Android; From a Windows Mobile User

Recently I reviewed the Acer Liquid E, an Android device. Being a long time Windows Mobile guy, this gave me an opportunity to compare Android and Windows Mobile. This is not a highly technical or in-depth look. It is from the perspective of an end-user.  Did I find a clear winner? Read on and see.

HOME SCREEN

Both Windows Mobile and Android have very flexible home screens.

Android has lots of widgets to choose from and you can link to pretty much anything on your phone from one of multiple home pages. I find the Android home screen to be highly functional. However it seems to be missing a professional, well put together, look. It actually looks a bit amateur.  If we look to third party and carrier overlays then things start to look up. HTC have their ever popular Sense UI, which brings it up a notch or two. The Android version of Sense isn’t nearly as full featured or as cool as the Windows Mobile version.  Sony Ericsson has their latest UI on the X10 which looks very polished, slick, and functional.

Windows Mobile probably has the most choices. First there is the old classic Windows Mobile home screen with tons of plugins , allowing for endless different looks. Its biggest problem is that it is not finger friendly at all. Next is the latest WM6.5 UI. At first glance it doesn’t seem too bad, but when you start to use it, it seems that you are forever scrolling back and forth, and up and down. Officially there are few possibilities for tweaking it. However, thanks to the enthusiast community there are a couple of apps , and tutorials enabling some tweaking. Next we have third party apps like SPB Shell which give a very high degree of flexibility combined with smooth operation and looks. Then we have OEM overlays such as HTC Sense. In my opinion Sense 2.5 on Windows Mobile is an excellent interface.

Overall I think Windows Mobile get the nod here, because of the wide choices and slick looks of most of the UI possibilities.

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