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Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
is a compact operating
system combined with a suite of basic applications for
mobile devices based on the Microsoft
Win32
API.
Devices which run Windows Mobile include Pocket
PCs, Smartphones,
and Portable
Media Centers. It is designed to be somewhat similar to desktop
versions of Windows.
Common
Windows Mobile Features
Windows Mobile for Pocket PC carries these standard features
in most of its versions:
-
Today
Screen shows the current date,
owner information, upcoming appointments, e-mail
messages,
and tasks.
It also includes the notification bar which includes icons
to notify the status of Bluetooth
and also includes the New button. Programs
can be installed
which adds extra items to the Today screen. One of these is Microsoft
Money for Pocket PC. The background
image
can be customised directly through the Pocket PC, or themes
can be created and syncronised onto the Pocket PC.
-
The
taskbar shows the current time,
the volume,
and the connectivity
status. When a program or message box is open the blank
space after the clock is filled with an OK or close icon.
The main feature of the taskbar is the Start
Button, which is designed similarly to the Start Button
which features on desktop
versions of Windows. The Start Menu features recently opened
programs at the top, nine customisable menu entries, and
links to the program, settings, find (search), and help.
-
Pocket
PC versions of Microsoft
Office applications
are included in Windows Mobile. These include Pocket Word
and Pocket Excel.
In Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PowerPoint
has been included. These versions include many of the
features which are used in desktop versions, but some other
features like inserting tables
and images
have not been included in pre 5.0 versions. ActiveSync
has capabilities which convert desktop versions of files to
Pocket PC compatible versions.
-
Outlook
mobile comes with Windows Mobile. This includes tasks,
calendar,
contacts,
and inbox that can be synced either with Outlook or direct
with an Exchange Server (internet connection is required for
this method). Microsoft Outlook for desktop versions is
sometimes included in a value-added CD-ROM
which is included with the Pocket PC hardware
manufacturer.
-
Windows
Media Player for Windows Mobile is bundled with the
Windows Mobile software. Currently, all Pocket PCs include
Version 9 of the player, but Version 10 has been included
with newer hardware and newer versions of Windows Mobile.
For existing devices, Version 10 is available for download
for only specified devices
— these include devices from the Dell
Axim range. The player supports .WMA,
.WMV,
.MP3,
and .AVI
files. Currently MPEG
files are not supported file types, and a third-party
program must be downloaded to play these, and WAV
files are played in a separate player. Some versions are
also capable of playing .M4A
audio
Pocket
PC 2002
Pocket
PC 2002 was powered by Windows CE 3.0. Targeted specifically at
240 × 320 (QVGA) Pocket PC (keyboardless) devices, Pocket PC
2002 was, like the original Pocket PC 2000 release, a
stand-alone entity in the Microsoft Embedded device range. With
future releases, the Pocket PC and Smartphone lines would
increasingly collide as the licensing terms were relaxed
allowing OEMs to take advantage of more innovative, individual
design ideas.
Windows
Mobile 2003
The
third version, named Windows Mobile 2003, was released on June
23, 2003,
and was the first release under the Windows Mobile banner. It
came in three editions, two of which were are similar: Windows
Mobile 2003 for Pocket
PC and Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone
Edition, which is designed especially for Pocket PCs which
include phone functionalities (as HTC's
Himalaya, distributed in many countries as Qtek,
XDA,
MDA
or VPA).
The third edition is named Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone,
which — despite several similarities with Pocket PC — is a
substantially different platform that also requires software
applications to be specifically targeting this device type. To
name a few specifics, Windows Mobile powered Smartphone devices
do not have touchscreens, have lower display resolution, have a
regular phone keypad, and are specially designed for
single-handed use.
Windows Mobile 2003 is powered by Windows CE 4.20.
Windows
Mobile 2003 Second Edition
Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, also known as Windows Mobile
2003SE, was released on March
24, 2004
and first offered on the Dell
Axim
x30. It includes a number of improvements over its
predecessor, such as:
-
VGA
(640×480) screen
resolution is now supported in addition to the previous
320×240 resoution. Also supported is a new square form
factor (240×240 and 480×480 for VGA screens), which is
ideally suited for manufacturers wishing to include a
hardware keyboard.
Although it wasn't originally slated to contain this
feature, Microsoft decided to add it due to pressure from
Pocket PC manufacturers.
Windows Mobile 2003SE is powered by Windows CE 4.21.
Windows
Mobile 5.0
Windows Mobile 5.0, originally codenamed "Magneto",
was released on May
9, 2005.
It is powered by Windows
CE 5.0 and uses the .NET
Compact Framework 1.0 SP2 — an environment for programs based
on .NET to be used.
Features
include:
-
Windows
Media Player 10 Mobile
-
Photo
Caller
ID
-
Picture
and Video package, which converges the management of videos
and pictures
-
Bluetooth
support with fewer features than prior Broadcom/Widcom
alternatives
-
Global
Positioning System (GPS) management interface to all
navigation programs installed
-
Microsoft
Exchange Server "push" functionality
improvements
-
QWERTY
keyboard-support is included by default
-
Error
reporting facility similar to that present in desktop and
server Windows
systems
-
ActiveSync
4.0, promising 10–15% increased speed on synchronization
-
Persistent
storage (PS) is now supported in Pocket PCs allowing devices
increase battery life. Previously up to 50% (enough for 72
hours of storage) of battery power was reserved just to
maintain data in volatile RAM. Windows-based devices are
moving from using RAM as their primary storage medium to the
use of flash memory.
Windows Mobile 5.0, was released at Microsoft's Mobile and
Embedded Developers Conference 2005 in Las Vegas, May
9–May
12, 2005.
Current speculation indicates that Microsoft is working on an
update to Windows Mobile 5.0, which will be released in 2006 as
"Windows Mobile 5.0 Second Edition" or perhaps
"Windows Mobile 2006".
Photon
Photon is the next major revision to the Windows Mobile
platform, and will likely be called Windows Mobile 6.0. In
December 2005, Microsoft announced that the Smartphone and
Pocket PC platforms will be merged for Photon but that the
release is still several years away. Very little is currently
known about Photon other than it is expected to have special
design improvements and greatly improved battery life.
External
links
This
content from Wikipedia
is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
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