I may actually have to buy an iPhone or iPod

[sfrrr]

I can't believe I'm writing this. Microsoft seems to be driving away their legacy users--those of us who have been using Windows Mobile, as it's now called, since the very beginning. And ignoring our huge investment (relatively speaking) in software and in hardware accessories. I don't want to have to buy all new stuff to be able to continue to run WM.

But I need always to have a working PlecoDict in my pocket. Soooo, right now, which platform has the better, more fully featured PD? If WM is still ahead, what sort of time will it take for the iP... to surpass WM, given that you're not likely to continue revving WM PD in the future? (You know I'm a nerd by all the abbreviations.)

Or am I jumping the gun? Maybe I should calm down and see what happens with HP and WebOS as well as Android? Being an aging WM nerd, I want the most powerful, most customizable platform available.

 

[mikelove]

As far as I'm concerned at least, the iPhone version is now superior to the WM version - there's no major feature on WM that isn't also on iPhone, and there are several major features on iPhone (web browser document reading, super-cool multitouch fullscreen handwriting, character component breakdowns (that one's still rather experimental), much nicer registration system) that aren't available / may not ever be be available on WM. And it's likely to gain more ground in the future as we continue refining it.

However, there are a few particular WM-specific things that you still can't get on iPhone:

• Instant Access - the biggest loss, and not much chance of it being fixed before iPhone OS 5.0 at least, though the web browser reader mostly makes up for it
• Text selection / cross-referencing / copying-to-clipboard of text that ISN'T Chinese characters - should be coming in a future update (most likely 2.2 - we just released 2.1), already fully supported for Chinese characters though
• Customizable toolbars - another 2.2 thing
• Multitasking / quick switch into Pleco to look up a word - that'll be fixed by iPhone OS 4.0, and is already "fixed" on jailbroken iPhones (though we still need to add support for auto-updating the document reader's clipboard view when you re-enter the app)

Can anyone think of anything I'm missing? Actually that would be useful feedback to get in general, "things we miss from WM" - wonder if I should start a separate thread...

 

[stephanhodges]

As you pointed out in today's letter to everyone, and again in the "official" iPad thread, a transferred license ("crossgrade"?) can only be run on either an iPhone or an iPad, but not both (totally out of your control).

So, for me at least, it almost makes more sense to just buy a new license, and keep my existing one (which I can still migrate for free to a new Windows device, etc.) I currently own a Palm. Another option that I would "guess" is viable would be to sell my Palm license on eBay or somewhere to someone who already has a device, and wants a great product at a "used price" :evil:

But, seriously, I would probably just buy a new license to have the flexibility of using both apple devices seamlessly.

 

[mikelove]

That might indeed make sense - once you've bought the iPhone / iPod / iPad version once, you're good to go on other iPhones / iPods / iPads that sync to your iTunes account too, so at that point you might as well keep the separate Palm license on Palm even just as a backup.

 

[Andy]

I transferred my Palm license to an ipod touch, and kept the WM Pleco on my phone, and I find the iphone version to be far superior to the WM version. For years with Palm and then WM, I was constantly writing/installing programs to try and make the device more finger-friendly; taking out a stylus requires and extra hand you might not always have, and it's nice to be able to review flashcards with one hand in a supermarket checkout line.

When I bought my first WM phone, I needed the touchscreen for pleco, but it seemed like WM Smartphone was becoming more and more common. Then the iphone came out, all of a sudden touch screens were back and some of the WM UIs were more navigable with fingers. Apple might deserve some credit for resuscitating the touch screen device, it seemed as thought Palm and Microsoft were content with the stylus model, and got caught with their pants down when the new capacitive touch screens came out.

I love the form factor of my Touch Pro, as well as the hardware keyboard, but what I love most is the ability to customize almost every part of it. In fact, it's customized to the point that I only ever have to use a stylus when I'm using Pleco. If Pleco could develop a WM UI similar to that of the iphone's I would use the ipod so much, but I don't see that coming.

Another thing I like about the ipod is the wealth of apps available from so many developers. WM is quickly losing that support as the platform dies, and the Windows Phone app store is just a joke. It took a long time before I broke down and bought an Apple device. So if my next phone is an iphone, I won't just be another hipster fanboy, take a look at my laptop, that's Redhat, son.

 

[divergio]

So if my next phone is an iphone, I won't just be another hipster fanboy, take a look at my laptop, that's Redhat, son.

Haha...that sign-off is priceless. But seriously, the iPod touch is an amazing MP3 player in its own right. When I bought mine there wasn't even an app store, I was just using it to check email and listen to mp3's.

I hope you are enjoying it.