windows mobile vs blackberry: round 2

in round 1, we saw windows mobile establish a strong jab from the very start, taking an early lead over the blackberry.

let's see if that lead holds up here in round 2.

again...it all starts with fundamentals.

and there is absolutely nothing more fundamental to a mobile device than the interface design.

in this redard, windows mobile continues to dictate the pace and demeanor of this fight.

the today screen was just a foretaste of what was to come.

looking at windows mobile...

it sports features like...

• start menu
• programs
• settings

all of these things carry over as concepts for folks who use a desktop pc running windows...

which normally translates into a much shorter learning curve.

the only weakness with windows mobile in this regard?

the stylus.

at times, the stylus is the only way to navigate, and i feel like i'm constantly having to juggle the stylus when i'd rather just use a keyboard, cursor pad and button.

plus...i hate always thinking i'll lose the darn stylus.

still...

even with that one shortcoming...

the limitations of the blackberry os & interface are numerous.

starting with...

the thumbwheel.

talk about the most sensitive, jiggery piece of crap anybody ever decided would be a good idea for a navigation device.

i hate it mostly for the number of calls i've dropped or reminders i've cleared accidentally while taking the blackberry out of its holster on my hip and nudging the scrollwheel.

but the scrollwheel is merely a symptom...

the real issue is the blackberry os, which treats you from the get go like an absolute moron.

using a blackberry always takes me back to my days as a hardcore gamer...

because it reminds me of a rail shooter.

you know, where you are presented with targets to shoot...

but your own movements, by and large, are restricted to a set path.

now, i'm not talking about a super awesome good rail shooter, like the panzer dragoon series or some other masterpiece of graphics & game design.

no...

i'm talking some piece of misleadingly titled bellybutton lint like murakumo: renegade mech pursuit.

if nothing else, the blackberry os makes you feel like you're using a pda with training wheels.

let me put it a more direct way...

i'm so sick of that freaking thumbwheel...

it makes me long for a stylus!

heck, anything that would allow me to choose which application i want immediately...

rather than having to:

scrolly scroll scroll...scroll scroll...scroll

and then, with my breath held like a professional sniper

click with inhuman precision

to avoid bumping it to an incorrect choice.

certainly a closer round this time, but...

windows mobile edges blackberry in round 2!