Windows Mobile 6: More than 6 things that I do with my Pocket PC.
I love my Windows Mobile device. In fact, I love it so much, that when I had a chance to buy a Zune last week in Seattle, I didn't take it. My PocketPC does it all, and more.
The model I have is the HTC Wizard 100, which is pictured here; it's a Pocket PC, rather than the more compact Windows Mobile SmartPhones. The keyboard slides under the screen when not in use.
For the past few months I've been spoiled by being on the Windows Mobile 6 WM6 beta program. Last Monday, Microsoft announced general availability of Windows Mobile 6 (WM6) in Copenhagen.
What do I do with my PocketPC?
1. I phone people.
It really works as a phone. This may sound like an obvious thing, but I used to have one of the older SmartPhones, and it really didn't work as a phone. (It would arbitrarily decide to not answer calls; stuff like that.) This one works.
2. I read and write e-mails.
WM6 lets me synchronize my Exchange e-mail, calendar, contacts and tasks over GPRS. Using "direct push" during the day means I get my updates immediately, without having to manually sync. I can filter and search e-mails (and SMS text messages), just like in Outlook 2007, by typing a few letters. WM6 even syncs e-mail annotations, like those "follow-up" red flags, so I can "triage" my morning mail on the tram en route to work. The full keyboard, plus AutoComplete, makes me quick enough to write a lot of mails back, too. Oh -- and rights-managed e-mails work as well!
2b. I check my calendar, and add things to my calendar.
I accept, decline, and propose changes to meeting requests.
2c. I look at, and occasionally edit, Office documents that are attached to my e-mails.
Office Mobile contains Word, Excel and Powerpoint applications, which render documents with pretty decent fidelity.
3. I surf the web.
Internet Explorer on the PocketPC is powerful stuff. I mostly use the touchscreen to navigate. Some sites have custom mobile look-and-feel functionality, like flickr. Others are still viewable, and there's a "one column" view to make scrolling easier. Secure HTTP works, too. Killer apps for me: ordering movie tickets, checking MSDN docs.
4. I listen to music.
I sync music to the device using Media Player. I have a 2GB Mini-SD card in the device. 2GB is all the music i need at one go! Some of my colleagues watch movies on the device as well.
5. I take notes.
Especially at events where opening a laptop would seem rude, silly, or laborious. A folder of OneNote notes is synchronized between my device and the PC.
6. I use Remote Desktop to control my home server.
This one really blew me away. I can securely connect into my home PC using Remote Desktop from anywhere, on my phone. That's so powerful, it's madness.
7. I use it as an emergency modem.
Once, I was on vacation and couldn't find internet access. I urgently needed to send a file to someone. I plugged my phone into the USB port and started up a Windows Mobile app called "Internet Sharing." With exactly zero configuration, Vista detected the phone as an internet connection. I opened a browser and was good to go.
Bonus: For a while, I used it as an infrared remote control.
A few months ago, I borrowed a 48-inch plasma screen. They forgot to loan me the remote. How could I switch between signal inputs without an "Input" button?? I downloaded an app that turned the Infrared port on my PocketPC into a remote control. (The rest of this story involves hours of plasma-fueled Gears of War, and yes, I shed a tear when they took the plasma away.)
Really, I am totally addicted to my Windows Mobile device, and if I were ever to leave Microsoft, I'd have to buy myself one.
It's an App Platform
A big part of what's cool about Windows Mobile is that it's a .NET application platform, so developers can build applications like the Infrared Remote Control I mention above using the .NET Compact Framework. And I've written before about SQL Server Compact Edition, which is a database platform for Windows Mobile.
A fun example of a Windows Mobile app I saw recently was MySportTraining, which, when used on a PocketPC with a GPS device, can track, analyse and even draw on a map the exercise that you're getting.
For more information
Check out Jason Langridge's blog, as he writes a ton of intereresting stuff about Windows Mobile. See his recent post on what's new in Windows Mobile 6, which is chock full of screenshots.
The Windows Mobile team also has a blog with a developer focus.
Comments
Anonymous
February 19, 2007
Robert, I blogged about Windows Mobile 6 some time ago and to mind, the one thing it really should have is RSS support. With RSS support you could use it as an iPod replacement and you could have a feed reader on the go. Am I missing something obvious (wouldn't be the first time!)?Anonymous
February 19, 2007
Hi Tom, because the Compact Framework includes very strong support for XML processing, it's quite easy to build applications for the Windows Mobile platform that handle RSS feeds. In fact, I've done it myself! One example of a popular feed reader that runs on the Windows Mobile platform is Newsgator: http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NewsGator+Mobile Newsgator can even synchronize your posts (including their read/unread status) with the feed reader on your PC.Anonymous
February 19, 2007
Cool, any chance you'd leave a comment mentioning that on my blog post (http://www.tomrafteryit.net/windows-mobile-edition-6-no-rss-support/) TomAnonymous
February 21, 2007
Tom, just curious; when you find that something in one of your posts is inaccurate or misleading, would you consider editing those posts with an [Update:]?Anonymous
February 28, 2007
Are you saying that as part of the beta WM6 team you were using WM6 on a HTC Wizard? I'm only asking because I REALLY want to upgrade my Cingular 8125 to WM6. I've been waitign for ANY news on an upgrade path. TIAAnonymous
June 06, 2008
I love my Windows Mobile device. In fact, I love it so much, that when I had a chance to buy a Zune last week in Seattle, I didn't take it. My PocketPC does it all, and more. The model I have is the HTC Wizard 100 , which is pictured here; it's a Pocke