Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and Smartphone
So, this push-email (made popular by the RIMM Blackberry) is all good and well. But, you are a Windows Mobile device user and do NOT use an Exchange Server for your email. So, big deal. Right?
Well, it turns out that push-email can be had with the free Hotmail service from Microsoft and the upcoming Windows Mobile 6 devices. Here’s a link to an article on the MSDN Blogs that describes how to set up a free push-email service.
Microsoft announced and made available Live Search for Windows Mobile and Live Search for Java over the weekend. Unlike most Live services, this Live Search requires installing client software. The other interesting aspect is that versions for both Windows Mobile and Java based mobile devices (such as Nokia smartphones) were made available.
You can either download the software to your desktop (for later installation on your phone) at…
http://mobile.search.live.com/
…or download it directly to your phone by visiting…
This service includes live traffic information for 25 U.S. cities. Maps and driving directions are available for other locations.
The Microsoft Developer Network(MSDN) has a new overview page for developers interesting in creating Windows Mobile 6 applications. You can find it at…
What’s New for Developers in Windows Mobile 6
The page has a broken link to the Windows Mobile Wiki. I found it and have it linked correctly below.
Along with introducing Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft is once again changing the device naming scheme. The new device type names along with what we call them now are:
To make things even more interesting, the Standard Edition (Smartphone) includes a read-only (no editing) version of Office Mobile. Does all this really help differentiate the different Windows Mobile device types for the non-techie consumer (i.e., the vast majority of people buying these things)? I think not. My guess is that a common scene that will play out again and again are executives asking IT why they were given the obviously inferior Standard Edition instead of Professional Edition based solely on the naming scheme. This doesn’t help anyone and, in fact, may confuse even more people. Microsoft should have just renamed the phone-less Pocket PC to Pocket PC Standard Edition and left the other two names alone.
Microsoft released…
SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition Developer SDK
…about a month ago. The kit includes a CAB file to install SQL Server 2005 Compact on Pocket PCs and Smartphones running Windows Mobile 2003 and newer.
You can find a Microsoft document about upgrading from SQL Server CE 2.0 to SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition at…
Upgrading from SQL Server CE 2.0 to SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition
The wraps are off of Windows Mobile 6 (WM6). Other sites will give it much fuller coverage than I will. So, I won’t focus on new features. If you want to read about that and see more screenshots, take a look at some of the items on the Pocket PC Thoughts site as well as many other great sites that focus on Windows Mobile. ModernNomads, for example, has a detailed WM6 description for you to read in the article What will Windows Mobile 6 bring for the highly mobile people?
My limited experience with WM6 left me lukewarm. I suspect it is because I am not a Microsoft Exchange Server user. From a non-enterprise user perspective, WM6 will probably seem like Windows Mobile 5 Second Edition: Nice little enhancements, a smattering of new features in the mail and PIM areas, and a slightly different start page look.
With WM6 devices set to roll out after the Apple iPhone, WM6 may look like less of an upgrade by the time devices get past the FCC, through the carriers’ test cycles, and actually are available for purchase by consumers and businesses. Businesses, especially those using Exchange Server, will definitely prefer a Windows Mobile 6 device to the Apple iPhone. They won’t be limited to a single carrier (only Cingular will carry the iPhone), be able to add custom applications, have a wide-base of third-party applications to choose from, and have reasonably well documented practices to manage the devices in an enterprise setting.
But for consumers? That will be interesting. Although we’ve heard howls of protest at the iPhone’s $499 and $599 price points, consider this… The Cingular 8525 and Palm Treo 750 (both touch screen Windows Mobile 5 devices) cost $399.99 (after subsidizing is figured in). That is not much less than the lower-end iPhone. And, neither one has 4GB of storage like the low-end iPhone.