Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition
Just read about this free Windows Mobile backup software…
…on the Inside Microsoft blog. Note that this software only works with the Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition (Classic or Professional). Standard Edition users need to look elsewhere for a free backup solution (let me know if you find one) or use a pay version (which are reasonably priced IMHO).
Just noticed this blog post over on the Microsoft Business Contact Manager (BCM) Team Blog…
Troubleshooting BCM for Pocket PC/Smartphone
If you are using BCM, you probably want to bookmark this blog entry.
And, I continue to be amused when even Microsoft forgets the whole awful Classic Edition (Pocket PC), Professional Edition (Pocket PC Phone Edition), and Amateur Edition, um, Standard Edition (Smartphone) branding. Tsk tsk. 🙂
I’ve become a fan of social micro presence sites over the past year or so. I think Twitter and Tumblr were the two that showed me the way and their value.
Although all the good mobile web designs are being developed for the iPhone Safari browser, there are a lot of social micro presence sites that look and work fine on Windows Mobile smartphones. Here’s a list of the mobile versions of some popular micro-presence sites I’ve tried (plus one I haven’t – MySpace Mobile). Check ’em out…
If you have a social micro presence site that works with Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile smartphones, please let me know. You just add it as a comment to this blog entry if you would like to share the information with anyone else who might wander by here.
I read somewhere that the HTC Shift is near shipping and that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 was announced. (the first Windows Mobile device from a firm that normally uses their home-brewed Symbian OS). Both devices are amazing pieces of ultra mobile technology. The question is: Are they still relevant? We already know that the Shift will be priced around US$1500. And, Sony Ericsson always charges a premium for their products. My guess is that the Xpreia X1 will be priced between $500 and $1000. With ultra mobile devices like the Asus Eee PC, OLPC XO, Everex CloudBook, and Flipstart already in the retail pipeline for well under $1000, are these new entries too little too late?
To make things more interesting, Engadget reports that Microsoft just bought Danger (the Sidekick people). They speculate that this means there will be a Windows Mobile Sidekick in the future. But, take a look at the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 again. Does that look like WiMo despite it actually does form the base OS? Not really, huh? Have both Microsoft and WiMo hardware vendors lost faith in WiMo? Will the Sidekick platform be the basis of a lighter weight OS and let Microsoft dump the current Windows CE based WiMo in a few years?
I guess we will know more by the end of the calendar year.
While syncing my Zune with a bunch of video podcasts, I began thinking about the fact that my iPod is usually what travels with me because of all the eco-system infrastructure I have to support it: FM transceiver dock for the car, battery powered docking speaker, belt cases, etc. The Zune 2 firmware transformed my 1st generation Zune into a very nice dedicated video podcast device with its 30GB hard disk and large bright screen. Comparing the 1st generation Zune to my iPod touch, I’d say the Zune’s screen is about 80% the size of the touch. That surprised me when I first noticed it.
But, does the mobile device eco-system matter to most other people? I was amazed how many people were dumping their Windows Mobile smartphone or Palm-OS based Treo’s the day the iPhone was released. I couldn’t figure out how to function without Office Mobile, OneNote Mobile, eWallet, NewsBreak, HanDBase, and a bunch of other WiMo applications. I was even more surprised when one of my neighbors switched over to a Blackberry Pearl after having using Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Phone Editions for many years. He was really impressed by the Blackberry’s overall speed of function after having used a T-Mobile MDA Pocket PC Phone Edition for a couple of years (lots of hour glasses on that device).
I don’t think I fit the profile for a Blackberry user (I’m fine answering email when it is convenient). And, having had my iPod touch for a while, I know there is no way I could use the iPhone’s keyboard to do much information entry with any kind of speed. But, if Microsoft is going to abandon end-users like me to placate the carriers, I wonder if I could leave behind the relative comfort of the Windows Mobile application ecosystem for one of the Google Android phones. The Windows Mobile email, browser, and media player technology have aged especially badly over the last few releases. Heck, Media Player even lost the ability to build playlists on the device. It is like watching the slow Palm OS “we know better than our customers” train wreck all over again.
This could all change again shortly after the iPhone SDK emerges. I’m sure iPhone applications will start showing up shortly after it gets into the hands of the very talented developers out there. There is, of course, that keyboard issue. But, I can’t believe that thrre isn’t an iPhone prototype lying around a lab in Cupertino with a QWERTY thumb keyboard. iPhone Pro, perhaps?
When HanDBase was only available for the Palm OS, I remember wondering if it would ever be available for Windows CE devices. I remember how excited i was to get an early Windows CE version of it to write the first review of it for Microsoft.com. Here’s a republished version of it that is still available on Pocket PC Magazine’s web site. I just recently was notified that HanDBase 4.0 was released. It is good to know that the product has not only survived over the years but continues to be developed. I don’t use it as much as I used to since the arrival of mobile friendly web data services like Gubb.net and Zoho Creator. However, I might upgrade it just to see what the new version looks like.