Just 49 days, 14 hours, 9 minutes and a few seconds before Windows Vista hits the consumer computer; here’s another early tip that will come in handy after January 30th and it’s courtesy of Jason Langridge. Jason walks through two quick scenarios to help troubleshoot WMDC, Windows Mobile Device Center. Remember, good ol’ ActiveSync gets a re-name and a facelift in Vista. My personal experience so far is that it’s not 100% stable, but to be fair, I haven’t synched my XV 6700 with Vista in several weeks, so it could now be improved.

The high level troubleshooting techniques are:

1. Install your mobile device and drivers first, then run Windows Update; that’s how you’ll get WMDC.
2. Switch your device connection to a Serial connection if Vista doesn’t see your handheld.

Jason has all the details right here, so if you’re an early masochist, er, adopter like me, you can get a head start using WMDC in Vista. OK, back to the Vista countdown….49d, 13h, 59m and 46 seconds…..45….44….

Early adopters of Microsoft Office 2007 can be sure to have document compatibility issues when sending documents to those who are still using an earlier version of Office, but Microsoft has already released viewers so they can at least work with the brand new documents.  That’s not the case with Windows Mobile devices, however, so if you upgrade to the new version of Office you’d better output your documents in an earlier version or you won’t be able to work with them on your Windows Mobile device.  CNET is reporting that Microsoft has stated it will be the middle of 2007 before Windows Mobile will be updated to handle the newer formats.  Oh and you Mac owners, fugeddaboutit!

I do a lot of "day in the life" articles that usually focus on a particular new device and covers how that device aids me in a typical day.  This article is not like that so bear with me for a little while.  Yesterday was not a typical day for me but mobile technology played a distinct role so I thought I should chronicle it.  The day started out as any other, I rose early and processed my email on the Fujitsu P1610 like I do every morning.  I then checked my RSS feeds for any newsworthy items to pass along on jkOnTheRun and tagged items of interest in Onfolio so I could return to later.

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Looks like all of the good mobile news is coming out of the International Telecommunication Union Telecomm World 2006 conference in Hong Kong; I knew I should have renewed that passport! LG is the mobile king at the moment: their KC1 handheld will run on Windows Mobile 5 and will support mobile WiMAX for downloads up to 10.2 Mbps, which is five times faster than my home DSL speed over the wire. When WiMAX isn’t available, the KC1 will drop down to 1X-EV-DO. No word on price or other specs just yet, but LG hopes to have the KC1 out in the first half of 2007.

In related news, LG is enabling the XNote C1 Tablet with similar WiMAX capabilities and the company is considering a UMPC entry with WiMAX as well. We’ll be hittin’ the LG folks up next month in Vegas; you can bet we’ll ask about that whole UMPC idea.

If you’re looking to safely store credit card info, passwords and other sensitive data, Ilium Software’s eWallet application is among the best. Looks like the best just keeps getting better as we got inside word direct from Ilium that eWallet 5.0 is coming soon and the public beta just started! If you want to participate, just hit up the beta link here and download the app for your handheld. This version supports Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 and up, including the Smartphone edition, as well as Palm devices running Palm OS 4.0 or higher. You’ll get to use the new app for 30 days at no cost and hopefully, you’ll find time to provide feedback to Ilium’s developers.

There’s a host PC component as well in eWallet, so you can easily add or edit data on the host and have it synch to your handheld. This time around Ilium wisely realized that some folks have companion devices like UMPCs and other Tablets, so you can actually synchronize your data across a network or via FTP!

Here’s a list direct form Ilium on the new features:

- Synchronize with as many wallets with as many PCs and devices as you want.
- Synchronize with servers and other PCs on a network.
- Synchronize to other folders on the same PC for automated backups.
- Synchronize to removable storage devices (USB, removable harddrives, etc.)
- Synchronize with remote locations via FTP.
- Built-in online backup/viewing capability through FilesAnywhere sync.
- Brand new sync setup interface.
- Full support for Vista and Mobile Device Center.
- All new icon set.
- Four self-installing icon packs (not posted yet!)
- eWallet Companion step-by-step help tool.
- Graphics, icons, and sounds stored in My Documents now making it easier to customize.
- "No Password Needed" wallet option.

When I first started reading about the next version of Windows Mobile, aka Crossbow, I have to admit I was saying to myself “where’s the beef?”.  That began to change quickly as I recently had the opportunity to see Crossbow (WM 6) for myself and got a tour of the “under the hood” changes that the Microsoft team has incorporated in this next version..  I’m really excited about Crossbow now that Mobile-review has published a thorough, in-depth review of Crossbow that details all the changes that are in the new OS. There are too many improvements that float my boat but no doubt my favorite is the ability to read emails in HTML format.  Yahoo!  No more cool email that I cannot view on my PPC.  I also love the fact that you can use handwriting in notes or even the audio recorder from within the Notes application.  Now you can take notes in ink while on a phone call and it will be attached to the event in the Call History!  Yowza!  Check out the complete review to see for yourself why I am getting pumped about Crossbow.

I noticed a report yesterday over at Brighthand indicating that Microsoft Voice Command might be getting an upgrade from v1.5 and sure enough with a little digging, it looks like the rumor is fact. Microsoft’s Voice Command page doesn’t speak about the upgrade, but does link to Handango, where you can purchase the application. Sure enough: Handango’s product page has a link for Voice Command 1.6 as of yesterday.

Two new features look exceptional in this release of the $40 Windows Mobile application:

• Bluetooth hands-free control
• Spoken e-mail notifications: the sender and subject are announced

You’ll need your ActiveSync client running at version 4.0 or better and according to the product page, the following smartphones are supported: BenQ P51, Cingular 8125 (5.0), Asus MyPal A636 (5.0), Asus MyPal A639 (5.0), Audiovox PPC 6700 (5.0), Dell Axim X51 (5.0), Acer n311 (5.0), Cingular 8525

If you’ve got time for a 60-second video demonstration of Microsoft Voice Command (1.5), we put one together back in March of this year. As a Windows Mobile smartphone owner, I’ve personally found this application is one of the biggest productivity boosters on my device.

This gives new meaning to the phrase "he’s got the whole world in his hands"….Prosurv now offers regional topographic maps on 4 GB SD memory cards for your Windows Mobile device running WM 2003, 2003 SE or WM 5. Also included is PocketQuads software, which integrates the topo maps with a GPS receiver if you’re pairing one to your handheld. For the outdoorsy type, this might be a nice step up from current GPS software and information, but it will cost you. Each set of regional maps is $299 direct and provides both 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 scale maps. If you want greater detail in your particular state, you can nab an edition that includes a 1:24,000 scale as well, but there’s no break in the price. I think I’ll stick with the paper maps that never fold up quite right for now.

Looking for a another way to control or provide input to your desktop, laptop, Tablet or UMPC? If you have a Pocket PC with PPC 2002 or better, you can use it with PPC Tablet. This interesting application installs on your PDA and acts as a human interface type of device. The latest version is available for $16 direct and there’s a 15-day trial version available as well. Here’s a list of supported plug-ins for controlling specific desktop apps:

One of the coolest features of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC is the Today Screen, along with all the fun and productive plug-ins that you can get from third party developers.  Oh sure, the plug-ins that Microsoft provides with the Windows Mobile OS are functional but rather bland to look at compared to some of the third-part offerings.  It’s a lot of fun to spice up the Today screen, there are weather plug-ins, PIM plug-ins, music player plug-ins, and just about anything else you can think of to put there.  I like to have information available on the Today Screen on my XV6700 so right after I bought it I loaded it up with a weather plug-in, a full-blown PIM plug-in, a program launcher, and a music player.  My screen was really the bomb and had all this useful information showing all the time.

Over time I began to feel that my Pocket PC was slowing down, from the time it took to reset to the time it took to react to an action on my part.  It was running sluggishly and as I thought back on it I couldn’t put my finger on exactly when I noticed it, even subconsciously.  It’s like it slowed down gradually over time so today I really looked at it and decided to do something about it.  I disabled all the fancy plug-ins and turned on the default Windows Mobile ones, Calendar, Tasks, and Messaging.  Wow, what a difference!  The XV6700 simply flies now and everything happens instantaneously, just like when it was turned on for the first time.  And the time it takes to do a soft reset on the device has dropped from over a minute and a half to 40 seconds!  It feels like someone gave me a new Pocket PC to play with, and that’s a good thing.  It’s so fast I have uninstalled ALL my old plug-ins.

So I would challenge anybody who owns a Windows Mobile Pocket PC to do the same thing I did and run your device for a few days using just the WM plug-ins.  You’ll be amazed how slow your device has become and you didn’t even realize it.  It’s nice having all that information displayed with your fance plug-ins but try going cold turkey like I have and see if it’s worth the price you pay.