Sep
25
Written by: Mike Temporale
Thursday, September 25, 2008 9:45am
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted on my status in the No Reboot Challenge. First off, I want to welcome another site - Mobi - gas - mic, to the challenge. As I’ve said before, it’s great to see such a wide reception for the challenge within the community. 
I had a close call on rebooting last week, the worst part is, it wasn’t intentional. I was slipping the phone into my pocket and I wasn’t paying too much attention to what I was doing. I ended up missing my pocket and the phone fell towards the ceramic tile floor. Luckily, it bounced off my shoe and came to rest gently, or somewhat gently, on the floor. When I picked it up, the battery door had slipped pen, but not enough to fall off and allow the battery to escape. Needless to say, I have been much more careful about the handling of my device since this event.
My recent trip to New York also presented a little problem (besides the thumb issue). Typically I would swap SIMs from my Canadian Fido SIM to my US AT&T SIM. For obvious reasons, this just wasn’t an option. So instead, I just dropped my AT&T SIM into a spare phone and used that instead. I put my regular phone into flight mode and locked the keypad until I returned to Canada. Disaster adverted.
I started this challenge over a month ago (August 19th) and to-date I haven’t had a single issue with the memory management of my Windows Mobile 6.1 device. No reboots, no crashes, no odd behaviour. It’s pretty clear to me that Windows Mobile is and can be a stable OS. 1 Month down, and many more to go.
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Sep
12
Written by: Mike Temporale
Friday, September 12, 2008 8:45am
 A couple months ago I published an article that details the steps required to remove the network settings lock that has been turned on by AT&T with their Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM update for the BlackJack II (and PanTech Dual - if it’s ever released). The steps require you to application unlock the phone and install a registry editor so you can modify a couple values in the registry. While it’s not very difficult, I can imagine that some people are nervous about editing the registry or even application unlocking the phone. Now there’s a quick, easy, and downright simple solution to removing the read only lock placed on the network settings. Follow the steps below and you will have that locked removed in no time!
- Open the File Explorer (found under Start \ All Programs \ Applications \ File Explorer) and browse to the Windows folder. Once in the Windows folder you are looking for an application called “UAMgr”. The quickest way to get to this file is to push the letter U on the keyboard and the phone will jump down to the files that start with U.
- Run UAMgr by highlighting the file and pressing down on the action button. When the application opens you will see a screen that says “UAPMgr/Streaming” in the top title bar and “UA/Streaming Manager 2008″ in the center of the screen.
- Press the Menu \ Tool \ Unlock ReadOnly. The phone will then present you with a confirmation screen indicating that Read Only has been unlocked. Press OK and then Close and you’re done.
Special thanks to encece for helping locate this tool. I’ve tested it on a couple of my phones and it works great.
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Sep
9
Written by: Mike Temporale
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 8:30am
I recently made some server changes to one of my email accounts. Basically, the mail server changed from mail.ServerA.com to mail.ServerB.com. A completely new server name and new DNS entry, but everything else stayed the same. It’s the same email address, same account name, same password, etc… So it should have been a really simple change to make on my various email clients. I changed the server names on my desktop Outlook client without any problems. Simple / easy are not terms that I can use for the switch when it comes to Outlook Mobile.
 The required DNS changes were made at approximately 2pm on Saturday. I went into the Send/Receive settings in Outlook Mobile for the account in question and changed the server names. Then I attempted to do a send/receive. Unfortunately, it just sat at the “Connecting…” prompt for a long time and eventually came back and said it was unable to communicate with the server and that I should check that I have an active data connection. Normally, I would just restart the phone and that would force Outlook Mobile to re-read the server settings and all would be good. As you may already know, that’s not currently an option for me. So I needed to find a way to have the device pick up the changes without killing Outlook Mobile or restarting the phone. [more...]
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Aug
30
Written by: Mike Temporale
Saturday, August 30, 2008 8:00am
 Earlier this week, HTC announced a new Smartphone called the s740. This new device is a non-touch screen version of the Diamond-like Touch Pro. Unlike most other devices these days, the s740 came as a complete surprise to many. The s740 sports a 528MHz processor from Qualcomm (could this be the fastest Smartphone we’ve seen to-date?), 256MB of ROM, 256 MB of RAM, Quad band GPRS, HSDPA/WCDMA , GPS, WiFi, and a 3.2 megapixel camera! Overall, the phone looks very nice with a standard 12 key layout on the face of the phone and a slide out QWERTY. (Real world picture from NewMobile’s quick hands on impression and pictures taken at the IFA in Berlin. Product specifications are taken directly from the HTC web site.)
However, if you’ve been using HTC Smartphones over the last couple years, the general design of this phone should be pretty familiar for you. It’s the exact design as the s710/720 Smartphones. Of course, this version has much better specifications and has some serious style. But underneath the same problems that lead me to hang-up on the s710 are still present in this new device. The whole “rotate-slide-wait” procedure every time you want to use the keyboard can get a little annoying - especially for those of us that do a lot of email from our devices. The keyboard design and layout leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I never did get use to the off center screen.
Instead of wasting their time with this device, I think HTC would have been much better off creating 2 other Diamond like devices. The first is a simple phone with the regular 12 key number pad. Just take this device, slice off the keyboard part and offer a super thin Smartphone. Heck, I would buy one of these just to drool at the thinness of the device! The other device would be more like the Excalibur / Cavalier devices that we saw years ago from HTC. Just rotate the screen 90 degrees and add a full BlackJack-like keyboard on the front. No silly sliders and no rotating.
Maybe I’m wrong, but you can’t argue with the increase in people using messenger style devices. Samsung, Motorola, and even RIM, all have devices that allow quick and easy access to the keyboard. I can’t imagine that all these companies are making these devices if there wasn’t a market for them. I want to see HTC return to the messenger field and make a device that I would be proud to carry.
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Aug
19
Written by: Mike Temporale
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 1:30pm
In my recent post about stability, I talked about Windows Mobile and how it is a stable platform. The source of all that instability is poorly written 3rd party applications. To help prove my point, I’m taking on the “No Reboot Challenge”. The idea is simple, no more reboots of my phone for any reason and let’s see how long I can go before it starts acting funny or crashing. Furthermore, I won’t be killing or stopping any process’s. I’ll leave that up to Windows Mobile and Microsoft to see if they truly know best when it comes to managing memory on the device. The only applications that I will close are ones that have an Exit option in the menu.
To get the ball started on the right foot, I’m going to hard reset my device so I can be sure that there’s nothing weird hanging around in there. I’m doing this on a Samsung BlackJack II with a near final build of Windows Mobile 6.1. From what I’ve been told, this is what will be shipped on upcoming BlackJack II’s from AT&T. If you’re following along and taking the challenge with me, it doesn’t really matter what version of Windows Mobile you have on your device. I just ask that it’s the production ROM and not something that’s been cooked up and downloaded from the internet. The changes added into those illegal ROMs could easily be a source of instability.
After hard resetting the device, I need to ActiveSync it with my laptop to get all my Contacts, calendar, etc.. synced to it. Also, there are a couple applications that I can’t do without. So I’ve installed the following: Ilium’s eWallet, Sling Media’s SlingPlayer Mobile, Modaco’s Smartphone GPS Utility, and Microsoft’s Live Search. I use these applications on an almost daily basis and can’t imagine being without those. I also need to add my the data settings for my network so I can actually use data on the device. The last thing to do is configure email on the device. I’ve added 2 email accounts and both are set to pull email from the last 3 days and will do that every 60 minutes.
That’s it - that’s all the changes / additions I’ve made to the default configuration of this device. From now on I won’t reboot the device or close programs. I’ll be making updates to this post on a regular basis over the coming weeks reporting on how things are going. The success of my mobility is in the hands of Microsoft.
UPDATE (August 20 @ 10:10pm) - Everything has been going very well so far. I always forget how much there is to setup and configure on a freshly reset device. I went to use my JawBone Bluetooth headset only to learn that it hasn’t been paired with the phone since it was reset. Not a big deal, but it does make it a little hard to use. ;) I also noticed that my mobile favorites had not synced back to the device. If I recall, this is a bug with the Windows Mobile Device Center. Annoying, but again, not the end of the world.
I’ve included a screen shot of the task manager so you can see what applications are running on the device. The items that are below the fold are Ilium’s Screen Capture tool and the Task Manager itself.
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Aug
19
Written by: Mike Temporale
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 9:30am
 Windows Mobile is a buggy and unstable mobile operating system that requires daily, or if you’re lucky, weekly reboots to keep it running smoothly. You should install a close button replacement tool that will actually force applications to close instead of just the smart minimize that Windows Mobile does by default because Microsoft can’t seem to figure out how to manage memory on a mobile device.
Those words are pretty strong and perhaps a little harsh. Do people actually believe that Microsoft’s mobile operating system is that bad in managing memory? I would like to think that it’s not true. Every day I deal with customers who are managing hundreds or thousands of Windows Mobile devices and on a regular basis people ask me how they can force a reboot of the device on a given schedule. Most people that ask for this are looking to force the reboot in the middle of the night, or every Tuesday / Thursday / Sunday, or some other schedule that they’ve come to believe will magically fix all of their problems.
The real question is: why do they need to do this? I don’t question that they might be having problems with stability. In fact, I’m certain that a reboot will help them out. Most feel that Windows Mobile can’t cut it and requires the reboot just to clean up leaks in memory and whatnot. Ultimately allowing them to run their applications without crashes and hangs that they were experiencing before the reboot.
Is scheduling a reboot for the device really the best approach? Perhaps trying to determine the source of the problem and correcting it would be a better. While I do get request about forcing a reboot, there are plenty of other customers that never reboot their devices and almost never run into problems. What’s the difference? Why are some able to run for days/weeks/months without ever having to reboot the device. While others can’t seem to make it a couple days without the need to reboot. Is it the device? Perhaps one hardware manufacturer has done a better job than another? Possible, but unlikely. From the talks I’ve had with customers, the reboot crowd are not all running one type or make of device. It doesn’t matter if the device is a rugged device from Motorola, Intermec, or Honeywell, or if it’s a consumer device from HTC, Samsung, or Motorola.
Could it be Microsoft? [more...]
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Jul
1
Written by: Mike Temporale
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:30am
 I’ve heard a lot of incorrect information about this service since it was first introduced back in Windows Mobile 5. The first thing that always got me was the part where it says that this will not cost me any extra on my monthly bill from the carrier; How could they be so sure about that? The other common thing I hear is that it will slow your device down to a crawl when you enable it. If that’s true, it would be a pretty useless feature as nobody would ever use it.
The Error Reporting tool in Windows Mobile is very similar to the Quality Improvement tool that Microsoft is loading into a number of their applications - like MSN Messenger (or is it called Live Messenger now?). Basically, it gathers information about how you use the device and any errors you may receive during use and then reports them back to Microsoft for analysis and, hopefully, improvement in a future release. And who doesn’t want that?
You’ve agreed that you want to anonymously help Microsoft make a better product, and enabled this feature. So what do you do now? Simple, nothing different than your everyday use of the device. This task will run in the background as a low priority task and log details about how long you spend on a given screen, or how you navigate the menu’s in Pocket Outlook, and other various usage stats. Not to worry, there’s a threshold on how much it will capture so you don’t have to worry about this logging growing so large as to fill your devices memory and causing it to crash. The maximum number of days to keep history is something like 7, and after that the oldest day is dropped off. I’m pretty sure I was told there is also a file size limit, but I can’t recall what it was. I’m trying to find that out and when I have an answer, I will update this article with that information.
We’ve got a running log of crash and usage data, how do we get this back into Microsoft’s hands so that it doesn’t cost the user of the device anything? Does Microsoft know if you have an unlimited data connection? Perhaps they have worked out something with the carriers to allow their data to be sent home at no cost to the user? Nope, the answer is much simpler than that. The data is only sent back to Microsoft when the device is ActiveSync’ed to a computer with Internet access. When an ActiveSync connection is started on the device, it kicks off the upload process and sends the collected data back to Microsoft.
So, what’s all this mean? If you never ActiveSync with a desktop, then don’t waste your time with Error Reporting as it will never get sent back to Microsoft. If you still want to help, then try to ActiveSync after any weird or odd issues that you experience. I personally recommend that you turn the featuer on and try to help Microsoft build a better mobile operating system and a better user experience.
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Jun
19
Written by: Mike Temporale
Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:28pm
 One of the great appeals of a GSM device is the ability to swap SIM cards and as a result, networks. As an example, I have a Samsung BlackJack II from AT&T running on Fido’s network. When I travel to the US, I just pull out my Fido SIM and put in my AT&T SIM and I’m off and running without those nasty roaming charges. The only problem is when it comes to data - I don’t want to have to enter those settings every time I travel. Typically, I would leave all the network settings in the phone and just edit the Connects To setting for the networks. I would set the network I don’t want to use to connect to Work and the network I want to use to Internet. It works, but it can get to be a pain trying to edit all those entries and with the new network settings lock, it can be near impossible (especially if you don’t want to hack your phone). Thankfully, there is a handy little utility in Windows Mobile that lets you flag a given network as the default making it very easy to switch between networks. It’s not a new feature, it’s in both Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6. It may also be in 5, but I don’t have a device handy to check that on.
To change the default data settings to match the network you’re currently roaming on, simply hit Start / Settings / Connections, then press the right Menu key and select Advanced. You should now see a screen like the one in the one above. Select the settings that match your current carrier and your done.
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Jun
15
Written by: Mike Temporale
Sunday, June 15, 2008 11:23pm
 Windows Mobile 6.1 adds a new level of locking to your device. Along side the standard Carrier lock, SIM lock, and Application lock, you will now find a lock for the carriers data network settings. This lock prevents you from modifying the carriers pre-loaded data settings. Why would anyone want to lock those settings? The answer is simple, to reduce the number of support calls from customers who have screwed them up. However, there are some people, like me, that need to modify those values. From what I’ve been able to gather on this, AT&T appears to be the only carrier that has actually turned this feature on. I’m sure this will change, but for now, it’s just AT&T.
But don’t worry, I’ve got the details on what you need to do to unlock this setting and let you change the values as needed. Before I get into the steps I need to give the standard disclaimer about modifying your device. I don’t know what effect this will have on your contract with AT&T - I imagine none, but who knows. Also, there is a chance that you can really mess up your device by changing the registry. If you’re not comfortable with making changes to the registry, I would recommend you don’t attempt these steps. So, with that out of the way, on with the details.
- Before we can make any changes, we need disable the application lock on the device. In this case, since it’s a BlackJack II device I recommend downloading the GPS Unlock tool from MoDaCo. This small CAB file will setup the built-in GPS to work on COM4 and also start the application unlock process. Once you’ve installed it on your device, download SDA_ApplicationUnlock and run it on your computer with your phone on ActiveSync (or WMDC). Congratulations, your BlackJack II is now application unlocked.
- If you don’t have a registry editor for your device, download one and install it. For editing the registry on the device, I recommend PHM. If you want to do it from your desktop, then try SOTI’s Pocket Controller Pro.
- Using the registry editor, browse to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA} \ Connections \ AT&T IMS
- In this location you should find a key called ReadOnly with a value of 1. Change this to 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the first GPRS setting.
- Now, browse to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA} \ Connections \ MEdia Net
- Once again, you will see a key by the name of ReadOnly with a value of 1. Change this to 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the second GPRS setting.
- Finally, browse to this location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Comm \ ConnMgr \ Providers \ {EF097F4C-DC4B-4c98-8FF6-AEF805DC0E8E} \ AT&T WAP
- And once again you will find a key by the name of ReadOnly. Change this to a 0 (that’s a zero, not an O). You’ve now unlocked the Proxy value.
That’s everything you need to do. Now you’re free to modify or disable the pre-configured settings to suit your needs. One thing to note: Each of the those registry locations had a long unique string after Providers. This will be the same for any Samsung BlackJack II device with Windows Mobile 6.1. However, I don’t expect that it would be the same for another device. So, if you’ve found your device has these locks and it’s not a BlackJack II, you will need to browse the entries under Providers to figure out which one is the right one. Please post the correct values along with your phone in the comments so that others can benefit from the knowledge.
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