Category: windows mobile

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Windows Phone 7 can’t access Marketplace


I came across an odd issue with Windows Phone 7 yesterday. The device, an HTC HD7, just could NOT access the Marketplace in any way…updates failed, new apps couldn’t be downloaded etc. The error it gave was:

“The Windows Live ID service is unavailable”

I checked various settings but everything seemed in order. Wifi & 3G were working, the marketplace worked on other WP7 devices, Hotmail still worked on the phone etc so I was at a loss.

After some head scratching, a solution was reached – which I’d like to share with you all just in case it crops up.

Go into Office and OneNote.

Select “All”.

Hit the “Sync” button on the bottom bar.

That will bring up a username/password prompt for the Live ID used with the device.

Even though the fields will be pre-populated (probably), re-type the password just to be sure.

Hit “ok” and BOOM – you’ll have access to the Marketplace Smile

I don’t really understand what the issue is to be honest. I could understand if ALL things that used your Live ID failed but the fact that Hotmail still worked seems odd.

If you’ve got any ideas as to the potential cause – let me know!

Cheers

Rich

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Microsoft Windows Phone 7 at Mix 11


Microsoft’s MIX development conference has just finished and there have been a lot of great announcements for the future of Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft’s next update “Mango” will most probably bring about Windows Phone 7.5 as well as a number of huge updates.

Internet Explorer 9

Windows Phone Mango will bring with it a new browser which will have the same rendering engine as their new, much lauded desktop browser. That will mean:

  • Hardware Acceleration
  • HTML5
  • CSS Standards Support

all on a mobile device. Demos comparing an updated WP7 device to an iPhone and an Android handset showed it to be much faster.

Third Party Multitasking

Currently, only the built-in Microsoft apps can multi-task but that will all change, allowing:

  • Fast Application Switching
  • File Transfers
  • Background Audio

and more.

Developer access to hardware/software & Better tools!

Devs will be able to target and use more of the hardware already there, including camera data and motion sensors…bringing Augmented Reality (think Layar) to Windows Phone 7 Smile They will also be able to access contacts and calendars, which I think will bring some great possibilities to the world of WP7 apps.

Not only this but Microsoft are improving the tools that developers can use which will allow them to mix Silverlight with XNA in a single app and emulate location and accelerometer features during the development phase.

Random Extras:

Don’t forget that Microsoft have already told us that Twitter will be getting much deeper integration with the Mango update – that will be pretty great!

TCP/IP support will allow a Skype app.

ANGRY BIRDS IS COMING ON MAY 25TH <—Yes that’s all in caps!

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Nokia Windows Phone Devices


Microsoft & Nokia have joined forces to improve, build and push Windows Phone 7 going forwards, this we know. Now the rumours and conjecture have moved, logically, to the next thing – what will Nokia’s first device be, and when will we get them?!

I’ve never had a Nokia.

I’ve had numerous other phones (Motorola, HTC etc) over the years but never Finland’s biggest (?) export, and that’s mainly been down to the OS. I’ve long admired their hardware but couldn’t make friends with the Symbian Operating System…so this could be a first for me now they’ll be running Windows Phone 7. Actually, my Samsung Omnia 7 is the first Samsung device I’ve ever had come to think of it…anyway, back to the Nokia devices!

According to various sources on the internet, the first Windows Phone 7 from Nokia will be the “W7”…based on the Nokia X7 innards but looking like the HTC Mozart. However continuing Nokia’s theme for great cameras, it will have 8 Mega Pixels and a flash.

The next device will be the W8, based on the current N8, although there are apparently a dozen Nokia WP7 devices coming in 2012…should be good times!

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Windows Phone Developer Training Kits


Windows Phone 7 Series is a little bit closer after today’s MIX 10 keynote and Microsoft are doing a great job of making sure that WP7 developers have got everything they need to get started putting the iPhone to shame making great apps 🙂

They have put together a training kit for developers which includes 4 Hands On Labs:

Hello Phone:

As with the classic “Hello World” app, this is a way to introduce you to the tools needed to build Silverlight apps for Windows Phones.

Building Your First Windows Phone Application:

This teaches you to create a simple puzzle game using the basic building blocks, and includes some phone-specific features.

new4

Windows Phone Navigation & Controls:

This focuses on on Windows Phone’s layout and switching between different screens.

Game Development with XNA Framework:

This lab helps you build a simple XMA game using Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone.

You can see the online kit here or download a local copy here.

To download the Windows Phone Developer Tools, hit this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2338b5d1-79d8-46af-b828-380b0f854203&displaylang=en

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Windows Phone 7 Series Development Tools


Today saw the start of MIX 10, Microsoft’s 3 day conference for web designers and developers, and it was all about Windows Phone 7 Series aka WP7 (or Windows Mobile 7 as you might call it).

They announced the availability of a comprehensive set of free tools to support developing Silverlight apps on WP7. This can be download from:

WP7 Developer Kit

and includes previews of:

· Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone

· Windows Phone 7 Series add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC1

· XNA Game Studio 4.0

· Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing

· Expression Blend for Windows Phone CTP (available as a separate download).

I’m not a developer, although I often wish I was, and this is one of those times! Go get it and make some brilliant apps that will bring me, and countless others, back to the WinMo fold 🙂

An alternative download link is:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2338b5d1-79d8-46af-b828-380b0f854203&displaylang=en

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My move to Android AKA Android vs Windows Mobile


Android is faster, more responsive, more intuitive, looks great and the app marketplace is amazing! I really wanted to get apps for my Windows Mobile 6.1 device but it was SO difficult! Within 14 hours of having my Android phone I’d downloaded multiple awesome applications which we’ll cover later 🙂

One of the biggest problems I found with Windows Mobile is that I felt constrained, there were so many things that I wanted to do but couldn’t…the big one (for me) was an e-book reader. There are so many times that having a book to hand would be great:

  • On the train
  • Waiting in receptions
  • Visiting the in-laws 😉

are just a few of them.

When I got Windows Mobile 6.1, I had a look online and saw there was indeed a Microsoft E-Book reader available. I downloaded it but couldn’t use it as it wasn’t designed for 6.1…bit of a fail! There is a support forum thread dedicated to this where a fix was mentioned about 2 years ago, but as far as I know, it never materialised. So for the 18 months I had that phone, I either had to carry an actual book around or lay off the reading!

The first day I got my Android phone, I downloaded a brilliant app called Aldiko which sorted all that out 🙂 See more below…

Marketplaces

For me, this is a huge revelation…the Android marketplace is amazing 🙂

I know Microsoft brought out the Windows Mobile Marketplace but, let’s be honest, it isn’t very good is it? I often had trouble signing in…sometimes I couldn’t connect from my device and other times it’d be the desktop version that wasn’t working. Once I was in it wasn’t plain sailing either…I found the entire thing clunky and difficult to navigate. Also I was never 100% sure if I was downloading a free app or a trial and I just didn’t feel comfortable as a user.

It’s possible that it’s just a personal thing that I don’t get on with the Windows Marketplace and that it’s a pleasure for everyone else…but I doubt it 😉

On the other side of this fence is the Android Marketplace…

It’s easy to navigate, it’s quick, it’s clear, it’s full of brilliant apps, it’s fantastic:

This brings me nicely onto:

Apps

This was probably the hardest part of being a Windows Mobile user; seeing all the iPhone users with their fancy apps…compasses, games, programs for work etc…and then Android came along and allowed people to do the same thing…not on at all! Finally Microsoft brought out the Windows Marketplace but, as I say above, it just didn’t seem very good.

I’ve had my new HTC Hero:

for about 3 weeks and am finding new apps almost daily. So far, these include:

Advanced Task Killer:

This is a great and very handy app for quickly and easily shutting down all the processes still running in the background. Great for making sure you don’t run low on memory!

 

Aldiko:

Aldiko Book Reader: Download and read thousands of books right on your Android smartphone.

 

and it’s already loaded with:

  • Art of War
  • The Prince
  • Hamlet
  • Othello
  • Macbeth
  • The Iliad

and more…giving me great reading material whenever & wherever I want it; something Windows Mobile could never give me.

To me, this really is brilliant 🙂 When the Christmas gatherings got too much, I was able to easily chill out and read Othello…nice!

I love how it’s home screen is laid out like an actual bookshelf…it might be gimmicky but I like it!

It looks great, works quickly and smoothly and has a brilliant selection of books. I’ve only downloaded the free books, ‘cos I love the classics, but you can also purchase O’ Reilly and MS Press books on there too; making them a truly portable aid.

Bonsai Blast:

A brilliant, fun and very addictive game where you simply need to get 3 coloured balls in a row:

I repeat, this is very addictive and will quickly take up a whole bunch of your time! Great for passing a few minutes or longer in queues, on public transport, waiting for the kettle to boil etc…but those few minutes will almost certainly stretch into 15-20 with a few cries of “just one more go” 🙂

CaveDroid:

A cool retro style 1st person game where you fly through a tunnel avoiding obstacles and collecting points. I can’t find any pics but I’ll keep trying.

Evernote:

Evernote is a pretty well known note-taking app and is very handy to have…I haven’t had cause to use the audio note yet but I can imagine that being pretty useful.

It’s very easy to use and will get a fair bit of use at partner events, seminars, that kind of thing.

OI Shopping List:

This app is brilliant. I’m a little upset that I’m this happy and excited about an app that lets you make lists but it really is very good.

It let’s you put in an expected/known cost for each item and then gives you a total for the list…the best bit is that, if you add in the costs as you go, it gives you a running total of what’s in your trolley/basket/arms. Very useful 🙂

Another great feature is that once you’ve list an item and cost once, future lists will pull that info out automatically…again, very useful! A recent update has given it a “Quantity” column too, which makes it even easier to use.

I’d definitely recommend this app for anyone that buys more than 1 thing from shop 🙂

There are plenty more apps that I’ll detail in future posts. If you’ve got any of your own you’d like to add in, let me know in the comments.

Summary:

I’ve only had my Android phone for a few weeks but I really am truly impressed with it…much more than I was when i got my WinMo 6.1 phone. I am a BIG Microsoft supporter and not particularly a fan of Google at all…however, with Android, they offer the far superior product so that’s what I, as  consumer, chose.

If you’re looking for looking for a cool, stylish, fun, helpful, useful, “check it out mate” phone…DEFINITELY go with an Android device. I’d still recommend Windows Mobile before anything else for a work device, but for a personal mobile device, Android is the top dog in my opinion.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this so please, leave a comment and let’s get a discussion going 😉

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Google Goggles


Google Goggles is here. No, not the Google Labs project from 2008 that Gmail would check your sobriety levels using maths puzzles before letting you send an email (see Telegraph here)…but true Visual Search. That’s searching with pictures as in:

“What’s that a statue of?”

“Dunno mate”

“Tell you what, I’ll take a picture of it on my phone and Goggle it”

“*snap*…*upload*…*search"*…”

“Oh…it’s Winston Churchill”

“What, the dog off of the adverts bruv?”

”Dunno…seems a bit big innit?”

That conversation went a bit “chavvy” there…funny but probably not representative of the demographic that will mainly be using this 🙂

What is it?

If my awesome transcript above isn’t enough, Google have some examples over at:

http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/#landmark

image

Does it work for everything?

Google are quite upfront that it “works better with certain types of queries”. They say that

“books & DVDs, landmarks, logos, contact info, artwork, businesses, products, barcodes, or text”

all work well while it’s not currently hot on “animals, plants, cars, furniture, or apparel”.

Can I haz Goggles?

Only if you’ve got an Android 1.6+ device 😦

C3PO from the film Star Wars

This might be the first time that users of Windows Mobile devices, Blackberries & iPhones have all come together in a show of solidarity usually reserved for invading aliens in hollywood movies 😉

Anymore Cool features?

Actually yes, yes there are!

Nearby Places Overlay:

This shows you local businesses such as restaurants, cinemas etc WITHOUT EVEN CONDUCTING A SEARCH! Point your camera forwards in Goggles mode, pan around and, once the GPS locks on and:

“you’ll see labels tagged to the nearby businesses, and a pin icon with a number in it at the bottom right corner of the screen. The number in the icon indicates the number of businesses nearby. You can either click the pin to see all places near you listed by proximity, or select a specific label to see more information about that particular business.”

Some nice augmented reality!

My thoughts:

I’ve never really been a fan of Google. I always used Google Search because, until Bing came along, it was the best but I was never interested in Google Mail or Google Apps. While things such as Google Earth and Streetview have come in very handy, I’ve never felt any connection with Google as a company; I don’t know them, they don’t know me and neither of us case about the other.

When they brought out Android, I was took a look but wasn’t bothered and the same goes for Chrome and Chrome OS. I’m a staunch Microsoft supporter, have been for many years and will continue to be so…BUT…

Google Goggles really could be awesome. For years I’ve said this should be the next evolution in search (ask anyone that sits near me at work!) and here it is…I feel a bit like the people in the Windows 7 adverts 😉

The number of times each day that people can see something but don’t know what it’s called:

“What kind of car is that?”

“Who’s that a statue of?”

“Which company has this logo?”

“What’s this building called?”

and there’s just no way to describe it to a text search engine, must be in the 100’s if not 1000’s.

It’s like Shazam for everything that isn’t music!

I’m a big fan of Windows Mobile (for all it’s faults) and I really believe that Windows Mobile 7 will be a HUGE leap forward. I’m due an upgrade to my phone very soon and have got my eye on the HTC HD2 with Windows Mobile 6.5…but this announcement has really made me consider jumping ship to Android…at least until WinMo 7 is released!

shocked.jpg

Having said all that though…my main thought is this:

”Will I ACTUALLY use it that much?”

As in, will I use it enough to make up for not having Office Mobile, for learning a new OS etc…and I’m not sure I will.

What I really want is for this to become available on normal, everyday desktop…no actually, what I REALLY is for this feature to come to Bing’s normal, everyday desktop search…that would be the best case scenario 🙂

I’m never sure how copyright/patents come into play with things like this…can Google patent this and stop Microsoft from developing essentially the same thing for Windows Mobile and Bing?

All in all, this is a great advance in the world of search and a good show from Google that they’re still in the game…but not enough to turn this user.

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Adobe Flash 10.1 for Windows Mobile


Adobe Flash 10.1on Windows Mobile aims to bring and end to the myriad issues experienced when trying to use the two products together! It has always been a bit of a joke and has never really worked properly, despite Flash becoming ever more ubiquitous on sites across the globe; a real fix to this would be great.

From Adobe’s statement (bold mine):

“A public developer beta of the browser-based runtime is expected to be available for Windows® Mobile, Palm® webOS and desktop operating systems including Windows, Macintosh and Linux later this year… Flash Player 10.1 is the first consistent runtime release of the Open Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across devices.”

I’m a big Windows Mobile fan but it does annoy me not being able to view flash content on my device, so this is really something. Adobe made no mention of supported WinMo versions but PCMag say it will be 6.5 and above…which sucks a bit. I’m sure there will be a lot of 6.1 devices around for quite some time, I’m stuck on it until my contract ends) so it’d be nice to back it backdated at least that far 🙂

WHat MS really ought to do is get full Silverlight up and running on WinMo devices-that’s be awesome!

Still, we’ll see how it goes when the Flash beta arrives. The full Adobe release can be seen here.

Thanks to Mary Jo for the pcmag link.

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Microsoft: The New Efficiency


At today’s “New Efficiency” launch event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about Windows 7 deployments and how customers can save money with the latest OS. He particularly mentioned that Windows 7 “will bring $90-$160 saving per pc per year”.

He also discussed the “Consumerisation of IT”, where users bring/force change in Corporate IT via their expectations from using software at home. He said that it isn’t a new phenomenon (it just has a new name) and that it will continue to be a huge driving force in the way that software is designed and used-such as the extra social networking features being added into Office, Exchange & Sharepoint.

This all led to the launch of a new website:

http://vepexp.microsoft.com/thenewefficiency

which contains dozens of videos from MS execs covering topics such as:

  • Discover Windows Optimized Desktop
  • Learn about Optimized Server
  • Experience Unified Communications
  • Explore Business Ready Security

There are a bunch of videos on Exchange 2010 such as:

  • Upgrade & Deployment
  • High Availability
  • Mobility & Active Sync
  • Email Archiving

and more. These are a great source of information on Exchange 2010, some of which I’ve collected here.

The banner below is a great representation of the products & ideas behind the New Efficiency.

image

There are way too many sessions to list here but MS have put together some suggested sessions listings for:

  • Enterprises
  • Mid-Size
  • SMB’s

They contain links to the videos on the New Efficiency site and can be downloaded from my SkyDrive here.

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MS Myphone: Windows IT Pro article


Jeff James over at Windows IT Pro has recently posted a review of MS Myphone with input from your’s truly 🙂

The article covers the good and the bad points of Microsoft’s mobile phone backup service and it seems we both agree on the one addition that should be made…

Go check the article here:

Windows IT Pro MyPhone Article

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