[General Topics] GSLEON3:
Once again Microsoft has made the decision to scale back features for Windows Mobile users.

I received an email from Microsoft today indicating that they would be ending the service of two more Windows Mobile FEATURES.

The first service to be cut this time isn't too bad. Microsoft is terminating the Marketplace website within a few months. The site is scheduled to go offline forever on July 15, 2011. You will still be able to utilize the Marketplace mobile application to buy and download applications. No big deal right???

Then comes the decision that really chaps my hyde.

Microsoft is also discontinuing the MyPhone service ALL TOGETHER! :mad:

I don't know about you, but that was one of the features that I use frequently & even influenced my decision to use Windows Mobile instead of Android or the iPhone.

Microsoft heavily touted this feature in their information and marketing materials. One of the things

I PAID FOR

was the ability to backup ans sync my device information and it's location on a daily basis. Many cooks use the MyPhone service & I don't know anbody that hasn't had to use it a time or two.

Microsoft is terminating completely, the MyPhone service, both the website & the mobile device application on August 7, 2011.

This is an absolute tragedy & a terrible decision in my opinion & the opinions of all the users I personally interact with.

This was a great service & something that really set Microsoft apart from many other platforms. Say your phone died, you are out of town on business & need your contact, out came the old backup device 7 wham, minutes later you had your texts, contacts, email & documents back in your hands.

What is even more saddening, Microsoft is trying to sell us on the fact that SkyDrive is the superior product, that they are somehow helping us out & giving us a better solution to use. Where is SkyDrive mobile? Does it help me find my lost device? Can SMS & email messages be backed up & downloaded straight to my device through a neat & nicely integrated application?

THE ANSWER IS NO!!!

MyPhone is great for road warriors & is used by so many people I know. Not just the app, but the website that also saved this information from my previous device as well.

All I can say is that this is a MAJOR disappointment!

So, why do I buy Microsoft when they kill everything a year or two later?

Well, before this it was because I was a loyal user since the days of CE. Microsoft had a great development platform & was innovative. They really were first on the scene with barcode scanning though Elure, (Remember the stick-on magnifying glass?) It was great, but they let it die.

How about the promise of a great speach to text and search application? Tell me? No, really, TellMe. Microsoft bought TellMe & promised us this great application that first was developed for Blackberry :confused: & then never followed through with the application for Windows Mobile users.

Why is it that Microsoft develops competing technologies & then always dumps one without regard for what user want & actually use? I just can't understand why they never integrate the popular features of one service into it's successor. Why should you go out & buy WP7, The OS that took forever to come out & that they are already replacing? In my opinion you shouldn't That should tell you something, because I have been an avid supporter of Windows Mobile from the start, before the start. (Can you say Pocket PC 2002).

I am looking more & more at Android & will most likely be making a new acquisition soon.