Your digital world in the palm of your hand

7 cool things you can do with Windows Mobile

By Mary Bitti and Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

First they were just for talking. Then they found their way online. Now there’s a new generation of mobile devices using Windows Mobile software. They are virtually palm-sized laptops.

Mere talking and surfing have been surpassed by an army of cool capabilities. Touchscreens allow people to create, read or edit mobile versions of documents in PowerPoint, Word and Excel and use MP3 and video-streaming functions.

In fact, Todd Ogasawara, author of www.mobileviews.com, says the most common Windows Mobile-powered phone can store and compute more than a desktop did 10 years ago.

Windows Mobile - by the numbers

Once, smartphones were largely used by business people, says Greg Milligan, Microsoft Canada’s mobility manager for the Canada Communications Sector. But not anymore. “Consumers want [smart-phones] as well,” he says.

Bell’s latest offering, the HTC Touch, has a 1.5 million song library. Users can download a song in less than a minute, he says.

High Tech Computer Corp., the maker of the HTC Touch, is just one of 48 Windows Mobile-based device manufacturers around the world. The great number of choices among devices and applications distinguishes Windows Mobile from other smartphones, says Milligan.

Windows Mobile allows you to add third-party applications — think of them as computer programs — to your device. “This is what really sets it apart from other devices,” says Milligan. “There are more than 18,000 applications for Windows Mobile.”

Why go mobile with Windows Mobile

Mobile devices with Windows Mobile software allow users to do everything from sending e-mail and working on documents to managing schedules and keeping track of what to pick up for dinner. Almost everything you can do with your desktop or laptop computer at home or at the office you can do with your Windows Mobile-based device.

Go beyond the basics

Here are seven cool things you can do with most Windows Mobile-based devices:

1. Access documents in Microsoft Office. Honey, I shrunk the PowerPoint-based presentation! Use mobile versions of Microsoft Office for Windows Mobile to work on documents in Excel, Word and PowerPoint on your Windows Mobile-based device. Click here to get Office Mobile.
2. Check movie listings. Not sure what to see? Use your Windows Mobile-based device to check movie listings and times. “You can even download music or stream videos from your TV through your PC to your phone,” says Ogasawara. Why not watch a few previews before you leave the house?
3. Find your way. Never get lost again. Many phones come with GPS capabilities that give you turn-by-turn directions to any destination. You can also buy an external GPS that will show map locations on Bing or other mapping applications.
4. Instant message. Keep your social circle at your fingertips. Windows Mobile gives you access to up to six messaging inboxes. “You can access your Hotmail and Windows Live accounts, as well as your work mail, and manage all of those with one click,” says Kristi Lundgren, Motorola’s market and channel development manager of productivity devices. “You can also instant message using MSN or any other favourite application.”
5. Show off your pics. We all keep countless photos on our PCs, but now you can show off the pictures on your Windows Mobile-based device. “I keep my most recent family photos on my mobile device so when I go see mum and dad in North Bay, I can show them the most up-to-date pictures of the grandkids,” says Milligan.
6. Read. Get your “virtual” pages turning. You can listen to a bestseller while commuting to work each morning. Simply check out audible.com to download an audiobook. Some public libraries, such as KnowBetter Lending Library and Ebook Library, also lend e-books. To use any electronic materials, you’ll have to download Adobe Reader or Mobipocket Reader.
7. Stay healthy. Drop and give me 20! Turn your Windows Mobile-based device into your own personal fitness trainer. Sites such as Handango and PocketGear offer health and fitness-related downloads. Keep on top of your health regimen, download workouts, record what you eat and access healthy recipes — right from the palm of your hand.