05-27-2006, 04:50 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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A Look at Microsoft OneNote Mobile (Beta) on the Pocket PC
Back in November, there was talk of a mobile version of OneNote for the Windows Mobile platform. All attention seemed focused on the Smartphone, which still holds true, though the application works fine on a Pocket PC - minus a few features, of course. In this article, I take a look at how OneNote Mobile looks and feels on a Pocket PC. Read on to find out more.
A few days ago, Microsoft announced the public availability of Beta 2 of the 2007 Office System. In the package is a standalone installer for OneNote 2007, a digital notebook supporting text, ink, audio, video, and images. While the core of the application is designed to enhance the note-taking and sharing experience on the PC, it does include a number of improvements for Pocket PCs and Smartphones - not just with the provision of a mobile client, but also an enhanced sync experience that leaves the OneNote 2003 + Notes partnership out in the dust.
Figure 1: The OneNote Mobile notification bubble.
When you first synchronise a Pocket PC (or Smartphone) with a PC running OneNote 2007, a bubble appears in the system tray notifying you that OneNote Mobile is available for installation. The application consumes less than a megabyte, and similar to its other Office Mobile counterparts, it is readily identifiable in the Start menu via the purple OneNote icon.
Figure 2: OneNote Mobile, as it appears in the Start menu of a Pocket PC.
The main interface (or Notes Browser) of OneNote Mobile isn't graphically-rich. Being initially designed for the Smartphone, it lacks tap-and-hold support and is heavily reliant on the use of soft keys for navigation. Here, you can create, rename, delete, and modify the sorting options of notes.
Figure 3: It's all about the soft keys.
When creating or editing a note, the interface isn't significantly different. Again, no tap-and-hold support, and no toolbar either (unlike Word Mobile and Excel Mobile). You can format text and create lists in a number of ways, but the need to reach for the soft keys each time soon becomes a drag. You can also insert pictures (with camera support) and recordings as thumbnails, which can be viewed in its entirety simply by tapping on it. Images open in an embedded image viewer, while recordings simply play back. Both can also sync back to the PC.
Of course, one would think that ink support on a touchscreen-enabled device (Pocket PC) would be the most mind-blowing concept of OneNote Mobile. Sadly, there is no such support - further reaffirming that the version of OneNote Mobile that ships with Beta 2 of OneNote 2007 is in every way designed for the Smartphone. I don't know about you, but I feel that OneNote Mobile would have far greater value on a Pocket PC than a Smartphone, and I hope that Microsoft gets around to designing an exclusive Pocket PC version of the application by RTM.
Figure 4: OneNote Mobile includes a number of text formatting options (bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough) and list options (bullet points, and numbers).
On a more positive note, the OneNote 2007 + OneNote Mobile sync experience shines. Included in ActiveSync is a "OneNote Notes" sync option that keeps notes between the Windows Mobile-based device and the special mobile notebook section of OneNote 2007 synchronised. It supports two-way sync, so changes made on either the PC or mobile device can be reflected on the other when the two communicate.
Figure 5: The new "OneNote Notes" sync option in ActiveSync.
Much of the text formatting in the two-way sync remains intact, and in some cases, special formatting (for example, tables) still appears on the mobile device, even though it cannot be created on it.
Each set of notes from a device is kept in its own tab in OneNote 2007. This helps if you have multiple devices synchronising with the same computer. If a note has multiple containers, these will appear as separate notes on the mobile device. Annoying, yes, but if you factor in the limited screen space of a Pocket PC or Smartphone, it's easy to see why Microsoft has taken this approach.
Figure 6: The mobile notebook section of OneNote 2007. Click the image above for a larger version.
At the end of the day, OneNote Mobile on the Pocket PC has room for improvement. But just for that enhanced two-way sync experience, it's still worth installing, in my opinion. So, if you don't mind toying with beta software, download Beta 2 of the 2007 Office System to experience OneNote Mobile for yourself.
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05-27-2006, 06:30 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,520
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Not being a TabletPC owner, I guess I can't quite see the significance of this product.
Would OneNote replace Calligrapher on my PPC?
__________________
Phone: Nexus one Backup Phone: AT&T Samsung Jack; Future Phone: I'm Watching WP7; Media Player: Platinum Zune HD 32GB; Home Server: HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Console: XBox 360, PS3, Wii |
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05-27-2006, 06:43 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Phillip Dyson
Would OneNote replace Calligrapher on my PPC?
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If you need ink support, then continue using CalliGrapher.
Also, much of OneNote Mobile's value lies in its sync experience with OneNote. If you don't use the desktop application, then there's little point in using the mobile application.
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05-27-2006, 08:38 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 18
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Phillip Dyson
Not being a TabletPC owner, I guess I can't quite see the significance of this product.
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Onenote is *not* just for Tablets. I frequently use it on my laptop to take notes in meetings. I also use it to organize information about the projects I'm working on. Wish I did have a tablet PC, but trust me, there's plenty of non-tablet use cases for Onenote.
As an aside, the "Smartphone-centric" appearance of ON Mobile seems...retarded. Tap & hold takes nothing away from the SP experience (they won't even know its there), and can only add to the PPC experience. And without ink, I hardly see a reason to use this over the embedded Outlook sync'ing Notes app, which does support handwritten notes. I can only assume that this beta is not feature-complete. Nothing else makes sense.
I do want to check it out though, I love my Notes in Outlook, and would love them even more in ON where I do more with that sort of data anyway.
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05-27-2006, 09:52 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 425
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I'm downloading it right now. (It sure was a hassle to get to the point where it can actually be downloaded though, after having to submit to various surveys, etc.)
I didn't see a PPC version, just the desktop version. Is the WM version included in the desktop package?
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05-27-2006, 10:45 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,074
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by maikii
I didn't see a PPC version, just the desktop version. Is the WM version included in the desktop package?
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The WM version is bundled with the desktop package. After installing OneNote, connect your WM device and a balloon tool tip will popup in the system tray bar, kind like what Darius has shown in Figure 1. ;-) Click on it and you will be all set. And yes, you have to enable the OneNote in the ActiveSync->Options.
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05-27-2006, 10:51 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,074
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It sucks that the Pocket PC application doesn't support ink etc. But as a Smartphone user, I am very happy. This kind of note taking ability combined with the sync functionality is what I needed for my Smartphone. :rock on dude!:
Also makes me happy to see that Microsoft is for once focusing on the Smartphone client first. ;-) I am sure it is just a matter of time and betas before they offer a fully functional Pocket PC version.
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05-28-2006, 01:11 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 434
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I think two of the most important features of OneNote Mobile are the ability to take photos on WM devices with integrated camera right from within OneNote Mobile, and to record audio notes as well. The images and audio notes are then synced back to desktop OneNote so you have all captured information back on the desktop where you need it. If you take a photo of a document, say a business card, then that image is OCRed when it syncs back to the desktop and all text is searchable by OneNote. That is very powerful stuff. I wrote an overview of OneNote Mobile a few days ago which you can find here:
http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkonther...andson_ti.html
__________________
James Kendrick* ...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs
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05-28-2006, 04:05 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by halr9000
As an aside, the "Smartphone-centric" appearance of ON Mobile seems...retarded. Tap & hold takes nothing away from the SP experience (they won't even know its there), and can only add to the PPC experience. And without ink, I hardly see a reason to use this over the embedded Outlook sync'ing Notes app, which does support handwritten notes. I can only assume that this beta is not feature-complete. Nothing else makes sense.
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Actually, I think it is feature-complete. Chris Pratley, who maintains a killer OneNote blog, made a post in November that sort of hinted at everything that OneNote Mobile would include. I seem to have missed the OCR support in my article (thanks, James  ), but everything else still stands. It's a great application for Smartphone users, but I think Pocket PC users will be left wanting more.
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05-28-2006, 04:14 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kris Kumar
Quote:
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Originally Posted by maikii
I didn't see a PPC version, just the desktop version. Is the WM version included in the desktop package?
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The WM version is bundled with the desktop package. After installing OneNote, connect your WM device and a balloon tool tip will popup in the system tray bar, kind like what Darius has shown in Figure 1. ;-) |
You can also copy the CAB directly from the PC to the Pocket PC. It's just one CAB for both Pocket PCs and Smartphones - look for OneNoteMobile.CAB in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 12\1033, assuming C: is the drive you installed Office in.
I kind of prefer the bubble method, though. It's more user-friendly. 
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