Smartphone Thoughts: My First Look at Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone

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Monday, May 16, 2005

My First Look at Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone

Posted by Kris Kumar in "SOFTWARE" @ 07:00 AM

It has been a hectic week in the Windows Mobile world. Lots of announcements from Microsoft and their partners. Lots of excitement. Everyone is eagerly waiting to get their hands on a Windows Mobile 5.0 based Smartphone, which is still months away from its formal market launch. I couldn't wait, so I decided to get my hands on one. ;-) So last night I got one to play with. Spent a long time fiddling with the menus, trying to figure out the changes.

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I am sure by now you must have seen tons of screen shots, so I have tried my best to minimize the repetitions. And in case you are wondering "How on earth did Kris get his hands on the unreleased Smartphone?" Well I have my sources. And the source in this case is the Microsoft Device Emulator. :lol: Here is my report in pictures...
Lets Click "Start"

Before I begin I would like to mention that I have added the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition screen shots for comparison purposes. ;-) The larger (QVGA) image to the left will always be Windows Mobile 5.0 based and the image on the right shows the current WM2003 SE screens.


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The Home Screen looks the same
I could not find any support for themes. The Settings applet for changing Home Screens is the same as the one in WM2003 SE. Microsoft has added a MSN Default home screen to the layout collection. More on that in the Pocket MSN section.


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The new Start menu
Windows Mobile 5.0 (image on the left) sports an icon based Start menu. Definitely makes the menu look more pretty. I have heard there is a way to switch the icon based Start menu into the list based one, but haven't figured it out. :-(


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The icons change when selected 8)


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Call History details view
I was hoping that Microsoft would have fixed one of the most annoying things in WM2003SE. To view the call time you have to scroll down. It is not immediately visible. :evil: Am I the only one annoyed by this? :?


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In-call screen simplified...something is missing


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The missing items have been found
The View Contact and View Calendar links have now been moved into the Menu.


ActiveSync

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ActiveSync menu options
ActiveSync has been improved quite a bit, but more in terms of the under-the-hood plumbing than in the user interface. ActiveSync will now be able to sync contact caller ID photos also. Anyone know what "Connect via DMA" means? :?


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