Using USB 'host' and will it work?

[Searcher22]

Hi All

I hope you can advise me?

I am reading up about the newest PDAs that use Windows Mobile 5 operating system ~ in my case getting the N560. Many of them have a USB port and can be used as "host USB connections" , so apart from power being limited to 100ma for use with non powered devices does Windows Mobile 5 natively support USB devices for example my Freecom FHD-XS 60GB external hdd and CF card readers.

I hope someone can throw some light on this as so far I have been unable to get or find a definitive answer elsewhere other than try it and see "as some devices may need a driver to be installed..." this from the PDA suppliers and there is nothing I could find on the Microsoft site (no surprise there then ;~) ) - I was hoping that Win Mobile 5 would be like WindowsXP and 2000 Pro in that they natively support USB whereas Win98se needs drivers.

I look forward to any feedback and guidance you can give me.

Many thanks in advance. :)

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Many of them have a USB port and can be used as "host USB connections" , so apart from power being limited to 100ma for use with non powered devices does Windows Mobile 5 natively support USB devices for example my Freecom FHD-XS 60GB external hdd and CF card readers.


Yes, it does - Windows Mobile has supported the HID (human interface - like mouse and keyboards) and MSC (mass storage) profiles since Pocket PC 2002. However, the reference drivers are neither as robust nor comprehensive as those in XP. Also, the actual drivers shipped are almost always modified by manufacturers. Worse, not all devices conform fully with USB spec.

This leaves us right back where we started - which devices will actually work with the Loox and other USB-host enabled PDAs is still hit and miss. FWIW, you can try these drivers to replace the Loox drivers:

http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/support/driver/cfu1.html

They actually have far wider compatibility than the original drivers. Make sure you make a backup of your data and registry (especially the registry!) before installing these, as an uninstall will wipe out your registry entries required for usb host.

Edit: You can find info on this and more at www.firstloox.org