Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition

[Brandon Miniman]

In early 2006, we received news of Windows Mobile 6, though of what we saw, it seemed like just a visual refresh: prettier icons, a Vista-like start button, and some "glass" thrown in to boot. But under the skin, what else is new? We'll take a thorough look at Windows Mobile 6 Standard, or Smartphone Edition as it was previously referred, and see if Microsoft has a winner. Read on for the preview, with comparisons with Windows Mobile 5.0!

[Pony99CA]

This seems like more than just a visual refresh, at least for Smartphones (er, Standards?). Office Mobile, HTML E-mail, Windows Update (assuming that works) are all welcome updates.

Could they have been released as an AKU? Perhaps, but it was time for a new OS release anyway, right?

Now, some questions.


Did they improve the Tasks application on the Smartphone? That was my biggest complaint about the Smartphone PIM applications before.
Do they provide more Zoom sizes for IE? I found the WM 5 ones too close in size.
Was that Internet Sharing program something standard in WM 6? I assume it's for tethering, but it could be an OEM add-on.
Were there any new Settings applets? I didn't see much about settings at all.

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good. I hope Motorola/Verizon will release an upgrade for my Q.

Steve

[Brandon Miniman]

Hi Steve,

1. The task application looks to be the same
2. No zoom -- only text size adjustment
3. I added to the review about the internet sharing program
5. I added a screen shot about the settings applet

[Derek Snyder]

Tasks on "Standard" now support Start/Due dates and reminders.

[JwY]

nice review. 2 things i am wondering that are on the excalibur, so i'm not sure if it's a device problem or a wm5 problem. firstly, when someone calls you and you want to add that number to an existing contact, it won't let you search for that contact, and you much scroll the whole contact list instead. secondly, when mass smsing, you must select each individual at a time instead of having a multiselect option (it would be best if it was like ppc where it looked it up directly without having to get into contacts). are these addressed in wm6?

[Brandon Miniman]

Yup... you can add an unknown call to an existing contact now.

I don't think you can multiselect contacts to send SMS...that would be hard to do on Smartphone,.

[JwY]

i could do multiselect on some dumb phones where you can check them off by pressing "0" when the contact is highlighted. it's just one of those small tidbits that are helpful. i'm still anxious to try wm6.

[adamz]

It's cool that you can flag emails now, but does the messaging program show different icons for messages that have been replied to or forwarded?
Did they fix the inability to sync DRAFT messages in Exchange or IMAP folders or anything?
Now that HTML emails are supported I wonder if we can get that Windows CE Inbox Transfer program to come back.

[Brandon Miniman]

Hi Adam --

1. No icon change on reply or forward.
2. Not sure what you mean - I've always been able to sync Draft messages over Exchange.
3. Never have heard of inbox transfer program - what is it?

[adamz]

Hi Adam -- 1. No icon change on reply or forward. 2. Not sure what you mean - I've always been able to sync Draft messages over Exchange. 3. Never have heard of inbox transfer program - what is it?


Really? My Draft messages never synced over the air to Exchange, nor through the ActiveSync inbox syncing. If I look at the messages in my Draft folder in Outlook on the Desktop and then look at the ones in the Drafts folder in any of my Windows Mobile 5 devices, they are not the same at all. In fact, none of the Draft messages on the server are downloaded to the Windows Mobile devices nor are Draft messages uploaded to the server from the Windows Mobile device. That's with Exchange 2003 SP2. Maybe you have Exchange 2007??
Is there an option in the Manage Folders section where you can turn on Draft folder syncing? The never was before.

Windows CE Inbox Transfer was an add-on for Outlook that was installed with ActiveSync back before Microsoft redesigned the Inbox program in Pocket PC 2002 at which point it stopped working. It was basically a manual way to transfer any email message in Outlook to any folder on your Windows CE device and vice versa. It was hugely powerful with lots of selective options for including attachments, etc. So back when I had an iPaq 3600 or even the old Uniden PC100, I would selectively copy certain email messages or draft emails onto my PDA from Outlook. I could then edit the drafts or respond to the emails whenever I felt like it... then copy them back to the desktop to edit the draft messages some more. It was excellent for cross-device email management.

[Brandon Miniman]

You know, Exchange can be very finicky. When you go to "manage folders" in Windows Mobile, are you marking your Drafts folder? If so and they are still not syncing, it may have to do with your desktop setup.

Wow - Inbox Transfer sounds great. There should be a way to control what gets sent to your device and what doesn't. Perhaps a modern third party app, such as FlexMail, could offer such functionality, though it sounds like Inbox Transfer worked from the computer.

[adamz]

The option to mark the Drafts folder in any Exchange account I've had on Windows Mobile 5 is not available. It has a regular icon instead of a checkbox, and the "Folder Options" command is greyed out.
On IMAP accounts, I can access the "Folder Options" command for the Drafts folder and actually set it to download messages in that folder, however it does not work at all even when turned on.
I remember hearing that they turned off the ability to sync Draft messages in ActiveSync and Exchange back in 2002 because some CEO complained about losing all the HTML formatting in a draft email when it was synced with the Pocket PC.
I just tried it again by putting a draft email message from Outlook into a folder that is synced to my Windows Mobile 5 device and even that does not show up! You're telling me, that if you open a new email message in your Exchange account on a Windows Mobile 5 device, then choose Menu>Save to Drafts, then that message will appear in your Outlook Exchange account's Drafts folder on your desktop after it's next sync??

[Brandon Miniman]

Adam ...

I was mistaken this whole time... you CAN'T sync the draft folder. I created a new message on my device, and it wasn't sync'ed to my Exchange. Also, there is no option to sync Drafts when you "manage folders."

Perhaps when you sync to PC it will work, because I remember finding drafts from my PC in my phone.

[JwY]

i just heard you can't create new documents using the office on smartphone/standard edition, but you can edit and view. is this true? it seems really dumb to me if it is the case.

[Brandon Miniman]

i just heard you can't create new documents using the office on smartphone/standard edition, but you can edit and view. is this true? it seems really dumb to me if it is the case.

That's true - and I agree, it's silly. Though if you wanted to work around that issue, you could open a Word doc or Excel spreadsheet, do Select All, delete, and Save As. I tried that on my device, and couldn't find a way to delete the contents once everything was selected.

Perhaps on Smartphone devices with a full keyboard, you could strike the backspace key and have everything be cleaned. I'm using an HTC Tornado which doesn't have a keyboard.

[JwY]

that's unfortunate since it requires a work around. thank you for confirming though.

[Pony99CA]

That's true - and I agree, it's silly. Though if you wanted to work around that issue, you could open a Word doc or Excel spreadsheet, do Select All, delete, and Save As. I tried that on my device, and couldn't find a way to delete the contents once everything was selected.
If you have a Save As command, the better way would be to just keep blank Excel and Word files on the device as "templates". When you wanted a new document, just edit the template and save it as something else.

Of course, you have to wonder why Microsoft decided to make people jump through these hoops. I can just see some product meeting with a grouchy product manager:

People have been whining about wanting to edit Word and Excel files on the Smartphone for years. I guess we finally have to do it. But let's mess with them and take the requirement literally. We'll let them edit files, but not create new ones. BWAHAHAHAHA We're such evil geniuses!

Sounds like Dilbert's Pointy-Haired Boss is alive and well in Redmond.

Perhaps on Smartphone devices with a full keyboard, you could strike the backspace key and have everything be cleaned. I'm using an HTC Tornado which doesn't have a keyboard.
If you don't have a backspace or delete key, how do you fix typos? :confused: If your phone has a Clear key, that's what I'd try.

Anyway, once text is selected, you should be able to replace it by hitting any key.

Steve

[Brandon Miniman]

I like the blank template idea.. interesting.

Just tried hitting any key after a select all, and it didn't replace the highlighted text.

[Pony99CA]

Just tried hitting any key after a select all, and it didn't replace the highlighted text.
Then Microsoft has broken a UI standard. If text is selected and the user types new text, the new text is supposed to replace the entire selection.

Bad Microsoft! :eek:

Steve

[smittyofdhs]

can you create tasks? or is it still just view, complete, & delete functions?