Log in

View Full Version : The Windows Mobile Device Center Story - How it is Supposed to Work


Kris Kumar
09-08-2006, 03:30 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.msdn.com/melsam/archive/2006/09/07/744902.aspx' target='_blank'>http://blogs.msdn.com/melsam/archive/2006/09/07/744902.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Microsoft released Vista RC1 last week and some of you are already using it. If you use a Pocket PC or Smartphone device, you may be disappointed to find that the Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) is missing from Vista RC1. I've seen a few posts about this on various forums so I got some clarification from the team working on WMDC. First of all, here's how WMDC is supposed to work. When Vista ships, it will contain a "base driver", which will enable basic connectivity and some features such as browsing the device, copying files and syncing with Windows Media Player. But it will not enable full ActiveSync and RAPI features. Nor will it allow you to partner up with Outlook to sync PIM data such as Calendar, Contacts, Tasks etc."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Sept06-AutoPlay-Met.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />That is Mel Sampat, a Windows Mobile Program Manager, talking about how the sync functionality is enabled in Windows Vista; what the users can expect to see when they try to connect their mobile devices to Vista. In case want to see some more screen shots then you can check out my last two posts on this topic, over <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12261">here</a> and <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,11469">here.</a> :)

Mike Temporale
09-08-2006, 04:23 PM
Thanks Mel. That clears up some of the confusion floating around. I think the reduced functionality is a good idea. Not everyone wants to sync with Outlook, and at least this way you'll know that you can at least plug in your device and transfer info without having to toy around with a partnership. :D

Sven Johannsen
09-08-2006, 04:59 PM
at least this way you'll know that you can at least plug in your device and transfer info without having to toy around with a partnership. :DThat is nice. Almost as nice as having the PPC show up as a USB device. But still, if you can get all your non-PPC friends to install Vista, it'll be much easier to share files.

Macguy59
09-09-2006, 01:55 AM
Thanks Mel. That clears up some of the confusion floating around. I think the reduced functionality is a good idea. Not everyone wants to sync with Outlook, and at least this way you'll know that you can at least plug in your device and transfer info without having to toy around with a partnership. :D

Good idea? Sounds to me like they broke device manager. It is working fine in beta 2.

Rocco Augusto
09-09-2006, 03:51 AM
i cant wait for a proper sync solution to be released. while i am happy that my images automatically sync to my computer now... since i'm very forgetful, i would still like to have a second backup of my data besides my hosted exchange server :)

Sven Johannsen
09-09-2006, 05:16 AM
Thanks Mel. That clears up some of the confusion floating around. I think the reduced functionality is a good idea. Not everyone wants to sync with Outlook, and at least this way you'll know that you can at least plug in your device and transfer info without having to toy around with a partnership. :D

Good idea? Sounds to me like they broke device manager. It is working fine in beta 2.

Sort of. WMDC hasn't been compatible with releases after Beta 2. The capability mentioned, browsing the device and syncing music is there independent of WMDC entirely. It was there pre-Beta 2, before WMDC ever appeared in 'public' releases. They didn't create a reduced functionality between B2 and RC1. it was already there.

So you really have two independent capabilities.
1) browsing and media support built into Vista, and
2) PIM, etc. sync supported by an add on called Windows Mobile Device Center

That second piece is not quite out yet.