“Siri – I think it’s time we went our separate ways. It’s not you, it’s me. I think you’re great, but…I just don’t find it entertaining to ask you questions (which could arguably be considered explicit) or have you fetch information from the web for me – or even play chop-sticks. I have needs that you cannot provide. I’m sorry”. {Click}
Ok – I know that sounds a bit cheezy and I can imagine you just rolled your eyes – but really, these were some of my thoughts as I made the jump from the popular Apple iPhone to my latest mobile gadget – the Windows Phone 8X by HTC. Yes, you read that right – a Windows-based smart phone. Personally, I am pro-Microsoft and always have been, however, it is clear that Droid and Apple are the current market leaders. Why did I jump off the bandwagon?
A little history
The last time I had a windows-based smart phone was roughly 5 years ago and I could best characterize it as carrying around a brick that allowed me to check email and play solitaire on the road. See figure 1. The Palm Treo 700W. I paid full retail for this brick! Big mistake. In all fairness, this was my first smart phone and it certainly provided me a glimpse of what was to come in terms of mobile technology.
Before I continue on my rant, here’s is a brief walk down memory lane, listing the smart phone devices I have used. For obvious reasons, I am omitting the traditional-old-fashion flip phones I have owned.
- Palm Treo 700W (aka – the brick)
- Blackberry Storm
- Blackberry Bold
- Apple iPhone 4s
- and last but not least – Windows Phone 8x by HTC (the winner)
Why do I categorize the Windows Phone 8x as the “winner”? For the first time in my professional career, I actually feel I am carrying around a business-ready smart phone.
With my previous smart phones, I would always hit a brick wall (yes, the Treo). Sure, my Blackberry and iPhone integrated with my Exchange server, allowing for email/calendar/contact synchronization. However, with the recent implementation of new Office 365 services such as Skydrive Pro, the iPhone/iPad couldn’t hack it. OneNote (which I use for client documentation) was available for these devices, however, it only offered integration with the consumer version of SkyDrive/OneNote online – another brickwall – my requirement was to sync with my OneNote Notebooks located on SkyDrive pro account. And my ability to access various document types on Sharepoint Online or SkyDrive Pro? 3rd party apps simply failed. I needed a “one-stop-shop” type of a solution.
Light bulb moment – why not get a Windows Based phone, since my backend office heavily relies on Microsoft Office 365 services?
Stay tuned for Part 2, where I explain how the Windows Phone 8X meets my expectations and is clearly the winner as the best business-ready smartphone.
