Failure Phone

Here we have the sad, and common, story of a company investing heavily in developing a product and missing it's mark so badly that it leaves one wondering how on earth it could happen. This story as all too common. Microsoft's crippled wireless feature in the Zune for example. And a long (and growing) list of Sony attempts. Here's a phone that was intended to compete with the iPhone. And might have. But some place along the way they forget everything they were trying to do. Stupidity takes over, and the phone ends up going wrong everything that the Apple does right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/technology/personaltech/08pogue.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

"There you have it: the Shadow, one of the least expensive smartphones on the market, loaded with features, feeling luxurious and looking stunning in your hand. For once, you don.t have to be jealous of the much cooler phones available in Europe.

"But then you turn the thing on.

"Unfortunately, after they did such a great job designing the hardware, T-Mobile's chief executive and his ex-Apple designer punted on the software. They equipped this phone with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6. As it turns out, that decision is just as much an impediment to the Shadow's greatness as AT&T exclusivity is to the iPhone.

"Frankly, Windows Mobile 6 is a mess. Common features require an infinitude of taps and clicks, and the ones you need most are buried in menus. Apparently the Windows Mobile 6 team learned absolutely nothing from Windows Mobile 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

"And lest you think I don't have Microsoft's best interests at heart, here's a list of helpful suggestions. At no charge.

First of all, a cellphone should not display a .wait. cursor. Ever. And definitely not almost every time you change screens, as on the Shadow."

Read on at the link above. It's a text book case of failure.