Windows Mobile 6.5 feature tour sneaks onto YouTube

Well, what have we got here? Someone has upped nine breathtaking minutes of Windows Mobile 6.5 (build 21159.5.0.0, if you must know) running live on an HTC Touch HD. The action is pretty choppy -- we get the impression this is a fairly rough beta -- but the new home screen, "honeycomb" launcher, IE Mobile and portrait mode, along with dozens of other interface tweaks are all representing. Video is after the break, be sure to bring a snack!

[Thanks, GON]

[trialanderror614 @ Feb 14th 2009 4:36PM]

I can't wait until I can try this on my Fuze.

[Sean @ Feb 14th 2009 4:40PM]

Honestly, I cant wait until they improve this. Dont get me wrong, i want to like WinMo, but Microsoft needs to do an overall makeover.

[deyanimay @ Feb 14th 2009 5:49PM]

Thats what wm 7 is for.

[Matt Peters @ Feb 14th 2009 7:12PM]

I like what I see, but I think I'll stick with TouchFlo 3d for now. I hope Windows Mobile 7 will be a new OS from the ground up. Even with the finger friendly enhancements, 6.5 is still the same, tired-looking Windows Mobile shell we're used to. Granted, it gets the job done.

[chickenator @ Feb 15th 2009 12:52AM]

wow the honeycomb interface is really nice!!!

just my $00.65

[suicycle.com @ Feb 15th 2009 1:17AM]

Yeah! If this is working on the HD, then it should come to the Fuze. However, I must agree with Matt Peters and stick with Touch Flo3D.

[Master Bruce @ Feb 15th 2009 3:40AM]

Actually, those of you with the TouchFlo 3d should give Home 2 a look. I'm a big fan of TF3D, but Home 2 is pretty sweet. http://www.pointui.com/products/home-2

[Hamidxa @ Feb 15th 2009 5:13AM]

TouchFlo 3D is perfect, better than any other interface ive ever seen or worked with (including Android, iPhone's, BB, SPB Mobile Shell, etc.). No reason for me to switch for an interface change, but if there are other improvements that are brought about as a result of this such as increased efficiency, better use of resources, stability taken to another level, etc. then I will switch and worry about porting over TF3D later.

[mynk @ Feb 15th 2009 11:40AM]

at @chikenator.
man, inflation has really started to hit eh.

[saccrant @ Feb 14th 2009 4:37PM]

Microsoft should just fire everyone in the win mo division and buy out palm.

[a ham sandwich @ Feb 14th 2009 4:54PM]

i disagree.

[Phoenix @ Feb 14th 2009 5:06PM]

And Apple and RIM. Then we might get the perfect phone.

[Darren @ Feb 14th 2009 5:26PM]

I agree. I don't think WinCE/WinMo/WinWhatever-they-call-it-next has much of future.

[yG @ Feb 14th 2009 5:39PM]

I beg to differ

[Look_Around_You @ Feb 14th 2009 5:57PM]

@Darren

Neither did Palm. At least that was the chatter we got from the know-it-alls here.

[Darren @ Feb 14th 2009 6:52PM]

@ LookAroundYou
Palm spent almost a decade trying to come up with the next-generation Palm OS (Multi-tasking, protected memory, etc.) only to fail and throw it all away. This "WebOS" is a desperate hail-mary attempt to save the company. No-one has used it yet, and they've only demo'ed features missing from iPhone (cut-and-paste, multiple applications, etc.) They still have a long way to go and I have very serious doubts that they can pull it off. But they had no choice but to abandon their old platform, regardless.

MS, on the other hand, has far too much invested in the Mobile .NET developer libraries, so there's no way they can throw it away (what would they replace it with?). The OS is old and archaic, but they have no choice but to drag it kicking and screaming into the future. It will cost them an enormous amount of the time and money (they still have a long, long way to go), and in the end it probably won't be a very compelling product.

That's fine for Microsoft (they have too much money as it is) but I don't know why consumers or hardware manufacturers would wait around for Microsoft. Many manufacturers don't have a choice, but consumers sure as hell do now. And if Google Android comes together then manufacturers will have a choice, too. For that reason, I don't think WinMO has much of a future. WinMO can't leverage a monopoly the way big-Windows can.

[Surur @ Feb 14th 2009 7:24PM]

Darren,

Explain exactly why the OS is archaic?

I'm sure in doing so you will just display your ignorance.

Could it be because its missing remote application deployment, full device encryption, flash support and cut and paste?

Sorry, thats actually the iPhone.

[Saad Rabia @ Feb 14th 2009 10:19PM]

Darren, you lost me at "No-one has used it yet."

You do realize that typing anything before and after that sentence makes you look like a fool.

[JKT @ Feb 14th 2009 10:33PM]

@surer: End-user features do not make an OS archaic. The "archaic" he was referring to is the deeper-down, developer issues any/all Microsoft OS'es have. The libraries are hard to use and bloated with calls and parameters that are inconsistent and full of deprecations. The IDE is previous generation. I know several developers who have learned to use Apple's iPhone IDE in less than a day. ONE DAY. Try getting someone to develop for WinMO in one day. That is archaic and it shows that it's actually you who are showing your ignorance.

[rdude @ Feb 14th 2009 11:47PM]

@JKT: Ever heard of .NET? It is not old or archaic, and it is not inconsistent. Not to mention that Visual Studio 2008 is one of the best IDE's out there, period. Have you even tried it?

[Nicholas @ Feb 15th 2009 12:20PM]

I’m not even a developer, and I learned how to uses Xcode in a week. As an interface designer, it is pretty rational, and while there is some bizarre stuff in the code, the modules are pretty powerful.

Frankly, there is nothing in this demo that makes me long for porting our product to the platform. We will likely do Android down the road, and if Palm lives, maybe. But, just like I enjoyed Windows 2000, this is clean. Apple went for the consumer market place. There will be plenty of businesses that want more capable software, or to make a mobile interface less mobile like, and full of information. I didn’t agree with Apple’s interface decisions until I started to work with mobile content.

[Bleck @ Feb 14th 2009 4:37PM]

I'm sorry, but stylus = fail. The whole argument is that it should be finger friendly capacitive touch..

[Josh @ Feb 14th 2009 4:54PM]

I have to agree with you. The ui of this looks fine but the fact that you have to use a "toothpick" to do anything is anoying. Windows has to get around the multitouch patent that apple is using against everyone and surpass them if they want to go anywhere.

[Look_Around_You @ Feb 14th 2009 5:02PM]

#1 One of the reasons is that it's easier to show you whats going on in the video. It's a dark room, and fat fingers will get in the way of the camera

#2 I lost my stylus months ago, and never had an issue using WM6, and it was designed to still be primarily used with one.

[ZSX @ Feb 14th 2009 5:12PM]

Well, the one of the points of the video is that there have been many changes to make the OS more finger friendly, but if you want to use the stylus you can. It isn't an either/or siutation.

[Nick8708 @ Feb 14th 2009 5:19PM]

I only ever have to use the stylus on my Touch Pro on one screen. It's so rare that it comes up that I can't even remember what I'm trying to press on the screen at the moment, but it's just a little too small for me to consistently hit with my thumb, so pulling out the stylus makes it easier. Other than that, never have to use the stylus.

[Garst @ Feb 14th 2009 6:40PM]

It probably is finger friendly. You could use for fingers with most Windows Mobile touch screen devices as long as you had the dexterity greater than that of an elephant. And with large icons like that, even an elephant probably can use it now. It probably comes with a stylus for natural handwriting recognition that Windows Mobile supports, which is something other mobile OSs don't.

[burnblue @ Feb 14th 2009 6:59PM]

It's obvious that you don't need a stylus, especially as is the point of the new interfaces. Like others said, I lost both my styluses and never missed them 'cause I didn't need them, way back on a Pocket PC 2003 device. I admit that things got wierd when most major devices started to come out with really tiny screens, like the Tilt... but on a device like a Touch HD the stylus is an option, not a necessity.

It seems to me that in this demo the stylus is used so that the hands don't block the camera too much.
As for the whole capacitive vs resistive thing, I don't see why people are getting worked up over it, it seems many don't have much experience with both. I'd rather have the ability to use a stylus, stick, toothpick, q-tip or whatevr I'd like *in addition* to my fingers, than something that only works with my finger and cannot be used with gloves.

[Tom Reinke @ Feb 15th 2009 1:11AM]

The only thing I use my stylus for is bubble breaker.

*Shrug*

[aatnet @ Feb 15th 2009 12:38PM]

the reliance on stylus indicates a more business-oriented philosophy. Finger control is way cooler and more appealing but when it comes to serious computing the stylus reigns supreme. Try to sign a document on iPhone :-P

[3rdman @ Feb 14th 2009 4:41PM]

This has probably asked before, but I don't use WinMo, or actually any business phone, so please humor me: What's the point of the honeycomb interface? It seems like it just takes up more space then a simple rectangular grid interface.

[Justin @ Feb 14th 2009 4:44PM]

It's easier to select the app you're looking for without accidentally selecting a different app. The honeycomb gives more surface area per app. icon.

[JKT @ Feb 14th 2009 10:43PM]

@Justin: I've owned an iPhone for 8 months. In that time I can remember exactly ONE time that I've ever launched the wrong app. If wrong-app-launching is the actual reason for the honeycomb, then either they're solving a non-problem or previous WinMO versions have been painfully difficult to use. Either way, you have a near-fail situation.

[ananimus3 @ Feb 15th 2009 4:00AM]

Actually, this is kind of a new take. But I'd guess two reasons they did it:

1) Your thumb would leave a circular "footprint," so the buttons should be thought of as circles to make it most compatible with your thumb (whatever the graphics actually look like). If we go that angle, then mathematically the way to fit the most circles on the screen is to stack them the same way hexagons do. Then the thumb has the best chance to make contact and you get the most buttons on a screen. So: Let's go with hexagons.

2) It's visually compelling.

Personally I think it's a horrible idea. As far as finding WHAT you want to push, the zig-zag vertically isn't a natural way to read rows/columns of buttons. I'd sacrifice both arguments above to make it easier to find what I want.

[FILA @ Feb 14th 2009 4:44PM]

nahhh I like Android, Android is the future

[Maeztro @ Feb 14th 2009 4:50PM]

For every ten people who 'love' Android, maybe one has used it...

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 14th 2009 5:06PM]

Well said, Maeztro.

[bjsguess @ Feb 14th 2009 5:14PM]

I run Android on my Touch. It's OK at best. I usually keep my phone in WinMo mode.

[yG @ Feb 14th 2009 6:07PM]

I disagree. WinMo is still the best OS out there (or at least next to the Palm Pre's OS). The iPhone was stupid and Android is vulnerable to viruses and such.

[DeoWulf @ Feb 14th 2009 7:08PM]

For every 10 people who think the Palm Pre's OS is better, 0 have used it.

[KezMondo @ Feb 14th 2009 8:03PM]

@Deowulf: Get out. And someone, an Admin, I BEG OF YOU to return the comment system to it's original state. Pleeeaase. The humor I used to get from the comment section on various articles of this site has all just gone. And for what? A few spammers who could be perma-banned? You COULD always start a forum up...

[Abuzar Baloach @ Feb 14th 2009 8:58PM]

I have a G1 and it really is great to use. That being said I have also owned Blackberries(not the Storm), both versions of the iPhone, and WinMo phones and honestly if I have to rate the OS' I would say it's either WinMo or Android on top. Android isn't quite there yet but it has the potential there. I hope they can also customize it to the same extent as WinMo.

[yopladas @ Feb 14th 2009 4:48PM]

Looks cool!

Can't wait...

[Kaitou KID @ Feb 14th 2009 4:59PM]

new homescreen and that's about it. still same piece of shit under neath. i'm gonna go with the pre once it comes out and ditch the htc touch

[Joe H @ Feb 14th 2009 4:59PM]

I'm glad Microsoft finally saw fit to include something like the (very good) sliding panels home screen that I got probably 9 months ago with WM 6.1 Standard into WM 6.5 Pro, but at the same time, I'm very unimpressed.

Thank god for competitors like Palm and Android, if this is what Microsoft is doing, even as a stopgap measure. I'm only a fan of Android in theory so far, but at least being open source it has the potential to be much better than this. And whenever the Pre comes out, that's what I'll be getting. I've been saying for years that if a device has a keyboard that the OS should be designed around it first, then add fancy touchscreen stuff later, and with Universal Search Palm definitely has the right idea as far as I'm concerned.

And yes, I realize WM7 will supposedly be more of a competitor, but I think they're running out of time.

(And I personally like many of Microsoft's other products, for example, I actually liked Vista and love Windows 7, I use Office, love OneNote, etc., so its not bias. I just think they're headed in the absolutely wrong direction.)

[ZSX @ Feb 14th 2009 5:16PM]

Sadly, I am also unimpressed with the changes. It is nice that the start button now calls up the honeycomb menu, and there have been several changes to make the interface more finger friendly. And I suppose IE6 on 6 is a welcome addition, but to be honest with TouchFlo, Opera Mobile and assorted program launchers these bases have been covered already.

I guess I'm basing my opinions on a cooked ROM and the real thing may be better, but none of these things wow me particularly.

Have to say though, that the Touch HD is a gorgeous phone - just look at that screen!

[ZSX @ Feb 14th 2009 5:18PM]

I also hope you can turn off new soft key menus. They are ugly and the click-scroll-select you'd have to do seems slower than the click-select I do now. Yes I know they are finger friendly, but they are less efficient.

[glenskey @ Feb 14th 2009 5:01PM]

i use windows/winmo.

i hate windows/winmo.

complete flop "sound effects"

[nice_ vibe @ Feb 14th 2009 5:03PM]

where is paul a chapel....a post about microsoft is not complete without paul a chapel and his comments......

[Quix @ Feb 14th 2009 5:31PM]

Would you people please STHU about Paul Chapel and iEye? Geez, even when they *aren't* here wrecking the thread, you have to wreck the thread by talking about them.

Let's move on.