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 January 22, 2004 The Crabby Office Lady Everywhere people are chattering on cell phones, sending e-mail on handhelds, and creating documents on laptops. Some are even doing it all from one device.
Get the Crabby Office Lady's book Read all the Crabby Office Lady columns Get Crabby's columns via RSS View Crabby's videos You're always on the go. Maybe you always have been, maybe you always will be. There are many different ways you can take Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office with you. That way, when you're sitting in a plane on the snow-covered runway or crammed between two boisterous cousins in the back of a pickup truck on your way to a dreaded family reunion, you can catch up on mail, work on a spreadsheet, and even send a text message ("Dear Mother Nature: Why?"). Of course, not every mobile device can handle every situation; you need to educate yourself on what's best for you. In this column, I'll introduce three devices that I like — all of which have special Office powers.
Note All three of the devices below come with Windows® Mobile software. As well, a cellular voice and/or data plan is required for Internet and phone access. Some features may vary due to carrier. See device manufacturer and mobile operator for details. Second note If you're all hot to get a look-see at some examples of these three devices, scroll down a bit and look at the pretty pictures. Ladies and gentlemen, choose your device!Below is a handy-dandy table that will give an outline of the basic features of each Windows Mobile device. Now it's up to you to do some research, try a few out, and get on the road.
Let's review: What the 3 devices have in commonFirst of all, all Windows Mobile-based devices come with familiar Pocket Outlook, Pocket Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player as standard features. Now, whether you're traveling the world in a hot air balloon or just trying to get from point A to point B the quickest way possible, with all three devices you can:
You can do all of the above with the familiar look and feel of the same Outlook that you use on your desktop PC. (Of course, it's not EXACTLY the same, but it is quite similar; I mean, size is a factor here.) And remember, if you want all of your devices to be on the same page (so to speak) synchronizing your Outlook data with your desktop PC or to a Microsoft Exchange server is also a snap: Just use Microsoft ActiveSync® — synchronization software for Windows Mobile-based devices — and keep your important information at hand. Contacts Hey! How about keeping your contact list all in one place? Just enter your contacts in Outlook on your desktop and sync with your device. Of course, when it comes to your own little "black book" (as it were), you're always free to do what you want with that: You can incorporate it into your universal contact list or keep it separate. No judgment from Crabby. Calendar Tasks How do you know which one you need?As you can tell from the table above, while there are multiple similarities between all three Windows Mobile devices, they aren't identical. Frankly, it can be a bit confusing.
"When we chat with our users, we find that people have different preferences for the style and usage of their mobile device. Some people are heavy phone users and don't want the bulk of a Pocket PC, so they go with a Smartphone." Neil also explained that while it's a bit more challenging for Smartphone users to enter text, they do get "predictive text entry" which enables you to enter text on your device using just one key press per letter. The software will suggest complete words as you enter text, saving you time, keystrokes, and finger exhaustion (you poor dear). With regard to Pocket PC Phone Edition, Neil said, "Other users are much more e-mail-centric and prefer a Pocket PC Phone Edition. They'll make the occasional phone call, but prefer a device with a larger screen and touchscreen input for composing messages." So, the big message I'm getting from Neil is that if you're more phone-centric but still need e-mail, text messaging, and Internet access, the Smartphone is for you — it's a cell phone first and foremost. But, if you're wanting something that's more like a mini-computer that can sync your Word and Excel files as well as all your Outlook information (and you could give a hoot about phones), the Pocket PC is the way to go. Finally, if you're looking for something that's a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, set your dial to the Pocket PC Phone Edition. It's basically a Pocket PC with telephone capabilities. But wait! There's moreI haven't really touched on some of the cool features that each of these devices offers. Let me give you a quick rundown of a few of them. (Of course, if you're itching to know more, click one of the links I've provided in the See also section of this column. Windows Mobile Pocket PCNow, from the table at the top of this column, you know that this device slices, dices, but does not make julienne fries (nor does it need or want to). Here a few things that it does do:
Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone EditionThis device is the one that not only slices and dices, but it also makes phone calls. (However, no julienne fries with this one either.) It does handle some mighty fine features, though:
Windows Mobile SmartphoneThis is the one that makes julienne fries and phone calls too. And, it's smart and cute to boot. See what else it can do:
And there you have it. A brief glance at how people are connecting, communicating, and collaborating while they're on the go. "He who would travel happily must travel light." — Antoine de Saint-Exupery About the authorAnnik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that you let her know whether this column was useful to you — or not — by entering your feedback using the Was this information helpful? tool below. And remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain. Get the Crabby Office Lady's bookRead all the Crabby Office Lady columns Get Crabby's columns via RSS View Crabby's videos
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Neil Enns, a lead program manager for mobile devices, patiently explained to me a little bit about how Windows Mobile customers are using these devices.
