I just had a short conversation with a friend of mine that happens to work at Microsoft and he unofficially dropped a bit about the development tools. He said that

"[...] we're not ready to mention it [...]" and "[...] we will reveal most of it in the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco and MIX 10 in Vegas."

Aside from the questions it raises on the development tools, SDKs, etc, I am very pleased with the fact that the announcement will be made in a game developer conference. This means that Microsoft's push on Windows Phone 7 is aimed at regaining some serious consumer credibility on the smartphone arena. Consumer cred is much more difficult to regain than corporate since most of the corporate customers are still using Windows and are now looking into migrating their systems to Windows 7 if they have not already done so.

I know this is not much information, but I have received too many questions regarding the future of the development platforms not to mention this bit.

If you are developing applications for Windows Mobile 6.x, my suggestion is that you stick to patterns and practices because that's how you will assure a smooth transition with no (or few) glitches.

I use my mobile phone all the time... I also use a personal Notebook, a work Notebook, a desktop and a few other computers here and there. I probably wouldn't say anything new if I told you that I use information off the web all the time. Duh! However, one thing that's been bothering me lately is that something as simple as having all my favorites should be something simple to manage. Well it hasn't, not until I recently discovered Xmarks (click here)...

When one uses IE and syncs their Windows phone to their Windows PC it's easy... but add a few more platforms to the mix, a few more (different) browsers per platform, and what was a simple sync task now becomes a major undertaking.

You may ask yourself why on earth would someone have these many different ways to browse the web? Most of the time I have to make sure that what works and looks nice on one device, also does on the next device. The application in question also needs to offer the exact same experience to consumers. Even within the same device, there are so many different browsers people may end up using that I need to make sure that the experience is consistent across most browsers. Currently, what will cover almost all web users is MSIE 6, 7, 8, Firefox 3.x, Opera 9.x, 10, Chrome and Safari in whatever platforms they exist (Windows, Mac, Linux and depending on the application, I also test Windows Mobile, iPhone, Android and Blackberry).

Because of the complexities involved, I even considered the idea of developing a solution myself so that I would be able to have my favorites/bookmarks/links with me at all times. That was until I found Xmarks. This tool has been around for a while, formerly known as FoxMarks (it originally existed only as a Firefox add-on).

This tool exists as an add-on for Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Internet Explorer, there's a web version for the browsers/platforms that are not supported yet and yes, there is a stripped down web version of it for mobile devices. A version for Opera has not been announced yet but what I would like to highlight is that there is a way to use it in any and all mobile devices.

While the add-on version is great when you are using a Windows PC, Mac or Linux, the most important thing about this nifty little tool is that no matter what I am using now, I can still have access to all my favorite links.

The first time you install this tool, you get to create an account, provide with some information (user name, password, email address -to verify the account-). This process happens within the wizard itself. Then the tool reads your favorites and syncs them to the web. If you only have your computer and your mobile device that's about it. If you have like I do, multiple computers that you do your work on, then the process repeats in all computers (and all browsers you want to keep in sync) but you keep using the same credentials you created in the first environment you installed. From that point on, you simply forget that the tool is installed and it just does its job. It works seamlessly and you don't need to change the way you do your work, you use your links the same way you've always used them, and the tool syncs as long as you have a connection to the web. I have used it for a while now and with y links, I have created, deleted, updated, moved from one folder to the other and save for a few minutes lag time, it basically keeps everything in sync.

Whenever I am not using a supported platform, or I am on someone else's computer, I simply use their online version. It simply has the same features I have in all my supported browsers. Plus I know that whatever changes I make to this online version will get synched to all my browsers.

The mobile version is nothing more than simple web pages (almost bare HTML) that can be browsed in most browsers, even the simplest WAP versions. Making this site your top favorite in your mobile browser simply makes your favorites available in that platform. This stripped down version, however is a bit too stripped down and only offers you the ability to browse through your folders and links. The ability to add, change, delete links is just not there yet. My guess is that this is so that the most mobile platforms are supported.

In Opera Mobile, I use the mobile version, but in other mobile browsers such as Skyfire, I just use the regular online version, so that I can also add, edit and remove links.

So far the features provided are great and for most regular users that would be it, but you can also take advantage of profiles. This is an extra feature that I find particularly convenient. Profiles work so that you decide out of your universe of links, which ones link up to what profiles. You can use the provided profiles for "mobile", "work" and "home" or you can add as many profiles as you want. Maybe you want to keep some of your personal links out of your work computers, or you may want to keep some of your work links out of your personal computers. You can do all this by adding a particular browser to a particular profile so that only the links to the profile in question will be synced to the browser in question.

Finally, there are two "side effect" uses for this tool. You can use Xmarks as a "backup to the cloud" for your favorites and you can use it whenever you are moving from one PC to its replacement, all you need to do is sync it up and you are done.

Overall, Xmarks is a great tool that provides what is being promised while assuring you that your favorites will be safely kept in the cloud for your use whenever you need them most.

It’s no news that the ebook arena has been heating up for the last 6 months. First with the hype prior to the launch of the Nook, then the actual launch.

In the last week or so, I have received a series of emails from ebook vendors hinting at what could be seen as the Barnes & Noble global ebook strategy. Even though my sources have requested to remain anonymous, what they have mentioned to me is also supported by information out in the open. So, knowing that their comments to me can be easily confirmed with public information (just needed to know where to look for it).

Recently, flurry of ebook readers from third parties have been released, they are able to read more formats, have about the same features as both the Kindle and the Nook and they may or may not have different forms of communication. Some use OTA (over the air connection) provided by cell carriers, some have WiFi, others (the more basic ones) need to connect to a PC in order to receive new ebooks. The most important feature; their screens are pretty much the same, they all use e-ink screens that looks great: both indoors and outdoors. The only differentiating factor in this feature is whether they have more or less resolution.

Early in December, eReader.com (a BN company) sent an email to their customers announcing that they would be selling an ebook reader from Foxit called the eSlick. This reader had already been out for sale from Foxit. The great part of this offer was that if you purchase the eSlick for $259, you get the whopping $100 in credit for purchasing ebooks from eReader.com! Their offer is still valid, click here to check it out. Most of their books are under the typical $9.99 from other sites. They also have a points structure where you get points for every Dollar you spend, using these points for lowering your purchase price for further discounts.

At the same time, Fictionwise.com (another BN company) did the exact same thing, including the $100 for ebooks. You can see their offer (which is still valid) by clicking here. Their websites look almost exactly the same.

A few days later, both companies  complemented their offer by adding the Jetbook Lite from Ectaco a slightly smaller and more basic reader. They are selling this ebook reader for $150 and you get $50 for purchasing ebooks. Again both eReader and Fictionwise are offering the same sale. You can see them here and here respectively.

Additionally, I have commented before that BN had purchased the company eReader to use their ebook reader software for mobile devices. Which they are already porting from the “eReader user interface” to the “BN user interface”. So far, they have ported the software for Windows, MacOS, iPhone/iPod Touch and BlackBerry with additional versions announced for Android and Windows Mobile underway. In the mean time, eReader.com has versions of their ebook reader software for Windows, MacOS, Windows Mobile Smartphone, Windows Mobile Professional, Pocket PC PDAs, PalmOS, BlackBerry, Symbian and Android.

If the Apple Tablet is released this year, BN’s development of the iPhone eReader app will already support ebooks from BN’s collection. If the software is tweaked a bit, it could potentially support magazines and take advantage of the larger screen the iSlate has to offer.

Finally, Fictionwise.com is doing something that shows how BN is approaching this new business from all possible angles and may win over Amazon’s Kindle. They are now also offering a “Kindle ebook Store” where you can essentially purchase Barnes and Noble books to read on an Amazon Kindle device. You can check it out here.

BN may have taken its time to release an ebook reader, but it has certainly completed their due diligence. They are not putting all their eggs in one basket. They are trying multiple approaches to see which one works best. Best of all, they are also eating Amazon’s share of the ebooks sold for Kindle itself. At the same time they have these two different websites: eReader and Fictionwise; that can be used to try these new approaches without eroding into Barnes & Noble’s credibility.

A few days ago I commented about the Celio Redfly adding support for BlackBerrys. I came across that bit of information first while researching to purchase a Celio RedFly myself and then while I’ve been using it with my Windows phone. It certainly extends the usefulness of my HTC Touch HD, and it should do the same for you if you have a Blackberry. In this review I will tell you, my thoughts and experiences with this product.

While my review was using a Windows phone, the device features are the same when using a Blackberry phone except for some minor details I will explain later on.

For all of you who don't know what the Celio RedFly is; let me tell you that it appears to be a Netbook, but the appearances are only on the outside... literally. It certainly does look like a Netbook, but it has no CPU nor storage... so then, shat is it? Simple: its most obvious features are that is acts like a terminal for your phone which means that it acts as a replacement keyboard that can be touch-typed on, a higher resolution screen even if your phone has less resolution than the RedFly, an interface for thumb-drives of any kind and a multimedia tool.

You may ask yourself why on earth would anyone want to have this type of device instead of a cool Netbook then??? Read after the break for the answer to this question and more…

The answer is simple, I already have a notebook, I use it instead of a desktop so that I can be more mobile with my work and personal information. I mostly carry my notebook with me and take on my vacations. I also wanted a smaller device that I could bring with me on my quick outings away from my computer, but having a 17 inch screen notebook; I just wasn't willing to haul that much weight everywhere all the time. I was faced with several options... a UMPC, a MID, a Netbook... Then I suddenly realized I already had everything I wanted to have with me on my phone, it just wasn't practical to use during extended periods of time; especially if it only had an on-screen keyboard. So, would a bluetooth keyboard be enough? Not really, that only resolves the issue of how to enter text but did not apply to screen size, battery life, a mouse pointer, etc which would be normally available with a netbook/notebook.

The RedFly comes in two flavors: C7 and C8N. The main differences between them are screen size (7 inches vs 8 inches), battery life (5 hours vs 8 hours) and some multimedia capabilities that I will get into later on. The devices are essentially the same except for the differences I mentioned and some other minor details that I will explain further on. These devices are a great complement to your smartphone where they extend to a full keyboard (I am touch-typing this article on it) and they reset the resolution of your smartphone to 800x480 if you have a smaller resolution. Your phone remains at it's current resolution but, when you are connected to this device, you have so much more real estate to see your applications. Because most applications are designed to use up small resolution screens, they look and feel very spacious on this device. Almost all applications resize nicely. I have not found any incompatibilities with all the apps I've been using so far. Software developers are adding support for higher resolutions to their applications. If you keep your apps current, you should not have any problems at all. Please the the image at the beginning of this paragraph where I am using Opera Mobile for browsing into Mobilitysite.

This image shows the pixel detail on the RedFly screen. It is clear, crisp and most important a bright screen. My HTC Touch HD was already 800x480, so there is no resolution reset, but most Windows phones and Blackberrys are not this resolution, therefore you will certainly notice the additional space in your screens. You could also connect to an external monitor (with the standard VGA connector on the back of the RedFly). While connected to an external monitor, you can further extend the resolution up to 800x600 pixels. Not enough of an enhancement to justify connecting to a monitor, but attractive enough when you are considering using this as a full replacement for your PC for a period of time.

The RedFly has no processor nor any internal storage. While this may puzzle you at first, it turns out this is one of it's greatest strengths. It has no processor, because it is not a standalone computer or smartphone, all it does is connect to the device you already have. By not having an otherwise power hungry CPU, battery is extended considerably. At the same time, not having any storage may sound like a huge drawback at first, but there are several up sides to it that make this device ideal. You can connect a thumb-drive and it will show up as an external drive on the phone (just as if you had inserted a memory card to the smartphone). This means that you can use any USB memory drive no matter what type of memory card it uses, or even the more compact ones that have no memory cards at all. I have tried an 8Gb drive so far, and had no problems at all. Transfer is seamless and it works just as fast as the micro-sd card I already have in my smartphone. Additionally, not having your data on the RedFly means that you will not risk any personal or business information if you misplace the RedFly or it gets stolen.

  Both RedFly models come with a touchpad that lets you control it with a pointer, just like your typical netbook/notebook would. The touch pad feels responsive and works nicely with his device, but I personally prefer to use a mouse. This is another minor but important feature. In my case, I have a Microsoft Arc mouse that works great and keeps bulk to a minimum when travelling but any USB mouse will work just fine. Only the basic mouse functions are supported (left click, scroll wheel, right click on the apps that provide support for it) but I rarely use more than that.

The device comes with two standard USB 2.0 ports. You can connect your smartphone with it's USB cable or you can use bluetooth. If you want to use your mouse and external storage, you can stay connected to the RedFly via bluetooth or you can get a special cable that will connect to the device on a third connector that acts as a regular USB 2.0 connection. This special port is the media port that allows you to watch movies from many media devices (more on that later). Because these USB ports are powered ports, if you connect to your smartphone with a cable, then you are charging your phone, therefore extending the amount of effective connection time.

Going back to the connection between your smartphone and the RedFly; if you choose the cable option (both the regular USB cable or the multimedia cable) instead of the bluetooth connection, the device feels a bit more "snappy", it seems to react a bit faster and apps seem to switch faster. I believe that this is because the data transfer rate with the cable is faster than the transfer rate over bluetooth. Remember that the contents of the screen needs to travel from the smartphone to the RedFly as opposed to an almost immediate refresh when using your smartphone's screen. In any case, the difference is minimal and if I need to use an additional device (such as external memory) I can more than certainly live with that.

The guys at Celio Corp paid attention to the little details that make the experience on this device worth it. One of the many examples of this is the implementation of "Alt-Tab". While you are using the RedFly, you can use the Alt-Tab keys to switch between the running applications. This seems like a trivial feature, but when you are used to it on your PC it really matters. The Alt-Tab form shows the icon of all the Apps running plus the name of the one currently selected. Another detail is that you can turn off the touch pad when a mouse is detected. This feature is not even standard on all netbooks/notebooks, it is a smart and useful feature. Especially when using a small device where you can accidentally touch the touch pad setting the focus on some other object on your screen.

WiFi, broadband and any other type of connectivity (other than Bluetooth and USB) are not needed on this device. This is because your smartphone provides them for it. This has a few great advantages that you soon get used to. For one, you are no longer bound to a WiFi hotspot; although you could use the faster access speed if you are near one and your phone has WiFi... another benefit is that the use of WiFi does not affect the battery life of your phone as your phone can go for 8 hours now when connected into the RedFly via USB. Compared to a regular netbook/notebook, you can go for 4 or 5 hours more. Compared to netbooks only; you still have 2 or 3 hours longer battery life than the most extreme netbooks can provide. Back to your smartphone providing connection to the web; I can now enjoy more of the outdoors while still working on my RedFly... it gives me the ability of enjoying family life no matter where we decide to go, and I no longer have to select specific locations where we can go simply because of no WiFi access. If I wanted to do the same thing with my laptop, I would have to pay an extra fee for tethering to the web via my smartphone. With the RedFly, I only pay for web access because there is no tethering. The phone is accessing the web and is not having the connection “shared” to the RedFly, because the RedFly is an accessory to the smartphone.

The following is not a feature; but it helps the device's drivers work much more consistently with all supported smartphones: The standard Windows Mobile today screen is displayed regardless of the app you use and what you have running on top of it. While your RedFly is working, the drivers installed on your smartphone unloads TouchFlo 3D (what I have running in my HTC Touch HD) or any non-standard UI enhancement tool. While this may not be ideal; it's a reasonable compromise since we couldn't possibly expect it to be 100% compatible with all applications that use non-managed code in Windows Mobile.

The RedFly software installation on your smartphone is very quick are simple, you simply install it as you would any other application. Even better, when you try to connect between your smartphone and the RedFly it never takes more than 2 or 3 seconds (yes seconds) making this an "instant on" type of device. On your smartphone, you will find a RedFly settings application where you can control how your smartphone looks, feels and behaves while connected to your RedFly. The newest version of this settings application has a much more improved UI. The image in this paragraph is a detail of the settings tool that is installed in your Windows phone.

The RedFly has an "on screen system tray" type of widget. With the press of a key, it shows the type of connection -USB 1/1.1/2 or Bluetooth-, battery charge, Num Lock, Caps Lock. This is a nice addition that complements a smart design. The right side of the RedFly has a battery indicator LED that changes color based on the amount of battery power left. Goes from Green-Yellow-Orange-Red and it is a good indicator if you plan to go for several days without recharging the device.

The RedFly can be used in an airplane as long as Bluetooth is not being used and your phone supports airplane mode. Even though support for video is still not 100% supported when playing from your smartphone, when a new version of the drivers for your smartphone is released, you will be able to see video. The RedFly comes with a multimedia port that can be connected with a custom cable (purchased separately) to a PMP, iPod, Zune or any other video source (even a portable DVD player). The aspect ratio of the device is suitable for 16:9 widescreen, so it would be much better than many of the portable video screens out there right now. The video formats supported are NTSC and PAL, which is all you need when connecting with the composite video/multimedia cable.

The drivers that need to be installed on your smartphone are provided free for anyone to download and there are no restrictions as to how many smartphones you can connect to the RedFly because the drivers are installed on the smartphones themselves. The only restriction is that only one smartphone can be connected at any given time to the RedFly. The RedFly Settings application will detect a RedFly device with an older firmware and will upgrade it to the most recent one you have on your smartphone. This helps keep your device in tiptop shape for supporting the most advanced features added to their software like the recent Blackberry awareness.

I love this device and it is certainly extending the functionality of my Windows phone.

Just as they promised a few months back, Celio Corp has released software that allows their RedFly to be used with Blackberry in addition to a few more Windows Mobile devices.

The RedFly is a device that extends smartphone functionality. It allows the use of smartphones with a larger resolution/larger sized screen and a larger physical keyboard. This brings all supported smartphones into a similar feature set and size than current Netbooks in the market while keeping its price point lower than most Netbooks. All this while leveraging your phone’s current data access, browser, email and almost all other supported features.

All devices shipped from now on will contain the “Blackberry aware” firmware in addition to the already present “Windows Mobile aware” firmware. Users that had already purchased the device can upgrade the firmware with the software download available for free from the Celio Corp website (click here). The new software installed in the smartphone has a more polished UI and better interface all around. Once the software is installed on the smartphone and it connects to the RedFly, it will push the firmware to the RedFly when it detects an older version simplifying the whole process. I upgraded my device today and it literally took no more than 3 minutes.

You can see the more than 60 different smartphones supported by following this link (click here). Smartphones supported are listed by carrier, manufacturer and OS.

Celio Corp is celebrating this launch by giving away 5 Celio RedFly C8N (their top of the line device) when you subscribe to their newsletter (click here)

Celio Corp, the company that produces the RedFly device announced last week that their current products will support BlackBerry smartphones by simply installing a new “BlackBerry aware” firmware. All products shipped after launch will already support connection to BlackBerry smartphones.

Their product line is based on extending the functionality of smartphones by adding a laptop-type-device that provides a keyboard, large screen, and a 5 or 8 hour battery (depending on the device). The device has no processor nor storage, thus allowing a lower price point than Netbooks.

The company had already announced a few months back that they would add support for BlackBerry smartphones, but it was unknown when or how they would support it. They already had support for Windows Mobile phones.

They posted on their website a series of questions and answers for people interested in their BlackBerry support:

We’ve been swamped with questions after our recent press release about supporting BlackBerry this fall so here are some answers to the most-asked questions:

Q: When can I start using a REDFLY with my BlackBerry?
A: Most likely sometime in October or November. We’ll know the exact release date soon and will announce it as soon as possible.

Q: Which BlackBerry smartphones will work with REDFLY?
A: Upon launch, REDFLY will support the BlackBerry Bold 9000, BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Tour 9630. We plan to support most of the new phones BlackBerry releases in the future. In order for the REDFLY driver to operate efficiently, you’ll need a BlackBerry phone with a 512 MHz or faster processor; 128MB or more memory; and a BlackBerry OS version of 4.6 or later.

Q: What other phones work with REDFLY?

A: Today REDFLY supports many Windows Mobile smartphones. We plan to support other mobile operating systems in the future. You can see an updated list of supported phones anytime at
http://www.celiocorp.com/smartphone

Q: Can I be notified when the BlackBerry driver is ready?
A: Absolutely. Sign up at http://www.celiocorp.com/subscribe for the latest news and info.

Q: If I buy a REDFLY today will it work with my BlackBerry once you finally release the BlackBerry driver?
A: Yes. However, you will need to install new firmware on the REDFLY to make it “BlackBerry aware” before connecting to a BlackBerry device. This special process may only be completed using a Windows Mobile phone so you’ll need to have access to a Windows Mobile phone in order to make your REDFLY BlackBerry aware. The firmware currently on REDFLY Mobile Companions shipping today only recognizes Windows Mobile phones.

The REDFLY Mobile Companion units that will ship to new customers this fall when the BlackBerry becomes officially supported will ship with BlackBerry aware firmware. REDFLYs purchased starting at that time will work out-of-the box with a BlackBerry phone without the need to set up the REDFLY using a Windows Mobile phone.

Q: Can I use the REDFLY I already own with a BlackBerry?
A: Most likely yes. The two currently available REDFLY models (the C7 and C8N) will be compatible with BlackBerry devices. However, you will need a Windows Mobile phone to update your REDFLY and make it BlackBerry aware before connecting to a BlackBerry for the first time. The original REDFLY Mobile Companion model C8 sold until November 2008 will not support a BlackBerry connection. If you are not sure which REDFLY model you have, please check the label on the bottom of your REDFLY device where the “Model No.” is listed.

Q: How much will the BlackBerry driver cost?
A: As with all REDFLY drivers, the BlackBerry driver will be offered free-of-charge to any existing or future REDFLY Mobile Companion owner.

Q: Can I use the same REDFLY to connect to both a BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phone?
A: Yes. The same REDFLY may be used to connect to any supported phone with the REDFLY driver installed. You can only connect REDFLY to one phone at a time so you’ll need to disconnect from a phone first before connecting to the other phone.

Q: Can I share one REDFLY between multiple users?
A: Yes. Since REDFLY stores no data, settings, or preferences, just connect it to any REDFLY aware smartphone without reconfiguring it in any way. See the video below for an example.

I guess that all BlackBerry users will just have to wait for about a month or so for the new firmware to be released. The original press release had announced support for other platforms on top of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, but there were no specifics regarding the dates for release.

This bit of news went right by us back in March of this year. However, we can see the results of some hard work right now and can only imagine what is to come.

B&N has been rumored to be preparing its own standalone reader a la Kindle. Instead of waiting until they have the competing device ready, their strategy includes software for existing mobile devices that could give them an immediate market leading position. This is where the purchase of Fictionwise and their eReader software comes in handy…

eBooks have been around for a while. I have been an avid reader of ebooks from way back when I had a Palm and Windows CE device and was using the ebook reader from Palm Press. Well, what was Palm books a while ago, turned into part of Fictionwise one of the largest ebooks retailers around. Back in March, Fictionwise was purchased by Barnes & Noble.

The eReader software was always free and always came with a few books available (classic novels plus a dictionary). Now Fictionwise is porting the eReader software to match the design principles of the B&N brand, plus they are adding some cool features:

• Automatic downloads of your latest Barnes & Noble eBook purchases and samples
• Access to download eBooks from your Online Library anytime
• Bookmarks, note taking & highlight functionality
• Lookup function for dictionary, Wikipedia or Google
• Portrait or landscape display modes
• Customizable font, margins and page gestures

Some of these were only basic features in the original eReader software and are now enhanced on the new eReader versions.

The interesting part of this is that B&N is shooting for all mobile devices to be able to read their ebooks as opposed to Amazon who only seems to be shooting for multiple versions of their Kindle reader.

Fictionwise is still operating and providing ebook software and ebooks for most device OSs such as iPhone, BlackBerry, PalmOS,  PocketPC, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Windows PCs, MacOS, and OQO. They are now enjoying a richer selection of content and better priced ebooks. However, the best part of it is that they are now focusing on porting their software and have already released the B&N eReader for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), BlackBerry, Windows PCs and MacOS with the rest of the environments to be supported in the coming weeks.

Even though I am a Windows Mobile user and the eReader for my platform has not been released yet, I am excited about their new strategy. They also have a new B&N’s ebook webpage (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/). In their ebook pages you will also find pretty good introduction to ebooks for beginners (click here).

The eReader software look and feel seems to have the same high quality that it has always had. The ability to change the way the font, size, background texture and other settings is a great plus for users that want to get more readable content out of a tiny screen. Users are not bound by small fonts or monochrome settings. This kind of flexibility along with the fact that they do not need to spend hundreds for a reader-device that uses a proprietary format make this a perfect ebook reader platform for those of us who are not willing to get yet another device.

Download it, it’s free and it comes with 2 free ebooks. If you like it, you can start purchasing from the huge ebook collection B&B already has for you.

“There’s no way a mobile device will ever browse like a desktop” said a friend of mine not too long ago… Well, this has just changed today. Skyfire, a web browser for mobile devices has been out in the wild for quite some time in the the form of a beta, has just been released as a version 1.

This final release now supports Flash, Silverlight, Quicktime and full AJAX on multiple phone  devices (not just Windows Mobile devices). Some of the latest updates to the beta versions that were out there are impressive even to this date, Skyfire, now supports multiple screen sizes, including WVGA, you can experience Windows Media streaming audio and many performance enhancements throughout the different options. I am very excited with what can now be done on a mobile browser. Most of these features were available in one browser or another, but not all packed into a single browser. Double tap to zoom in is more intuitive than it was before, and the rendering of the zoom in action is much more smoother than previous versions were. Iframes are now handled without a problem and they render seamlessly and AJAX works not only faster but better on pages that rely heavily on AJAX.

Take a look for youself, go over and give it a try. You can download the free full version here at http://get.skyfire.com

I’ve been using an HTC Touch HD for a while now and I am really happy with it. I purchased it in a not-so-successful transaction (see details here), but after a rough start, the device itself was just excellent. The high resolution screen is bright, clear and gorgeous looking; the device’s performance is just great, I’ve only had two issues so far with it and one of them I already knew from before I purchased it. Here’s what I’ve found so far…

The first issue is at&t’s lack of support for all 3G bands and the HTC Touch HD’s lack of support of the 3G bands used in the US. I already knew this when I bought it, and sometimes it is a bit frustrating having to wait for some pages to download. But, hey, I knew I would be going back to Edge when I bought my HD. It’s a pain in the neck, but I was willing to drop 3G in exchange for everything else the device has to offer. I still do. I am not going to get into the argument of why a carrier chooses not to support one of the available bands or why a manufacturer will not release the same device on different continents… too many variables come to play, and frankly the manufacturer is still at the mercy of what the carriers want to release within that particular device. The more configuration options the manufacturer offers the carriers, the more likely the carrier will use and support a device with positive results. On the other hand, I think that the unlocked version that is sold on the market, should have included all 3G bands so that no matter where you try to use it, it will work as intended.

Finally the second issue that kept popping up every now and then was that after some heavy usage, I would have the vibrating feature stop working both when replacing the regular ringtone and when pressing some of the buttons, including the device’s hardware buttons for picking up, hanging up a call, home and the back/cancel/OK button. I must say this issue was starting to drive me crazy. Setting a phone to vibrate is such a basic feature.

Read on to see the solution for this.

I simply refused to admit defeat and went on a chase for fixing this issue.

Anyway, I still had my other commitments (work, baby, wife, etc), so I organized myself to do some very systematic testing without having to do a hard reset. You see, I was willing to spend some spare time in testing (following a very specific test plan that included all applications I had on my device), but I didn’t want to simply hard reset see it would work and after installing everything again find out that this issue would creep up again. I needed to know how to resolve it instead of having to reinstall everything every time it would show up.

My test plan went from software that runs in the background to regular apps. My first programs to test were my bluetooth keyboard drivers (I installed the drivers that came with the keyboard instead of using the ones that came with the device). It wasn’t the problem. Additional G-sensor software, not the problem. Custom connectivity (WiFi) tools, not the problem. Every now and then, vibrate would engage and I would leave it that way for a few days or phone calls, but unfortunately it would fall back into not working after a while. This was starting to get old…

Eventually I got to an application that has been working fine but I’ve had to tweak after installing. It’s called “Gyrator 2”. This is an app that can run in the background to auto-rotate the screen on the apps where there is no auto-rotation feature, especially older apps. In the past, I had to tweak Gyrator 2 to detect when the phone was ringing and prevent itself from trying to rotate. This was because every time I took my phone from my pocket and tried to answer it, the screen would be attempting to rotate and I would press on wrong side of the screen making me spend some extra time before answering or even missing a call here and there. This got me thinking that maybe if this application was delaying the event by sitting in between the hardware event and the actual execution of this event itself, that maybe there was a way around it. I looked into Gyrator and found a “vibrate” option but there was no documentation on whether this would allow other vibrate requests to “pass-through” or just replace them… Now armed with this I started testing Gyrator 2 and whether it would be an app I would have to remove altogether or if I would be able to use it with my device.

After a deep dive into Gyrator 2, I can now confirm that it looks like when the “vibrate” option in Gyrator was unchecked; the vibrating function would work sometimes, but most of the time it would not work at all. Fortunately, when “vibrate” is checked in Gyrator 2, the phone vibrates on ring and every button press where it is expected to vibrate, it does.

The detailed fix steps are:

• Open Gyrator 2, go to “Menu”, click on “Events…”
• Select the event you want to edit. In my case one of them was “Disable (Phone – Incoming)”. Pop up the menu on the event you selected and click on “Edit Event”.
• Under the “Actions” tab, you must make sure to have “Vibrate” checked. Exit by clicking on “Apply” and click again on “Apply”. “Minimize” Gyrator and test it by receiving a call (for this event).

Expansys-USA / MobilePlanet: You didn't care about me as your client and delayed the shipment of my device for weeks. You not only broke a record in customer dissatisfaction but you blatantly lied and for that, you lost me as your client.

At the risk of sounding like an grouchy old man, I have to ask the following question: What is the problem with good customer service these days? Doesn't anyone care about the money us customers spend anymore? I would assume that with the economic/financial downturn the world is in right now, companies would make an extra attempt not to annoy customers away with bad customer service!

Let me get into the details and you be the judge.

December 2: I checked out their Order Status web page link, which I received in an email. The credit card transaction was going to be processed that morning, it all went pretty quick and immediately started showing a status of "awaiting stock". I figured this must be some intermediate status and it will probably be updated tonight after they run their nightly processes.

December 3: To my surprise, the web page was still showing "awaiting stock", and now it was showing 14 days as opposed to the 6 days that it was showing the previous day. I called them immediately. What was going on? why did they delay the process? On the phone one of their sales reps confirmed that it was in fact delayed two full weeks. There was nothing he could do and my HTC Touch HD was in fact being held hostage!

The following days the expected shipping date came closer. At some point it reset again and now it was saying "Will ship in 14 days" again!!! On top of this, the link that described the item in my order was now pointing to the unit's European version, which of course is not on sale in the US. Whenever I would click on the item, I would get a very discouraging "Product not found or is not available in this region". So there I went again, gave them a call and they explained that they were trying to fulfill all orders with their foreign warehouses in Europe. The person I talked to had the nerve to tell me that it was very simple, I could wait or else I could cancel and refuse to pay the charges in my credit card. I didn't want to fight another battle, I didn't want to have to argue with my credit card company if I wanted or not to charge over $800 dollars for a service I actually was not receiving. Just as I was about to start arguing whether I had any other options or not, he also told me that they had some back-orders and that they would fulfill all of them in the order that they were placed. At the end of the call, the sales rep mentioned that he was not supposed to say this, but that they were expecting a huge shipment of about 100 HT Touch HD to arrive on Friday December 12. Having heard that; I figured, I don't want to wait, but I don't want to waste any more time... I'll just have to sit this one out and wait. With my 2 day shipment, I'll be enjoying my new device by Monday 15.

Fast forward to Friday December 12, 5:30 PM. I'm getting ready to go home but I remember to check the status of my order before I leave. The web site still shows that the order will ship in 10 more days! Nothing changed! The Online Order Status page says that they close at 6 PM, I promptly call them up and I get the grim news that for some unfortunate reason the shipment that they received was not enough to cover the orders that they had pending, therefore I will have to wait ... until the following Tuesday when they might, just might! receive another shipment.

December 13: Still showing that my HTC Touch HD usually ships in 10 days. I wonder if these guys ever learned the meaning of "usual" ... Maybe I didn't understand that "usually ships in 10 days" really means "we'll ship it whenever we want to ship it to you"???

December 14: Again, my HTC Touch HD usually ships in 10 days... normally this number would automatically decrease every day. Last week it would even decrease during the weekend, but I guess that these guys have given up on their own system. If they don't care about the customer, why even bother keep them updated and happy.

December 15: Still stuck at usually ships in 10 days. Maybe if I keep insisting, they'll just send it to me to get rid of the guy that keeps calling for the status of his order! I called them again, and this time I finally got to speak with someone that really had the intention of helping me. Joe B. should be commended for his customer handling skills. He helped me out, gave me information on what and when it would be shipped. All of which turned out to be very accurate for once. I now have received an email indicating that the device was handed out to the shipping company. Hopefully that's true.

December 17: I finally received my HTC Touch HD and I am very happy with the device... I don't think I am going to buy from Expansys-USA unless I hear they have changed their business practices. I sure hope I do for their client's sake. However, for now and until I am convinced otherwise, I will recommend anyone who asks about their service to try to avoid them as much as possible. I know I may end up getting a lot of comments of people that were satisfied with their service, but remember, just because it worked out for you, it doesn't mean it will work out for everyone. In my case I know there were at least 200 people still sitting in the waiting list after my spot. So they mostly would go through the same lousy experience I went.

Someone once said that good customer service is demonstrated with actions that would benefit the customer; that's what turns people into return customers.

A new device was announced by HTC and it passed right under our noses... the HTC Max 4G, the first WiMax phone. Recently announced by HTC and it is expected to be released in late November... only ... it will be in ... Russia! under the Yota carrier.

This dream device sports 4G connectivity to a WiMax service that will provide blazingly fast data connection. It will also include the usual connections for all those aging GSM/GPRS/EDGE carriers out there... The screen is a beautiful WVGA 480 x 800 pixels, 3.8 inches diagonal that we all love from the HTC Touch HD, TouchFLO 3D, accelerometers for auto rotate, proximity for screen auto-turn off (which can heavily extend power management), 288Mb RAM, 256Mb ROM and a whopping 8Gb user available internal storage memory plus the corresponding extension slot for microSDHC.

Of course it will also connect via WiFi 802.11 b/g but the star of this device is the brand new WiMax 802.16 e. Which can be used to hop between GPRS coverage areas while still connected to WiMax. GPS is obviously included and the device has two cameras: the front one is the average VGA webcam but the main one is the same 3.2 Megapixel from the HTC Touch series.

The president and CEO of HTC, Peter Chou, has been reported saying "The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of a close partnership between HTC and Yota to develop the world's first integrated mobile GSM/WIMAX handset. Russia is a key strategic market for HTC, and Yota's mobile WiMAX network sets a new global benchmark."

Yota is claiming to be Russia's first provider of mobile WiMAX technology. They have announced a bandwidth of up to 10 MBps to be available even from moving vehicles at up to 60 mph (100 kph). Yota confirmed to have installed at 250 WiMax base stations in Moscow, and St. Petersburg, and will deploy 1000 more in those cities by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, in the US, Sprint has announced the rollout of the XOHM WiMAX service. Unfortunately, XOHM is initially available in Baltimore. More markets will follow shortly.

So, my question to HTC now is

"What are you guys waiting to release this device in the US?"

For more information on the HTC Max 4G go to HTC HERE.

I just got a tool that may be of great use to most folks. This is a little device that works as a bluetooth  hands free unit, but the interesting thing is that it self recharges, well; actiually it recharges with a little help from the sun. It comes with its own mini-solar panel and when you leave it in the sun, the device will charge itself. I got it from CompUSA for only $59.99.

When I saw it, I though it looked like a great idea for an in-car device. I installed it in a snap, it comes with a suction-cup plastic pocket (similar to the older devices that hold the toll transponder) (see third picture in this article). The windshield holder is made of clear plastic, but to avoid blocking the sunlight, it has a cutout large enough to let sunlight into the solar panel.

The unit will recharge its 3.7V 480 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery in 3 hours with sunlight which will allow you to talk for about 30 minutes. If you leave the unit longer it will keep recharging until the battery is full and will provide about 15 hours talk time and 25 days standby. Now that's only if you don't park away from the sun or any source of light, because if you do, it will keep recharging the unit every day. In theory you would need 18 hours of sunlight to  get the battery fully charged. If you use it only while in the car, you can safely assume that your battery will be mostly (if not fully) charged every day. I am not sure what would happen in the winter when sunlight is not as bright in the northern states, but since I am located in South Florida, it really won't matter all that  much. In case you do run out of power (or if you use your commute time for using your phone) then you will be glad to know that this nifty device comes with a car-lighter adapter for a quick full recharge. You may also want to get a quick full charge the first time you use it so that you start with a full battery. At least that's what I did (I couldn't wait the 18 hours it would take to fully charge the first time). Getting the device to a full charge with the car-lighter  adapter takes only 2 hours.

The unit uses a 16-bit digital signal processor that helps filter out road noise and echo. It also works in full duplex mode at all times which means it can transmit your voice at the same time it receives and reproduces the audio source from the other side of the call. Audio quality while on the road was great both for me and the people I have talked to so far. The device has a 95dB capable speaker. It is also equipped with advanced call management such as voice dial (if supported by your phone or provided by your carrier), last number redial, hold, mute and 3-way calling. Large buttons allow for easy control while driving, answering, hanging up and volume control are a snap.

Anycom suggests that you can take it with you at all times, but that would only work if you don't care about privacy because the loudspeaker is loud enough for others to hear your conversations and to annoy your cubicle neighbors.

Overall this device is a great buy, and although you can now get a bluetooth hands-free for less than this device; the fact that you stick it on your windshield and you can simply forget about recharging it ever again, was the selling point for me.

Specifications

Application: Bluetooth Solar Powered Car-Kit
Color: Black-silver
Specification Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0
Approvals: FCC, CE, BQB, RoHS
Range: Up to 30 feet (10 meter)
Radio Class: Class 2 RF (20mW)
RF Output Power: 0 dBm
Sensitivity: <0.1% BER at -80dB
Advanced Wireless Features: Advanced Frequency Hopping (AFH) for improved coexistense with WiFi networks; Fast Connect for faster connect to remote devices
Chipset: CSR Bluecore 03
Antenna: Integrated
Powered: 12/24 V Car Charger with USB-Cable (can also be charged by PC USB port)
Battery: Rechargeable, 3.7 V 480 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery
Talk time: Up to 15 hours (without using Solar Power)
Standby time: Up to 700 hours / 25 days (without using Solar Power)
Recharging: Approx. 2 hours (using Charger) / approx. 18 hours (using Solar Power only)
LEDs: Two LEDs to indicate Bluetooth link, Call status, Solar status and Battery status
Operation: Power on/off, Volume up/down, Answer/End Call, Transferring Call, Pairing, Ringing Mute, MIC Mute, Voice Dialing, Call Waiting, Call Reject, Last Number Re-dial, Battery Status, Solar Power Charging Status
Supported profiles: Headset (HS) , Hands-Free (HF)
Security: Secured with Password and PIN Code, data transfer coded with up to 128 bit according to the Bluetooth specifications
Dimensions: 3.59" x 1.98" x 0.52"
Weight: 2.11 oz / 60 grams (including batteries)
Speaker: 1.18 inch / 30 mm Diameter, 1 Watt Power, 95 dBm (max.)
Sound Processing: Full Duplex - DSP with Noise- and Echo-Cancellation
Operating temperature: 32ºF to 140ºF / 0°C to 60°C

Highlights
Solar Panel: 3 hours sun gives up to additional 30 minutes Talk Time
Very Good Communication Quality with Echo-Cancellation and Noise Reduction
95 dB Speaker
Up to 15 Hours Talk Time
Up to 25 Days Standby (without added hours from Solar Panel)

Less than a week ago, American Airlines announced that WiFi would be available in 15 of their flights (click here for the article). In their press release they announced how much the service called  Gogo would cost and that VOIP services would be blocked. This way they could charge those huge fees for phone calls from their in-flight phones. Just like with all service blockages, they are just a hack away from being unblocked. We see the same cat-and-mouse game being played with the iPhone software updates and the unlocking of so many other smartphones.

The same game is now being played in the sky.

Here's the abstract of the report where the tool is mentioned.

The workaround, called Phweet, allows users to call friends who are linked via Twitter. Andy Abramson from VoIP Watch says that he recently used Phweet to chat with a friend on an American Airlines flight, and that the conversation was so clear he could hear the flight attendant ordering people to get back to their seats in preparation for landing.

Phweet is a shortURL link to an external directory (for now, only Twitter, though others will be added later), that enables calls between two or more profiles without sharing any additional information between the parties. Using the application to make calls at 27,000 feet is a painless three-step process:

• Go to the Phweet homepage and log on with your Twitter name and password.
• Add the Twitter user name of person you want to connect with, along with a message telling them want to talk. A Twitter update and Phweet URL is sent.
• When your friend clicks on the Phweet URL and accepts, your browser whistles and a Flash widget appears. Click on it to talk.

This is obviously not the last we have heard of this hack or the service... Aircell (the company behind Gogo) claims that the workaround to their blocks can be re-blocked but they also reported that it is up to the airline to enforce the no-call policy during flights.

Having said that, I doubt that a no-call policy can be enforced. For example; someone could activate the service, then the workaround and use their mobile device to talk from the bathroom... Not the same as a public phone booth; but you would not be seen talking into a device, therefore no one would notice whether you are circumventing their service or not.

What are your thoughts?

Finally in-flight WiFi has arrived. For those of you like me who'd rather get some emails answered, do a little bit of browsing and VPN access during flight the time has arrived.

This morning American Airlines officially launched their broadband service on 15 nonstop transcontinental flights plus some of their New York-San Francisco, Los Angeles-Miami (all services with Boeing 767-200's). This service will allow passengers to send e-mail, instant message, access corporate VPN and browse the web while flying. Although a bit pricey ($12.95 for 6 hours), you can now spend your time surfing from 36,000 feet. The system is called Gogo and is run by Aircell. The technology is provided by Aircell as well. You'll be able to pay for the service when you first open your browser in flight.

A $1 billion market by 2012 is estimated to come into airlines with this kind of service. Delta Airlines is planning on using a similar service American is using. They have promised to outfit all their domestic fleet with WiFi by mid-2009. JetBlue is testing WiFi access on their San Francisco-New York flights. Alaska airlines is actively testing on some of their flights. Southwest Airlines is testing a system that was developed by Row 44 from California. It was just a matter of time, but the other major airlines will now be trying to catch up. Hopefully, they will all see that passengers are willing to use these services.

Currently there are only two different technologies being tried for WiFi in flight:

• The Aircell system leverages the existing cell tower network, is more conventional and uses an air-to-ground service that connects to cell towers. The only problem with this technology is that bandwidth is probably going to be a bit flaky (at least with early versions) as the plane's comm systems switches from tower, to tower, to tower while moving faster than any normal cell phone user would. No reference was made to the bandwidth available to the passengers.
• The other technology uses satellite communications plus WiFi b (802.11b) access points. It can be implemented in planes, boats or any other vehicle that is expected to be far away from cell towers.

So, what does this mean for us Mobile Users? Well, for one it means we are now able to connect, no matter where we are. I am not sure that prices will come down, but at least if you are in urgent need to connect, you will soon be able to do it from all the major airlines.

I have been reviewing and testing a few of ARKON's new holder and mount models for a few days now and here are my impressions about them. This set of mounts that I got for reviewing includes some of their brand new designs as well as some of their all-time best sellers.

All of ARKON's products that I received for review are made of a sturdy black plastic and no matter how much beating they took, they did not bend, break or  change color. The plastic is thick enough to stand use (and quite some abuse) and vibrations that any vehicle will put under normal driving situations. I have tested them under everyday life conditions (commute and daily driving) and I did a little bit of off-road "shake-up" tests. ARKON is the designer of the Dual-T mount pattern I was just referring to, which is used in all Magellan GPS units and other products from HP, Nokia, GlobalSat and ASUS. Products from other manufacturers can be used with either an adapter plate or a universal mount that has arms that can be pressed to hold any device. ARKON makes plenty of adapter plates to support most brands in the market, a few examples are the TomTom ONE, TomTom ONE XL and TomTom GO 520/720/920/530/730/930, Garmin Nuvi and Garmin Streetpilot series. Garmin uses normally a "ball" adapter where a sphere fits into a receiver and can look in any direction allowing it to move freely. ARKON also manufactures mounts and adapters for these devices as well where the ending of the mount has the "Garmin ball" connector instead of the "Dual-T" connector without the need of an adapter. The products I reviewed had either the "Dual-T" connector or the "Garmin ball" connector. These two types of connectors allow users to connect to all kinds of devices. Even though this set I got for testing was mainly for GPSs I was able to use them for any kind of device. I tried them for GPS units, smartphones, regular cell phones, touch-screen smartphones, PDAs, MP3 players, iPods, etc without any problems at all.

I am including here a picture of my car with some of the products installed. These are not all the products I tested, but only a few. Please use this picture as a reference for how much space they would take in your vehicle or if they would be convenient for you. No, don't think that I drove around with all those mounts hanging from my windshield like that!!! I just set them up so that each type tested would be represented in a few pictures.

Windshield Mounts

The 3 mounts that are displayed here represent all the windshield mounts that I tested. They could be divided into 3 different types:

• Two hinges; one multidirectional
• Two hinges on perpendicular axis
• Flexible 14 inch windshield pedestal

All three performed really well, the suction cups seem to be made of silicone which means they will not crack or break with time by being in the sun day after day. The hinges all have a knob to tighten after it is placed in the right location. All windshield mounts come with an Alcohol Prep Pad to clean the glass from any previous smudges and allow the suction cup to work. Setting them up is simply a matter of trial an error. It takes just a few minutes to determine where one is most comfortable placing the windshield mount. In my case, the trick was to place the mount so that when the device was up, it would cover the suction cup and hinges as much as possible. Therefore, minimizing the area of the road that would not be visible. The flexible 14 inch pedestal seemed a bit too long for me, it seemed to bounce up and down quite a bit during gravel road driving and eventually the weight of the device would make it change position. They carry a shorter one (not shown in the picture, but tested) in which I experienced almost no bouncing at all. On the other hand, if you are concerned that your device will be sitting in the sun while you drive, then the 14 inch flexible pedestal would be great for you because it would place the device under the roof in the shade past the read-view mirror.

Dash and AC Vent Mounts

The dash mounts I tested were completely different from each other. In fact, the only thing they had in common was that they are mounted on the dash board and that they used the connectors that I mentioned earlier. The first one is fairly typical and it can be attached by using the adhesive layer underneath or the screws provided with the mount. I did not want to drill any holes or use the adhesive tape to hold it in place so I just placed it there for display only. I also did not test it because it is one of the most common types of dash mount. The second one is the friction style mount with a regular windshield mount holding a smartphone in place. Please note that regardless of the weight of the BlackJack II, the mount did not fall or bend in any direction, working exactly as described in ARKON's setup instructions. Finally the third one is an AC Vent mount that holds the smartphone in place. One thing to note of all AC Vent mounts is that normally, when the AC is set just at the right temperature and the dew point is just right; there will be a noticeable amount of humidity on the mount. This is a fairly common issue in Florida and other southern states. Of course the manufacturers have no apparent way to deal with these issue here, and it is obviously not their fault at all.

Two Think-Out-Of-The-Box Mounts

The guys at ARKON don't just make your typical AC Vent and windshield suction cup mounts and holders... you know how vehicle cup holders are used for holding cups and lighter sockets are used for powering devices? Well, the design team at ARKON decided that since they also just happen to be indentations in your vehicle, then they can also be used for holding more devices giving you more options when choosing which one you are going to buy.

Their lighter socket pedestal is about the same length than the short flexible pedestal I mentioned earlier (the one that does not bounce). In the picture I am showing one that is  powered. It takes the power source from the lighter socket and has its own, since it is using the socket itself to just mount a device. There are also a few models that are not powered at all, but they would use up the one socket available with a holder that would not take advantage of the power source.

The cup holder mount comes with a thumb wheel adjustment dial that lets you tighten the holder to the exact diameter of you vehicle's cup holder. The cup holders are not placed in a particularly convenient location for a device you may have to look at while driving (it forces your line of sight down and out from the road). However, if all you are doing is just placing a phone that can be controlled with a Bluetooth headset, or you are using a GPS that will give you spoken instructions; then you can certainly concentrate on the road and not even have to worry about looking at the device.

Do You Have a Bike?

There is even a bicycle handlebar holder that you can use. It grips the handlebar just as any other accessory that you can add to your bike's handlebar. It offers a snug fit on most standard size handle bars. I have not tested it, but it also has a Dual-T mount pattern to hold either a device or a universal device holder. In this case I would have to leave it to the user to test since I am not sure how much the vibration would affect the actual device itself. The suspension system and shock absorbers in a bike are so much more basic that I think that most shocks and vibration would be transferred to the device itself. As I see it here, it is a double edged sword, if the holder does not work as it should and it gets too lose during regular use, then you run the risk of dropping the device. On the other hand, if it works as it should, then too much vibration may be transmitted to the device... I am not sure I would use this holder, but If you are willing to try (or if you have already tried it) please post a reply to this article.

The Universal Device Holder

The universal device holder is another part that attaches to every one of these mounts. If your device does not have the Dual-T connector or a Garmin ball connector, then you can use either an adapter or a universal holder. I really started with mixed feelings about this holder. Before I installed, it seemed to make creaky sounds, the release action on the left side seemed too sudden; the springs inside the release mechanism seem to be too tight, maybe. The first impression was that it was a cheap product. It certainly gave a bad first impression... but boy, when I installed it and it fit so tight in place with the rest of the holders, it certainly changed my mind. The sounds it makes are still a bit too creaky for me, but the foam sides hold the devices really tight without pressing any buttons. No matter how much vibration my car goes through it still keeps a good grip on the device and doesn't let it go. I really like it.

Conclusion

I am really happy to have tested holders and mounts from a company that has the variety of products that ARKON does. Their products performed extremely well under many different circumstances and some extreme tests. Having said that, for the average user that does not go off road, avoids most potholes on the road and drives mostly around town, these mounts would last a long, long time.

If you are in any way interested in Development for Windows and Windows Mobile devices then you are invited to attend a FREE event Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend event is called Microsoft Community Summit 2008 or ]InBetween[ or Tweener (?!?!). The whole event is FREE. This event involves several minor events held during the weekend in between the TechEd Developer (happening this coming week) and the TechEd IT Professionals (the following week). It is a group of events organized by the Florida user group communities in the Orlando Convention Center.  It will have Sessions, .Net University, Open Space, Certification, Exam Cram, Train The Trainer, SQL University, SQL Saturday, Visual Studio U events.

Code Camp: (Saturday) Sessions that are part of the Code Camp will be held in the conventional way: one speaker, one subject, one hour. I will participate with a presentation in the Code Camp about "Intro to Windows Mobile  Development for Programmers". I will also be available for any questions during Saturday around the OpenSpace area. You can register for the code camp here. The Code Camp schedule can be accessed here.

.Net University: (Sunday) Will be a series of structured courses geared to bring you up to speed on a particular topic. There will be several "U courses":

• .NET U Presents .Net 3.5 Services: Register here.
• .NET U presents BizTalk Basics: Register here.
• .NET U presents SharePoint Fundamentals: Register here.
• .NET U presents Service Oriented Development in .NET 3.5: Register here.

VSTS University: (Sunday) An almost full day on a variety of Visual Studio topics. Register here.

SQL University: (Sunday) Another event lead by Andy Warren. Great SQL training. Register here.

Train the Trainer (MCT): (Saturday and Sunday) Bill Chapman returns to Florida, bringing us some MCT sessions for developers, IT professionals, and DBAs. Register here.

Open Space: (Saturday and Sunday) Four corners of a room with whiteboards. Sign up for a 30 minute talk on whatever topic you want. Click here for more info.

If you think this is your cup of tea, don't miss this opportunity. See you there!

We all agree that Mobile Devices are a great tool, there is no question about that. Regardless of your platform of preference, they all facilitate a multitude of tasks that used to require of us doing work at the office/home office. From email to remote access to administer a server, mobile tools are a great solution.

However; not every company has a mobility strategy, some will just purchase cell phones to some of their key employees and management, some only management, some have no strategy at all. If your company falls under any of these scenarios, here are some ideas to turn your company into a mobile device user:

If you see yourself in the first or second scenarios you will probably have an easier task convincing your management to turn into mobile devices. If not, you may have to do a little bit more work. In any case it is very likely that you will be successful.

We will assume that you are working for a relatively intelligent individual and that he/she will be likely to hear what you have to propose. This person will be your "partner" once you sold the idea to him/her in selling the idea to the rest of the company key players. The secret here is to be very open about what you are using your device of choice (yes, you may have to purchase one - see this as an investment). Spend as much time as you can explaining what you are doing on your device. It will show what a great tool it is.

The easiest thing to begin with is to use your device to access your email account. Connect to your exchange server with a little help from your admin or research into what parameters you need for the connection. Use a POP/SMTP connection if that is what you can use from outside the company, or simply access webmail if that's what you have. In any case, doing any of these helps you get your corporate email into your personal device.

If you have a VPN from work, have in mind that you could connect to any resource available as soon as you get past VPN validation. Need to write a Word/Excel document? no problem, you could do that and save into the appropriate share. Need to reply with that document as an attachment? yep, you could do that. Need to access a remote server to test, admin, upgrade? yes, yes and yes... just when you do that, make sure your manager knows how you are doing it. It will make the convincing much easier.

Having said all this, once you show how useful it is, there is probably no turning back... any smart manager will know that what makes you more productive will make the whole area look much better (even if the area already has a great track record).

No, this is no repeat of the Code Camp we did back in February; that one was the South Florida Code Camp, and it isn't a repeat of the Orlando Code Camp we did in March, although this one will be held in Orlando.

The Florida Code Camp will be one of the events held during the weekend in between the TechEd Developer (happening this coming week) and the TechEd IT Professionals (the following week). It is a group of events organized by the Florida user group communities in the Orlando Convention Center. The weekend event is called Microsoft Community Summit 2008 or ]InBetween[. The whole event id FREE. It will have Sessions, Open Space, Certification, Exam Cram, Train The Trainer events, etc...

I will participate with a presentation in the Code Camp, but I encourage all of you to be there if you can.

See you there!

No matter how prepared you are or how well laid out is your project, you could find some opposing forces to progress. This is something you may encounter in some though not all "old-school-type" businesses. Change, specifically aimed at progress is always something that might be feared by some people. Just be prepared to hold hands and guide through the process and get armed with a killer training program so that changes are well received.

Some of the opposing forces to mobility could be counted as concerns which might as well be perfectly reasonable, just have in mind that a good implementation will address all concerns with smart and appropriately budgeted solutions.

Some of these concerns include:

• User Adoption
• Total Cost of Ownership
• Common IT Infrastructure
• Network Concerns
• Security

User Adoption

This is the most common concern when you are implementing a new solution. You will find that there are certain company members that will find the most bizarre excuses not to implement a new solution. While this is a very strong force to be opposed by, you already have the tools to beat it outright. Expose the logical process by which you came to the conclusion why this (and not other solutions) happen to be the best one available. The training materials, could explain why it is convenient to jump into this solution as opposed to any other or even remain with status quo. With tougher crowds, you may want to implement presentations that show the benefits of using this solution. These presentations are usually a good warm-up session to the actual implementation because they highlight incredible features along with what it means to the business in terms of revenue, profit and cost reduction.

Total Cost of Ownership

Concerns regarding TCO are usually centered in lack of experience with the platform. While it is true that the first time implementers will incur into a much higher cost than the experienced implementing teams. On the other hand, TCO with Windows Devices remains more flat than an equivalent implementation with laptop computers. Not even to mention that TCO with Windows Mobile has a much, much shorter implementation span, a more extended life span and simpler applications to develop.

Common IT Infrastructure

Windows Mobile devices can be administered remotely, they can access the same infrastructure as networked computers. Servers, services and applications only need to be slightly tweaked to support these devices on top of the existing computers they currently support. Worst case scenario, a new service and administration application may need to be implemented. Such as the tools for remotely administering WM devices. Best case scenario a website or an intranet application does not even need to be tweaked because Pocket Internet Explorer already can browse any website and intranet available through its network.

Network Concerns

Windows Mobile devices can access the same networks that laptops can. They both can use WiFi at any hotspot when equipped with WiFi connectivity and they both can access Internet through cell phone specific connections (laptops would require a carrier-provided USB dongle). On top of those physical connections, VPN's can be easily configured so that devices can access all internal resources that will be made available to them with the security added by the appropriate encryption.

Security

Finally, security concerns can certainly be addressed by encrypting the connection (VPN, encrypted protocols such as HTTPS, etc) or using encrypted data when data is stored in the device. There is a complete selection of encryption standards that I have addressed in a previous post that you can read by clicking here.

All in all, opposing forces to a mobile implementation can always be contained, just have your training, presentations and one-on-one explanations that would justify going one way instead of the other. A well though out mobile system should find its way to production easily if the strategy to create it is sound.

If it's not, then it should. Let me explain why. Every company wants at least their executives to have work email access on-the-go. They may not have it already but if they don't they are certainly craving for it. We live in a business world that is globally managed 24/7/365. A good and timely decision right now can save millions. Smart business requires companies to take a similar approach with other groups such as the sales force to what they do with their executives. Sales force team members could make that extra sale a day just by having access to the information needed whenever and wherever they need it.

Most companies don't really have specific mobile needs as long as their people have mobile email access. That is why most companies out there have email capable devices that can be configured to their corporate email system. Some companies even have a mix of Treos with Palm OS, Blackberries, Windows Mobile Standard, Windows Mobile Professional, etc. This can turn out to be a mess to manage, deploy and maintain. Turning the seemingly simple idea of providing email access into a self-defeating process.

Why would an IT department choose to have multiple OS's to manage, configure and deploy? Analyzing the economics of mobile devices in general we will end up getting to the conclusion that regardless of the platform of choice: Palm OS, Blackberry OS, or Windows Mobile; having a single platform would definitely increase the IT department's productivity and provide better support to their internal clients. The cost would be greatly reduced as well because their server-side-software would have to be purchased for a single platform as opposed to multiple platforms. A single platform would make so much more sense for a company. Additionally, we could also conclude that having a single platform would help develop any mobile applications in the future if they were ever needed. Multiple platforms would force a single application to be developed in multiple languages increasing time to project completion and adding unnecessary deployment complications. Not to mention the madness of maintaining not one, but multiple executable versions, bug fixes and costs.

Hopefully you will agree with me on these issues, if your company already has Visual Studio know-how or at least one of the VS programming languages know-how, it would certainly make sense to take advantage of it. And while it may be true that you may not need any mobile applications in the immediate future, in the longer term there might be a need for such applications. If that happens to be the case, you should not tie yourself down by having the wrong platform. If you find yourself having to implement a solution with multiple hardware platforms and mobile OS's, you would have to have multiple development groups with very different skill sets in order to achieve the same/similar goal than on your desktop corporate applications. You would most definitely be better off leveraging the know-how your teams already have for the desktop and using it all to power a Windows Mobile development team that can do desktop and mobile development tasks interchangeably and in the same language.

If you are looking at potential for growth and you have a large warehouse, traveling sales team members, distribution and delivery and even administrative employees; then this should be the best way at looking into potential ways to increase returns by optimizing the current business process.

...Is Your Company Thinking About Mobile Solutions Now?

There seems to be different positions in this matter. There are people that think that IT Management should have final say in these matters and people that are convinced that once the general specifications for the architecture and methodology are laid out, the development team (or the development leadership) should follow with the decision on how to implement the solution. While some people will argue to death one way there are people who will argue to death the other way. I say: It depends!

According to SDLC methodology; the feasibility study/discovery phase/analysis will tell us "what" needs to be done. The "what" is comprised of all business requirements gathered in this phase; the scope of the project and any constraints that we may find as determined by the business areas and listed by the Analysts.

The design phase will determine high level "how", or the technical architecture, the system model, and the test conditions. This is where the second group of people mentioned above decide to stop making decisions. The reason they claim for this is well founded and refers to the fact that they may not know the technical details of how to move forward with the next phase or that they will leave the decisions of the next phase to the people that know them much better than them: the development team leads or even the developers. This is a reasonable stopping point for IT management, but sometimes there will be conflicts.

The development phase is where all the programming happens. The final "how" to implement a solution happens at this point. All the technical details and minutiae are implemented here. Unfortunately this is the exact point of disagreement between both groups of people and the first one will suggest that because they are well versed in technical matters and they have seniority, they should have final say in the details being implemented in this phase. While the most novice developers would appreciate some direction from their management/mentors, the most experienced would prefer to be allowed to make those decisions themselves.

While both positions seem to make sense; it is my opinion that each case would be appropriate if certain conditions are met. The obvious examples are:

• For IT management with technical expertise; novice development teams require more leadership participation if they are well versed in technical matters.
• For IT management with technical expertise; experienced development teams and experienced development leaders can be left to operate under their own judgment with little supervision if they show good judgment. Experienced developers that show good judgment will know when to ask for clarification to their management.
• Non-technical management should try not to get involved with the detailed technical decisions.

So far it can be seen that both positions seem to be correct and could coexist without problems. However; not all IT managers are conscious of their technical limitations, and some are even convinced that they are just as good a developer as anyone in their development team. While most IT managers have a strong technical background, not all have been keeping up with the latest technologies and methodologies. Having a strong technical background creates a false sense of security regarding one's technical skills. Managers who are no longer keeping up with technical issues may fall prey to this false sense of security and may not even be conscious of their situation. On the other hand; a technically savvy manager would keep up with technical expertise and would participate as part of the development team. An IT manager would know how much participation he should provide as part of the development team. Too much and the administrative portion of the management duties will be left unattended. IT managers participation in the development team's duties is a double edged sword: while technically savvy IT managers may gain their developers respect by doing this; technically challenged IT managers may lose the respect of their development team if they make too many bad technical decisions.

Suggesting and ordering to make a particular technical decision are two completely different things. Managers who are not conscious of how up to par they are will create conflicts if they force developers to implement the wrong technical decision into code or to implement their code in a way that is not technically correct.

Developers may know what and how it needs to be done, they may even raise the issue to their managers; but some IT managers, too mistrusting of their team or not fully aware of all the technical implications may choose the wrong option which unfortunately makes them bad managers no matter how they see it.

I am not saying that all developers should have a confrontational attitude. But if you feel that the wrong technical decision is made, it is the developer's responsibility to raise the issue and get the technical issue resolved before it becomes too costly to fix. By the same token; I am not saying that all managers should stay out of the developers way, quite the contrary, their suggestion will most likely be received with gratitude when given as a solution to resolve the right technical issue. Even if an IT manager is technically savvy, they should still know when to stand on the sidelines and let their team shine by letting them make those decisions. The result will shine back on the manager. As mentioned above, these two positions can coexist depending on when it is appropriate to take one stance or the other.

There are several morals to this story:

• IT managers should keep up with technical developments.
• IT managers should keep an open mind and at the very least research appropriately when their senior developers raise a question on their technical decisions. These situations should also be used as a flag for the manager to get the appropriate technical update.
• There is nothing wrong when a developer knows more than an IT manager about a subject, use this as an opportunity for learning from the developer.
• Developers should try to raise the technical issue in the appropriate manner, otherwise they may not be taken seriously.
• Last and foremost: IT managers should be open-minded and humble enough to know that there is always something new to learn from someone else, even if they are the new guy with little or no experience at all.

When developing mobile applications we usually think in terms of a single user; doing only a few tasks in a small device. However, this may no longer be true. We are now faced with devices that have large screens (for a smartphone, that is) such as the HTC Advantage 7501 with a 5" screen and a decent size keyboard. Some of them are quite frankly borderline-UMPC sized. This means that not only the usage paradigm will shift into more desktop-like functions while keeping the mobile form factor.

For corporations, this could mean that there is a higher risk of exposing sensitive data or even trade secrets. Even with precautions and OS-security features as advanced as they are today such as Compact Framework provided encryption APIs and the ability to wipe a whole device from the Admin's desk by using Exchange 2003 SP2 and SMS Device Management Feature Pack a user could take a while to report the loss of a device. This could potentially open a window of opportunity for someone looking for a security gap. So, having said that; your application's security setup is now more than critical. You application could be quite at risk of exposing secure data if not handled adequately.

So what can be done to secure an application? Well, the amount of security is a function of how much time, resources and budget you have on top of making the application user-friendly enough. Basically, the more money, time and effort you put into security the safer/more secure it could potentially be. However, because of the human factor involved in usage and programming (yes, developers are included in this equation) there is no such thing as an absolutely secure application, it is always a matter of risk, and how much the business is willing to risk/invest into securing the data. On top of all that there is a matter of meeting the appropriate user-friendliness for your application to be adopted easily.

Visual Studio comes with some pretty cool security features; but again; it depends on the developer to implement, the analysts to design into the application and the business areas to budget their needs accordingly.

Windows Mobile and Compact Framework already come with the following features that you can take advantage of:

Crypto API - Encryption: any piece of data can be encrypted by using some simple calls to the System.Security.Cryptography API or Crypto API for short. There are several different types of encryption you can use such as Symmetric vs. Asymmetric encryption Algorithmic vs. Hashed data. The ones that are included in the Compact Framework are:

• Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA)
• MD5 hash algorithm
• RC2 and RC4 algorithm
• Cryptographic Random Number Generator (RNG) algorithm
• RSA algorithm
• SHA1 hash algorithm
• Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm
• Triple Data Encryption Standard (TripleDES or 3DES) algorithm
• Rijndael (AES) algorithm

All these different algorithms cover a pretty wide range of security levels and process complexities. With all these choices, you are definitely bound to find the one algorithm you like, that fits your requirements and your compliance needs. For example: Rijndael (AES) is used as a US Federal Government Advanced Encryption Standard.

Let's say you have to store data in the registry, you could make your application safer and more secure just by storing its data encrypted so that anyone snooping around the device registry would not be able to figure out what you stored under those registry keys.

The same example is valid for storing data in plain text or under an XML file which is nothing but a plain text file with tag formatting. If you encrypt the data before you store it, then you would be protecting the data from any curious user or unauthorized access.

SQL CE Encryption: One common method of storing information in Windows Mobile is SQL Server CE. Even though SQL Server CE does not support logins and their respective passwords, it does support 128-bit encryption of the data in the SQL Server CE database with a password that only your application would know or even better the user would know; therefore giving you a secure way to store information in it.

Access to Networked Data: You can also access services over secured networks. If you do not want to store information in your mobile devices, you can use a web service-like application. You could secure your communication channels to the target service. Your application could be using tools such as:

• Network Authentication
• NTLM versions 1 and 2
• SSL Basic and TLS Client Authentication
• Wireless LAN Security
• WiFi 802.1x user authentication using
• Protected EAP (PEAP)
• EAP/TLS (certificate-based)
• WPA
• Native VPN support
• PPTP
• L2TP
• IPSec

You may establish a secure connection between your device and the target by using any of the mentioned tools and protocols.

Encrypting Data Streams: There might be a similar way of implementing your encrypted security if you access a web service by encrypting only selective pieces of critical data that you send or receive and not using the encrypted protocols that may pose a larger overhead for performance when everything going back and forth is encrypted.

Finally remember that too much security may also work against you degrading performance or extending your development time frame. Also have in mind that applying one encryption method and then another on top of the first one does not necessarily make your application more secure and it will surely add more overhead to your application.

No matter what your needs are and even though not perfect; the tools provided by the Compact Framework are great for establishing a custom cryptographic solution for your applications needs. So take your time learning them and using them to your favor.

With the release of Windows Mobile 6.1 and some models already announced, it was only logical that we would see the WM 6.1 emulators out for Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008.

Just like their predecessors, the emulators are stand alone and can be used outside of Visual Studio. They seem to work like a charm (so far no bugs to report).

One new feature to report is that since there have been a few devices with new resolution screens, the emulator now supports those as well.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard

• 131 DPI - 320 x 320 px
• 131 DPI - 400 x 240 px
• 131 DPI - 440 x 240 px

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

•   96 DPI - 240 x 400 px
• 192 DPI - 480 x 800 px

Download them and see for yourself here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3D6F581E-C093-4B15-AB0C-A2CE5BFFDB47&displaylang=en

Maarten Struys will be presenting a webcast on April 9th. He is going to talk about how incorporate GPS functionality to your applications and how to build "location awareness" by using the GPS API and the "Fake GPS" GPS Emulator for testing.

Please register here to attend:  

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032374410&Culture=en-US

Another successful Code Camp organized by .Net User Groups from Orlando, Lakeland and the Space Coast!

Shawn did a great job and had pretty much everything under control. Attendance was full, and everyone was happy about the presentations. Here is a picture of him with Master Chief working some overtime as a bodyguard. He was making the keynote opening to the atrium that can be seen in the next picture.

The facilities were great, Seminole Community College was a great environment for the event. Their classrooms were large enough for the groups we had and the projectors handled the presentations seamlessly. The atrium was spacious and allowed for some interesting conversations: technical, business and personal with everyone.

As for my presentations, there were two of them, one was an introduction to programming for Windows Mobile that went great. A lot of people were interested in starting development for the Windows Mobile environment. The other presentation was turned into a great Q&A session where everyone got answers to very specific questions. The reason why it turned into a Q&A session was that I had some issues on my laptop coming back from hibernate mode and it was simply dragging; taking too much time in between slides. That's when I asked the audience if they would go for a Q&A session on the subject. A great thank you goes to my audience that allowed me to go for that Q&A session and the day was saved... and a decision to finally retire my trusty old Dell Inspiron 9100. I love its screen (1920x1200) but at 4 years old it's getting flaky and I want to make sure I have no more issues with these presentations. On the other hand, it is about time I migrate all my stuff out of this old XP and into Windows Vista already. No point in delaying the inevitable any more.

If you attended and want to get a download of the presentations (both of them, with their corresponding code samples), please go to the "Links" "SkyDrive (Downloads)" on the right column of this blog.

When working with Windows Mobile these days it is very common to have to do work with the cellular connection. Either programming the phone dialing out, receiving calls or testing any other cell-related functionality is very important to make sure that your application behaves appropriately. Hence, the need for the Cellular Emulator to create a "virtual call": incoming, outgoing, SMS message, and even network events allowing your Windows Mobile emulator and your application to behave as programmed with the event being tested.

This functionality is no secret and it only takes a few steps in associating one emulator with the other. However, some people take a longer route by getting to associate these two tools by taking too many steps. The shortest way to associate the, is by following these quick six steps:

• Open the Device Emulator Configuration app.
• Click on the Peripherals tab
• Enter the Cellular Emulator COM# port into the Serial Port 0 field
• Dismiss Configuration dialog
• Reset the Device Emulator (File => Reset => Soft)
• Click OK to confirm soft reset

Today I am starting to prepare my presentations for this coming Saturday's Orlando Code Camp 2008 (http://www.orlandocodecamp.com). There are no more spaces available, but if you want to attend, there is a waiting list in case some people cancel. My recommendation: if you are interested, still attend to check-in and if there are any openings, you may be able to get in.

And if you want to attend to my presentations we'll make you a spot! I will give two presentations:

• Introduction to Windows Mobile Development for Programmers: aimed at people that know how to program in C# and VB for the desktop and want to leverage their skills in a new and exciting field. You'll be surprised how easy it is to transition!
• .Net Compact Framework 3.5 – The Benefits of Using Managed Code: The next logical step for right after an intro to the environment. Details, do's and don'ts on the platform.

This is a great opportunity for learning, networking or getting involved with your area's user group. Lots of events every month, with cool subjects you may be interested in learning for work or personal betterment.

I will be posting the presentation materials soon for download. BTW, the event, attendance, and materials are 100% free!

Continuing with our release of tool-applications completed by out team, we are releasing today a very cool application that we all started using right away. It is a MPG calculator and Vehicle Maintenance log, that everyone can have in their Windows Mobile. A very good alternative to calculating every time you fill-up your gas tank.

Here it is:

Car Maintenance and Fuel Economy v2.3: Keep track of your car's fuel economy and maintenance in general. Maintain records for multiple vehicles. Create reports that will show maintenance, fuel economy, and cost of ownership to-date.

Download it from:

Enjoy!

Microsoft has announced that Silverlight for Windows Mobile will be available during Q2 2008. It will be launched as a browser plug-in and it will support Silverlight 1.0 only (Silverlight 2 is currently in Beta). Unfortunately, the announcement indicates that Windows Mobile 6 will be supported and not previous versions. This is probably because of limitations in Pocket IE in older Windows Mobile versions.

At Mix08, there was a Weatherbug being demoed as a proof of concept that worked like a charm. Now, I am not a big fun of Weatherbug, but it certainly shows potential for Silverlight apps running in Windows Mobile devices.

Well, you are not the only one... Creating an MSI file for application distribution is really simple, but when you want to distribute an application that runs on the Windows Mobile environment, it is not that simple any more. This is especially true if you are new to Windows Mobile development.

Why a CAB if I want an MSI?

The answer is "multiple hardware platforms", you obviously want to deliver a well developed solution, and your application will probably be rolled out to different hardware. What you want to do is create a CAB file containing the application as compiled for that particular platform (Windows Mobile Professional vs. Windows Mobile Standard). You may be even looking at releasing the application to different OS versions and even different processors. Well, that might require some tweaking on your part to deliver the best performing application for each platform, OS, and processor... bummer.

So the best approach is to create multiple CAB files, each one with all the corresponding application requirements. and finally create the MSI file that contains all of them. Easy, right? not so fast...

Once you have all the CAB files you need, you can create an INI file that lists all the mutually exclusive CAB files in the package. For example DotNetCF would be one package, SQL2k5 would be another and the third one would be your application. Each of those packages would be a set of CAB files of which only one would be installed to the mobile device. In other words, you would be installing 3 CAB files, one from each package. However, each package will have many files; as many as different platforms you are deploying to. You will create an INI file for each package you want to create. This INI file will have the list of all mutually exclusive CAB files in that package.

While you can create an MSI project pretty quick, the MSI projects are targeted at delivering the application to a PC and not a mobile device. So you need to "trick" the MSI installer into not only copying the cab file into a PC folder, but also running the application installer provided with ActiveSync (yes, the one that runs when you add/remove programs in ActiveSync). Coupled to that, you may need to distribute several other packaged CAB files such as the .Net Compact Framework, SQL Server Compact, etc. The default project for creating MSIs only has automation to copy files in certain folders, so you can use code in a custom installer class where you can specify to run CEAppMgr.exe for as many CAB packages as you want.

To make things short, you would be running a call to unpack the right CAB file from each INI file you created. CEAppMgr will take care of deciding which one is right for your device, out of all the options you list in the INI file, so all you need to do is make the right call in that custom installer.

Now, out on the web I have noticed that people are having trouble making the right call. This is because they are not allowing the process to wait enough time to call it again for unpacking the next set of CAB files listed in the next INI file... that is because in the call, they need to use .WaitForExit() at the end of the call. The call in the custom installer should look like this:

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(appMgrPath, "\"" + Path.Combine(installPath, CEAPPMGR_NETCFXv2_INI_FILE) + "\"").WaitForExit();

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(appMgrPath, "\"" + Path.Combine(installPath, CEAPPMGR_SQLCE2K5_INI_FILE) + "\"").WaitForExit();

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(appMgrPath, "\"" + Path.Combine(installPath, CEAPPMGR_INI_FILE) + "\"").WaitForExit();

If you have to make several calls, and you don't use "wait for exit", then the process may overlap and fail from time to time. It will not fail every single time, but it will not work correctly every single time.

Got the MSI... but need to rebuild my projects: how?

This is the really easy part. If you have all projects as part of a solution, then it will be easy to rebuild each project (application, then CAB, then MSI) and just pick up the MSI file from the Release folder under the MSI project folder.

Now that you have the basics, lets get to build that MSI!

Don't hesitate to post your comments here or even better: go to our forums for posting specific help with your project's MSI package.