Windows Phone Starter Edition 6 Series Classic Edition Starter…Series…

Confession: I still like Windows Mobile, er, Windows Phone Starter…oh, you get the idea.

Just like everyone else, I have been pining for something new in Windows Mobile, anything new! Windows 6.1 is certainly quite old and at this point 6.5 is a facelift that didn’t quite work out. Actually, a ‘facelift’ is a perfect analogy for explaining what 6.5 is to 6.1, the only difference being that people are not shy about pointing out how obvious it is.

Windows Phone 7 Series (that name cries for a comma!) certainly looks fantastic and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! It is new and different – if you haven’t seen Zune HD – and is a great move by Microsoft to get back into the fight. It’s a UI that addresses the uniqueness of using a phone rather than previous iteration’s insistence on digging a PC-in-your-phone trench. I’m all for WP7S and feel like I can brag about Windows Mobile/Phone all over again.

Despite all this euphoria I still feel like I’ll miss Windows Mobile 6.x. There are a TON of applications available for it, a huge number of designs to cater to your phone preferences and the ability to change the look and feel in many ways.

Windows Phone 7 Series will not have much customizing, at least not anything that’s been announced yet. The user experience will be basically the same across all manufacturers and devices. I am not sure how much I am going to like that. Maybe I won’t mind at all because the UI will just be that good. Perhaps changing backgrounds twice a day will keep me interested. Sigh, I just am not sure.

With Windows Mobile 6.x you can use the default start page, third-party UI’s such as my favourite, SPB Mobile Shell or the UI skin that comes from manufacturers such as HTC’s Sense UI or LG’s S-Class UI. These can drastically change the look and feel of Windows Mobile since they can go fairly deep into the OS itself. I love having this kind of flexibility and it’s the reason I keep going back to Windows Mobile.

Perhaps I’ll need to start a support group (no, not technical support) to help us hangers-on with the transition away from our blankies…er, Windows Mobile.

One thing is for sure, prices for the Starter Edition phones will probably be relatively low, and a bunch of used units will flood eBay. It should be a hay-day for those of us that use our money on mundane things like paying bills, feeding our kids, heating the house…

HTC Announces Legend, Desire and Mini

At Mobile World Congress today, HTC announced 3 new devices based on Windows Mobile and Android operating systems.

The HTC Mini is based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and brings the experience of the HD2 to a smaller footprint. The HD2 experience is truly something special. If HTC can make this into a smaller device, it will be interesting to see and use. The single best thing on the HD2 is the screen. If they can pack the processor and power into a smaller footprint, will the device be as attractive? It’s a hard question to answer. With a smaller screen, they will need to make sure that the smaller screen is just as brilliant as it’s larger brother or it won’t succeed.

The HTC Legend and Desire are both Android based devices. The Legend is like version 2 of the Hero, adding a AMOLED screen LED Flash, optical trackball, a faster processor – 600MHz, and some more memory.  The Desire is HTC’s version of their Nexus One phone, but with an optical trackball and an extra button.

You can read check out the press release over at MobilityMinded – HTC Mini, and HTC Legend, Desire. And then let us know what you think of HTC’s latest devices.

How To: Google Buzz from Windows Mobile and Android

Google’s Buzz is doing quite well so far, but in many ways it seems to have been rushed to market. It’s crazy that you can access a Google service from only a specific version of Android (2.X). While the iPhone has full support, if you own an Android 1.5 or 1.6 or a Windows Mobile phone you are out of luck. Well, that is until now…

Jay Glogovsky posted a link in a Google Buzz post that will actually allow you to use the service on platforms that are not currently supported.

I present the “Link of Golden Awesomeness”: https://m.google.com/app/buzz/#~buzz:view=nearby

So far I have tested this on Windows Mobile and Android 1.5 and it works well. For Windows Mobile it did not seem to work in the default browser; I was using Opera Mobile 10 beta 3 and it worked just fine. In Android I just used the default browser with no problem.

So, start buzzing from the road, even if you aren’t iPhoning it!

If you try this on another phone and it works let us know and we will mention it in this post.

Windows Mobile 7 Leaks and Rumors Running Crazy

With Mobile World Congress just around the corner, the rumors are starting to swirl about the Windows Mobile 7 announcement that is expected from Microsoft. Now that 6.5.3 has been announced, there is almost no question that Mobile World Congress will be when Microsoft takes the wraps off Windows Mobile 7. This long awaited OS is expected to be a game changer for Microsoft. If it doesn’t come out strong, then it could be the end of the road for Microsoft in the mobile space.

Over the weekend, there was a couple “leaks” that came out around the features and functionality from Windows Mobile 7. Before I get too in-depth on these leaks, please make note that none of this has been confirmed. For all we know, it’s just some guy making crap up in his basement. Or, it could be the real deal. Either way, we won’t know for sure until Microsoft makes their announcement next week.

Now, onto the details! According to PPCGeeks, here’s what you can expect:

• The user interface is going to be very similar to the Zune HD interface.
• The Start menu will be completely revamped
• Application installation will only be possible through the market place
• No multi-tasking support. Instead, applications will pause when in the background
• No NetCF backwards compatibility
• Devices will be ready for September
• There will be full integration with Zune – No more ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center. It will all be handled by Zune desktop software
• No more 3rd party user interfaces
• Full Xbox gaming integration and social networking integration

Some of this sounds pretty cool, but other parts suck pretty bad. If all this holds true, it’s very much a “me too” response to Apple’s iPhone platform. And while Apple certainly has done some things well, I don’t think the best approach is to directly copy every aspect of their platform.

I’m looking forward to the big announcement to settle some of these rumors and get a full understanding of everything that Microsoft is working on with regards to Windows Phone.

Is it Really That Hard to get .Net Framework 3.5 on Windows Mobile 6.5 Device?

I was just going off about this on twitter and I felt it was worth posting about too. I downloaded the beta for FourSquare on Windows Mobile. However, the application requires .Net Compact Framework 3.5 on the device. At first, I figured that a new HTC HD2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 should already have the 2 year old version of the Compact Framework installed in the ROM. Guess what I found out – No .NetCF 3.5 on the device.

While that’s just short sighted and stupid on Microsoft’s part, the solution is pretty simple. All I need to do is download the CAB from the web and I’m good to go. Sadly, it’s just not that simple. You see, the .NetCF 3.5 installer is a 33MB desktop installer that contains the CAB files inside of it. So you can’t simply download it to your device and install.  Now I’m really wondering what the hell Microsoft is thinking. Have they lost sight of the end user in all this?

Let’s take a look at the steps to install the .Net Framework 3.5 on your Windows Mobile 6.5 device: 1) boot up laptop, 2) goto download page, 3) download huge 33MB installer, 4) install on desktop, 5) find 1 small 2.5MB CAB file left behind from installer, 6) ActiveSync your phone, don’t use ActiveSync then you need to copy it to a MicroSD card and insert that into your phone. 7) On your phone, launch File Explore and find the file. Run the file.

And now the steps if a CAB file was available directly from Microsoft’s site: 1) goto download page, 2) download file, 3) install file. DONE.

I would really like to see some sort of explanation on A) why it’s not already baked into the device ROM, and B) why the end user can’t simply download the CAB file directly to their device.

Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Gets Official Launch

I never thought that I would be writing a post about a dot-dot release of a mobile operating system. However, I think this is worth noting for a couple reasons. The biggest is to put to rest the rumors about 6.6 (also known as 6.5.3) being announced at Mobile World Congress and Windows Mobile 7 being delayed, again. With the announcement of the new Sony Ericcson X2 Windows Phone, Microsoft officially took the wraps off of Windows Mobile 6.5.3. So, unless Microsoft wants to go over this announcement again in a week and a half from now, I think it would be safe to say that MWC will not see the announcement of a dot increment of the existing version.

So what does 6.5.3 offer that’s so much better than 6.5? Here’s what you can expect to find in the new release:

• Capacitive touch screen support
• Platform support for multi-touch
• Improved touch friendly controls throughout the system
• Faster load times in Internet Explorer Mobile
• Pan & Flick support in Internet Explorer Mobile
• Updated runtime tools for .Net CF 3.5, SQL CE

There are also some graphical changes in 6.5.3. For example, when you tap the top title bar, it will open a new larger icon bar showing the existing system tray icons for easier access. As well, you will find that the softkeys at the bottom of the screen are now displayed in bubbles, or more button like look. Although this does look better than the early leaked images, I still don’t care for it. Check out the images and let me know what you think about these changes.

Mobile Wars: Platform Fragmentation

Platform fragmentation has long been an issue that Microsoft has struggled with. So many hardware partners, combined with a large number of network carrier partnership has made it difficult for Microsoft to provide patches and updates for Windows Mobile.

Typically, Microsoft would release a patch or build of Windows Mobile to the hardware manufacturer.  Windows Mobile is never sold directly to the consumer. The hardware manufacturer always makes some tweaks for drivers or customizations for their devices and then makes it available to the networks.  Then, after some testing, it’s finally offered to the consumer. However, if either the carrier or the hardware manufacturer decides that the update is not significant enough, then the update doesn’t continue and the consumer loses out.

The end result of all this, is that some devices are upgraded to the latest version, while others are left behind. There’s no way for a customer that is experiencing a specific bug, to get that update if their carrier or the hardware manufacturer has decided that it’s just not significant enough to warrant releasing an update.

Google is heading down the same path. They don’t provide the OS directly to the consumer. With more and more manufacturers releasing Android devices, we are starting to see devices that get left behind and are not getting that update passed along to them.

I’ve been using the Telus version of the HTC Hero for a little while now. This device is running Android 1.5. Since the device was released, there has been 3 version of Android released – 1.6, 2.0, and now 2.1. The HTC Hero on Sprint has seen an upgrade, but not the Telus device. With a brand new device, it’s already old and outdated and can’t run some of the latest Google apps.

Both platforms are heading down the wrong path here and it’s only going to cause pain and confusion for customers. Certainly, there are difficulties with providing updates to the customer. Updates need to flow quickly from the top all the way down to the consumer without breaking hardware customizations, or network tweaks that have been done.

I have to give both platforms a fail in this category. I expect more from these guys, and the consumer deserves a better experience without feeling like they need to buy a new device every 6-10 months.

Mobile Wars: Microsoft and Google Face Off on the Mobile Front

Google’s Android has been grabbing a fair share of the market over the last year or so.  While it may have struggled a little out of the gate, Google has worked hard to improve the OS and bring it to a wider audience.

There’s no question that Microsoft’s Windows Mobile has declined over the same period of time. Lack of updates combined with a core OS that hasn’t changed in almost 5 years, has lead to a significant decline in consumers perception. Its been said that Microsoft is done in the mobile space and version 7 of Windows Mobile will be the final version. There’s no doubt in my mind that Microsoft is in this for the long haul. They haven’t come this far just to stumble and hand it all over to Google.  I expect we’ll see some significant changes from Microsoft before the year is done.

Over the next couple weeks I will be posting a number of articles that compare the two platforms in an effort to help shine a light on the strengths and differences between these two dominate players.

I know that there are other companies working hard in the mobile space like Apple, RIM, and Nokia.  This series of articles is aimed at comparing Google and Microsoft as I find these two platforms are very closely aligned. For a number of reasons that I won’t get into now, I feel that Apple, Rim and Nokia fall into a different category.

If you’re looking for ways to be informed when these articles are posted, you can follow us on Twitter, or grab our RSS feed.

CES: LG to Bring Device Remote Control to Your Car Stereo

As I was passing through the LG booth today when my eye caught something out of the ordinary. In the Converging Technologies corner of their booth they have an in-dash screen that was showing Windows Mobile 6.5 on it. This could mean one of two things, either they have put Windows Mobile into the car audio system, or they are doing some sort of remote control / RedFly like connection to the device.

As it turns out, the in-dash unit is running Windows CE and they are doing a remote control session to the device in almost the exact fashion that you would do remote control between your desktop and your Windows Mobile device with SOTI’s Pocket Controller Pro software.

The connection can be made over WiFi, Bluetooth, or over USB connection. They are still working on the USB connection, but expect to have that completed soon. You do need to install a small agent on the device to allow the communication to happen.  They are open to supporting more than just LG devices. Since this is a Windows Mobile client, it will work on any Windows Mobile device. It’s still early, but they are looking at adding other mobile operating systems as they move forward.

Currently this is not something that you can go out and buy.  They are talking with car manufacturers to put this in your next car.  Eventually they would like to see it as a stand along unit that you could purchase and install in your car.

This gives you true hands-off your mobile device while still being able to access and control everything on your device.

CES: i-mate Shows off the Small Yet Rugged 810

During my trek around the floor at ShowStoppers last night, I came across the i-mate booth and had a chance to talk with Jim Morrison about the small, yet rugged 810 mobile device, as well as the health of the company.

First off, we put the rumors to rest – i-mate is alive and kicking. According to Jim they had some fraud issues. The issues have all been dealt with and the people at the heart of the fraud are being held in Dubai.

Now, lets talk about the rugged 810 smartphone. The 810 is a messenger style device that is about the same thickness as Samsungs Propel Pro. It has a touch screen and is running Windows Mobile 6.1. But that’s not what makes this device special. The 810 is the smallest and most rugged smartphone in its category on the market today. It’s fully waterproof and has a fairly nice drop rating – which Jim was happy to show us as he tossed the phone in the air and let it come crashing down to the ground. Only to be picked up and tossed into a bowl of water. The device didn’t skip a beat.

This is a perfect device for the road warrior that is too rough on the general consumer products, but still needs all the portability that comes with a consumer device.

Next Page »