I've been using the HP Glisten since January and I'm impressed at what a fine Windows Phone it is.  The 3G signal I get with the HP Glisten is better and more consistent than any of my other 3G phones and I haven't experienced any disconnection problems with it.

The HP Glisten is definitely a business device. It's a fairly pristine phone insofar as it doesn't have many superfluous applications already installed to it.  I prefer a barebones phone over one that is loaded with lots of third party software that cannot be deleted or updated, so I don't consider this a drawback. Nevertheless, I was surprised to discover that the Glisten does not include some software that I have come to expect on a mobile device:  Google Maps, Instant Messenger, Windows My Phone.

If you get the Glisten, you'll probability want to install some software to it to make it functional enough to meet your needs.  Here are mobile links to the "must have" software I've installed to my Glisten:

Free Applications

Opera Mobile:  One of the best Windows Mobile browsers around. Just input m.opera.com into your phone's mobile browser to tap the link to download the software directly to your phone. 

YouTube: I don't watch much YouTube on my computer, and hardly ever watch YouTube on my phone, but this seems to be a popular thing to do on a windows mobile device, given the number of threads I see about it on the HP IPAQ forum and other windows mobile forums. Just input m.youtube.com into your phone's mobile browser to find a link that you can click to install the software directly to your phone. (See "Viewing YouTube on a Windows Phone" if you need more information.)

My Phone is Microsoft's free web-based backup service.  You can backup contacts, appointments, tasks, pictures, text messages, and other documents to this service, although it is not a complete replacement for Outlook & ActiveSync syncing - so you should still plan to sync your device to your computer. See these articles for more information about Microsoft My Phone:

• My Phone: Creating a Partnership
• My Phone: Stopping the Service
• My Phone makes it easier than ever to share your pictures with your social networks

Live Mesh is one of Microsoft's "cloud" computing services.  Live Mesh allows me to synchronize files from my HP Glisten to my computer through the cloud.  It's an easy way for me to keep my most used files available and up-to-date on any computer or most windows mobile devices.  See "Cloud Computing with Windows Live Mesh" for more information.

Total Commander 2.52 beta 2 is a great file management software and one of the first applications I install to all my Windows Mobile devices.  See "Take Charge of Your Files" for more information about this software.

PockeTwit: I tried out a couple of different twitter applications on my windows phones, but I always come back to PockeTwit.

Null Keyboard doesn't do much except prevent the onscreen keyboard from popping up.

Palringo is a nice, free instant messaging client that lets you login to multiple instant messengers (MSN, GTalk, iChat, Yahoo, AIM, GG/Gadu-Gadu, AOL ICQ, XMPP/Jabber, and Facebook chat) at the same time. Just input www.palringo.mobi into your mobile browser to download and install the application directly to your phone.

Of course, if you are a fan of Windows Live you can also go to Windows Live for Mobile and get Windows Live Messenger:

Purchased Applications

Profile applications: Today screen plug-ins are not needed if you plan to use the Windows Default today screen, but you'll probably want to install some kind of profile manager to automate the ringer and other things on your phone.  I used Phone Alarm on the IPAQ hw6925, but I installed Phone Weaver on the Glisten

SKTools is my Windows Mobile Swiss army knife.  I've written several articles about this wonderful application and I find new uses for it all the time.  SKTools is an indispensable application that I highly recommend.

AgendaOne is a fine PIM application that is easy to navigate either through the 5 directional toggle or by finger scrolling through the option.  Here are screenshots of the Contacts, Tasks, Agenda, Daily, Weekly and Monthly views.

Mobile Navigator 7 is my GPS software of choice for the HP Glisten.  You can purchase Mobile Navigator 7 at PocketGear or Smartphone.net, and it's on sale for under $50 until 6/14/2010!  Mobile Navigator is all inclusive, which means you don't need an "always on" data connection to use the software - the maps are stored on the windows phone so you'll need to reserve 1.5 GB free on your SD card for the maps.

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Now that I'm able to play Sirius Internet Radio on my Windows Mobile devices, I've been searching for ways to leverage my monthly subscription.  Over the last few weeks I've purchased some accessories that allow me to enjoy Sirius internet radio in lots of different places.  All of these accessories port music to external speakers by plugging them into a device's 3.5 mm stereo audio port.  I use adapters on some of my devices to accomplish this (2.5mm to 3.5 mm adapter;  HTC 3.5mm 2.5mm headset adapter converter). Now I can enjoy Sirius internet radio around the town, in my home and on the deck or anywhere else I happen to be.

Around the town

An advantage of driving an older car is that it has a cassette player incorporated into its sound system. I tested out the Griffin iTrip Auto Universal Plus FM Transmitter and the Griffin Direct Deck Universal Adapter to pipe Sirius Internet Radio through my car's stereo system.  Because the sound quality of the cassette tape adapter is exceedingly better than that of the FM transmitter, I purchased the Griffin Direct Deck Universal Adapter (COST: $17.99).

To ensure I've always got plenty of power to listen to the radio on my windows mobile phone, I also purchased the Griffin PowerJolt Dual Universal USB Car Charger (COST: $19.99) to recharge the battery when I'm on the go.  

Throughout my home

I thought about buying an internet radio like the Grace Wireless Internet Radio (Cost: $138), but I really didn't want to get another appliance that would be dedicated for one purpose.  Then I figured out I could purchase a few inexpensive accessories and use my Windows Mobile devices and some existing speakers instead.

• Livingroom:  I'm using a Philips Mini to RCA Stereo Cable (Philips SJM2101/27) to pipe Sirius internet radio from my HTC Fuze through my home stereo system.  I'm plugging one end of the cable into an unused port on the stereo receiver (DVD, I think) and the other end of the cable into the windows mobile device headphone jack.  (COST: $4)

• Bedroom: I'm using the Griffin Direct Deck Universal Adapter that I purchased for my car to listen to the radio through the speakers of an old clock radio.  (The picture below shows Sirius playing on the HTC Fuze)

• Kitchen: I'm using a pair of powered Sony portable speakers that I purchased for a portable CD player years ago. (The picture below shows Sirius playing on the IPAQ Voice Messenger)

On the deck/at the beach/anywhere else 

The JBL On Tour Portable Speaker System (COST: On clearance at Walmart for $35.00) serves as a portable boom box. The sound quality is amazing! (the picture below shows Sirius playing on the HP IPAQ Glisten)

Now I can listen to Sirius internet radio wherever and whenever I have a wifi or data connection.

An added bonus is that I can use all these accessories with my Zune or any other mp3 player! 

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A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about how I was able to listen to Sirius radio on a Pocket PC.  Around the time of the Sirius/XM merger, the SiriusWM5 application that I used on my Pocket PCs stopped working.  A few months ago, I discovered and installed a new Windows Mobile application for Sirius internet radio called SXRadio2.  I've installed SXRadio2 to the following Windows Mobile devices:

• IPAQ rx1950 (runs WM5.0): The application installed okay, but won't play.  I think this is because the rx1950 is memory constrained.  You might have better luck with a more powerful WM5.0 device.
• IPAQ Voice Messenger (runs WM6.1 standard - no touch screen phone):  Runs great! The screenshots you see below were taken from the Voice Messenger
• HTC Fuze (runs WM6.1 professional phone): Runs great!
• HTC Touch Diamond2 (runs WM6.5 professional - touch screen phone):  Runs great!
• IPAQ Glisten (runs WM6.5 professional - touch screen phone): Runs great!

SXRadio2 is free and supports Sirius and XM subscription and guest accounts.  Additional features include:

• What's Playing (with mode selection)
• Album Art, when available
• Lyrics, when available
• Twitter Integration: If activated will post 'What's Playing" to your twitter stream
• Presets: You can save your favorite stations
• Plays Standard and High Quality Streams

SXRadio2 does not circumvent a required subscription to Sirius - you still must subscribe to Sirius internet radio before you can listen to the radio:

• New subscribers can try out Sirius' 30 day, free evaluation subscription.  If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to Sirius internet radio for $12.95/month.
• Current Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers already get free, standard internet radio (32 kbs), but you can upgrade to the 128 kb, CD-quality premium service for an additional $2.99/month.

Sirius internet radio includes many of the same channels as Sirius Satellite Radio - you can review their channel guide to see the channels that are included with internet radio versus the channels that are included with satellite radio.

Start Listening Now!

Listening to Sirius internet radio on your Windows Mobile device is easy:

• If you don't already subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio, go to the Sirius website to sign up for your 30 day trial.
• Download and install .Net Compact Framework 3.5 to your windows mobile device if it is not already installed.
• Download and install the SXRadio2 cab file to your:
  • Windows Mobile Standard (non-touch screen) phone
  • Windows Mobile Professional (touch screen) device 
• Connect your Windows Mobile device to the internet, either through WIFI or GPRS/Edge/3G connection
• Set up SXRadio2:
  • Select/Tap Start > Programs > SXRadio2
  • Select/Tap SXRadio2 > Settings
  • Input your Sirius username and password in the space provided. If you want to automatically post a tweet for what's playing on your phone (spamming your twitter followers relentlessly, risking being unfollowed by everyone who really doesn't care to know what you are listening to every minute of the day), you can also input your twitter username and password on this screen.

• Select/Tap Save.  The first time you log on to Sirius internet radio on your phone, it will take several moments to load up all the channels. 
• Now any time you open up SXRadio2, you can resume listening to the last channel or select a new channel and ENJOY!

You can see from the screenshots shown below (taken from the HP IPAQ Glisten) that the windows mobile professional version of SXRadio2 is practically identical to the windows mobile standard version.

NOTE:  If you use a GPRS/Edge/3G data connection, you'll definitely want to be sure you subscribe to an unlimited data plan through your cellular provider.

Tomorrow I'll post another article that shows how I've extended my use of Sirius Internet Radio to listen to it all over the place.

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Sometimes to gain some functionality on a Windows Mobile device you may need to modify its registry. There are several different registry editors you could use to do this, such as SKTools or Total Commander's registry editor. 

For this article, I will use PHM Registry Editor to modify the registry of a WM6.5 phone so that all email messages and related attachments are stored on the installed storage card (by default these items are stored in main memory).  The required registry changes are:

• To store EMAIL messages to the storage card:  HKLM\System\Inbox\Settings\PropertyPath - Create a new string value called PropertyPath, if necessary, and input the new path to use for Email messages (i.e., \Storage Card\Windows\Messaging)
• For store Email attachments to the storage card: HKLM\System\Inbox\Settings\AttachPath  - Create a new string value called AttachPath, if necessary, and input the new path to use for email attachments (i.e., \Storage Card\Windows\Messaging\Attachments)

Making the Changes

Open up PHM Registry Editor and select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (referred to as HKLM).  Navigate to System > Inbox > Settings.  Then tap Edit > New String Value.

Replace the default value name to PropertyPath or AttachPath (depending on which string you are creating) and input the entire path where you want to store your email messages and email attachments. 

NOTE: You need to create these folders before you can use them.  See "Take Charge of your Files" to learn about the software you could use to create folders and to manage files on your windows mobile device.

After you've created these keys, exit the registry editor and soft reset your device.

Caution! Caution! Caution! Caution!

Before you start poking around in the registry, be sure to backup the entire contents of your mobile device.  Then be very careful when messing around in the registry and don't experiment unless you know what you are doing.  Deleting or modifying registry keys could render the device useless, requirement a hard reset to return the device to working order.

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MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. Sending MMS messages is almost as convenient as sending SMS messages (also known as text messages), but there are some notable differences.  MMS messages:

• Can include pictures, video, audio, and files attachments
• Can be sent to cellphone numbers, email addresses or both. 
• use a data connection to send messages, so if you plan to send many MMS messages, you'll want to subscribe to a data plan.  MMS messages may also be charged as text messages.  (I have an unlimited data plan and pay for a limited number of text messages, and I notice that MMS messages I send incur data usage AND are counted as text messages on my bills).

Most Windows Mobile phones are pre-installed with the ArcSoft MMS Composer application, which is integrated in the Email and/or Text Messaging application.

Configure your MMS Settings

To enable MMS on your Windows Phone, open up the Messaging application, then tap Menu > MMS Options.  You'll see four tabs (Preferences, Blacklist, Servers, About).  Choose the Servers tab.

MMS settings are different for every carrier, so you'll need to get these settings from your cellular provider or you may need to search around the internet to find the correct settings for your cellular provider (I have only used AT&T so I don't know any other carrier's MMS settings). 

If you are an AT&T customer like me, you can use the settings found in the screenshot on the right to set up MMS on your windows phone. 

Some Windows Phones include a Connection Setup utility that you can use to automatically configure all the connection settings of your cellular provider (including the MMS settings).  If your phone has a utility like this, you can probably find it  the settings > connections screen.

MMS relies on a data connection to send messages, so if you plan to send many MMS messages, you'll want to subscribe to a data plan.  MMS messages may also be charged as text messages.  (I have an unlimited data plan and pay for a limited number of text messages, and I notice that MMS messages I send incur data usage AND are counted as text messages on my bills).

Create a new MMS message

To create a new MMS message, open up the Text/MMS application, tap Menu > New > MMS and a blank message screen will appear.

Add a Picture or Video

To add a picture or a video clip to your message, tap the insert picture/video box.  This will open up a screen where you can choose any picture that is stored on the windows phone (even those that are stored on the storage card, if used).  You can also create a new picture or video for your MMS message by tapping the camera or video recorder icon on this screen.

Add Text, Emoticons, Favorites or Other Goodies

Tapping the "Insert text here" box opens up a screen where you can create a text message. The Menu option (found on the lower right hand side of the screen) allows you to

• change the text size, text color or text background color of your message
• insert Emoticons, Favorites, canned text phrases, Contact or Calendar information into your message, but you might prefer to use the icons that run along the bottom of the screen to add this data to the message.

Tapping the first icon (a smiley face) opens up a screen full of emoticons.  Tapping the second icon (a star) lets you choose from the list of Favorites that are saved on your phone to include as links with your message.

Tapping the third icon (a voice bubble) lets you choose from a list of previously saved canned text (words or phrases) to include with your message. You can also create a new canned text message by tapping Menu > New (or you can edit or delete any of the phrases here) 

Tapping the fourth icon (Contact icon) opens up the contacts on your device where you can select a contact you want to include with your MMS - you can even select the specific information you want to include with the contact information. 

Tapping the fifth icon (Calendar icon) opens up a tabbed screen where you can select Calendar items or a Task item to include with your message.  After you choose an item you can then select the specific information you want to include in the MMS message. 

Add an Audio Clip

You can add an audio clip to your message by tapping the "Insert audio" box.  You can choose any audio file that is stored on your device or create a new audio file by tapping the first icon (cassette tape icon) that runs along the bottom of the screen. You can listen to an audio clip by selecting the second icon (arrow icon)

NOTE:  You can create a multi-page MMS message (referred to later in this article as a slideshow) by tapping the blue arrow at the far lower right of the screen.

Add Attachment, vCard, vCalendar

You can add a file, vCard or vCalendar item to the message by tapping Menu > Attachment (to find the Attachment option, scroll down the menu items).  Then tap "Menu." 

Miscellaneous Options

Tapping Menu > Options if you want to:

• change the background color of your message,
• change the text layout of your message, and
• set some send options, including setting the date and time to send the message, expiration (from 1 to 72 hours), Priority (Low, Medium, High), Category (Personal, Advertisement, Informational, Auto) and whether you want to receive a delivery and/or read report (as return text messages).

Multi-page MMS Messages (also referred to as slideshows)

Your MMS message can consist of multiple slides (like a slideshow).  You can create and organize an MMS slideshow by tapping Menu > Slides and choosing Insert, Delete or Organize.  If you've created a multi-page MMS message (referred to in this article as a slideshow), tapping Organize Slides takes you to a screen where you can move the pages around either by dragging the stylus on the screen or by tapping Menu and selecting Move Forward or Move Backward.  You can also delete slides.

MMS Templates

You can save MMS messages or MMS slideshows as templates and use them later to send messages by tapping Menu > Template and choosing either "Save as Template" or "Select a Template."

Sending an MMS Message

After you've got the MMS message set up just the way you want it, you'll send the message by tapping the "Send" button located in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

You can send MMS messages to mobile phone numbers, email addresses, or both. The message will appear in the Outbox while it's being sent, and after it has been sent successfully, a copy of the message will be saved in the Sent folder. If there is a problem sending the message, the message will remain in the Outbox.

Working with MMS Messages

You can preview your own MMS messages or review received MMS messages by tapping the green playback arrow (found in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen) (see the screenshot on the right).  The Playback screen includes some control buttons that can be use during message playback (Forward, Backward, Full Screen, Play, Pause, Stop).

You can view a list of the content included in any MMS message by opening the message and tapping Contents.  You can select any item on the list and view its Properties (tap Properties).  Tap Menu > Show to view

• Attachments: displays a list of files that are included with the MMS
• Message Detail shows specific information about the message (subject, category, duration, etc.)
• Contact Details shows recipient phone number and you can save the contact information or add the contact to the MMS blacklist

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If you can't log in to some of your favorite websites from your Windows Phone, then you probably need to try using a different mobile browser.  The mobile version of Internet Explorer does not provide the same level of functionality as the desktop version.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that installing the mobile version of flash player will solve the problem.  However, Macromedia Flash Player for Pocket PC does not work in concert with Internet Explorer, so pursuing this course of action is usually a waste of time.

Mobile Browsers for WM5.0 - 6.5

If your Windows Mobile device runs WM5.0 - 6.5, there are some great free mobile browsers you might want to check out:

SkyFire was released out of Beta development last May.   SkyFire supports Flash Web pages, so you'll have better success accessing pages that require Flash.  SkyFire:

• Runs on Windows Professional and Standard (touchscreen and non-touchscreen) phones with the Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, 6.1, or 6.5 operating system, as well as Nokia E and N series phones.
• Does not support Windows Mobile Classic devices (no phone function)
• You can download the free software directly to your mobile device from its standard browser using this mobile link:  SkyFire

SkyFire is not my preferred mobile browser because it's pages are small and I have to use the zoom feature a lot.  Nonetheless, I've found SkyFire works the best on websites that render the other mobile browsers practically useless (like Windows Live Office).

Opera Mobile is a free mobile web browser that's been around for a long time.  Many newer Windows phones include some version of Opera Mobile on the device, but these versions are often somewhat crippled.  I usually wind up downloading and installing the full featured version to my windows phone.  Opera Mobile:

• Runs on Windows Professional and Classic (touchscreen) devices (phones and non-phones) with the Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, 6.1, or 6.5 operating system, as well as Nokia E and N series phones.
• Is not supported on Windows Standard devices (no touchscreen).
• You can download the software directly to your mobile device from its standard browser using this mobile link:  Opera Mobile
• Tabbed browsing allows you to have up to 3 pages open at a time.  Unfortunately, opening multiple pages can be a memory drain on a mobile device
• You can save web pages and images and view them later with no internet connection.

Opera Mini is a free mobile web browser that is a Java application.  In order to use Opera Mini, you'll need to have a Java engine installed on your Windows Mobile device. 

You can view these articles to learn about how to install and use Java applications on Windows Mobile devices:

• Java Applications on the IPAQ hw6900
• Opera Mini on the HTC Fuze

Fennec Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile is the mobile version of Firefox that is currently under development.  I tried it out several months ago and was unimpressed.  Perhaps one day it will rival some of these other browsers, but I uninstalled it after a few hours because I found it to be unusable.

What about Pocket PCs that run earlier versions of windows mobile?

If you have an older Pocket PC that runs windows mobile 2003se or an earlier version of Windows Mobile, you don't have many choices.  I've used Opera Mobile 8.65 for several years on my IPAQ hx2415 (which runs Windows Mobile 2003se).

Internet Explorer		Opera Mobile 8.65

Opera Mobile 8.65 is a real memory hog, especially if I open more than one tab, but it gives me full access to websites I can't use in Internet Explorer.

Opera Mobile 8.65 was not free, but was worth the money I paid for it. Unfortunately, Opera recently removed the link to this version of Opera Mobile from its website and now it does not appear that it can be purchased any more.  However, you can:

• Download a 30 day trial version of the software from Opera's FTP site; and
• Contact Opera about purchasing Opera Mobile 8.65 here

What's your favorite mobile web browser?

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Most Windows Phones include a camera and while I've never spent much time evaluating cell phone cameras and wouldn't make a purchase decision based on the Windows Phone's camera, a decent cellphone camera can be extremely convenient and useful.  I've learned that with just a little bit of patience, some planning and an understanding of the camera software options anyone can take pretty good pictures with today's Windows Phone cameras. . . even novices like me! 

Every Windows Phone I've used has included a camera, and the cameras have come a long way from the 1.3 Megapixel camera in my IPAQ hw6925 to the 3 Megapixel autofocus camera of the IPAQ 910c to the 5 Megapixel camera of the HTC Touch Diamond2.

Nonetheless cellphone cameras are slow and they won't take the same quality pictures as a good digital camera.  You'll have to be willing to make some tradeoffs between efficiency and quality when you take pictures with your Windows Mobile camera:

• Greater efficiency, such as faster picture taking or small picture file size, results in lower picture quality.  To improve camera efficiency:
  • Turn flash on or turn it off, don't let the camera decide what to do
  • Set smallest image resolution suitable for the job
  • Set high compression.  High compression creates a smaller file size and a lower quality picture
  • Use good lighting (low lighting takes longer for the picture to process)
  • Set a lower resolution
  • Set a lower photo quality
  • Use Burst mode, if available, and plan to take a bunch of pictures.  If you use Burst mode, make sure the camera is set to store the pictures to your storage card.
  • The speed of the storage card probably won't make much of a difference
    
• Higher quality pictures result in lower efficiency in terms of camera speed and picture file size.  To improve picture quality:
  • Hold camera steady
  • Use the camera's timer option, if available.  Using the timer option prevents you from shaking the camera when you press the button.  To take the best pictures, consider using a tripod along with the camera's timer option.  It takes longer for the camera to take a high quality picture, so you'll need to keep the camera steady for a longer period of time. 
  • Set low compression.  A lower compression creates a larger file size and a higher quality picture
  • Get close - avoid using the camera's digital zoom option
  • Use highest resolution
  • Use high photo quality
  • Get the lighting right
    • Use bright light (lower light takes longer for the picture to process)
    • Make sure the light is behind or to the side of you
    • Use flash as little as possible

I've got a couple of different Windows Mobile phones with cameras.  The camera software options differ from device to device, but here's a short summary of camera features and options for a couple of different Windows Mobile cameras.

HP IPAQ Voice Messenger Camera Settings

The HP IPAQ Voice Messenger runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard operating system (no touch screen) and includes a 3.1 Megapixel, auto-focus, 5x digital zoom camera.  You can set the camera options for the Voice Messenger by selecting Start > Camera > Menu.

Resolution:  You can choose amongst 6 different resolution settings, ranging from 240x320 to 1536x2048. 

• The higher the resolution, the better the picture and the more space is required to store the picture. 
• Higher resolution pictures give you the greatest flexibility for editing the pictures later. 
• The file size of lower resolution pictures can be much smaller, but the quality is not as good, and you won't have much flexibility to edit pictures later.

Quality: You can choose between Low, Medium or High quality.  The higher the quality, the larger the file size and the slower the camera will take to capture images.

White Balance:  Be sure to check the camera's white balance settings to match the current lighting situation by tapping Menu > Settings > White Balance.  Then you can choose Daylight, Shade, Incandescent or Fluorescent.

I will leave it to you to explore the other options, but some options that might be of interest include Night Mode, Zoom (available for lower resolution pictures only but allows you to choose from 5 different zoom settings and Flicker Filter (select 110v/60Hz or 240v/50Hz).

I've been very impressed with the quality of the pictures I've taken with the IPAQ Voice Messenger.  Click the picture below to view my "Study in Mushrooms" slideshow and see why.  If you view this slideshow in full screen mode, you'll see the amazing detail.  All the pictures in the slideshow were taken with the IPAQ Voice Messenger with the following settings:  Resolution: 3MP 1536x2048; Quality: High; White Balance: Shade; Default settings for everything else. 

HTC Fuze Camera Settings

The HTC Fuze runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system and has a 3.2 Megapixel Color CMOS camera with auto focus. 

You can set the options for the HTZ Fuze camera by tapping the gear icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Avoid the use of the Flash Light.  Instead try to arrange the picture to use the lighting in the room to your advantage.  If set up properly, even inside pictures can look pretty good without turning on the Flash.

Before snapping pictures, always check the White Balance option.  You'll get better pictures if you do not use the Auto option.  Instead, take a few minutes to toggle through the sunlight, moon & star, incandescent light and fluorescent light options to find the one that gives the best lighting for your picture.

Using the Self-timer and even a tripod will ensure the steadiest picture.

Resolution: The HTC Fuze provides five resolution settings:  M (320x240); L(640x480); 1M (1280x960); 2M (1600x1200); 3M (2048x1536). 

• The higher the resolution, the better the picture and the more space is required to store the picture. 
• Higher resolution pictures give you the greatest flexibility for editing the pictures later. 
• The file size of lower resolution pictures can be much smaller, but the quality is not as good, and you won't have much flexibility to edit pictures later.

Quality: You can choose between Basic, Normal, Fine and Super Fine. 

• Choosing a higher quality setting (Fine or Super Fine) will create a larger file size and
• Taking pictures will be more time consuming - the camera takes quite a bit longer to save the picture, so a steady hand is necessary to get the best picture (or use a tripod and the timer to create a steady picture). 

I'll leave it to you to explore the other Advanced Options of the HTC Fuze camera, but some other options that might be of interest to you are:

Effect lets you choose between None, Grayscale, Sepia or Negative.

Flicker Adjustment lets you choose between Auto, 50 Hz, or 60 Hz.

Tapping the center icon on the Camera screen allows you to choose amongst ten different capture modes: Photo, Video, Panorama, MMS Video, Contacts Picture, Burst, Picture Theme, Sports, Video Share, and GPS Photo.

A Simple Registry Edit to Enable Burst & Sports Mode on the HTC Fuze

Burst Mode snaps pictures as long as you hold down the button.  Sports Mode snaps five pictures at a time (as long as you hold down the button).  By default, both of these modes are disabled on the HTC Fuze.  You can use a registry editor, like Total Commander's registry editor, to make a couple of simple registry edits to enable them (1).  With your registry editor software, you'll navigate to:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>HTC>Camera>P6>Enable.  Change the value from 0 to 1
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>HTC>Camera>P8>Enable.  Change the value from 0 to 1

Then exit the registry editor software and perform a soft reset.  Now when you turn on the camera and tap the middle icon on the bottom of the screen, you'll find icons for the Burst and Sports modes.

HP IPAQ hw6925

The HP IPAQ hw6925 runs the Windows Mobile 5.0 Professional operating system and includes a 1.3 Megapixel camera.  The hw6925's camera is quite inferior to those of the other windows mobile cameras discussed in this article, but I think it provides an interesting contrast for the article.

You can set the camera options for the hw6925 by tapping Start > Programs > Photosmart Camera.  Then tap the bulleted pointed icon on the left side of the screen.

The settings tab provides access to the White Balance, Color, Compression, Resolution, and Flicker Filter options. 

White Balance:  You can choose Auto, Sun, Tungsten (which is the same as incandescent), or Fluorescent

Color:  You can choose Full Color, Black & White, Sepia, and Negative

Compression: You can choose Good, Better or Best.  Best compression creates the smallest file size, and the poorest quality picture; Good compression creates the largest file size, and the best quality picture.

Resolution:  You can choose amongst 4 different resolution settings, ranging from 160x120 to 1280x1024

You can also set the Self Timer (2 seconds or 10 seconds) by tapping the Setup tab.

Concluding Remarks

To get the best feel for your Windows Mobile camera, take several pictures of the same thing, changing the resolution, quality, and lighting.  Then copy the pictures to your computer and review them.  You'll soon find the best combination of settings to get the best pictures from your Windows Mobile camera.

Also cell phones and their cameras get exposed to a lot of junk bumping around a purse or a pocket, so be sure to clean the camera lenses regularly.

Every Windows Mobile camera for every Windows Mobile phone is going to be different and the settings you use on one phone may not be the best settings for another phone.  As an example of this, compare the pictures below.  I snapped the first picture with my HP IPAQ Voice Messenger and the second picture with my newest Windows phone, the HTC Touch Diamond2.  I snapped these pictures within minutes of each other, and I tried to use similar camera settings on both devices. I don't know if it is a fair comparison since I've only had the HTC Touch Diamond2 for a week or so and haven't spent much time playing with the camera options, but I can tell you that the HP IPAQ mobile cameras I've owned have always taken better pictures than any HTC mobile camera I have used.

Taken with the HP IPAQ Voice Messenger:

Taken with the HTC Touch Diamond2:

References

1. Pocketnow forum, provided by speed_pour (registry settings to show the Burst and Sports modes on the HTC Fuze)

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I'm always looking for ways to use my Windows Mobile devices to keep me organized in the classroom.  This past semester I managed 90 students' progress through two different courses.

In this article I share some of the ways I used my Windows Mobile device and other mobile technologies to help me manage the myriad of details and tasks involved in a busy semester.  Even if you don't teach, I hope this article gives you some useful tips about how you can use your Windows Mobile device to help you be more productive and organized in your working life.

Tracking Student Information & Participation

I've kept lists for as long as I can remember and I've used the ListPro desktop and Windows Mobile application to manage my lists for about as long as I've used Windows Mobile devices.  ListPro is one of my most frequently used applications on both my computer and my Windows Mobile device. 

I like ListPro because I can create customized lists for any number of topics.  Creating a list is easy and, once created, I can import txt or comma delimited (csv) files directly into it.  A list can include up to 181 records and each record can include up to 32 fields.  Lists can include a wide variety of field types for each record, including Text, Category, Yes/No, 3 State Checkbox, Number, Date, and Linked fields. In addition to being a great list making application, Listpro is also a great outlining tool.

When teaching, ListPro is the cornerstone of my organizational system. I use it as my student information system, to track student attendance, and to streamline and organize course preparation and planning:

Student Information

A semester spans about 4 months, so my student roster turns over frequently.  Instead of managing student contact information through Outlook, I maintain this information in ListPro. 

I import my class rolls, which consist of student name, ID, and email address, into a Listpro list I've created.  I've included a couple of Linked fields in this list and by appending "mailto:" to student email addresses (see the Email field in the screenshot) and "dial:" to student phone numbers in these Linked fields, I am able to to initiate new email messages or phone calls directly from ListPro by simply tapping the field.

Attendance

To track student attendance, I've also included numbered checkbox fields to the list (Field "1" shown in the screenshot corresponds to the 1st day of class). 

Early in the semester, I create a seating chart for each class and input a seat number into each student's record.  To take attendance all I do is sort the list by seat number and tap the respective numbered checkbox field.  At the end of the semester I export the attendance data to a comma delimited (csv) file, which I import into the Excel spreadsheet I use to tally up all the final grades.

Course Preparation & Planning

I worked as a project manager for many years before I started teaching, and I approach most things from a project management perspective. 

I discovered early on that a semester's work includes numerous repetitive tasks which are performed every semester with little modification.  Within each semester there are specific start and end dates, a clearly defined critical path, milestones and deliverables for each milestone, and an end product (the letter grade I award every student at the end of the semester). 

In previous semesters I tracked these tasks through Outlook, but Outlook is not a very good project management tool.  I thought about using Microsoft Project to create a project plan for the semester, but that seemed like overkill to me and I wanted to work with tasks on my Windows Mobile device.  So last semester I imported a comprehensive list of semester tasks for each of the classes I teach into Listpro and created a comprehensive project plan of action steps and related tasks for each course. 

I assigned a week number to each task to designate the week in which the task is performed (see the W field).  Sorting the tasks at the start of each week by week number displays the tasks in a linear fashion and helps keep me focused and organized.

I've organized all the different documents I use throughout the semester (i.e., PowerPoint presentations, student handouts, exams, etc.), by including 4 linked fields (Doc1, Doc2, Doc3, and Doc4) for each task.  Tapping on one of these linked fields opens up the document on my computer.

From the screenshot shown above you can see that I store some documents locally on my computer's C drive (see the Doc2 field) and other documents in the cloud (see the Doc1 field).

Storage in the Cloud with Windows Live SkyDrive

Windows Live SkyDrive gives me 25 GB of free, secure online storage where I store many of the documents I use in my courses: PowerPoint presentations, case studies, homework solutions, etc.  All you need to do to get your own Windows Live SkyDrive storage is sign up for it with your Windows Live ID.

I use Gladinet Cloud Desktop's free starter edition software to mount my Windows Live SkyDrive space as a local drive on my computer.  This enables me to edit the documents I use during course lectures locally on my home computer and save and store them "in the cloud" on SkyDrive. [See "Gladinet Cloud Desktop - Mounting Windows Live Skydrive & Google Docs" by Remo Knops, for a full discussion of this fine software.]

Then when I teach class, I download my lecture presentations and any other documents I need for class directly from my SkyDrive space to the classroom computer.

Email Communications

Windows Live Email sorts and organizes student emails.  I use separate email addresses for each class that I teach to manage and organize all the student emails that I receive during the semester.  I consolidate my separate email accounts into one Windows Live Email where I've set up some filters to automatically sort and organize student emails.

PhatNotes simplifies and organizes email activities:

• I store student email distribution lists that can be easily copied and pasted into new email messages from my Windows Mobile device or my computer
• I've created a Course Email database that consists of routine emails I send throughout the semester (kind of like form letters) - see 1st screenshot below.
• I post routine emails directly from PhatNotes by selecting the email I want to send, then tapping Note > Send Email; by pressing the stylus to the screen until a popup menu appears and then selecting Send Email; or by tapping the email icon in the icon toolbar that runs along the bottom of the screen (see the third icon from the left in the 2nd screenshot below). 

Since PhatNotes is installed on both my computer and my Windows Mobile device, I can easily send emails from either machine. 

I have reduced the number of emails I send out to students by moving most of my routine communications to the internet.

Internet Communications

Twitter as a student bulletin board & broadcast system.  Instead of updating course websites or sending out numerous email messages, I post regular and frequent announcements to twitter accounts I've set up for each of the courses I teach .  Students can view announcements either by visiting the course twitter account or by viewing the twitter widget I have posted to each of my course websites.

Using twitter in this way has been a huge productivity boost for me since I no longer have to update course websites every time I want to make an announcement. 

Course Websites serve as primary landing pages for student course information.  My Course websites are static and do not change much throughout the semester.  Most homework assignments, project descriptions and write-ups and student handouts are included on the Course websites as well as links to the twitter account and course blog.   

Blogging with Posterous:  I post dynamic information and distribute up-to-date course materials to students via Posterous.  Posterous is an elegantly simple online blogging service that:

• Allows me to post to course blogs by sending an email to a special email address. 
• Automatically posts emailed attachments as downloadable documents.  Posterous supports the following file formats: doc, ppt, xls, mp3, pdf, jpg, gif, png, mpg and avi files.
• Automatically posts an announcement to my twitter bulletin boards whenever I post a new blog entry.

Google Voice sets parameters around the days and times when I am available to field student calls.  My Google Voice phone number is posted to my course syllabi and websites. Google Voice provides a permanent online record of voicemail messages, gives me visual voicemail (via email and text message), and I can return calls to students from my cellphone via my Google Voice phone number. Students can even send text messages to my Google Voice number that get delivered to my cellphone and I can reply to student text messages through my Google Voice web page.either from my windows phone mobile browser or from any internet-connected computer.

Windows Live Messenger is an ideal way to keep virtual office hours:  I've set up the web settings for my Windows Live Messenger accounts to allow my students to see my online status.  When I log into one of these Live Messenger accounts, my students can send me messages either through their Windows Live Messenger account or through a Windows Live Messenger button that is posted to my course websites.  I hold virtual office hours for a few hours a day before a big project due date, before an exam or around the end of the semester, and I'll post an announcement on the Twitter bulletin board to let students know when I am online.

Final Comments

I originally drafted this article at the start of the semester, but decided to postpone posting the final article to the blog until after the semester was over.  I wanted to test some of these things out and see how well they worked before reporting success here.  I concluded the semester early this week and I'm happy to report that these tools served me very well during the semester.  I look forward to using them and continuing to refine them in the next semester. 

If you've found interesting ways to use your mobile device to help you become more productive, please post a comment and let us know about them.

Links

• ListPro 5.0 (Professional Edition)
• Windows Live SkyDrive
• Gladinet Cloud Desktop
• PhatNotes
• Posterous
• Google Voice

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After much anticipation and amidst much fanfare, Microsoft unveiled its Windows MarketPlace for Mobile devices last Tuesday.  The Windows MarketPlace is now open for business for WM6.5 phones, with plans to make it accessible to WM6.0 and WM6.1 phones by the end of the year (NOTE: If you don't want to wait, you can find a CAB file that can be installed to WM6.0 or WM6.1 phones at the XDA Developers forum). Over the last year I've read numerous articles that discussed the Windows MarketPlace in regards to software developers, but I have not read any articles that discuss the MarketPlace in regards to end users like me!  To get a better understanding of the MarketPlace from an end user perspective I spent several hours reviewing the "MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement," the "Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions for Customers" and the "Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions for Developers" documents that are located on Microsoft's website.

How the MarketPlace works

According to the Windows MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement, "Applications made available through Windows Marketplace are licensed, not sold, to you."  To license software through the MarketPlace, all you need is a Windows Live ID.  You can't shop online from your computer just yet, but you can set up your billing preferences and view your purchase and billing history from your computer.  You can pay for software either with a credit card or by having charges applied to your mobile phone bill (if your mobile operator is set up to do this).  Online shopping from your computer will be offered sometime in the future. 

Before you can license software you'll be required to sign off on the Windows MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement.

MarketPlace Mobile client

You can browse and purchase applications directly from your Windows phone through the Windows Mobile MarketPlace client.  After you open up the client, you will login to your Live ID.  Then you can browse available applications by selecting the "Showcase," "Most popular," or  "What's new" options on the Home page.  Tapping the "View All" option (at the top right hand side of the screen) allows you to refine your search to paid, free, or the newest applications that have been added to the MarketPlace. 

The mobile client also lets you browse by category, and you can manage applications you've licensed through the MarketPlace.

When you purchase a license to use an application, the application is downloaded and installed directly to your device from the MarketPlace.  If you remove an application or perform a hard reset, you can download and install the application again by opening the Marketplace client on your windows phone, and going to the My Applications page (see screenshot below on the right). 

Tapping the Menu option on the lower right hand side of the screen allows you to return to the Home screen or to Search for specific applications. 

The Marketplace Mobile client is touch friendly and easy to use.  

Licensing Applications

You can tap any application you see to learn more about it or to purchase and install it to your phone.  Applications are installed directly to the Windows phone's main memory.

i

Windows MarketPlace for Mobile does not issue or use activation codes (4).  Instead, applications are associated with your Windows Live ID account, are licensed to specific devices and can only be installed from the Windows MarketPlace.  You can install applications on up to five different devices at a time.  Activation and registration codes that have been purchased in other places are not supported in the Windows MarketPlace.

Trial Software, which are described as "limited functionality" versions of applications, will be available for free. (5)  This is different than most trial software that is downloaded from other places, where the software are fully functional versions that time out after some period of time.

Are the benefits compelling enough to get your business?

From an end-user perspective, the benefits of shopping at the MarketPlace include:

Convenience:  One-stop shopping for software from a Windows phone just doesn't get any easier or faster than using the Mobile MarketPlace client. (well, it could be one-stop shopping once more developers get on board).

Secure Backup:  All applications that are purchased in the Marketplace are automatically backed up to your account and you can download and reinstall the software to your Windows phone, as needed. (6)

Microsoft certification:  All MarketPlace applications go through a rigorous certification process by Microsoft to ensure the best user experience on their Windows phones, and applications are backed by a simple return policy. (7)

Simple Refund Policy:  Credit card purchases come with a no-questions-asked refund policy as long as a refund is requested within 24 hours from time of purchase and you don't ask for more than one refund a month. (8)

Will MarketPlace restrictions leave you cold?

I hold many personal reservations about my loss of control over applications that are purchased through the Marketplace.

Remote Kill Switch:  GeekZone, in its "Unofficial Tech Ed Blog," was the first to report the existence of Microsoft's so-called remote kill switch:

"If an application is approved but later removed from the marketplace it will then be automatically removed from all mobile devices"

ars technica received clarification regarding Microsoft's use of the kill switch:

"In the vast majority of instances where an application is removed from Windows Marketplace for Mobile, users of this application will continue to be able to use these applications on their phones," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "In the rare event an application from Marketplace exhibits harmful behavior or has unforeseen effects, Marketplace has the capability to remotely uninstall these applications. While we hope to avoid this scenario, we will make refunds available in such cases."

The Customer Service Agreement states:

"Microsoft may a) close your Windows Marketplace service account for any reason and b) remove any application from Windows Marketplace and/or disable copies of such application on your device in order to protect Windows Marketplace, application providers, its customers, wireless carriers over whose network you access Windows Marketplace, and others."

Backed up Applications may not be secure after all:  If Microsoft closes your Marketplace service account, you will not be able to access any of the software that is backed up there.  In the Customer Service Agreement, Microsoft states:

"We may change Windows Marketplace or delete features at any time and for any reason. We may cancel or suspend access to Windows Marketplace at any time. Our cancellation or suspension may be without cause and/or without notice. Upon cancellation, your right to use Windows Marketplace stops right away. Once Windows Marketplace is cancelled or suspended, any data you have stored on Windows Marketplace may not be retrieved later, which includes backup copies of applications you may have downloaded.

An internet connection is required to install applications:  There have been a few times when I've had to reinstall an application and did not have easy access to the internet.  I generally keep application CAB files backed up to my storage card, so I can always reinstall applications without the need for an internet connection. Unfortunately, this means of application backup is not an option when purchasing software through the MarketPlace.  

No direct access to CAB files: Applications are associated with your Windows Live ID and are licensed and installed to specific devices directly from the MarketPlace.  Any CAB files that are used to install the software are immediately deleted as soon as the application is installed to the device.  Licensed software is maintained in your MarketPlace account.  If you need to reinstall the software to an existing device (as in the case of a factory reset), or if you ever want to install the software to a new device, you will do so through the Windows MarketPlace. (6) 

Applications are automatically installed to main memory,  and you cannot install applications to a storage card except under extenuating circumstances.  When a user on the on the Windows Marketplace for Mobile forum asked how they could install software to their storage card, Ronn M responds: 

"Currently, there is no means to manually specify an alternative install location for apps. The exception being if there is insufficient space available for installation. When this occurs, the client will notify you that you do not have sufficient memory to store the new application on your device and will present the option to either delete an existing app or to store the app in an alternate location such as a storage card."

Device Restrictions: Licensed software can be downloaded and installed on up to 5 devices at one time.

Trial Software through the MarketPlace is crippled with "limited functionality":  I don't usually purchase software unless I can try it before I buy it.  When I try out software, I'm not interested in working with a "limited functionality" version of the application and much prefer getting a fully functional version that times out after (usually) 30 days.  This gives me enough time to explore all aspects of the software and decide if it is one I want to purchase.  I have hardly ever requested a refund after purchasing such software. 

Limited Refund Policy:  A 24 hour no-questions-asked return policy is quite limited when it is compared to the liberal return policies of many mobile developers and other Windows Mobile software vendors, that often offer a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy.

Conclusion

The Windows MarketPlace for Mobile has a great deal of potential and could be a great place to find and purchase Windows Mobile software.  Nonetheless, given its existing restrictions and limitations, I am not convinced it is the best place for me to purchase software.     
 
There are many other places where Windows Mobile software can be purchased, without having to deal with such restrictions. The Marketplace may be the most convenient place to purchase software and there may be a sense of comfort in knowing that an application has gone through a rigorous authorization and approval process before it can be sold in the Marketplace, but as far as I am concerned the loss of control pretty much cancels out these benefits. 

I will enjoy window shopping at the MarketPlace from time to time to see what's happening there, but when I am ready to make a purchase, I will most likely drop my cash in other places.

Links

1. MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement
2. Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions (for Customers)
3. Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions (for Developers)
4. I rely on activation codes to not only register the app, but to gather user information for support. How will this be addressed in Marketplace? (Developer FAQs)
5. How do I create a trial application? (Developer FAQs)
6. How can I keep a backup copy of my apps? (Customer FAQs)
7. Why are you charging so much more than the competition for certification? (Developer FAQs)
8. What is the Refund Policy? (Customer FAQs)
9. Windows MarketPlace for Mobile forum

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Windows Live Mesh Beta is one of Microsoft's "cloud" computing services.  When you sign up for Live Mesh a small client application is installed in the notification area of your computer's taskbar. You designate folders on your computer that you want to upload to the mesh and then whenever you modify files in those folders, the files in the cloud are refreshed.

Live Mesh gives you 5 gigabytes of free online storage. You can connect multiple computers to your Mesh and share your folders with all your connected computers. Whenever you connect a computer to the Mesh the files in your shared folders are updated to and from the computer.

Live Mesh also allows you to connect remotely to any computer that has an active connection to your mesh.  What this means is that you can remotely control and explore any of your connected computers through Internet Explorer.

The Mobile Mesh

There are a couple of ways you can access the files in your Mesh from a mobile device:

• Live Mesh mobile website allows you to access your files from any device with a mobile browser.

• Live Mesh Mobile client: If you've got a Windows Mobile 6 or 6.1 device, you can install this software to it, add the device to your Mesh and then sync files and pictures to the Mesh from your mobile device. 

To set up your Mesh, all you need is a Live ID.  You'll sign into the Mesh with your Live ID and select a password.  Then you'll add a computer to the Mesh and, at the time you will be prompted to download and install the Live Mesh client to the computer.  All you need to do next is right click on the folders on your computer that you want to sync to the Mesh and you'll find a new option there, "Add folder to Live Mesh."  

How I'm Using the Mesh

I'm Using the Mesh to keep my computers in sync . . .

I sync the folders that store the data for several third party applications between my desktop computer and my UMPC (as well as to maintain a backup of these files in the Mesh):

• Big Oven software stores all my recipes
• Media Man: I maintain an inventory of all my books
• Windows Live Writer:  I compose blog posts with Live Writer, and I sync the Live Writer folder where draft articles are store to the Mesh.  Then when I am out of the office, I can continue working on blog posts from my portable computer. 

The Mesh simplifies setting up and/or restoring my Windows Mobile devices

I've saved the Favorites that I use regularly on my mobile devices as well as the CAB files for my favorite windows mobile applications to a "WinMo" folder that is synced to the Mesh.

Limitations of the Mesh

Documents that are stored in your Mesh are in the cloud, and you can't edit them directly from the cloud  You have to download files to a connected device, edit them and then upload them back to the mesh....

The Live Mesh Mobile client is not compatible with SPB Shell, see this forum thread. I am hopeful that the next version of the Mobile client will address and resolve this issue.

I still carry a Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC and access my files in the mesh regularly through the Live Mesh Mobile website.  When I download files to my Pocket PC, the name of the file is changed to some strange name and extension.  I have to rename the file and give it a correct extension before I can open it on the Pocket PC.

Useful Links

Windows Live Mesh Beta

Live Mesh mobile website

Live Mesh Mobile client

Live Mesh Mobile forum

Live Mesh team blog

Live Services blog: Introducing Live Mesh

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