Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer Thinks Android Phones Are Too Complicated. Is He Right?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s claim at San Fransisco’s Web Summit 2.0 that people need to be “computer scientists” to figure out how to use Android phones spurs Techcitement contributors Matt Algren and Tom Wyrick to provide their own, sometimes conflicting, thoughts on the situation.

First, the clip:

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTX1e-pMN6E’]

Matt: What a dumb thing to say, and I’m just focusing on the computer scientist part. There’s nothing complicated about using an Android phone; certainly not for the core smart phone market. Is Ballmer going for the grandmother segment?

Tom: So far, it doesn’t sound like Windows Mobile has a lot going for it besides the “it’s easier to use” argument, so I think this is to be expected from them. Still, I have to side with MS (and with grandma, by extension). It’s a phone. It’s not supposed to be mega-complicated. Too many Android people want a full-featured pocket computer to carry around. Anything that small is always going to be full of compromises. Smartphones are like Swiss army knives versus the “single blade pocket-knife” of a basic flip phone. But a gourmet chef needs a whole set of steak knives in a block, no matter how much stuff you try to pack into a Swiss army knife “alternative” for him.

Is this Microsoft's major competitor?

Matt: Yeah, but if you’re looking for a just-a-phone phone, you wouldn’t be getting a smart/feature phone. If someone’s so technophobic that they’re intimidated by an Android, they could always get one of those Jitterbug phones (right) they sell in PARADE magazine and call it a day.

Tom: Absolutely. I guess I’m just saying there should be some sort of middle ground. I know a single-purpose phone won’t cut it for what I want to do with it, but I’ll take my iPad or a laptop if I need do to anything major. The most important function of my smartphone is still to work as a phone so I can talk to clients who call me on it. After that, I need it to let me read email, and I like apps that make viewing news sites enjoyable on it. Sometimes, I need a decent browser to look things up in a pinch, but again, I’d do serious browsing on a better-suited device with a bigger screen anyway. Most of the other features are just entertaining fluff when it comes down to it. A phone’s ability to work well with Bluetooth interfaces in my vehicles has become a big priority for me though.

Matt: Maybe we’re getting to the crux of the issue, Tom. You use your device for telephone calls with Bluetooth, email, and basic news apps, and you have little use for a browser. I most heavily use mine for Facebook, email, and RSS, practically live on my mobile browser, and have never used a Bluetooth interface in my life. Both of our uses are reasonable for a smart phone user, and every user has her/his own individual set of requirements.

Could Steve Ballmer be —gulp— right?

Ballmer seems to be promoting the idea that users need to have deep knowledge of every application your phone has, but that isn’t how most people use smart phones — or any technology, for that matter. So, is he just looking for a better way to sift through the clutter? I’ve always found the layout of my Android pretty straightforward and intuitive, and I’m not sure how I’d improve upon it. I’ve never seen a Windows Phone up close, so I ask genuinely: Does Microsoft do that better? Is it better able to individualize the interface, and more importantly, to update that interface when a user changes their habits?

If it does, Ballmer might be onto something, even if he buried his meaning behind some silly mudslinging.

Tom: It’s clearly exaggeration to pretend millions of Android users out there either can’t use their phones or they’re all computer scientists. But as someone currently using an Android phone myself, I see plenty of room for improvement. I haven’t spent much time with Windows phones, primarily because the lack of applications available for them right now makes them a non-contender, in my opinion. But the little bit I played around with them in the store so far shows me Microsoft did manage to present the whole user-interface in a different way. Even changes as basic as presenting options using larger buttons (or even entire screens you scroll through) could make a big difference in usability. The “Sense” UI bolted onto Android by HTC takes a stab at addressing these ideas, but unfortunately, it feels bolted-on. Its widgets duplicate existing functionality of other apps and it often stutters, lags or even freezes up the phone on occasion. Android needs an easier way to manage system resources too. Applications don’t ask me if I want to install them to my SD card storage or internal storage when I first download them. Removing one requires drilling down through several screens, as opposed to Apple’s iOS where you simply hold a finger down on an icon until it jiggles, and press the little X next to it. The list goes on. I’m not confident Microsoft can solve the problems Ballmer is mouthing off about, but I won’t deny they exist.