Windows Phone Thoughts: Why Do You Stick With Windows Mobile As A Phone?

Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones seem to be the ultimate phone devices. After all, what other phone out there can sync directly to an exchange server, play pretty much any media imaginable, browse the web with several different web browser choices, and offer a seemingly unlimited amount of third-party software? But for some reason, it seems they miss the mark on some of the most important phone features. My Jasjar is sluggish to answer the phone more than 50% of the time, resulting in the need to call people back. My K-Jam's Send/End buttons were worn down within a few weeks, requiring more than a subtle push to answer the calls there. My iPaq Mobile Messenger frequently is chugging along too much with it's own internal nonsense that placing a call takes 5 - 10 seconds longer than it should. These are the ultimate phone devices?

Then again, I still stick with Windows Mobile for the reasons I cited above (e.g., the good parts). Why? Well, I truly believe that they are the best phone devices out there for my own needs. A "dumb" phone may be able to show my POP3 email box (...maybe...) but it can't get my email pushed to it, or easily sync my contacts, or make sending text messages ludicrously fast. So I stick with Windows Mobile, primarily Pocket PCs rather than Smartphones, despite the annoyances. It doesn't suprise me, however, that some get fed up and leave the platform while MS struggles to fix some very mundane things (In their defense, my Treo 750 is quite a bit faster at answering calls than my original i-Mate Pocket PC was!).

So what keeps you with this platform for a phone? (despite our frequent questions or complaints!) Or have you jumped ship and went to a dumb phone? And what are the deal-makers or breakers? (e.g., what does MS have to fix within the next year or you're OUT!)