Geekzone Gets a Sneak Peek at Smartphone 2003

[Robert Levy]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=1151' target='_blank'>http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=1151</a><br /><br /></div>There's an interesting new article up on Geekzone which discusses a sneak preview which was given of Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone running on a HTC Tanager device. <br /><br />"Initially the meeting was just to allow me to look the HTC Tanager mobile phone. But then I was told the mobile was actually running on the not yet released Microsoft Windows Mobile Smartphone 2003."<br /><br />"I've seen the Windows Mobile Smartphone 2003 in action and it is nice. This new version feels 30% faster than the 2002 version (according to the user). The boot time on this windows Mobile Smartphone and on my Nokia 3650 is almost the same."<br /><br />"The e-mail system is well implemented, with support for multiple mailboxes, ActiveSync/POP/IMAP in any combination. The OS supports schedules for automatic synchronisation on peak and off-peak hours, and options to only synchronise when new e-mail or appointment arrives on the server. The mobile phone will receive a notification (like the WAP "push") and initiate a sync action to pull the new content. Very smooth and well done. By they, it does not support an icon based menu, like the Symbian, but the nubmered menu options are easy to access."<br /><br />"According to this person, there's only a couple of things to finish before Vodafone would approve this device to be sold on their stores. Mainly the requirement to have Vodafone Live! pre-installed on the device. This is tricky, because Java is part of the Vodafone Live! architecture, but it can be done. Apparently this could be a show stopper, but it's proven to work."<br /><br />Check out the article for more.

[David McNamee]

This is going to be great. I think multi-mailbox support is on a lot of people's wish lists.

One line that made me hopeful for the future:
By the way, the phone does not support GPRS and voice calls at the same time, but this is a radio implementation not a software design problem.

I'd really like to see this problem solved.

[Jason Dunn]

One line that made me hopeful for the future:
By the way, the phone does not support GPRS and voice calls at the same time, but this is a radio implementation not a software design problem.

I'd really like to see this problem solved.

I know I'm going to get this mixed up, but it's just a matter of the ODM deciding which type of radio to put into the device - Class A or Class B. The OS supports both, so hopefully one of the ODMs will want to get aggressive and do a Class A device.

[Neil]

A Class A radio won't do you any good until you find a mobile operator that supports Class A. As far as we're aware there are no networks that support this right now, and we haven't heard of plans to do so until 3G is rolled out.

[David McNamee]

A Class A radio won't do you any good until you find a mobile operator that supports Class A.

That is going to be a major plus once they do support it. I had a pretty uncomfortable moment recently while I was demoing a solution when the client looked up at me and said, accusingly, "what do you mean I can't be on a phone call while I'm downloading data!"

[freitasm]

A Class A radio won't do you any good until you find a mobile operator that supports Class A. As far as we're aware there are no networks that support this right now, and we haven't heard of plans to do so until 3G is rolled out.

True... And AFAIK there is no mobile phone with a Class A radio capable of work on 2.5G networks these days.

It's a shame, but mobile carriers (mainly in Europe) spent billions buying 3G spectrum (not used yet and some scrapped the accounts for it), so they had to slowdown 2.5G (GPRS) deployment.

The 3 (Hutchison) approach was to partner with established 2.5G operators to allow roaming, and deploy a pure 3G network only, avoiding the costs of running two networks. But this is another story, and nothing to do with Windows Mobile Smartphones...

[Jason Dunn]

A Class A radio won't do you any good until you find a mobile operator that supports Class A. As far as we're aware there are no networks that support this right now, and we haven't heard of plans to do so until 3G is rolled out.

Ah, interesting - I didn't know that. Sucky. :?

[sweetpete]

I'm not sure how big of a deal it is to not have Class A. Yes it would be nice to continue the data session, but really it wouldn't be a critical impact.

The feature that can easily overcome this deficiency is the ability to re-establish the data call and continue where you left off. Most protocol stacks aren't capable of doing that very well, but I've seen one companies implementation created specifically for wireless that allowed the server to continue the data transmission after many minutes of disconnection.

The greatest issue I see with mobile data to date is that most application and OS vendors haven't taken the time to optimize the stack for the poor nature of wireless connections. You go into and out of coverage going in and out of eleveators and coverage areas and there is no recoverability.

Anyway, that is slightly OT. The new OS does have a slate of enhancements that are most welcome. I think the multi email account will be the biggest hit. The tight integration with Exchange 2003 server-active-sync is going to be nice to demo to management :lol:

[freitasm]

I'm not sure how big of a deal it is to not have Class A. Yes it would be nice to continue the data session, but really it wouldn't be a critical impact.

Anyway, that is slightly OT. The new OS does have a slate of enhancements that are most welcome.

I think it's really needed... You can ben on call and need to pull out some numbers or data from a server on your intranet :wink: Of course you can always say "Ok, I'll forward this to you ASAP after this call"...

[sweetpete]

I think it's really needed... You can ben on call and need to pull out some numbers or data from a server on your intranet :wink: Of course you can always say "Ok, I'll forward this to you ASAP after this call"...

Yeah, I guess that may happen, but really how realistic is it that while you're talking to the person you're going to interrupt the conversation to look for a file on a server and send it to them.
I can see it happening, it's just that to hunt and peck with the Smartphone keyboard looking for that file and then forwarding it to them seems like it may be a little time consuming and distracting. I'm not saying people won't do it or want to, but it seem like the hassle may be worth more than the trouble.

Personally, I prefer to give people my full attention while I'm on the phone and do any follow-up that requires sending material afterwards. We live in a time where we have enough distractions with things like IM and the constant email that I find time on the phone like a bit of a novelty :roll:

[freitasm]

I'm tempted. Very tempted. I'm thinking of ditching the Nokia 3650 and getting the Tanager.

The problem is about paradigm shifts. I enjoy using my Pocket PC to send and receive e-mails and browse (yes, Netfront browser rules!) over GPRS using my Bluetooth phone.

But the Windows Mobile Smartphone (can we abbreviate to WMS please?) is very nice. But how can I send and receive e-mails using the tiny keypad?

I mean, I send SMS from my PPC with SimpleSMS. At work I visit our intranet and fire SMS from a web page connected to our own SMSC in Australia.

But the keypad on the phone is too little. I know T9 helps lots, but it'll be a big paradigm shift from two devices to one integrated.

I must not resist. Resistance is futile :D