Most people in the cell phone industry said the same thing five years ago.
But, having used both WM5/6 and Symbian, those phones weren't just less slick, they were nightmares to use compared to what we have today. It really was baby software.
It wasn't for everyone, that much is true. But I liked Windows Mobile on my iPAQ PDA (not a phone), it was fine for me. As a technical user I didn't mind the interface, it was familiar to some extent and had the complexity that I loved about Windows.
But, having used both WM5/6 and Symbian, those phones weren't just less slick, they were nightmares to use compared to what we have today. It really was baby software.