Mobility Guys #9 - At last
It’s been a while since we’ve posted a show. Now that Steve and Don are back from Redmond, we are going to get back on track now.
In our 9th episode we talk with fellow Mobile Device MVP from Wellington, New Zealand, Mauricio Freitas who runs and operates the Geekzone, about some of features of Windows Mobile that you may or may not know about. Like the benefits of using Exchange 2003 SP2 in combination with latest updates of MSFP and AKU2 and what it means to you the end user. As always, we also talk about a few gadgets as well, like some bluetooth stereo headphones and headsets, U3 drives, and more.
Updates in Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2
With Microsoft’s most recent update to Exchange 2003, called Service Pack 2 or SP2, there are a number of enhancements and new features which are especially useful for mobile users with Pocket PCs or Windows Mobile Devices. It also enables administrators with the ability to enforce security policies, remote device data wiping, and locking of the device as well as easy setup of a new device.
Additions for WM5 users:
- Synchronization of Tasks - Previously it was only possible to synchronize your tasks from Exchange to your PC, and then from your PC to your Mobile Device. With Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices and an upgraded Exchange environment, you can now synchronize your tasks directly from the server to your device! This is very useful when you’re away from your desk and can’t access your PC in order to proxy the update.
- Pictures in Contacts - Previously it was only possible to include pictures in your contact records only through add-on or third-party software. This is now available as a standard feature of your contacts on Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices and Exchange 2003 SP2.
- Browse your Global Address List - For users of Exchange with a large directory of user accounts, you can now browse your Global Address List (GAL) over the air directly from your Windows Mobile 5.0 Device, allowing you to view contact details for other users in your organization. This is a useful feature if you’re on the road and forgot to save your colleagues contact details on your device or can’t quite remember their exact email address.
Windows Mobile 5.0 with the Adaptation Kit Upgrade 2 (AKU2).
AKU2 is a collection of enhancements, new applications and updates created by Microsoft to improve the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. Some of these enhancments may be more bluetooth profiles like the Sim Access Profile or Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) AKU2.These updates vary by manufacturer and includes the Microsoft Security and Feature Pack (MSFP) which includes the Direct Push Email feature as well as security enhancements.
If your device has not yet been upgraded to AKU2, please contact your service provider or hardware vendor to determine the availability of this upgrade on your device. It is bascally up to your service provider or hardware vendor to support the features included in AKU2. Further, an appropriate Data plan is required in order to take advantage of the Wireless or Mobile capability of these features.
- Direct Push Email aka AUTD v2- If you’ve ever used the Always Up-To-Date feature, you’ll find this feature very similar. However direct push email provides more reliability and eliminates the necessity to use SMS as a method of notifying your device to perform a synchronization. With this upgrade, users with Windows Mobile 5.0 devices updated with AKU2 will be able to have any updates on their exchange account pushed directly to their device as they arrive. And since it doesn’t rely on SMS, you don’t have to worry about extra fees from your provider for SMS usage.
Links:
Hosted Exchage Options - Great for consolidating email addresses, built-in spam and junk e-mail filter, sent and received mail is updated on all devices - computer, laptop, mobile device or via web access.
- Mailstreet
- 4Smartphone
- Mail2Web (basic plan is free)
- Mi8
- Club iMate - free for first year to all iMate owners.
There are some great articles at MSExchange.org definitely worth checking out.
Mobility in Exchange Server 2003 - Resources on Exchange and Mobile Devices at Microsoft.
- Exchange Server 2003 Support for Mobile Devices- List of phones and some are not Windows Mobile devices, that support OWA
- Blocking attachments to Mobile devices with exchange 2003
- What Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Brings to Users and IT Administrators
- Windows Mobile - Pushing the Envelope
Bluetooth:
- TR-101 GPS Tracking Phone
- BlueAnt Bluetooth X3 micro-headset
- Bluetake Stereo BT420Rx iPhono Bluetooth headset - review at the Geekzone
- Bluetake Stereo BT450Rx iPhono mini Bluetooth headset - review at the Geekzone
Motorola HT820 - Nextlink Bluespoon AX2
- Jabra BT250v
- PhoneAlarm - great application of the Pocket PC phone edition autmatically turns bluetooth on and off at set times.
U3 Technology:
- U3 for Smart Drives - Allows you to run applications from your thumbdrive on any machine save your browser state, program state, RSS feed,etc. Tons of programs for the mobile user.
- List of SmartDrives/ ThumbDrives that support U3
- Memorex U3 Drive - Chris lives and dies by the 2GB version
- Maxthon - tabbed browser and more that uses the IE engine and supports mouse gestures great for Tablet PC users
- eWallet for U3 Smart Drives
Other Links:
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