First Impression of Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit

I downloaded and installed the Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit. My first impression is yawn. I am putting a lot of emphasis on Windows Mobile but I found the 6.5 developer tool kit to be a big disappointment. The tool kit includes two new features: gesture API and widgets.

Personally, I think the gesture API is a yawn. I don't mind using a stylus. I have a nice set of pens that can print in black, red, pencil, or act as a stylus. People don't complain about using a pen on a piece of paper; why do they complain about using a stylus on a device? With a multi-function tool that can act as a pencil, pen, or stylus, I don't have to put the tool down to use a phone or PDA. I will have to play with the gesture API, but at this point it is just a yawn.

My first thought about widgets was so what? My second thought was about the same. The only reason widgets are at all interesting is they point out the capabilities of the new browser included on Windows Mobile 6.5. It is too early for me to tell, but that may be a reason alone to upgrade to 6.5. The only thing that worries me is the example widget posted by Microsoft does not use cascading style sheets or JavaScript. The "hello world" example makes me worry that the support for CSS and JavaScript may still be a little lacking. I will wait until someone else spends the time and effort documenting what works and what does not before do anything serious with widgets. One interesting thing about widgets is Microsoft actually points to the W3C standard for Widgets. A Google search about Widgets pulls out this gem: Apple threatens to block W3C widget standard. I am not worried that Apple's attempt to block the W3C will have any impact on Microsoft. After all, Microsoft will do what it has always done, create a non-standard way. But this time Microsoft could say, "Don't blame us, Apple forced us to."

The 6.5 tool kit screams, "I was pushed out quickly!" A lot of documentation about 6.5 on the MSDN site is missing. I found several broken links just trying to find out what was new. Another thing that reinforces that is the DRK or Developer Resource Kit will not be available until July. Microsoft is going to charge $9.99 for the DRK. I was going to order a copy. However the MSDN order site asked for my credit card without using a secure web page. The page does not display the little lock icon in IE8. This is probably another bug caused by pushing out the release. Until Microsoft fixes this, I will not put my credit card information into an unsecure web page. I discourage anyone from ordering the DRK until you can order it from a secure web page.

Unless you are hot for the gesture API or want to explore the capabilities of the new browser there is little need to download the Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit.