Windows Mobile might-have-been UI’s

June 29, 2009 | By Surur

The istartedsomething blog reports on some Windows Mobile UI design concepts from Microsoft’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC), up till now responsible for the Windows Mobile UI, but who have lost that position for Windows Mobile 7.

A large collection of UI concepts have been collected in this blog post by Teng Lei, a user experience designer at the ATC, and they appear particularly attractive. While some a recognizable as user interfaces from Microsoft’s more recent efforts, like the Sliding Panels on the T-Mobile Shadow, a lot look much more like we have come to expect Windows Mobile 7 to look.

Long Zeng rightly asks why more of these concepts were not implemented, but until the Windows Mobile tell all book we can only speculate. I have however slowly come of the opinion that “high concept” UI’s confuse as much as they attract, and that simplicity may be the way to go for achieving mass market traction.

See the collection here.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged ui, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.5, windows mobile 7

wreiad

A lot of these look flashy, but not that impressive :\
Wishmaster

With those concepts give me one good reason why hire new company to design UI for WM7 when those guys have such good ideas?!
Hopefully most of those ideas will be used in MW7…

And what about that date 2009.09.09?? Could it have something to do with WM7 coming as planned in april(devices)and in november sent to ODM’s

ishy

nope, look more carefully. that time is when robinzhu.com gets a new website

nuke1

‘…that simplicity may be the way to go for achieving mass market traction…’

NOT the simplicity card to justify MS’s direction with 6.5 now. If such were the case, then we’d all be drooling over the default WM6.1 (and for that matter, PocketPC 2000) GUI, or should I say, TUI; Textual User Interface.

admin

I did not say WM 6.5 is simple. A grid of icons is simple…

efjay

If they have been responsible for the UI experience on WM up till now what the heck have they been up to the last couple of years with releases of WM 5, 6 and 6.1? Nothing really changed with any of the WM versions so have they just been sitting around collecting their paychecks?

wreiad

Pretty much I guess. Good riddance then

Amu

wow, it’s funny how designers give great concepts, but in the end the GUI is fugly and not well done. who ever is in charge of picking what the GUI/UI will be must be old fashion and old, and liked the way wm5.x was .
bornotty

thw real thread with whole collection is not available anymore.. did anyone check the real link..?? i want to see all the concepts.. and start something for WAD2..
http://www.robinzhu.com Robin

check it out: http://www.robinzhu.com
all of the concept from ROBIN Design.