Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition: Exposed!

[Derek Snyder]

In recent months, quite a bit of buzz has been swarming around the mobile device industry in regards to what Microsoft had up its sleeve for the next release of the Windows Mobile operating system. At long last the wait is over and articles all over the 'net are beginning to disclose what Microsoft had changed and improved for its most recent release. Perhaps the most significant change could be summed up in one word: landscape.

[ChrisSpera]

Thanks for doing this, Derek. You did a good job. I know that I will be referring to this when I do my review of the MPx...

[adamz]

I made one landscape compatible theme already, but I'm waiting for the XDAII WM2003 Phone Edition Second Edition to start making others.
I wonder if a Landscape and VGA compatible Themes section should be added to the Pocketnow Themes library.


Any idea if SE can syncronize DRAFT messages with IMAP servers?
It looks like the "Find" command is finally removable from the Start Menu. Can you move the "Help" command as well?


Is the WMP landscape skin a separate skin, or is the default skin designed to be compatible in both orientations?

[Pony99CA]

Originally posted by adamz
I made one landscape compatible theme already, but I'm waiting for the XDAII WM2003 Phone Edition Second Edition to start making others.
I wonder if a Landscape and VGA compatible Themes section should be added to the Pocketnow Themes library.
I don't play around with themes much, but could you just make a 320x320 theme that would work in both portrait and landscape? That way, we'd only need a separate section for VGA (or 640x640 :)).

Steve

[adamz]

Originally posted by Pony99CA
I don't play around with themes much, but could you just make a 320x320 theme that would work in both portrait and landscape? That way, we'd only need a separate section for VGA (or 640x640 :)).

Steve

Yes, exactly. Just that the Pocketnow Themes library only really has an interface for previewing the portrait mode. That's okay, I can just specify that it's landscape compatible.

When making the 320x320 themes, you just have to set up guides as to where the boundaries are so that the content of the theme image doesn't look cut off or out of place when in different orientations. For example, the Windows Logo in that new Bliss theme looks so out of place especially in the landscape orientation.

I suppose it would also be possible to make 640x640 themes that work on all devices up to that resolution. It's just that the 320x240 people will be cropped a bit with the Today screen image.

I wonder if that's the same way with the Windows Media Player skin files since those have been traditionally raster graphics (I.E. Non-scalable).

Looks like the Today Screen items in SE have more linespacing now. I guess that makes them easier to read, but that also means you have less room for text.

[dinarsoft]

Hi,

Talking about 2003 SE
We just released our latest version of HandySwitcher (with SE & VGA) support

HandySwitcher 1.5 (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?productId=85760)