Quickie user guide to Windows Mobile
Your buddy / boyfriend / boss hands you a PDA for the first time and tells you to ‘figure it out.’ Where do you start? Can you understand your way around the computer? This short blog is meant to be a sort of triage to get you through a Windows Mobile device, like the Recon or Nomad.
It sure looks like Windows…
Windows Mobile look and feels like Windows XP even if the code below the surface is different. (Windows Mobile evolved from Win.CE so all the various operating systems share some similarities.) Many of the features, such as the Start button, Program list, menu buttons, etc., function in the same way so if you use a PC, it will be terra cognita. Here are the important differences:
1) When you click the X in the upper right corner, you usually only close the window, not the program like in Windows XP. You will need to close the program through a menu option or it will run in the background.
2) Use the File Explorer to find missing files, even when your files are on a CompactFlash or USB drive.
3) Most PDAs only have ‘USB out’ for synching to a desktop computer. That means you cannot plug in a USB device like a printer or flash (thumb) drive. The Nomad does have a ‘USB in’ option.
4) Can’t see the screen because it is dark? Try holding down the power button for a second or two and that should bring up the brightness. If you hold it down too long, you will enter a ‘soft reset mode’ which your probably don’t want to do.
My biggest advice…
Whenever you turn on a device, close a program, and just before turning off, go to Start>Settings>System>Memory>Running Programs to close all the programs running in the background. I just grabbed a Recon out of a drawer and checked and the following programs were running: ActiveSync, Internet Explorer, Wireless Manager, and File Explorer. Knowing our computers, I am surprised ‘Solitaire’ wasn’t running as well…
Finally, if you are using ActiveSync to send files back and forth, I recommend logging on as a “Guest” so you are not committed to a dedicated PC for file sharing.
Tags: PDA, software, Windows Mobile
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May 3, 2008 at 1:57 pm
This blog is pretty interesting, will add a bookmark, thanks.