MS Win Mo 6 5 UI Tweaks

Microsoft at the MIX09 conference revealed that it has already made significant alterations to the Windows Mobile 6.5 interface in the month since introducing it at Mobile World Congress. The mobile group's Senior Technical Product Manager Loke Uei Tan cited initial feedback from Microsoft employees that reacted negatively to the original version of the interface, which included small icons and a conspicuous "honeycomb" to indicate the available touch zones. Microsoft has since dissolved the lines entirely and enlarged the icons to make them easier to identify.

Scrolling behavior has also been changed for a more natural response. The early public version of the Windows Mobile update had an unusual all-or-nothing scroll that would move to the top or bottom; in the revision, the software has a more iPhone-like response that stops scrolling the moment the user removes the finger from the screen with a slight "bounce" to indicate the stopped movement.

While not a complete reworking of the interface, the changes are unexpectedly substantial with just a month before the slated April completion date and hint the company hadn't built end-user feedback into the core of its development process for the interim upgrade. Actual phones preloaded with Windows Mobile 6.5 aren't anticipated until near September. [via Ars Technica; relevant video starts at 6:50 mark]

By Electronista Staff