Comments on: It’s The Little Things – Or Why Windows Mobile Contact Search Sucks

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:04:50 +0000

Damn, that’s crazy…

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:37:58 +0000

Damn, that’s crazy…

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:58 +0000

Hmm, that's not a good thing to have to put up with at all. . .

Have you read about Google's OS for mobile devices (a.k.a. Android) much?

By: steve_bergs2127

steve_bergs2127 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:58 +0000

One quibble and, I hope, a point: the performance of a search algorithm isn't a UI design issue – it's an algorithm issue. If they fixed the problem, the keystrokes you type wouldn't change at all – only the speed of the search.

At one software company I worked at, I was told that "usability doesn't sell software" and that our CEO didn't "believe in usability." It may well be true that usability doesn't generate sales. When I worked for "big consulting co," we would evaluate software based upon a prioritized list of client-required features. I can't recall that "easy to use" was ever one of them. On the other hand, the software CEO worried a lot about adoption and penetration into our customers' organizations. I suspect that usability would have a big impact on that.

Every engineer who designs anything to be used by another human being should be forced to read (at a bare minimum) Donald Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things" (see http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Dona...

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:55 +0000

Windows Mobile does suck especially after having a BlackBerry. I am moving to an iPhone.

By: Luke G

Luke G — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

I have the same issue in Outlook. Its painfully slow search is one of the factors that makes Xobni so darn useful (in certain contexts, at least).

By: rnjohnson

rnjohnson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

You're getting closer to being a Mac guy — you remembered July 11. And I bet you didn't even use Google.

By: bfeld

bfeld — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

I’ve read plenty about it. It’ll be interesting to see it when it eventually ships.

By: kip

kip — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

You know the discussion when they were looking for use case scenarios is "we'll never get someone with THAT many contacts." Too bad the code isn't open source.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

Great post. What's interesting is that these are the sort of things that startups do really well, because without a customer base, compatibility issues, a development priority schedule, etc., they can focus on these obvious issues of usability. Then as they grow the cycle starts over again.

By: Jim W.

Jim W. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

You may not want to spend more money on a WinMo device, but two programs can solve your problem. SPB Mobile Shell does what you describe by default – it's a complete navigation replacement for the core of that o/s. My preference is Voice Command however. It's just about 100% accurate dialing with my 2600-ish contacts.

By: Zach

Zach — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

On S60 I use an app called SkyeQuiKey by Skyestream. From the standby screen I can just start typing a contact name (or application or web bookmark) and the app will drill down as I type. There is no lag, it's instant. Once I get to the contact I'm looking for I can open it or initiate a call / SMS / MMS / email with one button press. It also has a history feature so my most-accessed content is always listed at the top for even faster access.

It's probably the most useful app on my mobile. My guess is that something similar exists for WinMob.

By: bfeld

bfeld — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

I agree with the quibble. I didn’t intend to imply that the problem was a UI problem. I want the on Contact Search to work exactly as it does. I just want the search algorithm fixed. My UI issues with Windows Mobile are more far reaching, although I put them all in the category of “on the margin.”

By: Gary

Gary — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

On the gas issue, it wasn't too long ago that the limit was $50 with a lot of stations… back then (2004) when gas was "cheap" and I had an H2 (thankfully I opted out of that before gas prices started rising), I remember constantly being frustrated by the "fraud detection" system…

By: bijan sabet

bijan sabet — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

Great post brad.

the funny thing about the "Bill Gates rant" is that I don't think he was mad enough.
After going trying for over an hour and not being able to download Windows MovieMaker, I think my head would have exploded if i was the ceo/founder of msft at the time.

something tells me that emails was sanitzed.