Windows Mobile on an iPhone - Why?

A number of web sites recently posted about a new video that appeared to show an Apple iPhone dual booting Windows Mobile with Apple’s OS-X for the iPhone. A lot of people seemed to get excited at the thought of running both operating systems on the iPhone hardware. As it turns out, the video is a fake, but that doesn’t change the reaction of the community.  Why do so many people want to see Windows Mobile on the iPhone hardware?

First off, the licensing for this would be nothing short of a mess. Does anyone here recall the PocketPalm emulator from way back in 2002? Great idea, but licensing issues kept it from really taking off.  This won’t be much different and I can’t see Apple or Microsoft letting this happen.

Next up - do some people still think that the iPhone is somehow more stable and secure?  There’s been lots of talk about how both are not the case now that 3rd parties are available to develop for the platform. Let us not forget that the Windows Mobile has been extremely stable for those participating in the No Reboot Challenge.

User Interface? A lot of people comment about the user interface on the iPhone being significantly better than Windows Mobile. It’s no secret that Apple has always been better at the user experience. But I don’t see how that is a factor in an application that allows you to dual boot your phone.  What good is the interface if you’re going to dual boot it all the time? Besides, it’s twice the configuration as you would have to configure email and everything else on both operating systems. I would think that an emulator would be a much better choice. However, that doesn’t change the first 3 points I’ve talked about.

What’s next - Style? I guess some people would want to switch phones just to have a more stylish device.  But do these people really care what OS is running on the device? Typically, they are the kind of user who buys the latest device just to say they use whatever the current fad is. Something like this might save them a fair amount of money because they wouldn’t have to re-purchase applications every time they switched devices.

I don’t know. Perhaps I just don’t get it.  I’m all for mobility and choice in mobile operating systems. However, for me there’s no value in an applications like this.

In case you are interested, check out the video over at the Engadet Mobile web site .

More Security Issues Surface with Apple’s iPhone

It seems that Apple is having a fair amount of problems when it comes to security on their iPhone devices. At the end of September they released an update addressing 10 different security issues and now word comes out about a couple more issues that Apple has been aware of for a couple months, but neglected to address in any of the updates released since these were found.

Of course, security issues by themselves, do not relate to your device getting hack.  It does however, indicate that there is a greater risk that a exploit could be released into the wild that would leverage these vulnerabilities and put your device and the data it contains at risk.

While others have learned from Microsoft’s past mistakes when it comes to speed of addressing these issues, Apple doesn’t appear to be as concerned. What makes this even more concerning is that Apple has the means to release updates quickly and easily. While Microsoft is slowed due to their business model of selling to manufacturers and carriers.  Which means we need to wait for the manufacturer to approve the patch and then release it to their customers.

If you own an iPhone, you need to be extra vigilant about the sites you visit and the emails you read on your phone. I would hate to see a nasty cellular bill caused by a rogue application that’s ringing up excessive data and voice usage.

Examining the Stability Problems in Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a buggy and unstable mobile operating system that requires daily, or if you’re lucky, weekly reboots to keep it running smoothly. You should install a close button replacement tool that will actually force applications to close instead of just the smart minimize that Windows Mobile does by default because Microsoft can’t seem to figure out how to manage memory on a mobile device.

Those words are pretty strong and perhaps a little harsh. Do people actually believe that Microsoft’s mobile operating system is that bad in managing memory? I would like to think that it’s not true. Every day I deal with customers who are managing hundreds or thousands of Windows Mobile devices and on a regular basis people ask me how they can force a reboot of the device on a given schedule. Most people that ask for this are looking to force the reboot in the middle of the night, or every Tuesday / Thursday / Sunday, or some other schedule that they’ve come to believe will magically fix all of their problems.

The real question is: why do they need to do this? I don’t question that they might be having problems with stability. In fact, I’m certain that a reboot will help them out. Most feel that Windows Mobile can’t cut it and requires the reboot just to clean up leaks in memory and whatnot. Ultimately allowing them to run their applications without crashes and hangs that they were experiencing before the reboot.

Is scheduling a reboot for the device really the best approach? Perhaps trying to determine the source of the problem and correcting it would be a better. While I do get request about forcing a reboot, there are plenty of other customers that never reboot their devices and almost never run into problems. What’s the difference? Why are some able to run for days/weeks/months without ever having to reboot the device. While others can’t seem to make it a couple days without the need to reboot. Is it the device? Perhaps one hardware manufacturer has done a better job than another? Possible, but unlikely. From the talks I’ve had with customers, the reboot crowd are not all running one type or make of device. It doesn’t matter if the device is a rugged device from Motorola, Intermec, or Honeywell, or if it’s a consumer device from HTC, Samsung, or Motorola.

Could it be Microsoft? Read more