Mike Calligaro of the Windows Mobile Team has posted a new blog entry called “The Emperor Has No Close” in which he provides an explanation as to why the Windows Mobile button that looks like it should close applications only minimizes them. Essentially, the philosophy is that users should not have to manage their memory. Instead, it should be up to the OS. But users still want a button that can make an application go away. So, Microsoft implemented up with the X button.
I just have one question: For a company that apparently pays so much to user interface principles, why would you use the same button to do two different things? Why not use the desktop’s minimize button instead and keep the interface consistent?