All I can say is wow. This was one of the most absurd trips I have taken in a long time. The plane take off a little late (not new). The head winds are bad (not new). The plane RUNS OUT OF GAS. That's new. Landed in LAS as opposed to LAX (I'm convinced the pilot punched in the wrong code). I missed the connection to SAN (not new) and instead drove there. That's new. Got to my hotel only to find that the hotel was overbooked and I had no room.
Oh well...at least I got to meet Andy Lees and talk to him a bit about Windows Mobile.
Andy is of course at CTIA to formally announce Windows Mobile 6.5 to the work. I had never had the pleasure to speak with him before. What I can tell you is, while he and I may not necesarilly agree on where enterprise mobility is headed, he is absolutely passionate about the mobile space. I can say without a doubt that Microsoft is committed to making Windows Mobile a great experience. Thankfully, Andy's team recognized they have a lot to do to get there.
The challenge, as I have said in many other places, is that it will be all about execution. I saw some new devices yesterday at the launch event. Some were really nice, while some didn't really inspire me. Maybe it's because I couldn't seem to make it work.
I still think that Microsoft in general has overcomplicated things on the mobile front, or maybe I'm just too simple a guy. That said, Andy was sharing with me some of their plans to support even more policies in Windows Mobile which always makes me happy in the context of enterprise mobility management.
In any case, now that I am on the ground and (semi) rested, it's time to run the gauntlet better known as the CTIA show floor.
