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February 19, 2007

windows mobile 6: hands-on

i’ll say this right now…

there are so many vast improvements in windows mobile 6, anyone who actually uses their windows mobile device as a business tool should upgrade immediately upon release.

as i mentioned to vladface this morning over chat…

anyone who continues to use a blackberry after wm6 is available would have to be a brain-dead moron.

so what’s better?

let’s start a list, with the changes that address the worst issues on windows mobile 5 first…

integrated certificate installer

dealing with certificates on windows mobile 5 devices is like trying to herd cats. it’s not fun & no matter what the end result, you don’t get out unscathed. the inclusion of certificate installer gives you the flexibility to load certificates at multiple levels in the store, depending upon your business need.

storage card encryption

an option to protect storage card data is long overdue. i’ve been on record as skeptical of the security of data on windows mobile for quite a while now. but this is an important step, perhaps more important than the ability to remote wipe a card. the concern i have about encryption only is the level & security of that encryption. i fully expect this encryption mechanism to be attacked, so i have a question about how well it will hold up.

internet sharing

if you’ve never experienced the voodoo of tethering a windows mobile device to a laptop or pc, count yourself lucky. obviously, extra connect charges might still apply from your operator, but at least microsoft is trying to take the guesswork out. couple this feature with the new higher-speed services, and we might just be talking about the end of laptop data cards forever.

remote desktop mobile

terminal services client in wm5 was one of the top 3 reasons i chose a device running wm & quite frankly, has been a feature that i never use, because of its shortcomings. remote desktop mobile replaces terminal services client on wm5. now, by replaces, i mean decimates…in the same way that remote desktop client on the pc totally blows away ts client on the pc. top of list has to be the navigation feature enhancements, because anything that can make a small form factor device actually usable for controlling much larger screens is worth its weight in gold.

the inclusion of a decent local search client, with options for searching a selective subset of data types, is quickly becoming a hallmark of a device targeted for business use versus one that is meant for consumer use.

windows live

the windows live client is available now in beta form for wm5. even in beta, this is an awesomely impressive search tool. the release in wm6 is cleaned up a bit, besides being part of the base os.

office mobile

it’s still only available on pocketpcs. sorry, windows mobile professional devices. but the entire suite of apps has been updated to support more features from their desktop cousins. curiously, office mobile has long been one of the best differentiators, but hasn’t gotten anywhere near the attention it should. with the renewed focus on business use, perhaps office mobile will finally get its due.

and finally…

what i consider the absolute killer app in windows mobile 6…

voice command

you heard me kiddos. after years of semi-neglect despite being one of the best add-ons for windows mobile ever, voice command is finally…blessedly…part of the base os in windows mobile. voice prompts for reminders, voice dialing of contacts without training, voice activation of applications…you just have to see it to believe it. since it’s the 1.6 release of voice command, it also includes audio gateway routing options for bluetooth devices so you can use headsets with it, something that’s hit-or-miss now on certain hardware under wm5.

and here’s why it’s so important when something is included in the base os.

under wm5, with just a few apps loaded, my 8125 device is stuffed to the gills. and that’s with me installing everything under the sun to an external storage card. i’m lucky to have about 4mb free at any given time.

the base load of wm6, with all the stuff mentioned above, shows only a hair over 4mb of storage memory in use. which leaves nearly 43 mb free.

that’s the difference folks.

more space for the actual thing that matters…

your business data.

make no mistake, it is business data we’re talking about, because what i’m most glad to see…

mothership isn’t jonesing to create the next fruit-flavored media experience with their entire windows mobile product line.

sure, a carrier or device maker might still try to shoehorn wm6 into some bedazzled nightmare that appeals to celebutantes & all their wannabe followers…

but at its core, wm6 is a business tool & looks to be a darn good one.

|| posted by chris under business, funlab, hardware, migration, mobility, utility belt || comments (2) || ||

February 18, 2007

we’re flying the jolly roger

no…it’s not talk like a pirate day.

but the funcave is flying the skull & crossbones for a very special reason.

the clone army over at the funlab successfully loaded a skunkworks build of the recently unveiled windows mobile 6 on the funmobile.

and man…

is it ever sweeeeeeet.

vlad’s already written about a couple of things over at his swamp.

but i’m here to tell you…

the difference between windows mobile 6 & windows mobile 5…

like the difference between this…

and this…

look for a more detailed write-up on wm6 soon…

right here at the funcave.

|| posted by chris under funlab, hardware, migration, mobility, utility belt || comments (1) || ||

February 18, 2007

has windows mobile training been opened to non-retail folks?

it’s been a windows mobile kinda day so far.

while skating around on various resources, i happened to take a peek at the terms & conditions for the 2007 windows mobile training program.

imagine my surprise when i saw the following verbiage, which includes a big huge change over previous years:

that highlighted phrase looks to me to add eligibility for the reward incentives of the windows mobile training program to non-retail employees.

now, the windows mobile training site has always been a cornucopia of information on a wide array of windows mobile devices. here & there you can even uncover some real gems regarding the business case for windows mobile & how to answer prospect concerns & questions.

so i’ve been registered for & used the windows mobile training site for a long time.

cuz the real value of a program like this isn’t in a free xbox 360 game…

which you can’t legally sell on ebay anyway, according to the t&c:

no kiddos…

the real value has always been getting additional free training & information about windows mobile & the particular implementations of it on various devices, so that you can actually use that knowledge to help your customers make the right decision to help meet their business needs.

|| posted by chris under business, freebie, hardware, it pro, mobility || comments (1) || ||

February 18, 2007

is that onenote in your pocket…or are you just happy to see me?

even tho i’ve been using onenote since it was initially released, i wouldn’t say i’m a onenote evangelist…

especially not to the degree of queenie, that’s for sure.

but i am getting to be particularly fond of onenote mobile 2007, which is included with every copy of onenote 2007.

since you still have to pony for onenote, i can’t really term this one a freebie. even so, it’s still a nice piece of functionality thrown in.

that’s because onenote mobile turns out to be a surprisingly handy mobile note-taking tool. even with a feature set that’s necessarily cut-down compared to its desktop big brother, onenote mobile still beats the payants off regular old notes.

if i could add one thing to the wish list for onenote mobile, it would be the addition of free-form editing. unlike desktop onenote, where you can move objects around at will, onenote mobile is waaaay more structured, to the point of requiring you to cut & paste items to rearrange them.

that’s not so bad in & of itself. but onenote mobile’s lack of tap & hold menuing functions inside a note means you have to choose everything from a corner menu while composing, the effect of which gives onenote mobile a decidedly throwback feel, especially on a pocketpc.

still, with its ability to embed both pictures & audio notes right into a note, onenote mobile can really be a pretty kickath mobile blogging tool.

here at the funcave, we’re looking to couple it with a onenote to wordpress powertoy-equipped copy of desktop onenote & see if the combo can help capture blog material from out in the big big world quickly & efficiently. we’ll let you know how it goes.

in the meantime, check out onenote mobile for yourself. you normally should be prompted to install onenote mobile automagically if you have onenote 2007 loaded & you connect a windows mobile device.

but if you weren’t prompted, or if you deferred the install, here’s how to invoke the install manually.

open onenote 2007
go to tools->options
click onenote mobile

click install onenote mobile

moreso than usual, i recommend installing onenote mobile to an external storage card.

the program itself is a decent hit on memory, but the real killer will end up being the onenote mobile notes themselves, especially if you are embedding pictures & audio in them. for those who are interested, here’s the path for onenote mobile notes on a storage card:

as a last step, be sure to make sure onenote mobile is synchronizing via activesync or windows mobile device center so you don’t lose your oh so masterfully composed onenote mobile masterpieces.