I'm going to be at Microsoft's global MVP Summit in Seattle and Redmond next week.

One of the sessions will elicit input about what types of applications and services people would like to see for Windows Mobile devices, including the next version of Windows Mobile.

Post up what you'd like to see, and I'll put it on the list I'm taking with me.

Thanks for starting this thread! 

Really...nobody has anything? Windows Mobile is perfect just the way it is?

 Okey then...

Note to self: Send memo to entire Windows Mobile dev team titled "Mission Accomplished." End with the words "Thanks for all your hard work. You're fired." 

You are so funny!

It would be good to have a media player that can play other types of video files other then .wmv files.

Also I would love to see credit cards somehow stored on phones, such that we no longer have to carry wallets (or purses) and then if the phone is stolen we can send a message to the phone that totally nukes everything on it. The same with driver license.

 

Nice one. Something else that I definitely run into is people wanting to change the layout and functionality of their home screen or Today screen - that is, without having to dive into the registry or make use of questionable third-party customization apps. I think a greater degree of built-in, easily accessible user choice about the overall appearance and homescreen behavior of Windows Mobile would be very cool.

I like Bill's customization idea. It would be cool if there was a gadget package, similar to Zumobi, that was already installed that let users easily access new info, add new functionality, or customize their phone without having to buy and download a third-party app.

This also looks like it is on the horizon with the arrival of Flash and Silverlight on WM phones, but I think viewing video from the Web is huge.

I'm sure I'm far too late, but built in Java support for IE mobile would be nice. I was quite surprised to learn I had to download and install another browser to be able to use Java.

There's plenty of these types of lists out there.  Here's mine:

• More keyboard shortcuts. It’s great that Windows Mobile 6 has keyboard shortcuts in the messaging app, and (just about) all the menu items and navigation can be accessed with hardware buttons, but I want more. Being able to do everything without taking your fingers off the keyboard is by far the most efficient human-computer interface. Internet Explorer, for example, could definitely benefit from some nice keyboard shortcuts for zooming, opening favorites, etc.
  
• System-wide theme skins. The old Pocket PC 2002 operating system was kind of on the right track. You could load and create any kind of theme you wanted and the entire operating system would change its look to suite your mood. Although, Microsoft added a Phone dialer and skinned Media Player and the whole consistent look thing totally fell apart. What we need is an extensible interface for one central theme control panel. So say a developer wanted their application to be user-skin-able, they could create an XML file that defined the locations of all of their compatible themes which included skin image files and color definitions. The XML file would be installed to a specific location that the Theme control panel could read. When the Theme control panel noticed this file was for a new application, it would create a new tab where users could select different theme designs found in the specified location. This would also make it easy for other users to create their own skins for each compatible application.
  
• API for Voice Command. I so wish that someone would make a GPS navigation program that could use Microsoft Voice Command as the text-to-speech and voice recognition engine. Even Live Search had to rebuild voice recognition into their own little program since there’s no API for MS Voice Command.
• Better Browser. And by better I mean faster rendering. The new Windows Mobile 6.1 interface for zooming in Internet Explorer is very nice, but the page rendering needs a lot of improvement. Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing the capability to open more than one web page at a time, but this could complicate the browser too much (and take up a lot of memory).
  
• Integrated GPS Navigation. If Microsoft can build their own GPS Navigation program that can properly integrate with the Contacts address fields and Calendar location fields with support for Microsoft Voice Command integration and a little bit of Internet Explorer and Email address format recognition, then Windows Mobile 7 would be absolutely golden. Imagine finding an address in Internet Explorer and quickly being able to set it as your destination in a GPS program. Currently you have to memorize the address and regurgitate it into all of the separate address fields that these 3rd party navigation systems require. It’s not at all as integrated or easy as it should be. Live Search probably has the most potential to grow into this kind of program. Hopefully they’ll also allow users to copy trip map data to the storage card so that a data connection is not always required. Anyone remember Pocket Streets? At the very least, give these 3rd party navigation system developers some guidelines ‘cause they certainly don’t know what they’re doing.
  
• IMAP IDLE support for push email. It’s great that Windows Mobile has push email for Hotmail and Exchange servers, but what about everyone else? Please bring IMAP push support!  Apple has it, Symbian has it, I'm sure Android will have it. Some reply/forward message flag icons that sync with IMAP/Exchange servers would be nice too. Fixing the "Copy sent messages to the sent folder" on IMAP accounts bug should be fixed (this feature only works occasionally).  And of course, Draft message syncing that has been lost since Pocket PC 2000. 
  
• Zune Marketplace.  The Zune social website could really take off if you didn’t need to buy a Zune to use it and share music. If this brings easier and more stable Media Player syncing to Windows Mobile, hurray for Zune!
  
• Finger Friendly Mode. While this has generally been considered the wrong direction for mobile device design due to the non-tactile eye-required interface, all of the iPhone Kool-Aid drinkers seem to like it. It will be easier for your fingers, but more difficult for your brain since you probably won't be able to see as much information at one time.
  

Also a lot of people are wishing for in-browser playing of Flash videos.  I think this is a bad idea.  The TCPMP Flash implementation is much better.  This is where if you visit a YouTube page or other supported Flash video site, a menu will come up giving you the option to "Play Video".  When you activate that, a separate media player application (TCPMP) will open so that you can have dedicated player controls AND watch it full screen.  The Flash/video implementations embedded in web pages are not suitable for mobile devices at all.  Heck, I would love it if I could open embedded Flash animations in a separate application when visiting websites on a desktop too.

there is already an official microsoft discussion area full on this theme here:- https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/default.aspx?SiteID=502

 is this site not just duplicating the same thing?

Excellent question!

The original post in this thread by Chris Rue was in anticipation of a meeting Chris was going to be attending where he would be meeting with members of the Windows Mobile team which offered him a great opportunity to give feed back directly to Microsoft regarding features and changes people were interested in.

Admittedly, the meeting has now passed, but we do have Windows Mobile stake holders who visit our forum and will be getting information from the site regarding what mobile industry employees see as areas of opportunity to make Windows Mobile even better!

I think it's great if multiple sites are giving feedback to the developers and product teams for Windows Mobile. The more voices asking for new features, the more likely we are to see those features implemented down the road!

-Andrea

Not sure I even understand the point of technonath's...errr, point.

Haven't we seen everything before...somewhere else on teh Intarweb? Prolly. Does that mean that another conversation about a subject is a waste of time? Not at all.  

The Connect site referenced by technonath is actually specifically titled Windows Mobile Developer Experience. I may be wrong, but I'd think the folks appearing here are primarily non-dev, both by nature and occupation. And that, I believe, is a very very good thing.

I'm in no way, shape, or form trying to pooh-pooh the importance of developers (developers! developers! developers! developers! *monkey dance ensues*) to the long-term prospects and health of any platform. Without devs, there are no apps. And without apps, a platform dies. And Windows Mobile, as an offshoot of embedded Windows, has naturally been a dev-centric platform, at least from the perspective of long-term initiatives, support, etc.

However (and this is IMHO) Windows Mobile has been a primarily dev-centric platform for too long in its life, and that's why it's in the current state it's in, which is playing catchup in 2 MAJOR areas, namely...

1. Only just now is there decent enterprise management for Windows Mobile, including security.
2. The WM UI is in sore need of an overhaulin', because WM looks like it was designd by software monkeys from 1997.

For better or worse, the health of a given mobile platform is determined by the health of its consumer sales. Never mind that Windows Mobile TOTALLY owns the industrial device market. Seriously.

So do I think engaging a non-dev audience into giving feedback about what they'd like to see in WM is worthwhile, even if there are a billion other sites talking about the same thing?

You betcha.

And I am in TOTAL agreement about the call for a Voice Command API. Unfortunately, given the relative dearth of WM devices that actually include VC (which I consider to be the BEST deal-closing/differentiating feature for WM) in their ROM builds, because most mobile operators/OEMs choose to include something other than Voice Command, API support is highly unlikely. And that's coming to me straight from the horse's mouth vis-a-vis Voice Command.

my point was that, Windows Mobile Developer Experience was supposedly the area where microsoft would engage with us and comment on our suggestions, yet they barely even looked at it. Their last comments were in december 2007.

I was just wondering whether this site was going to be read by microsoft any more than that one, as I have seen the same suggestions before on the windows mobile team blog as well and not much feedback was given there either. I don't feel that microsoft want to engage with their users on this subject or they would have participated in all these other official areas.

I hope you prove me wrong, I would love to see some official interaction from microsoft on our feature suggestions/bug fix requests.

Good luck with the forum.

Oh...I can understand your frustration then.

But there's no guarantee MS, nor any other company, will listen to anything anyone has to say, no matter where it's posted. Them's the breaks.

I'm not sure you guys are  being totally fair. This forum is run by Microsoft and was intended as a place for people to discuss and give feedback. They are listening and they do care more than we realise.

Awesome comments and feedback from everyone! This is exactly the kind of discussion MS wanted to see when we started this site just a few short weeks ago. The forum team, which includes both MS and non-MS people, are very aware that you guys have lots of sites to choose from out there. We also know that they are not all doing a great job at building a community of experts (like the people who have commented here!) whose opinions are listened to. We are making it one of our main goals to read every single post, identify real issues and concerns, and pass those insights directly to MS. And beyond that, we want to recognize and reward people (again, like those posting here) with more access to MS by way of private discussion areas and the like. Look for those kinds of enhancements coming soon - we really do want the Connection to be different and awesome. But in the meantime, keep the incredibly smart posts coming and (pardon the cheesy catchphrase) stay connected! B