Shared Calendars in WP7 Are “View Only”
Paul Thurrott just wrote an interesting article about the simplicity versus functionality of Windows Phone 7 features and he uses the calendar in WP7 as an example. It’s obviously a very simple looking calendar and he has noted that functionally it is simple as well. Here’s an example of form over function:
You create a new appointment from the phone. You specify the Calendar (source). To which calendar (within that source) does this appointment get applied? To the default calendar, of course. But that means there is no way for me to, say, create an appointment in Thurrott Family from the phone.
We all know it’s a first generation OS but some of these functions seem relatively simple to implement and I think that may be the frustration in it all. What do you guys think? Has Microsoft in delivering a device for the masses gone too far in following Apple or are we expecting too much? Maybe the problem is that we’re power users and that’s not who WP7 is written for…but if I share a calendar with my wife I’d like to be able to interact with it. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask for. Sound off.
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I agree with your point there. Plus if WP7 is also targeting business users, these kinda thing should be implemented at launch no? But I guess MS is too bz optimizing it fluidity in the OS so, less time is spent on making features?
This is tough. I have three accounts that I use on my phone today. Company Exchange, Windows Live and Gmail. Obviously want email from all three, and today, since WM only supports one calendar, all my calendar stuff is saved on the company exchange account. I’m not sure whether having two would be useful or not yet but can see some of the benefits.
My concern with what Paul found is if I sign into all of these accounts, do I get to pick whether to sync the calendar or not from each, and if I do, do I get to pick the default calendar.
Yes, you do get to pick where to save the event – Exchange, Live or Google. It’s just that if you have several calendars on Google (see Paul’s screenshots) you can’t pick which one to use there!
Well welcome to thw world of Windows Phone 7 and the paradigm shift from Power user to Easy user. My guess is that MS will try to apply KISS as much as possible throughout this OS, giving users less choices, but more simplicity So anyone can pick it up and start using it, maybe even Doug’s mom. And probably won’t need to post in a blog to figure out how something works, because it only works one way.
If the OS is welcomed and accepted by millions, don’t expect to see any of the changes that complicate the user experience happen very soon. Power users make up a small percentage of the mobile phone market. Apple proved that. So unless it’s an enhancement that builds on simplicity, not complexity, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
From the business perspective and a WINMO user now that is stuck with just the primary exchange calendar as visible from my phone I find myself sometimes wanting to look at other exchange calendars that I have or have been made by others and shared to me. If I can view multiple exchange calendars thats a huge leap up from what the current 6.5 Winmo users have.