While using my now venerable HTC Wizard with WM6 as a cellular modem
yesterday, I suddenly lost connection. I checked the USB cable to find it
had disconnected from the Wizard, taking the Wizard's mini-USB port with it!

Oh well, it gave me 2 1/2 years of good service, so I have no real
complaints. This post, while a bit of a gripe, isn't about the hardware
failure- it's about the software failure I've mostly ignored for the last
two-plus years! Suddenly Wizardless, I've had to fall back on my backup
solution- taking my five year-old Dell Axim X5 and Nokia 3620 phone out of
mothballs and go back to separate devices while I look for my next WM
device.

At first I was trepidatious- I hadn't updated anything on X5 in years, or
even really used it except as a portable media player on long airplane rides
for the kids. So I whipped it out last night, and checked what programs
were on it- Adode Reader, TCPMP (of course- that's what's entertained the
kids), NetFront 3.2, my WLAN and BT CF card drivers, Mapopolis (GPS)- I was
in good shape- I just needed to update my PIM data and syncronized files,
and install LogMeIn for remote access to my desktop. I created a new
partnership for the Axim on my PC and was amazed. The device fully synced
from scratch in about 5 minutes- 650 contacts, 400 calendar entries, 200
files, 150 mobile favorites- all blazed onto the Axim in a fraction of the
time my Wizard took with either WM5 or 6. The last time I hard reset the
Wizard, the initial sync with the same data took an hour or so! Resyncs
with the Axim took less than a minute vs. 5 minutes or longer on the Wizard.
"Ah, the slowness of persistant memory" I shrugged, and got on with it.

Then for laughs, I tried some web browsing with WiFi- again, the Axim was
MUCH snappier than the Wizard, but PIE was showing it's age. so I switched
to NetFront 3.2, grimacing because NetFront was the last resort browser on
my Wizard due to it's sluggishness. On the Axim it rendered much quicker-
as quickly as IE Mobile does on the Wiz. Opening and closing files like
notes and Excel spreadsheets were virtually instantaneous. (Closing a one
paragraph note with NO CHANGES MADE on the Wiz took 10-15 seconds.)

Ok, I figured, it's the Axim's 400 MHz Intel processor vs. the 200MHz OMAP
in the Wizard. So I notched down the Axim to the 200MHz battery-saving
mode. No perceptible difference- the Axim was still much quicker.


I remember being as disappointed with WM5 as I was excited about only
carrying one device, when I first got the Wizard- as time went by, I just
got used to the slowness, I guess. In the end, on my first day back with
the Axim, I'm still wishing I had the Wizard, for convenience sake, but I
can't help but wonder if the "improvements" of WM's more recent iterations
were worth it in terms of the performance hits- in this overhyped "iPhone
era," I can't help but think my nimble Axim, if it were coupled with
internal GSM/3G, WiFi, BT, etc. wouldn't be a more worthy competitor to
today's competing smartphones than the sluggish Wizards and Tilts.

Perhaps Microsoft should look back a little while looking forward. A 5-6
year old device shouldn't be the pinnacle of speed! (Of course my 5 year
old XP box seems as quick as my new Vista machine... hmmm...)

Despite the above rant, of course, I'm going out to look at Tilts today...
;-)

At 25 Jun 2008 12:55:55 -0600 Todd Allcock wrote:

> Perhaps Microsoft should look back a little while looking forward.
> A 5-6 year old device shouldn't be the pinnacle of speed! (Of
> course my 5 year old XP box seems as quick as my new Vista
> machine... hmmm...)
>
> Despite the above rant, of course, I'm going out to look at Tilts
today... ;-)


....posting this reply from my Tilt... ;-)

"Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in message
news:g40o45$ilk$1@aioe.org...
> At 25 Jun 2008 12:55:55 -0600 Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>> Perhaps Microsoft should look back a little while looking forward.
>> A 5-6 year old device shouldn't be the pinnacle of speed! (Of
>> course my 5 year old XP box seems as quick as my new Vista
>> machine... hmmm...)
>>
>> Despite the above rant, of course, I'm going out to look at Tilts
> today... ;-)
>
>
> ...posting this reply from my Tilt... ;-)
>
>

Todd,

I think you have commented on it before, but which newsreader do you use
with WM?

Thx,
Bob

"Bob Walker" <rowalker@sbcglobal.nospam.net> wrote in message
news:0iS8k.13077$mh5.10378@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
> "Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in message
> news:g40o45$ilk$1@aioe.org...
>> At 25 Jun 2008 12:55:55 -0600 Todd Allcock wrote:
>>
>>> Perhaps Microsoft should look back a little while looking forward.
>>> A 5-6 year old device shouldn't be the pinnacle of speed! (Of
>>> course my 5 year old XP box seems as quick as my new Vista
>>> machine... hmmm...)
>>>
>>> Despite the above rant, of course, I'm going out to look at Tilts
>> today... ;-)
>>
>>
>> ...posting this reply from my Tilt... ;-)
>>
>>
>
> Todd,
>
> I think you have commented on it before, but which newsreader do you use
> with WM?

Exactly my question too. A quick check of the post header reveals X-Mailer:
QMAIL 3.0.5.4295 / Windows CE 5.02 / ARM. Googling for that shows QMail 3
seems to be available through here: http://q3.snak.org/en/download.html

I'm going to give it a try.

Paul

"Paul Murphy" <p_murphynothanks@tospamhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7uadnatDAPtdk_nVnZ2dnUVZ8u-dnZ2d@posted.plusnet...
>>> ...posting this reply from my Tilt... ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Todd,
>>
>> I think you have commented on it before, but which newsreader do you use
>> with WM?
>
> Exactly my question too. A quick check of the post header reveals
> X-Mailer: QMAIL 3.0.5.4295 / Windows CE 5.02 / ARM. Googling for that
> shows QMail 3 seems to be available through here:
> http://q3.snak.org/en/download.html
>
> I'm going to give it a try.
>
> Paul

Give that man a cigar! Yes, I use QMail- it can be a little difficult to
figure out at first, because although the program is in English, the
documentation is Japanese. Enough of us here use it to get you over the
rough bits if need be, though... ;-)

At 26 Jun 2008 22:48:41 +0100 Paul Murphy wrote:
> "Bob Walker" <rowalker@sbcglobal.nospam.net> wrote in message
> news:0iS8k.13077$mh5.10378@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com...
> >
> > "Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in message
> > news:g40o45$ilk$1@aioe.org...
> >> At 25 Jun 2008 12:55:55 -0600 Todd Allcock wrote:
> >>
> >>> Perhaps Microsoft should look back a little while looking forward.
> >>> A 5-6 year old device shouldn't be the pinnacle of speed! (Of
> >>> course my 5 year old XP box seems as quick as my new Vista
> >>> machine... hmmm...)
> >>>
> >>> Despite the above rant, of course, I'm going out to look at Tilts
> >> today... ;-)
> >>
> >>
> >> ...posting this reply from my Tilt... ;-)
> >>
> >>
> >
> > Todd,
> >
> > I think you have commented on it before, but which newsreader do you
use
> > with WM?
>
> Exactly my question too. A quick check of the post header reveals X-
Mailer:
> QMAIL 3.0.5.4295 / Windows CE 5.02 / ARM. Googling for that shows QMail
3
> seems to be available through here: http://q3.snak.org/en/download.html
>
> I'm going to give it a try.
>
> Paul

Repling to my own post, I found this site helpfull with regard to the
installation
http://modernnomads.info/wiki/index....configuring+QM
ail but roll on Microsoft adding NNTP support to Pocket Outlook (it's a
steep learning curve with QMail 3) :-(

Paul

My pda2k is still hanging in there but it is simply a matter of time
before I am faced with the same decisions as your usb failure triggered.

I am more than concerned about the penalties imposed by wm5+ on a number
of fronts... speed being only one of many which I have observed over the
past couple of years... each time I end up with a borrowed wm5+ device
and walk through a number of the processes which I use on a frequent to
many times a day basis, it has been disheartening.

I also look at the stable of valued applications which have been
incredible tools when needed for years, but almost all of them are not
going to be compatible with wm6+

Somewhere over the past couple of months, I spotted a public ms
statement which confirmed that users such as myself... "power users" or
"techies" were no longer an appreciable enough mobile group to merit
supporting... a revelation which makes sense in the context of the
platform's current evolution.

It's crushing to see the huge value I have reaped from "PocketPC" 3.0
through Windows Mobile 2003se over most of a decade crumble and dissolve
as it's foundation is undermined solely to meet maximum "average
consumer" expectations.

My unlocked generic bt phone arrived yesterday and it already looks like
my sim card will remain in it as I continue to plan for my next mobile
computing platform.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

At 28 Jun 2008 03:55:02 +0100 Paul Murphy wrote:

> Repling to my own post, I found this site helpfull with regard to the
> installation
> http://modernnomads.info/wiki/index....configuring+QM
> ail but roll on Microsoft adding NNTP support to Pocket Outlook (it's a
> steep learning curve with QMail 3) :-(


Setup is a little steep, but that's probably because the program does just
about anything mail/news/RSS related, and the Japanese to English UI
translation is interesting (user-defined syncs of mulitiple accounts is
called "Go Round" !?!)

I managed to bludgeon my way through it via trial and error, a bit of
Googling, and fellow users right here. I use it primarily for Usenet news
now, but also relied on it heavily for e-mail pre-WM6 since it did HTML (and,
frankly, still does it better than Messaging.)

At 27 Jun 2008 23:22:57 -0500 Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev] wrote:

> My pda2k is still hanging in there but it is simply a matter of time
before
> I am faced with the same decisions as your usb failure triggered.

The world (or at least eBay!) is full of great older devices. I keep my
old PPC 2k2 and 2k3 devices (an Audiovox Maestro and Dell Axim X5) around
as backups. I've long since sold the PsPC and PPC 2k (Casio E-100 and E-
115) but can't seem to part with the 2k2 or 2k3. They get occasional
workouts as dedicated media players or GPSes.


> I am more than concerned about the penalties imposed by wm5+ on
> a number of fronts... speed being only one of many which I have
> observed over the past couple of years... each time I end up with
> a borrowed wm5+ device and walk through a number of the processes
> which I use on a frequent to many times a day basis, it has been
> disheartening.

Out of curiosity, what processes? I was vehemently anti-WM5 at first, but
mostly over the speed hit and lousy memory management. Certain other
quirks were different than prior versions, but most of those fell in the "I
don't like it because it's different" category of stuff you get used to,
rather than true deficiencies.


> I also look at the stable of valued applications which have been
incredible
> tools when needed for years, but almost all of them are not going to be
> compatible with wm6+

You tend to adapt- I'm constantly amazed at how many old apps still run on
WM5/6, and many that don't, have "modern" equivalents or replacements.


> Somewhere over the past couple of months, I spotted a public ms
> statement which confirmed that users such as myself... "power
> users" or "techies" were no longer an appreciable enough mobile group
> to merit supporting... a revelation which makes sense in the context
> of the platform's current evolution.


Unfortunately MS, IMO, doesn't always quite "get" simplification. To me,
WM6 seems no easier to use than PPC 2k was, but they've "simplified" by
eliminating options (mostly on the desktop Activesync side) that ideally
could've remained, but been "hidden" from beginners with "basic" and
"advanced" modes. (Like conflict resolution, or WiFi-sync.)


> It's crushing to see the huge value I have reaped from "PocketPC" 3.0
> through Windows Mobile 2003se over most of a decade crumble and
> dissolve as it's foundation is undermined solely to meet maximum
> "average consumer" expectations.

Perhaps, but OTOH, some things have improved- remote desktop is vastly
improved, and 3rd party services like LogMeIn.com are even better. Good
Java app support is finally here, push-e-mail is a hoot, WM6 supports VoIP
natively, integrated with the phone application on unlocked/unbranded (or
"hacked") PPC phone devices. WM5/6 really is a case of two-steps forward
one step back. I guess it all depends on which "steps" are more important
to you- the forward or backward! ;-)


> My unlocked generic bt phone arrived yesterday and it already looks
> like my sim card will remain in it as I continue to plan for my next
> mobile computing platform.


When the Wizard "left the building" earlier this week, I re-examined my
options. I considered the Nokia N8x0 tablets, RIM's Blackberries, or just
muddling through with the Axim and Nokia BT phone I used pre-Wizard while
waiting for Google's Andriod or the next gen WM devices. Then I came
across a nice fellow on Craigslist dumping his six month-old AT&T Tilt for
$250. The Tilt isn't perfect, but it was familiar- a slightly faster
Wizard with built-in GPS, so I grabbed it. Sure, in a perfect world, I'd
like to return to WM2k3, but as an all-in-one device (WiFi, BT, phone, GPS)
it's hard to beat. And it covers up stwo of WM6's biggest flaws- bloat and
memory leaks- the old fashioned way: throw in so much extra memory (128MB
RAM, 256MB ROM) that you don't really notice or care! ;-)

The only things from the Wizard that are missing from the Tilt are the IR
port (no more printing to my Sipix A6 portable IR printer) and a separate
headphone jack- it uses those HTC "enhanced" USB ports. (I hate adapters-
more crap to lug and lose- my wife already lost the two headphone adapters
I bought for her HTC WM smartphone.)

As an aside, are you still using AT&T prepaid for cell service? Just a
heads up, but AT&T now allows pay-as-you-go customers to buy unlimited data
for $20/month. You need to call and have it added to your account each
month- there's no on-line or automated method to do it, but compared to
$10/MB a la carte or their 5MB/$10 bundle it's a steal. Technically,
tethering is disallowed (whether they charge the per KB rate to those that
do, I don't know,) but you could pop the SIM in a PPCPE and no one would be
the wiser.

"Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]" <BevNoSpamBevHoward.com> wrote in news:
#b#ibaN2IHA.1768@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl:

> My unlocked generic bt phone arrived yesterday and it already looks like
> my sim card will remain in it as I continue to plan for my next mobile
> computing platform.

I think the deal is that speed isn't mission critical for these devices,
and tradeoffs have been made. For many consumers, the tradeoff is fine,
and for a minority, it isn't.



--
Scott
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