Smartphone Remote Control Application

[Jason Dunn]

I'm a big fan of SOTI's Pocket Controller Professional because it allows me to leverage the faster input speed of my desktop computer when setting up a Pocket PC. And when you have five IMAP accounts to configure, that's a very good thing. Now that I've completed the latest E200 ROM update, it's time to get things set up again, and I'm looking for a software solution that will allow me to enter data remotely onto my Smartphone. Any ideas? I know there's the Remote Display powertoy from Microsoft, but that's Smartphone to desktop display - I need to be able to control the Smartphone and do data entry on it. Has no one created this tool yet, or am I missing something?

[Jason Dunn]

I'm a big fan of SOTI's Pocket Controller Professional because it allows me to leverage the faster input speed of my desktop computer when setting up a Pocket PC. And when you have five IMAP accounts to configure, that's a very good thing. Now that I've completed the latest E200 ROM update, it's time to get things set up again, and I'm looking for a software solution that will allow me to enter data remotely onto my Smartphone. Any ideas? I know there's the Remote Display powertoy from Microsoft, but that's Smartphone to desktop display - I need to be able to control the Smartphone and do data entry on it. Has no one created this tool yet, or am I missing something?

[bart2brett]

I am looking for the same. I'll let you know if I find anything by posting the info here, please do the same.
Thanks

[bitbank]

Jason,
I'm working on a new version of Virtual CE which out does SOTI's software on many features and works with the SmartPhone platform. From your comments, it is not clear exactly what you want to do. Would Virtual CE for SmartPhone solve your problem?

Larry B.

[Phunkphantom]

Jason,

Where can you get the MS Powertoy from?

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by bitbank

From your comments, it is not clear exactly what you want to do. Would Virtual CE for SmartPhone solve your problem?

What Jason, bart2brett, myself, and many others I'm sure, are looking to do is control the smartphone from the desktop. I could type on my desktop keyboard and the text would entered into a new contact on my smartphone. To also map keyboard keys to the soft keys on your device so you can use your number pad to quickly navigate the menus on your smartphone.

Your software looks very interesting, but it doesn't mention being able to do these things. Is it possible?? If so, when is the new version due for release? or beta?

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by Phunkphantom

Where can you get the MS Powertoy from?

Here :wink:

[bitbank]

Mike,
Yes, my software allows you to enter text on the smartphone from your comfortable keyboard and mouse. You can use only your keyboard to work all of the buttons on the smartphone. The only strange thing is that when you are entering text and press the number keys, the phone reacts with the multi-press logic and cycles through the letters before you get to enter numbers. I have been working on it on and off for a long time and I don't know when I will release it because I am working on higher priority projects.

The truth is that the software market for Pocket PC and SmartPhone really sucks. The marketplace is so small that there is not much sales revenue to go around. As soon as I release a product, within 3-6 months my sales evaporate because of competitors stealing my ideas. For the pitance I earn each month, I have to constantly innovate and respond to tons of emails from customers with Handango registration code problems (lost, incorrect, hard reset, etc.). The sad fact is that I make much more money in the desktop software market.

Anyhow... I would like to receive some feedback from SmartPhone users on my code, so I have decided to release a beta to get some feedback. You can download it from:
http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/downloads/vce4demo.zip

It requires an "unlocked" phone. Copy v_remote_sp to your phone in the \IPSM\Windows\Start Menu\Accessories folder so that you can run it.
Run V_PPC on the desktop and optionally VCE_PROXY if you want to access your SmartPhone through a WAN/LAN using your desktop as a proxy. Sorry about the lack of docs, but I will correct that shortly. To get started:

1) Create connections
2) Double-click on them to connect.
3) Experiment with the "Direct-USB" option. It is EXTREMELY fast, but you will need to kill activesync on the SP and on the PC (if your phone is the first USB connection).
Sorry I don't have any sample skins - again I will have them shortly.

The following special keys are defined in the client windows:

F1 = Left soft menu
F2 = Right soft menu
F3 = Home
ESC = back

Please send feedback to bitbank@pobox.com

Thanks,
Larry B.[/b]

[Mike Temporale]

Thanks. I will download your software and give it a try over the weekend.