The Waiting

[Jon Westfall]

There is a <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/tom-petty/138501.html">song</a> by Tom Petty that so elegantly states “The waiting is the hardest part”, and few times in my life have I identified with those words as strongly as the last few weeks. Why? Well, I’m waiting for something. And it’s Windows Mobile Related.<br /><br />Back in October we were super psyched to announce the availability of <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=43787">Exchange Service Pack 2</a> and we were all a bit dismayed to find out that we’d have to wait until the MSFP was released in order to use the most anticipated feature, Push E-mail. Jason Langridge has a nice write-up in his <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonlan/archive/2005/08/22/454717.aspx">MSDN blog</a> describing the situation and the features we all want if you need a refresher on the whole MSFP thing (And a link to a video that will make you drool if you’re into remote device management). Anyway, we were told to wait, and waiting we are. The Exchange Server I sync to is updated, it’s got everything installed it will need to support the MSFP, all I need now is the ROM updates that will let me experience it. <a href="http://www.imateforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6">Rumors</a> have been floating around now for a few weeks that i-Mate is planning to release ROM updates by the end of this month (Some said by the end of this week), yet they still have failed to appear. So I’m left waiting… and it’s driving me nuts!<br /><br />In the true spirit of this community, I figured we could all use an outlet to get our frustrations out about what we are waiting for. So follow the advice of another <a href="http://www.lyricstop.com/w/whatyouwaitingfor-gwenstefani.html">song</a> and tell me – What are you waiting for?

[CookieKid]

I'm waiting for my HX4700. I ordered the item on Ebay but had to get it sent to my girlfriend's uncle because the auction was for US only. It was received by my girlfriend's uncle on the 24th of December and he's planning to visit her on the 21st of January. So with that said, I've been iPaqless for the 3 weeks and it's killing me! I never realized that I've grown dependent on a PDA to organize/manage my tasks. Now that the new year has started, more and more things are thrown at me and I'm struggling to keep track of what has to be done. A week seems like an eternity.... :cry:

[dochall]

The motorla q to be launched in europe, to make use of push email

A decent pda in the WM5 generation, ideally with 128mb RAM and at least as much rom with a VGA screen, wifi (g would be good), bluetooth and a SCROLL WHEEL.

[KTamas]

A PDA with WM5 (AKU2 of course + Widcomm BT stack), VGA screen, at least 128 MB RAM/ROM in the form factor of the Blue Angel. I know, I know, it will probably never happen :(

[dma1965]

I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting the direct push, as I want to start using this with all of my "road warriors". From what I have seen and heard, it is even better than the Blackberry direct push. In the meantime, I am using the 4Smartphone service (very reasonably priced) and loving it. It is not a true direct push yet, but works quite well in it's current state on my Wizard (QTek 9100). I just think it is so cool to update a contact on my desktop, and by the time I walk across the house to pick up my Pocket PC Phone, it is updated. What is the absolute greatest thing about this for me is using entourage on my Mac (I use both Windows and Mac), which connects to Exchange as well, and it is now always up to date with no need for a sync application update for my Windows Mobile 5 device. I spoke to someone at 4Smartphone who told me they are already set up on their end to use the new push technology, we just need to wait for the update from the device manufacturers, and they already have it, so, as you said, now we wait. :|

[dma1965]

The motorla q to be launched in europe, to make use of push email

A decent pda in the WM5 generation, ideally with 128mb RAM and at least as much rom with a VGA screen, wifi (g would be good), bluetooth and a SCROLL WHEEL.

What I want to see is someone, either an OEM or third party developer, who can hook into the volume slider control and turn it into a scroller. On my Qtek 9100, if you browse PIE in full screen mode, it turns into a scroller, and works great. So the functionality definitely exists, now we need a way to make it global on the device.

[KTamas]

The motorla q to be launched in europe, to make use of push email

A decent pda in the WM5 generation, ideally with 128mb RAM and at least as much rom with a VGA screen, wifi (g would be good), bluetooth and a SCROLL WHEEL.

What I want to see is someone, either an OEM or third party developer, who can hook into the volume slider control and turn it into a scroller. On my Qtek 9100, if you browse PIE in full screen mode, it turns into a scroller, and works great. So the functionality definitely exists, now we need a way to make it global on the device.
There is already a small app that can do it, at least for the Himalaya and the Blue Angel devices that can re-map the up/down volume slider to D-pad up/down. Look over at xda-developers forums, you might find something.

[Airscanner]

I've been waiting for them to relax the signing restrictions on WM5.0 devices :)

I'd also like them to get Visual Studio 2005 working :) For now, Seth put up a guide on how to get it to work here:
http://www.airscanner.com/security/WM5debugVS2005.pdf

So far WM5.0 rocks, but still needs a good service pack to iron out the bugs. I'm waiting for that too!

[MikeB]

I'm waiting to see a Windows Mobile update that includes a version of ActiveSync that can still sync an Access database. One with free developer tools. One with improved device performance. And instead of two giant words on the toolbar at the bottom, programs would use icons on the toolbars, so you don't have to drill through menus to get to items. They could call it 'Windows Mobile 2003' :D

[Airscanner]

hehe :)

agreed!

[Kevin Daly]

1) My manifest genius to be recognised by an admiring humanity
2) Programmer groupies (let me be clear: groupies for programmers, not programmers who are groupies, 'cos that would just be gross
3) Oh all right, a Windows Mobile 5 Phone Edition device that has roughly the features of the JasJar (I even like the form factor), but faster, with more memory (both ROM &amp; RAM), and with soft keys in portrait mode...and a slightly larger screen. And with no non-core applications pre-loaded in such a way that they can't be removed.
4) A well-paying job to allow me to pay for item 3, preferably in one of the nicer parts of Europe.

[Rob Borek]

I'm waiting to see a Windows Mobile update that includes a version of ActiveSync that can still sync an Access database. One with free developer tools. One with improved device performance. And instead of two giant words on the toolbar at the bottom, programs would use icons on the toolbars, so you don't have to drill through menus to get to items. They could call it 'Windows Mobile 2003' :D

1. Not likely to happen, as ADO (which was used in previous versions) has been deprecated (no longer supported, but still usable... at least in WM5).

2. The compilers and SDKs are free... it's the front-end tools (the IDE) which cost you money.

3. Likely to happen once the shakedown with the move to WM5's persistent storage and the like are ironed out.

4. Not likely to happen, as Microsoft is moving toward convergence with the Smartphone platform - they want to make developing apps for both platforms easy, so that developers can port from one to the other with ease. Developers can still use the old menu style.

Every version brings something new - some people love the new stuff, some people hate it. If Microsoft didn't introduce new things and ways of doing things, we'd still all be using the Windows 3.1 Program Manager ;)

[DaleReeck]

I'm waiting for my HX4700.

The Ipaq 4700 - a greatly underrated PDA :)

Also, I don't know about some of you, but applying a service pack to Exchange when you are using it in an enterprise environment is no easy task. For my University I work at, such an upgrade has to be authorized at the highest levels and could take months to get planned and executed, if ever. It doesn't have to take that long, but you know state bureaucracy and all that.

So, for me and I imagine a good number of you, the arrival of the Exchange SP, push email and all that stuff is a nonevent as its not a choice of our own whether to apply it or not.

[KTamas]

I'm waiting for my HX4700.

The Ipaq 4700 - a greatly underrated PDA :)

Also, I don't know about some of you, but applying a service pack to Exchange when you are using it in an enterprise environment is no easy task. For my University I work at, such an upgrade has to be authorized at the highest levels and could take months to get planned and executed, if ever. It doesn't have to take that long, but you know state bureaucracy and all that.

So, for me and I imagine a good number of you, the arrival of the Exchange SP, push email and all that stuff is a nonevent as its not a choice of our own whether to apply it or not.
hx4700...great PDA, with the best screen ever....and the worst d-pad, unfortunatelly (I've tried it with morphgear....horrible results).

[signothefish]

In the overall scheme of things, a minimum 1024x1280 screen device capable of running the latest Windows, Tablet PC, or Windows Mobile OS, preferable on-thy-fly switching between all 3, and is uber-portable (hehe, I've always wanted to use that word). It has to have all the physical features available in today's laptops, just in this small form factor, and of course, a touchscreen. It also has to be very fast, the GPU, CPU, and system bus. By then, miniature hard drives should be able to hold hundreds of GB of data and WiMax should be prevalent. Let's not forget a built-in QWERTY keyboard.

[bikeman]

Since we're wishing and waiting, how about the ability to sync my PocketPC with Linux? I can love my PocketPC but still prefer Linux over WinXP. And my PC, and wallet, will not support Vista.

Okay, I know this will never happen, but I can hope. Just a little.

[cmlpreston]

Since we're wishing and waiting, how about the ability to sync my PocketPC with Linux? I can love my PocketPC but still prefer Linux over WinXP. And my PC, and wallet, will not support Vista.

Okay, I know this will never happen, but I can hope. Just a little.

Err, you do know about Synce (http://synce.sf.net), don't you? Lots of people use it quite happily.

[DaleReeck]

I'm waiting for my HX4700.

The Ipaq 4700 - a greatly underrated PDA :)


hx4700...great PDA, with the best screen ever....and the worst d-pad, unfortunatelly (I've tried it with morphgear....horrible results).

People who complained about it always focused on it's size. While it may have been big width x length, it was one of the thinnest PocketPC's in height. About the size as their tiny 1900 series. Besides, nothing compared to that giant 4" screen. Browsing on that big screen in VGA was awesome.

Plus, it has SD, CF, Wifi and bluetooth that supported all the profiles including headset stereo and the fastest processor currently available, 640MHZ. Ony more memory would have been nicer. But after all this time, there aren't any PPC's that can compare with its specs.

[echernosky]

I'm waiting for VZW to get a Windows Mobile phone without the th(d)umboard.

[bikeman]

Err, you do know about Synce, don't you? Lots of people use it quite happily.

Actually, yes. I tried it together with multisync on Ubuntu with my Dell Axim X5. No dice, even after following how-tos and google and forum searches. I borrowed a friend's Palm - synced automagically with Gnome Pilot. I wish my PPC would do that! Thanks for trying to help, though.

[JamesM]

I'm waiting for T-mobile to offer a decent Pocket PC Phone Edition device (preferably the MDA Vario)
James

[Jon Westfall]

I'm waiting for T-mobile to offer a decent Pocket PC Phone Edition device (preferably the MDA Vario)
James

I gave up on this one a long time ago... That was rumored to have happened last quarter actually.

[felixdd]

The motorla q to be launched in europe, to make use of push email

A decent pda in the WM5 generation, ideally with 128mb RAM and at least as much rom with a VGA screen, wifi (g would be good), bluetooth and a SCROLL WHEEL.
If you're waiting for a jogdial-like scroll wheel (the ones that turn 360º and can be pressed in), you're waiting for hell to freeze over. The design is patented by Sony and they're not about to give it up without a price.

[ricksfiona]

It WAS the E-TEN M600, now it's the DualCor cPC. It's an expensive pill to swallow, but it will meet so many of my professional needs.

[Phoenix]

I'm waiting for:

1.) HTC Universal with a faster Intel X-Scale processor, (the same VGA screen), Intel 2700g, 128MB RAM, 2GB Nand Flash memory for storage, Quad-band GSM, EDGE, dual-band 3G with HSDPA support, WiFi-b/g, BT 2.0, SirfStar III-based GPS, 3mp Camera with flash, FM tuner, black chassis with blue backlighting on the keyboard, WM5 AKU2, and a smaller 2" outer color LCD display with D-pad and buttons (for controlling basic functions, music, voice recording, and taking quick photos and video).

Yes, this is a lot, but we're almost there - there are phones that are close to being released with nearly all that I've mentioned. I want to have at least one phone with it all that's truly worthy of the "Universal" moniker. I believe we'll see it, but who knows when.

...or:


2.) A Palm Treo 700w successor with a faster Intel X-Scale processor, 128MB RAM/128MB ROM, Quad-band GSM, EDGE, dual-band 3G with HSDPA support, WiFi-b/g, BT 2.0, rectangular VGA screen, 2mp Camera with flash, FM Tuner, and WM5 AKU2.

Forget about when we'll see this... the comment is if we'll see it. Again, who knows. If we do, it won't be for quite awhile, I'm sure.


3.) A true Blackberry experience with our Pocket PC phones.


4.) DMB, DVB-H, or MediaFlo-based digital OTA TV reception and content in the U.S and Pocket PC phones that support it.

[MikeKey]

One thing and one thing only: the Acer N311! :D

For now anyway... :wink:

Mike
-----
Dell AXIM X30/WM 2003 SE - the most reliable PPC I've owned!

[scs_ppc]

In the true spirit of this community, I figured we could all use an outlet to get our frustrations out about what we are waiting for. So follow the advice of another song (http://www.lyricstop.com/w/whatyouwaitingfor-gwenstefani.html) and tell me – What are you waiting for?

And to top off the frustration, with Microsoft's current distribution model (I took out my frustration here (http://www.mydigitallife.us/2006/01/microsoft_windo.html)) there is no guarantee that your hardware/telecom vendor will provide you with the ROM upgrade.

[redleg]

Everyone speaks about the hx4700 like it's dead and gone (wait, I just checked the HP site and it is, DOH!). I love the awesome screen and the fact that it's not itty bitty, which makes it easier to use out in the field for data collection. I want something with a screen big enough to be functional for applications other than email and scheduling. However, I'm still waiting for that WM5 upgrade.....

[Jon Westfall]

In the true spirit of this community, I figured we could all use an outlet to get our frustrations out about what we are waiting for. So follow the advice of another song (http://www.lyricstop.com/w/whatyouwaitingfor-gwenstefani.html) and tell me – What are you waiting for?

And to top off the frustration, with Microsoft's current distribution model (I took out my frustration here (http://www.mydigitallife.us/2006/01/microsoft_windo.html)) there is no guarantee that your hardware/telecom vendor will provide you with the ROM upgrade.

This is why I chose the i-Mate over the QTek brand when buying my devices. My past experience with i-Mate has shown they are fairly quick to release ROMs that take other vendors an additional month or so to release. I hope they don't change on me now ;)

[disconnected]

I've had an iPAQ 4700 for a year and a half now. That's a long time for me, and there are definitely things I'd like to change, but so far nothing has come along that improves on it.

I 'd like it to be a Sprint EVDO phone as well, because the data plans for tethering are unwritten or ridiculous or both (I'm currently tethering to a 1xrtt phone with no problems except for speed; I wouldn't mind paying for a legal plan, but I was recently quoted something like 40.00 a month for 4MB!!).

I have a bluetooth GPS receiver, so I don't want a smaller screen. I'm not much of a phone person, so I don't mind if it looks silly as a phone.

I don't want to give up the VGA screen, and I don't want a less complete bluetooth implementation. I'm also worried about the RAM in most of the new devices. Even the 4700 memory barely copes with Mapopolis. I also don't want to give up wireless synching, so I guess I'll have to wait for the next upgrade to the OS and hope that Sprint gets something with a large VGA screen.

I read a lot of ebooks, so the other big thing I'm waiting for is the availability of all new books as ebooks.

[Mark Johnson]

SCROLL WHEEL.

If you're waiting for a jogdial-like scroll wheel (the ones that turn 360º and can be pressed in), you're waiting for hell to freeze over. The design is patented by Sony and they're not about to give it up without a price.

I've been waiting (screaming/complaining/throwing rocks in the general direction of Redmond Washington) for this as well for YEARS. I really doubt that Sony could sucessfully argue they have a patent on "the wheel" any more than Apple (ala iPod) could. Both Sony and Apple do seem to have the entire industry cowering like scared little kids hiding from the schoolyard bully though. Having tried the iPod and comparing it to a number of other devices, everybody else's navigation is pathetic. Trying to sort through a playlist or fast-forward to a time point in a long podcast with WMP on the PPC is horrible compared to an iPod!

All that said, I can't imagine that a law suit against Microsoft over basic "scroll the wheel to find what you want, then click the wheel to chose what you want" concept could ever really hold up. The MS scroll wheel intellimouse has done fundamentally the same thing the Sony Jog Dial and the Apple iPod scroll wheels have done, but scroll mice were out far before either Sony or Apple brought their implementations along.

1) I think MS could legally do it anytime they wanted to because they genuinely have "prior art" (scroll wheel intelimouse).
2) I think MS could do it even if they didn't have specific prior art because even Steve Jobs couldn't convince a jury he "invented the wheel" and Apple is just banking on intimidating people by threatening to sue. MS has the deep pockets to go the distance in court if either Apple, Sony (or SCO) was stupid enough to try to pretend in a real court setting that they have some exclusive right to use such a patently obvious, and historically common, navigation method. (Please Bill, come to our rescue! The world will thank you! Just put a scroll wheel on the next PPC prototype and free all mankind from the Apple/Sony tyranny!)
3) I think MS hasn't done it yet because the chorus of "We're sick and tired of tapping like woodpeckers having seizures" has (amazingly) not yet gotten loud enough for the design guys at MS to hear the screams yet. This is too bad. The "scroll wheel PPC" would become a virtually instant standard the same way the scroll mouse did.

I remember when a friend of mine got the first scroll mouse I had seen. I thought "gimmick" until I tried it. Used it for a day and there is no way I'd ever switch back. It's the same with the iPod compared to PPC for music playback. Tap like a madman on the PPC or scroll quickly and simply with the iPod. So even though I have a PPC with plenty of storage so that I shouldn't have any interest in a iPod Nano, the HORRIBLE one-handed navigation of the PPC makes me own and carry two devices. (I do this to save my life though, trying to use the PPC to play music in your car would get you killed on the freeway pretty fast.)

[gibson042]

Well, Pocket PC hardware decisions are up to device manufacturers, not to Microsoft. There is a jog dial on the FSC Pocket Loox 700 series (and probably on other Loox, but I can't remember for certain), but for some reason this input method seems to have really fallen out of favor. They even seem to have disappeared on gumstick form factor MP3 players! I too await the return of the jog dial, but it seems pretty unlikely at this point.

[Mark Johnson]

There is a jog dial on the FSC Pocket Loox 700 series...

Did the Loox actually scroll "continuously" (i.e., 360 degrees/infinitely) or was it just the same (lame) up/down that I remember from my Jornada 540? I remember how it looek like a dial, but wasn't really.

When the 568 cam out, they had the (really absurd) arrangement of taking out the "fake dial" and replacing it with an up/down membrane switch set in the same side position, while ALSO having a d-pad. Since the PPC "wheel" never really were wheels, it's not suprising that the are not on any of the systems with d-pads. The so-called PPC "scroll wheel" never did anything that a d-pad couldn't do. The Jog Dial does things the d-pad could never hope to do.

[gibson042]

Did the Loox actually scroll "continuously" (i.e., 360 degrees/infinitely) or was it just the same (lame) up/down that I remember from my Jornada 540? I remember how it looek like a dial, but wasn't really.

[snip] The so-called PPC "scroll wheel" never did anything that a d-pad couldn't do. The Jog Dial does things the d-pad could never hope to do.
In my understanding (and please propose better terminology if you can), a scroll wheel is an actual disc that can rotate infinitely, while a jog dial is a partial wheel that can only move up/down/in relative to its default position. It is equivalent to three buttons—two (i.e., the switch on your Jornada 568) if you remove the "in" control—and is basically a one-dimensional d-pad. This is the input method found on the Loox.

For me, it is moot that the jog dial is a subset of the d-pad. It is great for things like alternate scrolling schemes (think of having both by-link and by-page in a web browser), volume control (as the jog dial is also a superset of volume switches), zooming in/out, and anything else where you want another axis of controls in addition to the d-pad. And at the very least, a jog dial is one to three more buttons that can be programmed to suit your whims.

As I understand a scroll wheel, it is like a jog dial except that it replaces position information with velocity information. What can this achieve that a jog dial couldn't also, with suitable application of press-and-hold?

[Mark Johnson]

In my understanding (and please propose better terminology if you can), a scroll wheel is an actual disc that can rotate infinitely, while a jog dial is a partial wheel that can only move up/down/in relative to its default position.


Actually, the "Jog Dial" (as trademarked by Sony) can spin "infinitely" just like the whell on my wheel-mouse. You're right that the terms have been pretty muddied and "scroll wheel" can mean "three-action toggle" (up/down/click) or "continuous scrolling up and down with push-to-select." Those of us screaming for a "Scroll Wheel" on the PPC really mean a "Jog Dial" kind of implementation. The PPC has only ever had a "toggle" type, which is pretty lame. It's the same reason the mp3 players going up against the iPod are getting slaughtered. I had a Archos Jukebox which (like most still on the market today) had "push buttons" with "auto-repeat" to let you navigate through lists. It was exceedingly lame and imprecise.

Image someone took your wheel mouse on your desk and removed the wheel, then replaced it with a small array of up/down/select buttons. So if you were reading this webpage and wanted to scroll up and down on it, you couldn't "wheel" your way, you'd have to click repeatedly. Such a mouse would be an enormous flop in today's market since everyone is used to the simple, fast and precise navigation of wheel mice.

It boggles the mind that neither MS or any of their OEM's have figured this out yet, but here we are. If only one single OEM implemented a true scroll wheel on a PPC, I'm positive it would immediately become the standard.

BTW, I'm NOT saying it should replace the d-pad, I'm saying the PPC should have both.

[gibson042]

Thanks for the explanation; I found it very clear and will henceforth refer to the two input devices as scroll wheels and three-action toggles. Personally, I don't care which finds its way onto a new Pocket PC (or if something related does, for example a touch-sensitive strip)... I'm just upset to see one-dimensional input vanishing altogether! But remember: hardware decisions are made by device manufacturers, not Microsoft.