The business market for cell phones and mobile operating systems is severly fragmented, but two competitors stand out above the others. Blackberry with their very capable Email applications and Windows Mobile by Microsoft thanks to the operating systems ability to handles a huge amount of tasks with ease.
In this article I'll examine the shortfalls of both Operating systems and ultimately leave it up to you my reader to determine which OS you think offers the type of usability you're searching for. First I'll go through some of the major hardware and software offerings found on today's mobile devices while directly comparing the competence of each Operating Systems ability to handle them.
1. TouchScreen functionality: Windows Mobile wins here for the simple reason that Blackberry has yet to offer a touchscreen based device, although the soon to be released Blackberry Bold will remedy this issue. However, Windows Mobile not only supports touchscreen, but can also take advantage of programs such as HTC TouchFlo 3D technology which allows for increased touchscreen usability along the lines of the iPhone.The Windows Mobile Touchscreen ability on Pocket PC's also makes navigation via fingers and stylus use much easier, with the Blackberry you have to scroll through each function in order to reach your desire locationwhich means until you become very comfortable with your Blackberry you may be slightly slowed down, althoughmany users like the scroll function since it means easy one handed navigation, so i'll call this a draw in terms of usability with Windows coming out ahead in terms of Touchscreen functionality.
(update: Blackberry now has a touchscreen based OS, however it still false short in terms of capacitive touchscreen capabilities, although it's a move in the right direction).
2. Internet Speeds: Blackberry offers maximum speeds up to Edge capabilities which can't even come close to touching the UMTS/HSDPA offerings of many Windows Mobile devices. The Blackberry Bold will also remedy this shortfall.Yes I am aware that Windows Mobile doesn't create 3G speeds it simply supports the hardware, but that's still an important factor and Windows Mobile does so with ease.
(Update: 3G is now available for Blackberry devices thanks to new advances by Research In Motion over the last 12 months).
3. Microsoft Office applications offer more functionality with Windows Mobile. This shouldn't come as asurprise given that Windows Mobile is a Microsoft application, however it does help make quick edits easier. With Blackberry you can view Excel, Word and PowerPoint documents, but editing is sorely missed. Also Blackberry viewing of documents isn't as well laid out as the Windows Mobile capabilities.
4. Internet browsing on the Blackberry is annoying, webpages are all laid out in simple HTML and their isno way to zoom in on pages, with Windows Mobile 6.1 webpages can be opened in seperate tabs via Mobile Internet Explorer and the zoom function can be utilized, users can also use the Opera 9.5 Mini browser with Windows Mobile which offers faster page render times and better use. The Blackberry Browser is simplyhard to navigate and offers horrible page layouts.
5. Email: At one point Blackberry had a one up on email, the ability to view threaded messages, however WindowsMobile 6.1 has slowly began to catch up in this respect. I actually found the threading on the Blackberry OS to be more well thought out, so this is a one up for Blackberry.
6. Scheduling: Windows Mobile 6.1 supports Exchange Server 2007 which means you can respond to appointments, set up your out of office, and basically treat your Outlook like the desktop version, unfortunately access to this function is not support on the Blackberry email servers.
Continue onto the second page to find out which is best for applications, saving on fees, and Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) email.