Learn Windows Mobile
Here you'll find answers to basic questions regarding the Windows Mobile development platform:
What is a Windows Mobile powered device?A Windows Mobile powered device is a handheld device powered by the Windows Mobile platform. It allows you to make phone calls, retrieve e-mail, keep track of your schedule and your contacts, browse the Internet, send and receive text messages, read and compose Microsoft Word Mobile files, make Microsoft Excel Mobile charts, and view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.* Windows Mobile is a rich developer platform that allows you to build or purchase third-party software to customize your device. You can develop or download e-books, games, maps, business software, and more. Businesses use Windows Mobile powered devices to help their employees keep in touch while out of the office. Employees may use the devices to check e-mail, track sales, check inventory, place orders, communicate with students, route transportation, and accomplish other tasks by using a variety of custom line-of-business applications. The Windows Mobile platform is available on a variety of devices from a variety of wireless operators. You will find Windows Mobile software on devices from over 44 OEMs including Motorola, Palm, Dell, HP, Motorola, Palm, and i-mate. You can purchase a data plan for your Windows Mobile powered device from Cingular, Orange, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and over 100 others. Windows Mobile powered devices are available on GSM or CDMA networks. To find out more about which Windows Mobile powered devices are available from your mobile operator, read about devices in our buyer's guide. Visit the end-user FAQ for more info.
What's the difference between a Windows Mobile Professional and a Windows Mobile Standard device?Windows Mobile powered devices come in three flavors: Professional, Standard, and Classic. There are two primary differences between the three, the most visible difference is touch-screen support: Professional and Classic devices have touch-screens, while Standard devices do not. Both Standard and Professional devices are what the industry calls Smartphones : cell phones that you can also load applications on to. Classic devices are not cell phones but may contain WiFi to enable browsing the web and downloading e-mail in hotspots. You can add a wide variety of software titles to your Windows Mobile powered devices. Find third-party software at Handango or Pocket Gear. You can also visit our Mobile Application catalog, which lists certified applications for Windows Mobile powered devices. If you're a software developer, you’ll be happy to know that with Windows Mobile 6, nearly 90 percent of the APIs are consistent between the Professional, Standard and Classic platforms. In addition, they share common installer, security, and storage models—making it easier for developers to build applications that run across both platforms.
Why have you changed the names of your products from Pocket PC and Smartphone to Windows Mobile Professional and Windows Mobile Standard?The change in names will better align the Windows Mobile brand with the evolution of the market from traditional hand-held devices to today’s telephony enabled “smart” devices. The new names connect the two telephony-based versions of Windows Mobile 6 in a hierarchy that reflects their relative functionality: Standard (optimized for devices without touch screens) and Professional (designed for devices with touch screens). The Classic version of the release is designed for traditional PDA devices whoch do not provide mobile telephony. Windows Mobile is also now powering an increasing variety of device form factors, many of which are blurring the traditional concepts of “phone” and “PDA”. These new device styles and form factors have rendered the previous Windows Mobile version names (which were based on device form factors) out-of-sync with, and sometimes counter-intuitive to, common marketplace conventions.
What are the different versions of Windows Mobile?Windows Mobile 6 is the latest version of the Windows Mobile platform. Applications written for Windows Mobile 5.0 should run without changes on Windows Mobile 6 powered devices. Previous versions include: Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, Windows Mobile 2003, Pocket PC 2002, Smartphone 2002, and Pocket PC 2000. The vast majority of the Windows Mobile installed base is comprised of Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6 powered devices.
How do I develop applications for Windows Mobile powered devices?Visual Studio 2005 is the recommended tool for Windows Mobile application development. You should consider the application requirements and target devices when choosing when to use native, managed, or server-side code: - Use native code for high performance, if you need direct hardware access, or if you require the smallest footprint. For native development, use Visual C++ to access Windows Mobile’s native APIs, as well as the Win32, ATL, and MFC frameworks.
- Use managed code with the .NET Compact Framework for user interface-centric applications that require fast time-to-market or rapid application development. You should also use managed code if you want easy access to Web services or data held in SQL Server or SQL Server Compact Edition. With .NET Compact Framework, you can use Visual Basic .NET or C# to access a healthy subset of the.NET Framework libraries. Windows Mobile 6 ships with the .NET Compact Framework in ROM.
- Use server-side code for targeting a wide variety of devices with a single code base and where there is guaranteed data bandwidth to the device. With ASP.NET, you can easily build browser-based Web applications that support multiple Web browsers, mark-up languages, and screen sizes/resolutions.
Whether you are developing using native, managed, or server-side code, Visual Studio 2005 is the single tool for Windows Mobile 2003, Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6 application development. Visual Studio 2005 includes the SDKs and emulator images for Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. To target Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6, you need to download and install the Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK and the Windows Mobile 6 Standard SDK, which also include the emulator images. See the Tools page and this whitepaper for more info. If you need to support older versions of Windows Mobile, such as Pocket PC 2002, Smartphone 2002, and Pocket PC 2000, you can use eMbedded Visual Tools.
What is the .NET Compact Framework?The .NET Compact Framework brings the powerful programming environment of the .NET Framework to Windows Mobile powered devices. The .NET Compact Framework is a hardware-independent environment for running programs on resource-constrained computing devices. The .NET Compact Framework is a subset of the .NET Framework class library and also contains classes exclusively designed for it. It inherits the full .NET Framework architecture of the common language runtime and managed code execution. The .NET Compact Framework supports Visual Basic and Visual C# development. C++ development is not currently supported. The .NET Compact Framework uses the same class library documentation as the full .NET Framework. Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6 also include managed APIs, making it easier for developer to target the underlying Windows Mobile platform directly from within the .NET Compact Framework. >> More Info
How do I develop browser-based applications for mobile devices?ASP.NET AJAX is a technology for building powerful, dynamic Web applications and is part of the .NET Framework. With ASP.NET AJAX, you can easily build browser-based applications that support multiple Web browsers, mark-up languages, and screen sizes/resolutions. Visual Studio 2005 supports ASP.NET AJAX development with a download available from MSDN. Note : Refer to the SDK Documentation in the Window Mobile 6 SDK for examples of building ASP.NET AJAX applications for Windows Mobile. For more information, visit the ASP.NET Developer Center on MSDN.
What is SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition?Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition offers essential relational database functionality in a compact footprint ideal for embedding in mobile and desktop applications, including a new generation of occasionally connected dynamic applications. Compact Edition is an update to SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition—successor to SQL Server CE. Sharing a familiar SQL syntax and common ADO.NET programming model with other SQL Server Editions, and management via SQL Server 2005 Management Studio, SQL Server Compact Edition allows developers and administrators to apply their existing skills and be immediately productive. The SQL Server Compact Edition engine exposes an essential set of relational database features, such as an optimizing query processor and support for transactions and assorted data types, while maintaining a compact footprint that preserves system resources. Remote data access and merge replication ensure that data from SQL Server databases is delivered reliably, can be manipulated offline, and can be synchronized later to the server, making SQL Server Compact Edition ideal for mobile and wireless environments.
Windows CE is Microsoft’s real-time embedded operating system for a wide variety of small-footprint devices, including industrial controllers, communications hubs, point-of-sale terminals, and consumer electronics. The Windows Mobile platform is built on top of Windows CE. Windows Mobile developers should familiarize themselves with Windows CE if they’re interested in lower-level OS specifics, such as the kernel, memory management, driver architecture, etc. If you’re a device builder, visit the Windows CE Developer Center for more information.
Organizations worldwide are deploying mobile business solutions to increase productivity, reduce operating costs and extend their enterprise infrastructure. On TechNet’s Windows Mobile Center, you’ll find resources and information designed to help you deploy, maintain and support Windows Mobile devices. Key mobility topics covered include security, wireless technologies, device management, and deployment of mobile solutions in the enterprise.
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