New Toys

Whilst I’ve been waiting with baited breath for the finale of Doctor Who to air I’ve been playing with a new toy provided by my employer: A Windows Phone. I’m not really a mobile phone sort of person. For personal use I lost interest in my old Android phone and reverted to a feature phone instead. For years I have had a Nokia E71 at work and as a basic phone it has been fine – the battery life has always been exceptional (it can stay on standby for over a week without a sniff of a charger) and the tiny QWERTY keyboard is just about usable for mail and texts but for anything more complex it has proven to be clunky at best. The Windows phone is a Nokia 635 and so far it has proven to be a delight: as a business phone it doesn’t have to have every feature under the sun but it must actually work.

There was a great deal of debate at work about what phones would be purchased. It came down to an evaluation between Android, Apple and Windows phones. The choice of Windows phones was based on a combination of cost, integration and security concerns and it all seemed rather reasoned to me but for many people in the organisation you would think that this was an affront to their manhood. Essentially they wanted the latest iPhone – not for any particular business requirement but because this gave them the biggest willy-waving rights in the corporate jungle. Being a techie, I was more concerned that I could actually use the thing and that it would remain operational for extended periods if I was on call. Unfortunately for the manager who looks after telecommunications, he had to convince the techno-fashionistas that mobile phones are more than big boys toys.

So how have I found it? The first thing that struck me is that the interface actually seemed to work. If I tapped on the screen or used the on-screen keyboard the things I touched actually responded which is a first for me: I’ve used a few touch-screen devices and one of the biggest bugbears with them is that they constantly misbehave – I always put this down to my clumsy sausage fingers. The next thing that struck me is how sleek and responsive the whole thing is. It’s based on Windows 8.1 which I have on my home desktop and which has had a rather bad press but it has always struck me as a very efficient operating system; it’s nice to finally see it on an interface that it was seemingly designed for.

Initially, I tried out the basic phone and text functions and found these to be entirely proficient and nothing like as infuriating to use as the Android ones. When used as a basic phone it shows a virtual version of simple call and text interface which makes it very easy to use and is a relief as many smart phones don’t actually work very well as telephones. After that I set up the integration with the corporate mail and desktop systems and this is where it came into its own as a business phone. In common with many organisations we run a largely Microsoft based desktop and whereas Android and Apple phones will integrate with this kind of office back-end after a fashion, the Windows phone is integrated with it. After typing in the name of the exchange server everything else instantly (and very quickly) fell into place.

There are a few other goodies on the phone – a pretty decent sat-nav system which saves on providing separate units for those that need them; integration to the likes of Facebook and Amazon; also the usual camera and a reasonably extensive app store. It does what it is supposed to do and does it in a seamless and stress free manner. An additional feature is that they can easily be used as a modem for laptops or other mobile devices. Having looked at the feedback from my colleagues, most of them seem to be equally happy – including most of the willy-waving iPhone fanatics. I’ve even bought a leather case for mine; the phone has the standard Nokia air of indestructability about it but I know I am the kind of klutz that could break a Tonka toy so the £2 for the case from Amazon seems like a reasonable investment on my behalf. The other key thing is that the phone seems to last for a reasonable amount of time on standby: whilst it is nothing like as long as the old E71 it still managed several days’ worth without having to worry the charger.

I’m wondering whether Windows phones could become more popular. At the moment they are very much a minority interest (I think market share is still below 10%) but on the basis of what I’ve seen I’d be happy with one as a personal phone and the fact that they integrate so well with Microsoft desktops and even the likes of the Xbox must give them some sort of unique selling point. I suppose the big problem is that Microsoft isn’t very fashionable and they do seem to have suffered from quite a few questionable business decisions over the last few years. I constantly complain about them even though I regularly work with them and find them by far the easiest tech firm to deal with (probably followed by the equally unfashionable HP). Microsoft do seem to be sorting their products out and I was quite impressed by their Windows 10 demo. I suppose they just need a few new toys for people to lust after.

I think the key for Microsoft is to remember their core business user base and why they still tend to be preferred in the corporate world. They recently retired the old Windows XP operating system and suffered howls of anguish from their still sizable user base. XP had been supported for 12 years which is an eternity in the technology world. This long term support suits business users down to the ground as replacing operating systems is a major logistical headache and a huge financial pain. Integrating the desktop and mobile environments and supporting them for extended periods could find them lots of friends in the business world and although I can’t imagine Microsoft being fashionable I can see them being respected and trusted.