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Now, on to the good things in WM6.5...
Yes, WM6.5 uses a broadly similar UI, but for the intended audience (mostly business users), it's the function rather than the form that is important, and if you care that much about UIs, there are numerous different ones you can install. This is something no other mobile OS has, and that WM does very well. You can change virtually everything about it as and when you like, and WM6.5 extends this over WM6.1 with image based enlarged menus, PNG based start menu icons, and more transparency everywhere. You can also install virtually anything you like from whichever developer you like, without it having to go through the rigorous, almost comical level of checking and random rejection iPhone developers have to go through, and you can do all that without a jailbreak. Most of the issues people have with WM6.5 are in vanilla ROMs only, very few devices run like that, and most of those are for business applications where it makes sense to have not much installed, as OEMs have realised that WM allows so many changes in the OS image that you can add whatever UI you want. Some stick what things like SPB Mobile Shell, while others like HTC or Samsung have TouchFlo and TouchWiz respectively. The fact that OEMs can do this is something very other OSs can do.
Jailbreaking is something that a large number (by no means all) of iPhone users seem to regard as something that unleashes the full potential of the device, and yet think that ROM flashing is something that really shouldn't be done... It's not difficult, and it's far less risky than jailbreaking where essentially, if it goes wrong, you're utterly screwed. With WM thanks to brilliant minds like Olipro and Cmonex, flashing a ROM is pretty risk free. If it fails, find a shipped ROM and your safe.
From a developer point of view, WM offers many more possibilities: don't have money for VS2008? There's eVC++ which is free, a large number of C++/VB/C# compilers (the latter two using .Net CF) and a variety of other options for developing. With VB/C# it's as simple as dragging and dropping and you can build a decent application, and with the large number of custom controls (such as Silvermoon) you can get a very nice design with very little time. I personally prefer the C++ route though, with access to all the hardware the device has (if you know what you’re doing) and things like OpenGL ES applications, without the massive overheads of .Net CF (which often account for more hardware utilisation than the applications themselves on WM). It also offers a much larger market, with many more routes to market. The casual developer can release what they want on sites like XDA-Developers, whilst the commercial developers have a choice of markets (such as Windows Marketplace for Mobile or Handango), and even the ability to distribute installers without needing to use a central marketplace. This is great for the casual developers that really don't want to have to deal with the certification process or want something out there immediately, and yet it also allows more seasoned developers to access the less technically able (some don't even know they are using a Windows Phone) markets.
The massive range of devices from vertical sliders like the aging HTC Touch Dual, to slabs like the TG01 or HTC HD2, and sliding keyboarded devices like the Omnia Pro. Consumers can have whatever form factor they like, and still have the same, consistent set of functionality with a familiar UI. It's much like PCs, where those running Windows can basically use whatever hardware they like, whereas those with more proprietary OSs (namely Mac OSX) have no choice. Android can be run on most hardware platforms, though there hasn't been that much interest (at least not until the Hero was released), and only two different form factors exist (horizontal sideways sliding devices and touchscreen only).
The browser in WM6.5 isn't great, but unlike other OSs, you can change it, you can get whatever you want. You may argue that getting a new browser is difficult, hard work or whatever, but seriously "Google: wm browser, click first link, download, copy to phone, double tap, job done". How stupid do you think consumers are? Marketplace is now there, which everyone complains about because there aren't any apps, or because of no locale selection or whatever. How many devices out there right now are running a legal copy of WM6.5? And how many of those are not in the US? The issue of no locale selection is only there because you're using a hacked together ROM on a device that really shouldn't support WM6.5 (yes, I know that sounds hypocritical, but I'm willing to accept that what I'm doing may not be strictly legal and I'm willing to live with the issues I get from having the latest daily builds).
The finger friendliness of WM6.5 is also commented on a lot. It really isn't that bad! I've only used my Diamonds (you know, with that massive 2.8" screen so everything is huge) stylus for putting the device in to boot loader to flash a ROM. I barely touch the thing normally as WM6.5 is fine for normal use. The honeycomb is a great UI, massive icons that are very easy to hit, and it's re-organisable (if you really hate the Move To Top/Drag'n'Drop from later builds, you can go in to \Windows\Start Menu\Programs and organise it from there, or use the registry under HKLM\Security\Start: yet another way you can tweak WM) and you can put applications in folders unlike so many other OSs (Games are games, Office is Office, why have them all on one screen/one list, and why have to swipe to get between pages when a dragging motion is so much faster). The home screen of WM6.5 is something I've come to love. It lets you get all the information you could possibly want without having to delve in to applications, and all at a glance. The lock screen is the same, with next appointment, and counters for calls etc. that let you get to the information quickly and efficiently (for example, a missed call on WM is tap, slide and your there, on the iPhone it's slide, try and find where you put that bloody icon with sliding between screens till finally, another tap. Which of those two would you prefer?)
WM6.5 is also under very active development, with massive changes in the UI happening as you’re sat here reading this. WM6.5.1 (and possibly WM6.6) will have a very different UI to what we have now, unlike other OSs where I doubt we will see many changes at all, and even if changes are happening no “normal” user will get their hands on them at any point in the future. The latest builds of WM6.5.1 that we have are something that builds on the great successes of WM5,6,6.1 and 6.5 with more UI changes, an improved browser and even better support of things like Exchange (and unlike some devices, it’s always supported device encryption, and actually tells the truth).
HTC seem to be pushing the user customisation line with Make It Mine on both Android (Sense UI) and Windows Mobile (the HD2s Manila2.5) yet seem to have missed the massive amount of customsation that WM allows natively.
Yes, you may think I'm one sided here (and as a moderator on XDA you may well expect that), only looking at WM, and not at the competitors, but it seems acceptable for other news sites to do the exact opposite, claiming that nothing is as good as the iPhone even when it clearly is. I have used an iPhone/iPod touch, I have used a G1, and nothing compares to the way that I can do virtually anything I want on my Windows Phone. Oh, and has anyone else noticed quite how hypocritical Apple is by switching from the "everything is integrated; you don't need third party applications" to "solving problems one app at a time"?
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For WM and Servers......
Why is needed another browser than safari if it just works great?
