Windows Mobile 6.1 & 6.5 User Tips 

 www.baldock.ca/wm
 2010/02/20

 

This page is intended to a resource for getting more out of Windows Mobile touch screen phones or Pocket PC devices.
My experience is with PCs, Pocket PCs and martphones (HTC Touch & LG GW825, a.k.a. IQ or eXpo). I have no experience with non-touch screen mobile devices, but many apps have a non-touch version.

This page is a work-in-progress. It will evolve as ideas come up and my time allows.
Contact Gord for further info/help and to share your ideas (613 820-5585 or ).

Table of Contents

Essential Applications

Would-be-nice applications

Special interest / fun

Hardware

User Tips

Essential applications

  • Mobile Browsers

    • SkyFire is the only mobile browser that I have used that provides the personal computer web page functionality and appearance on a mobile device. Its zoom and pan interface takes a bit of getting used to but it is excellent once mastered. This is the only app allowed on my Today screen.
      Occasionally, you'll have to manually open the Internet Explorer to install software on your device from web sites that expect to see a mobile device. Otherwise use Skyfire as your default browser.

    • The second best is the free Opera Mobile, but I seldom used it after installing SkyFire. . Subscription/paid alternatives that I have tried, but do not recommend include Thunderhawk and Netfront.

  • Maps & Navigation  (These live on my start menu.)

    • Google Maps is a must have for internet connected devices. It provides map & satellite views and, for devices with built in GPS: street navigation and local searches.
      Only install Google maps, I haven't found other Google apps that add value on my Win Mobile devices.

    • IGuidance 2009 is my current choice for vehicle navigation on GPS enabled devices. (Google maps doesn't have voice directions.) It is a nuisance to install because you have to run it on their storage card. So you must copy all your files from your existing card onto theirs. Be sure to purchase the product on a storage card large enough for everything. IGuidance itself takes 1.3Gig. It keeps on working from the onboard GPS and data even when outside of cell range.

    • Many cell phone providers provide a subscription to an internet based navigation service that may even have traffic reports available. Although it seems pricy, it may well be very good value for an always up-to-date product, that is secure (i.e. not stored in your car/home) and is always with you anyhow. Most standalone units are expensive to purchase and yet are equally costly as the subscription service to keep up-to-date. Trade-offs vary with number of vehicles, drivers and cell phones that are in your household. One limitation, is that it has to be within cell phone range, to access the internet. It may incur roaming charges if outside your provider's network. No app installs or updates required and no space is dedicated on your device for either maps or Points of Interest.

  • Calendars

    • I'm a fan of the free Google calendar. It is best of breed as a simple calendar that can can be used anywhere on-line or off-line , synchronizes with any other calendar anywhere, and it works well for collaborative calendar sharing.
      If your calendar needs are very simple use a single Google calendar with Google sync to make your PC and Mobile calendar agree.
      Most people would benefit from multiple or shared calendaring, and Google's sync tools are not able to handle it. I recommend subscribing to OggSync Pro which solves all synchrony scenarios well. I'm two-way synced among several       (shared & unshared) PC Outlook, Mobile Outlook, and Google calendars ( mine & others').
      Not recommended is SyncMyCal. I unfortunatey bought their products. Due to dreadful product performance and even worse customer and technical support, I received a refund. .

  • Personal Information Manager (PIM)

    • Win Mobile's offerings for calendars and contacts are unsatisfactory and no amount of playing with it will make it otherwise. For example, it is unable to cope with multiple calendars. Pocket Informant 8 makes calendars and contacts wonderfully useable and productive. Not evident in it's default state, but working through the options thoroughly will achieve PIM nirvana. AgendaFusion 8, is a worthy alternative recommendation but I seemed to prefer PI8. Both have trials. Choose what works for you.

  • Mobile Email

    • To manage email on the device, I recommend replacing Mobile Outlook with Flexmail 4. Beyond being nicer to use, Flexmail has a lot of useful features beyond Outlook Mobile. It lives on my start menu and home page launcher.

    • Another approach to email is to use SkyFire browser to access web based email solutions such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc. Reasonable for personal email, but it's not up to business use.

    • To rid yourself of bandwith and screen real estate used by ads on Yahoo.ca, goto the Yahoo.com site until you find the enhanced $20/yr option, It kills the ads.

    • The ultimate solution is to rent an exchange server from Sherweb so that calendars, contacts and email are always synced among Outlook clients on exchange server, PCs, and portable devices. MS Outlook is included for each of your PCs. It'll still be compatible with the Google calendar strategy discussed above. Not the easiest for a novice to set-up, but business class all the way. It's no surprise why Blackberries are popular, RIM supplies the required server solutions. WM6 expects you to get your own.

  • If you're a list maker

    • If lists to manage information/tasks/priorities is essential for you, then ListPro is an excellent choice. ListPro on mobile device and personal PC work in perfect synchrony. It lives on my start menu and home page launcher. Make sure your device screen supports drag and drop of items, some screens (e.g. HTC Touch Pro2 on WM 6.1) just pan, making list applications useless.

  • more coming...

Would-be-nice applications

  • Better Office apps?

    • The standard apps in Windows Mobile are very lame and somewhat destructive of office files. If you work with Word/Excel/PowerPoint files created for or by a power MS Office user, you'll want Softmaker Office to view or do anything useful with them on Windows Mobile. Also includes a very good printer driver.

  • Does your calculator mix units and compute with fractions?

    • Look at Advantage Calculators for powerful handheld calculators. I'm frequently using metric units and fractional inch measurements. This calculator lets me mix units in calculations and convert back and forth easily. Also has many problem solvers built-in. Excellent instructional  videos available on-line. This lives on my start menu.

  • PdaNet simplifies connection of PC's to internet enabled cell phones. If you have unlimited internet already, PdaNet is a dream come true.

  • File Management made easier

    • Resco File Explorer offers better file manager, zip compression, FTP, great searching, network folder browser, registry editor, virtual folders, etc. Let's you manage your files easier and better.

  • Faxing

    • I subscribe to SRFax as a virtual fax machine. Totally reliable. Always answers (i.e. no phone/fax/PC required). One can fax from any internet connected device. Incoming faxes arrive in your email account(s). Plays best with standard WM6 internet browser. Not really a mobile app, but SRFax provides an excellent mobile solution for faxing.

  • Copying & sharing

    • Use a camera phone to copy, fax, email, and web share documents, drawings, notes or photos as PDFs with ScanR. Although they don't offer a Win mobile app, you can still use the server engine via email. The advantage of ScanR is that it can intelligently clean up text/writing from the background or poor exposures.
      Qik is a free and simple way to share videos from your cell phone camera.

  • Traffic management

    • SPB Wireless Monitor is very useful if you want to monitor your cell phone's voice, internet, and data usage. Be aware that internet/data roaming charges outside the country are simply too expensive to consider. Better to obtain a phone or sim card on the other side of the border for use there.

  • Use your Bluetooth phone headset for any audio output

    • acbToggleBT toggles audio output between speaker/earphone and your smartphone's bluetooth headset. It's a free and simple way to listen to anything else other than the phone. For example I use it to listen to: radio programming streamed directly from the internet, GPS directions, and downloaded music and sermons. I tried Blue Audio, but it kills the handsfree functionality of HTC Touch smartphones. (I didn't try others choices such as bluetooth audio v1.0 or bta router.)

  • more coming...

Special interest or fun applications

  • Bible software

    • PocketBible is an excellent reader application for use with an extensive library of Bibles, commentaries, devotions, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, studies, concordances, etc. for purchase. Outstanding. product, service and content. I lives on my home page launcher.

  • Topographic map navigation

    • If you have topographic map data files use OziEplorerCE to add moving map display and tracking to your GPS enabled device. This way beyond street navigation.

  • Astronomy

    • Casual sky watchers will enjoy buying the easy to use Pocket Stars.
      Serious skywatchers won't outgrow the free and more elaborate Tachyon

  • more coming...

Hardware

  • User help for HTC Touch owners:     HTC's user guides.    Bell Mobility's user guide
  • HTC batteries & chargers
    • You can affordably buy spare phone batteries on the internet. Be sure only to buy a new original BTR6900 battery for an HTC Touch. I got mine for $12US each from Wireless Galaxy. I bought an AC battery charger at CA-Battery.com for about $12.
  • User help for LG IQ (eXpo):   LG Canada   Telus Mobility    Quick start   User Guide
  • LG IQ batteries
    • You can affordably buy spare phone batteries on the internet. Be sure only to buy a new original SBPP0027401. I bought mine from 1800mobiles.com for $35US.
  • Bluetooth Headsets
    • From personal ownership, I recommend the Plantronics Voyager Pro BT headset. It may be a tad geeky, but it is tops in performance, and unlike others I've owned, it doesn't fall off my ear. If I wasn't concerned about losing it I'd also seriously consider the

      Aliph

              Jawbone Prime with it's ear hook.
  • If USB ports are not recognizing your attached device, try DevCon rescan, to wake up USB.
    •

User tips

  • Just remember to install added applications to your storage card and use application options that use the storage card for data. This will preserve memory available for applications or data.
  • One advantage of WM6 devices over an iPhone is that they multitask. Usually the X hides an application, rather than shutting it down. If WM6 bogs down, go to the upper right and close down apps not required to be running. If you never shut anything off explicitly, WM6 will eventually result in a bliizzard of file error messages and/or simply freeze. A soft reset will clear the memory.
  • Smartphone Magazine ceased publication at the end of 2008, but the website still has a lot of useful info of interest to Win Mobile users.
  • I purchase most of my mobile software from either the software developer or Handango.
  • more coming....

Contact Gord for further information or help. 613 820-5585 or  .