One of the more interesting articles comparing the Palm OS-based palmOne / Handspring Treo line of products with Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Smartphones has been published by Treocentral.
Michael Ducker has done an excellent job of pointing out some little known facts about Smartphones such as the Motorola MPx200, including:
- phone features that make a mobile phone a Smartphone (according to Microsoft),
- user interface customizability that is present in Smartphones, but may be difficult for end users to access, and
- Smartphone drawbacks including wireless data usability and overall repsonsiveness.
In previous articles, I’ve suggested that Smartphones are optimized for voice calls and making reference to data synchronized with the owner’s copy of Microsoft Outlook. It seems like Michael Ducker agrees with me:
… {Microsoft’s} “smartphone” isn’t a smartphone in the way the Treo is. It is not made to be an out of office replacement for email. It is not data-centric in any way, and its features are limited. Microsoft seems to understand some parts of the wireless world, and to that effect they have introduced some innovations to the market…..
In launching a device that is not data centric, Microsoft chose to go after the much larger cell phone market. While that choice may be more profitable for Microsoft, the devices that we like to see at this site are in the real smartphone market, which I may add PalmOne is doing an excellent job at.
It’s important to understand the perspective from which this comparison was written. The author is a Treo fan, as am I. I don’t think it’s a good idea to say that Treos are “better” than Smartphones– they will just appeal to different audiences. The really interesting part of this article is the customizability of the XML-based user interface of Smartphones, which may not interest you now, but, could mean that after-market applications could make these devices a lot more interesting some day.