Windows Phone Thoughts: Want a Scrollwheel on Your Pocket PC?

"I wanted to start a thread on one of my favorite "soap box" issues: the lack of a true scroll wheel on the PPC. Let's face it folks, the "one-handed" navigation on the PPC is really bad. When you are trying to move through any large list (a song playlist, your contacts list, even a large HTML page in PIE) your only option on the PPC is to use the d-pad. So if you press the down button, you move a few lines down right? Click it a few times to go down one "screen" right? If you need to go down many "screens" you can click many many times. Or (as Microsoft seems to believe is an adequate solution) you can "press-and-hold" which will "auto-repeat" many down clicks right?"

Pocket PC Thoughts community member Mark Johnson has created a thoughtful post on the issue of scroll wheels on Pocket PCs. I really like scroll wheels myself, though interestingly enough I don't have a single device in regular use that has one. If memory serves, Sony has a patent on the scroll wheel concept and they license it to other companies, which may explain why we don't see it more often. The forthcoming Motorola Q Smartphone has a scroll wheel, which I think will help make it a big hit with the Blackberry crowd.

So where do you stand? Is a scroll wheel important to you? Post your comments in the thread. Let's hear 'em!