Life as a Nerd in a World of Untrained Brains

Multi-tasking is a buzzword of Smartphones. Without it a platform is laughed at and sent packing by the tech press. When Windows Phone 7 launched it had no multi-tasking solution and was taken to town by the press. Microsoft released an update of course that brought it into the fold. 

Why is multi-tasking so important? Most UB’s I’ve met never use it. However saying that, these are the same ‘people’ that think you should be able to get 4 days minimum out of a smartphones battery and wonder why their phone is slow when they have every app open. Multi-tasking used to be the power users best friend. Now it is a minimum requirement on a platform or device for it to be taken seriously.

Why is this? 

That question I do not have an answer to. However it poses another set of questions.

Which platform utilises it best? Which makes it the most seamless and which; makes it the prettiest?

Weird. You wouldn’t think of a function as being pretty now would you? Not really…

But in this case, it actually comes into play.

Now the following are all my opinions, so feel free to disagree… (or not as I will hunt you down!)

So which is most functional? Difficult question as multi-tasking is the same thing right?? Nope you’d be wrong there. There is a distinct difference.

iOS and Windows Phone both take advantage of Sleep-State multi-tasking where the apps in the background are frozen until you re-open them, the exception in both cases are media apps or social networking apps that take advantage of push notifications or background music.

Android and Blackberry however take advantage of Continual Process Multi-Tasking where the apps constantly run in the background to allow ‘proper’ multi-tasking to take place, so webpages load while you do something else.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages of course which is mainly down to memory and battery management. But that is also up to the user.

So again back to the question of which is the most functional?

In my opinion: Android 4.0 Ice-Cream Sandwich is the most functional with the multi-tasking pane. It allows nice a nice visual look at whats running and allows you to end tasks with minimal effort (a swipe across) and/or killing all tasks at once which is great (and something not offered on the other platforms)

Whats the most seamless? By seamless I mean the most natural to use and easy to do on a daily basis. 

Again i’ll go with Android 4.0. There is a constant button for it for one and it’s easy to do especially if you want to kill all tasks. On the iPhone is a pain to have to close every single app one by one… zzzzzz. And on Windows Phone you have to hold the back key which is unnatural….

Finally, whats the prettiest?

Errmm tough one, considering WebOS had the most awesome multi-tasking. I think though that Android 4.0 is gonna take a 1-2-3 here. Its very good looking compared to Windows Phone (yuck) and the iPhone (functional but unexciting).

Weird that. I’m not a fan of Android. I like 4.0, its the best version so far and the only one (in vanilla shade) that has not made me want to kill myself but, despite being a power user myself I still would use the other 2 platforms as my main OS of choice on mobile.

Shows that in my opinion multi-tasking isn’t everything.

More details are emerging day by day on what Microsoft are doing with Windows 8 and its Metro style interface. In the lead up to Microsoft’s ‘Consumer Preview’ which to the educated of us means the something akin to the “Windows 7 beta” but will supposedly act more like the Release Candidate which for the UB’s is almost like a proper retail version but still with bugs that can be worked out. 

But the details are emerging that Microsoft is wanting to radically re-imagine Windows and what It will be. Microsoft have been slowly unifying they UI’s across their products since Windows Phone 7 was released in 2010. Xbox was the latest product to get the Metro UI overhaul and in fact the Microsoft product portfolio has been getting visually better for it. Next are many of the web services like Hotmail and of course the mighty Windows itself.

But where does this actually come from? Why over haul something that is not actually broken? 

Windows 7 was the best selling, fastest selling desktop OS ever. It is also the best ever version of Windows and a massive welcome back to Microsoft after the horror that was Windows Vista. So with all this, why change it?

Those of us who used the Windows 8 Developer Preview would have noticed it was essentially Windows 7 with Windows Phone 7 tacked on with Blu Tack on the side. It was not a pleasant experience. However Microsoft have apparently done lots to improve this. If you read the official reasons why, Microsoft is trying to combine its desktop OS for touch environments (read: Tablets) to compete with renewed pressure from iOS and in particular the iPad. Many people are buying tablets (read: iPads) as opposed to netbooks now as they are far better for surfing and checking Facebook than a netbook. MS is trying its best to get in on the game, if a lot late. So they are trying to merge the familiarity of Windows with the great touch interface provided by Windows Phones Metro UI. 

The latest info into the forthcoming ‘Consumer Preview’ is that the famous start button is being removed and the start up screen will, instead of the 3D waving flag Windows Logo will be a 2D more window like logo, plus a replica button to switch to metro UI similar to that in the ‘Developer Preview’. 

Not sure I like the sound of these changes to be fair but in my opinion I think in this case Microsoft is trying to get ahead of Apple in the desktop stakes again. Mac OS X Lion 10.7 added LaunchPad which was an iPad style launcher for apps and a place (other than the Apps folder) for Apps/Programs on the computer. it doesn’t really fit and the link between the OSX and iOS UI is still very fragmented. 

If Microsoft can succeed here I think they honestly believe they can turn the tides in the mobile world too, after all Windows 8 will introduce more people to Metro and in turn Windows Phone.

You know when your own app store doesn’t work on your own software, on your own handset that you’ve got a problem somewhere. 

When you supplement the word ‘own’ with ‘Nokia’ its more than a problem somewhere it is a problem everywhere!

Nokia, was once the worlds biggest and respected mobile phone handset manufacturers and a manufacturer of decent smartphones too. Key word there is ‘once!’

Now with the smartphone market pretty much sewn up by the big technology firms Apple, Google & Microsoft (in that order). (Don’t mention RIM…..) what does the big Finn firm do?

Nokia was desperate to get an invite into the club and when they hired Stephen Elop as new CEO last year everyone could see a future tie in with Microsoft in the works. True to the rumours this did indeed happen and Windows Phone 7 will be the basis for all Nokia smartphones going forward. Also an apparent small time upgrade for Windows Phone 7.5 codename ‘Tango’ is also in the works with detail specifically for Nokia Mid-Range devices as a target it could well be good for the Finns from 2012. 

But. And yeah its a big but. There is an elephant in the room. Windows Phone Nokia’s aren’t apparently scheduled till early 2012. What and where does this leave Nokia currently?

That elephant and what is described in the opening statement is: Symbian.

Symbian. A dirty word to mobile phone retailers and Nerds alike. 

Symbian ^3 was promised to bring Nokia back with an apparent whole re-design of the OS and a wealth of new options, an app store, plus support for capacitive touch screens, debuting on the fabulously spec’d N8 what was not to love!?

Errr a lousy processor, rubbish touchscreen performance, poor UI and serious issues with anything that you needed at any point quickly, ever!

Nokia tried next with the E7, the business smartphone with some awesome business features including the ability to create and open zip files. Useful. But… No increase in spec’s unless you include its clear black display and a 4” Touch-Screen & QWERTY Keypad.

As competitors were playing in Androids sandbox and fighting a processor and screen size/resolution war in an effort to usurp one another, Nokia was quietly playing it its Symbian sandbox, slowly watching all its friends run off to play with Android and thinking pah! We don’t need to be them, we can forge our own destiny!

Just ask Luke Skywalker how trying to avoid one’s destiny went. Fail.

Next came Symbian Anna. A new updated redesign (read: UI Skin) that was supposed to make it even better. Err grayscale alert! Too much black, not enough power!

Nokia didn’t seem to get it, seriously guys send your phones to Xzibit or Tim Westwood they need to be pimped. Or how about following your competitors for once and build a decent spec’d device. The days of resting on your brand name are gone. People don’t look at the N8, E7 etc and think thats Nokia reliability/familiarity again! They think, I HATE THIS PHONE!!!

I hope with Windows Phone you’ll do better, I really do. But please please please let Symbian die now. Retire it and If you want we even might let you hang it’s jersey from the rafters.