Windows Mobile Needs More Than HTC's Front End to Match the iPhone Experience

Let me start off by saying that I am an avid Windows Mobile user. I like the capabilities it provides, and I don't mind the slightly kludgy, somewhat dated interface paradigm it presents. I also think that the iPhone is a great piece of hardware with a very slick, intuitive interface. It's just that at the moment, it can't match the combination of capabilities or third party software extensibility I can get with Windows Mobile.

Apple has done a great job of changing what people expect from a smart phone, and everyone is scrambling to keep up. The problems I see with attempts like the HTC Diamond are two-fold: First, the TouchFlo front-end can only take you so far. Once you open Word Mobile, for example, one is forced to deal with the same old dated, finger-unfriendly UI. Second, every manufacturer is coming out with their own unique iPhone-esque front end for Windows Mobile. The great thing about using the iPhone is that any time you pick one up, you will know exactly how to interface with it to get the results you want. Until Microsoft gets off its duff and releases a new version of WM with a unified UI paradigm, I don't think WM will be winning any significant converts from the iPhone camp.