I've been setting up a new smartphone with Windows Mobile 6 over the past few days, and it's made me think about the initial user experience compared to Maemo on my N800.

I'm far from a novice with Windows Mobile - I have an earlier smartphone running WM2003, a PDA running WM5, and a couple of portable GPS units hacked to run generic WinCE apps. I've installed a lot of apps, and even written a few custom ones of my own for WinCE. I have to say that the overall user experience with WM6 is very poor, and it's getting worse from one version to the next. Some things just leave me shaking my head - like WM6 for Smartphones still has no way to cut and paste text because MS hasn't gotten around to implementing that yet in 6 years (it's promised for WM6.1). And the only way to communicate with desktop/notebook Windows PCs is Microsoft's custom ActiveSync program over USB - WiFi no longer works since ActiveSync version 4. MS removed the WiFi sync capability for everyone except those with corporate MS Exchange servers - too bad if you had a unit with WiFi and you updated before you realized that!

Compared to that the out-of-box experience with the N800 is excellent, even for those not familiar with Linux at all. I read a lot of complaints here about Nokia's support for Maemo, but for the most part the N800's software suite stands up pretty well against Microsoft's mobile offering. The apps are easy to use, fairly intuitive, and relatively free of serious bugs.

And when it comes to adding new apps, Maemo really shines - there's a lot of choice, most of it is free, and it's usually pretty easy to install (minor problems with repositories aside). Compare that with WM6: very little is included, a lot of it doesn't work very well, and most add-ons cost $$$ and often don't install or won't work on your particular version of Windows Mobile.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Now, I'm a big maemo booster, and honestly pleased to hear such responses...

But still, "It's really nice to use, compared with Windows Mobile" isn't especially complimentary...

I quit using Windows Mobile around the first version they called Windows Mobile and not PocketPC - my Dell x50 (recently sold BTW). The hardware was really nice (full SVGA, fast CPU, etc), but the OS was a slug (it even slowed down the broke the x50 after an upgrade so badly, Dell issued a warning) and while I preferred it to PalmOS for several reasons, I was trying Familiar Linux, etc.

I recently purchased my n810 after some research as I found I needed a "PDA" type thing again. I knew I would need to add PIM and such to it, but I also knew it ran a version of Debian (I use openSUSE 10.3 on my laptop), so I knew the community would be there. I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance, robustness, and application availability for the device given it relatively niche and small userbase.

Its just another reason to support the open source community. I can't wait to get Diablo (I am not hacking the n810 right now) and see what improves. In fact, my only complaint has been the lack of a "real" integrated PIM that syncs to Google/Evolution easily. I am using the GPE suite now, but it doesn't integrate with the built-in contacts version (or google contacts yet) making me keep two lists going, and the Pimlico that integrates doesn't sync with Google (it does allow you to import iCal though). If someone can do both, I will be most happy.

When people ask me about my n810, I refer to it as a computer and not a PDA or phone, or even IT. I say its a computer desgined to be connected to a cellphone so I am not forced to use AT&T...lol

It's funny this thread came along as I am in heavy debates about getting rid of my N800 (getting beyond frustrated with the OS) and heading toward an HTC Advantage.

HTC has done some great things putting a nice face on Winmo 6, but ultimately the draw for me is that there are just more options as far as device configuration goes.

I don't mind paying software devs for the work they do (providing the work they do is helpful), so actually paying for the software on winmo is not an issue. Between different OS builds, different browser options, and just a plethora of software that should really allow flexibility on the device (oh and that wonderful always on data) I don't think Winmo is really that bad.

Yeah, you have to work hard to find the programs that work best for you and how you want to use the system, but .. have you not used an NIT, all it is is work and command line, and pill modes I really don't see one being that much easier than the other.

I purchased a nokia 770 last year, and it was my first linux device. I consider myself a pretty well educated pc user, and know my way around windows xp pretty well.

I recently purchased and HTC/Sprint Mogul phone that runs WM6. I don't understand why people say WM is hard to use, because I found it so much easier to get around in than Maemo. No repositories to download and the programs are much much more stable than what I've used on the 770, which crashes often. Plus, it runs a lot of older wm software, and I found tons of free software (and hacked :-P) to choose from. And it can cut/copy/paste just fine.

The user support for this thing is awesome (see xdadevelopers.com). I've been running a cooked 6.1 Rom, and have been able to (easily) install a great number of applications. I have 3 web browsers, tcmp media player, i-GO gps/navigation software, gps enabled google maps, mp3 player, excel and word, pdf reader, photo album, mobiTV (streaming television), pocketRAR, and others.

Honestly, other than the nice screen, I don't miss anything about the 770. Since the phone has EVDO and wifi, I pretty much have no use for the nokia device any more and will be selling it soon. And the new HTC devices getting a 640x480 resolution screen, which is twice as much as the current phones.

I imagine the n810 is probably a bit faster than the 770 and maybe more stable, but in the end, I get more with the HTC mogul and it has become my portable device of choice.

I use an iPAQ H4700 and my N800.

Sorry, my experience is that to the user the Windows Mobile interface is superior, and that availability of quality complete applications (not alphas and betas) is superior for Windows Mobile.

Under the pretty surface, though, Windows is junk and it is clear that in terms of system stability, the the N800 is superior.

Further, all connectivity related issues seem easier on the N800.

The lack of a PIM, and the poor CPU performance that severely limits video functionality are showstoppers for the N800, which is too bad. NOTHING makes for a better out of the box experience than putting your favourite TV show on an SD card and just playing it on your handheld. With my iPaq, that's usually possible. With the N800.... fugetaboudit.

I haven't yet gotten my N800 (will be here monday), so I can't comment from any experience on that yet, but I can comment on some of the things I like/dislike about WM. I have a TDS Recon running WM 2003 I believe.

Software support seems to be great. There's a ton of highly-polished third party apps. My favorite has been Calligrapher. Have any of you guys tried that out? It's amazingly useful. You can set it up so you can write anywhere on the screen, the handwriting recognition capabilities are above and beyond anything I've played with before, and you can set up certain written symbols to launch apps, etc. Is there any way to do this on the N800 currently?

One thing I don't understand though, is the difficulty in getting videos to play well on the N800. Are you using OS 2008? With that CPU boost, I don't see why it wouldn't be able to handle vids well. My Recon has a comparably slow CPU (166Mhz, I believe), and once I figured out a good size/format/fps, I could watch TV shows on it just fine. Last time my wife took a trip, I filled up some CF cards with episodes of Family Guy and You Can't Do That on Television for the plane ride. Regardless, we've now gone off topic as we're talking about hardware instead of Maemo v. WM.

WM may have slicker apps due to more commercial development, but the attitude of the communities surrounding such devices is drastically different from the Maemo/Linux community. While there are a ton of homebrew apps for WM, the majority of motivation for development is "can I make money off of this?". For Maemo devs the question is more along the lines of "what can we make this thing do?" or "what can improve this device?" (notice the use of "we" instead of "I"). And with Maemo and OSS, we have nearly unlimited access to the functions of the hardware.

The Linux model is interesting in that it actually brings people together instead of isolating them. This is very reassuring, especially in the realm of technology and its largely ego-centric uses (mindless entertainment, facebook/myspace/twitter). While there is more work involved in improving things/getting them working right, the experience is more rewarding as it forces us to unite and have a meaningful dialogue.

Just my 2 cents.

(emphasis mine)

That's exactly it. The N800 doesn't have any trouble at all playing back video as long as you work within its limits. You can't playback 24fps stuff at 800x480, but reasonably sized stuff at 24fps and 480x360 plays back fine, and quite honestly, I've had a lot of success taking stuff straight from bittorrent and playing it on the device.

Most of the complaints you hear are just ill-informed.

As a WM device user (AT&T Tilt-kaiser) I find the N810 a friend gave me interesting, but not all that useful. Granted, the biggest issue is the User. I am not linux savy, and never really liked it. I am a MS man, and not ashamed of it. My phone out of the box has been more usefull and more user friendly than the NIT after trying to play with it for a week. My phone is setup to dload my exchange mail, sync my contacts and calendar all over the air. I can RDP into my local server if I need to, again, over the air. While I am intrigued by the NIT, unless I find a way to install apps that I need to do what I want, it will most likely be used for only mp3's and videos while traveling. And to be honest, I do that with my phone now. The bigger screen is an advantage. But beyond that..nothing.

Please keep in mind, this is ONLY an opinion based on a week of playing with the NIT.

Well then, count me ill-informed. Obviously I am not as expert on the N800 as you, but I have it, and I have used it.

First, it's a pain to have to resize every video before you watch it. There are several applications that do it, none do it well (least of all the one provided by Nokia). PocketDivXEncoder seems to work best for me.

Second, to my eyes, there's a big difference in quality of the image beween 1/2 vga at 24 fps, and full VGA at 30 fps.

So, sure, if you tinker with your video enough it becomes watchable without dropped frames and with acceptable sound. But all that time wasted, at 10$ per hour minimum wage = enough money to buy a better device after a few months.

In terms of form (size, weight, screen) the N800 was nearly my perfect device. But the
function fell short. A better main process or graphics chip, and a way to integrate with my PIM, and this would be my premier device.