Now, I am confused. One the rules of Windows Store Apps is that you make extensive use of the available charms. This means you do not add a "Share to FaceBook" button to your app, you don't add a "Print" button to your app and so on. Why? The reason is simple: there are charms available for this and the users know what they are and how to use them. So your app should adhere to this.
Now, we all know that some of the apps that Microsoft itself provides do not follow the guidelines themselves. I always thought that the reason for this was that those apps were designed or even written before the rules were written down. And then, earlier today, I got an update for the Mail app. To my surprise, I saw this:
Yes, indeed. A search button. To search your mail. If you press it, it will take you to the search charm, but why did they include that button here? This violates the rules. And they don't have the excuse of having written this prior to the rules: this is a new addition.
I am puzzled and a little bit angry: if we want the platform to succeed we need to have a consisted user experience and this hurts that.