I hope the people working for Microsoft's Windows Mobile division don't get swelled egos because of CR's review. Seven out of the 10 top-ranked smartphones run Windows Mobile. Reality is different the CR's fantasy: The operating system is trouble. Gartner put Windows Mobile, which a year ago ranked second, as fourth for smartphone operating system marketshare in third quarter.

CR's findings are surprising to me but not when thinking about that old-fashioned stereotype. For starters, CR looked at locked phones sold through major carriers. More importantly, the evaluating criteria appears to have more to do with hardware features and talk time than with the operating system. Where the software mattered, CR prioritized e-mail and Microsoft Office connectivity.

I'd like to know the age and generation of people that worked on this report. Because most of the people I know buying smartphones are, for data, doing e-mail and the Web. Mobile IE is simply the worst browser on any smartphone. If you work for Microsoft and dare tell me Mobile IE is great, than I say someone spiked the soda in the hallways coolers. You've been drinking Apple Kool-aid like beverages, bub.

I spotted news of CR's findings in a post at WindowsForDevices, which is another blog in our big eWEEK family. There's some information on the phones, but the blogger didn't have access to the January issue. I paid CR 26 bucks for a year's online access, just so I could read the smartphone reviews. Oh, the sacrifices we make.

Read the rest of this article on MicrosoftWatch.