Monday, July 23, 2012

Pocket PC and Windows 8 - a lesson not learnt

In the days of the Pocket PC, Microsoft used the familiar desktop metaphor for the design of the user interface and plonked a "Start" button on the bottom left hand corner that you had to click with the stylus.    They proclaimed that having a familiar UI experience between the Pocket PC and the Desktop was a winning formula for mobile UIs.

Then came the iPhone and the world realised that the UI for a mobile device was much better served by a different metaphor.

Microsoft took this on board and Windows Phone 7.x introduced Metro.

The pendulum has now swung in the opposite direction.

The thinking is now if it works on the mobile device it must also work on the PC. Therefore Windows 8 must have Metro too. 

Umm... this logic did not work the first time.  I fear it is not going to work now.  I hope I am wrong.

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