market and not on the enthusiast market, but I still love blackberries because of their amazing speed, stability and ease of use especially shortcuts.
What is stability? Everything seems to be crashing including Symbian or Windows mobile or Blackberry's OS. I guess each of them attacts a different user base. Some folks like Windows cos they are familiar with Windows platform and it is easy to use for them. Symbian can be tricky for new users. I personally tend to agree with Bilal that Symbian is a generation ahead of Windows Mobile.
Sounds to me like a perfect piece of code. I can't find any bugs in there. What are you complaining about?
on a communication and computing device the size of your palm, ease of use is everything. thats the main reason Nokia has had a loyal following for such a long time. So far as smartphones are concerned, it is not so much how familiar the interface is, but how easy is the OS to use on that device. how familiar can Windows be on a 2 inch screen? it was never designed for this purpose whereas the other OSs were.
"Anonymous" do you work at Microsoft? I'm impressed with your debugging skills. come out and show yourself.
every solution has its pros and cons, cause they are targeting different consumers. Windows OS is popular for its user friendliness but has performance issues. It mainly targets the armature users of hand held devices. On the other hand Symbian is a stabler OS with advance features but is difficult to get around.
Black Berry is a breed apart. It is the enterprise solution for high end data users. Its not only popular for its PUSH e-mail service but also for its remote connectivity like SSH and telnet.
after years of producing WM devices, it's not acceptable that the phone utilities are still way beyond any of its competitors! Making a phone call to a non-contact can be quite challenging, whereas in Symbian it's as easy as pressing the numeric keys. it experiences freezing moments quite often, even when you wouldn't imagine it. It also decides at moments to not recognize the memory card, you have to remove it and replace it in order to get things going again. I don't think I ever experienced these issues with my Symbian devices
Personally... I have owned a P900 (my first Symbian based smart phone) followed by, P910i and now a P990i
Its not perfect or out of this world, nothing is, but it quite good in terms of stability!
I remember my horrific experience with a XDA (Windows Mobile v5), I returned it after 5 crashing days :)
Well my P990i also crashes but lets face it, I have installed a zillion different applications on it and crashing once in a week ain't that bad ;)
been using symbian os since the time os 7650 and addicted to it now.
tried the windows ce once on m imate jam, didnt like it much same crash problem as in any other windows os.
Cheers!
It matters very little. The code is good and works fine, but is surely under-going re-development for enhancement. Gadgets come and go at lightning speed to ensure our consumer-world continues to fatten pockets.
I think i've found a bug in the code sent by your friend, the "if (system_ok())" is never going to be true :)
On a serious note, M$ has a big advantage of having a huge customer base with windows+office, none of these devices stand on their own, they work with your PC, they work with other back-end servers to provide you what you want, which is in most cases data on these other systems. It wont matter how crappy the device is or how many times it crashes, if it gets you to the data you need, you'll be forced to use it.
been using symbian from the time of 7650, and from personal expereince i can tell that it is one of the most user friendly mobile phone os. as far as windows ce in concerned tried it on my imate jam and faced the same problems of slow os and crashing as in pc windows.
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