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windows mobile 5.0 posts

Filed under: OS Updates, Features, Windows Mobile

How to downgrade a Dell Axim X50v the hard way

Dell Axim X50v WM06Last week we let you know about an amazing hack that brings Windows Mobile 6 to the Dell Axim X50v. What makes this hack so amazing is the fact that Dell has no plans that we're aware of to offer Windows Mobile 6 for this discontinued PDA. In fact, Dell's Windows Mobile 5.0 "upgrade" for the X50v was pretty widely panned for being buggy and slow.

Windows Mobile 6 runs better than Windows Mobile 5.0 on the X50v. But there are still some problems. After a week of playing with Windows Mobile 6 on our crash test unit, we got tired of occasional slow downs and the constant need to reinstall programs that had mysteriously stopped working. So we decided to downgrade to Windows Mobile 2003SE, the operating system that originally shipped with the Axim X50v, which runs like a dream.

Here's how it's supposed to work. First, you reinstall Windows Mobile 5.0 using a Dell utility. Then you use another Dell utility to reinstall Windows Mobile 2003SE. If only it were so simple. After the jump we'll tell you about some of the hurdles we faced and how we overcame them.

Read more →

Filed under: Windows Mobile, Office, Microsoft

Microsoft Office Mobile 2007

Office MobileMicrosoft announced two Windows Mobile updates today. First, a Japanese version of Windows Mobile 6 will be available starting in June on devices from HTC, Sharp, and Toshiba.

The bigger news is that Office Mobile 2007 will be available as a free download in the third quarter of this year.

It doesn't sound like there will be a ton of new features in the updated version of Office Mobile. But it will have one killer app: support for Office 2007 documents. You'll be able to open Office 2007 file formats like .pptx .docx and .xlsx.

Office Mobile 2007 will work with Windows Mobile 5.0 touchscreen devices and all Windows Mobile 6 devices. Sorry, no downloading Office Mobile 2007 for a WM5.0 Smartphone with the hopes of adding Office Mobile to a phone that didn't ship with it pre-installed.

[via Jason Langridge]

Filed under: Windows Mobile, Microsoft

Run Windows Mobile 6 office on Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones

Mobile OfficeFrom the "why didn't Microsoft just go and do this themselves" file: Hackers have liberated the Mobile Office features of Windows Mobile 6 and wrapped them up into a nice installer that runs just fine on Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones.

Since Microsoft decided that Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphone users didn't need word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations, the only way to get those features up until now was to buy a third-party program like Dataviz DocumentsToGo.

You can reportedly save memory on your device by using UPX to compress the executable files. You'll need .NET 2.0 Framework in order for Mobile Office to work.

And there's no option to create new documents in the smartphone version of Mobile Office, so the best thing to do is to create some blank Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents on your desktop and copy them to your device. Now all you have to do is open those blank documents, edit them, and save as new documents whenever you want to create a file.

[via Tech[dot]Blog]

Filed under: Utilities, Windows Mobile, Freeware

Customize your Windows Mobile Shortcuts

CommManagerPlusDo you switch your Windows Mobile device to landscape mode every time you open a web browser? Would you like a way to make sure your PDA never shuts off when you're reading an e-book, even if you haven't pushed a button in a while?

CommManagerPlus is a program that lets you create application shortcuts on a PDA. But it also allows you to assign properties to those shortcuts.

You can create a shortcut that performs the following actions before starting a program:
  • Turn the telephone on or off
  • Turn Bluetooth, Wifi, or GPRS on or off
  • Rotate the screen 90, 180, or 270 degrees
  • Adjust the brightness, sound level (WM5 only), or telephone volume
  • Turn off ActiveSync
  • Keep the backlight on
  • Keep the device from shutting down.
When you exit the program all of your settings will revert to normal.

Filed under: Macintosh, Windows Mobile, Productivity

The Missing Sync: synchronize your Pocket PC with a Mac

Missing Sync 3.0

If you're a Mac user, but prefer Windows Mobile PDAs to Palm, you've probably heard of The Missing Sync. It's one of the best known 3rd party applications for synchronizing a Pocket PC with a Mac. It also claims to be the only Mac synchronization program that will work with Windows Mobile 5.0.

Version 3.0 throws a few new features into the mix.

Notes synchronization: Since Mac OS X doesn't sort notes the way Microsoft Outlook does, The Missing Sync 3.0 includes a notebook program for OS X. It includes support for text, pictures, and voice memos. You can categorize your notes, and search for them with Spotlight.

File and folder synchronization: You can choose folders and files on your PDA and computer that you want to keep synchronized. So if you have an Excel spreadsheet for tracking your business expenses, you can update it at home or on the go, and when you sync your PDA both copies will be updated.

iPhoto and iTunes integration: Sync photo albums and The Missing Sync will automatically resize pictures for display on your Windows Mobile device. Select an iTunes playlist and it will be copied to your PDA. The Missing Sync will not convert protected AAC audio files purchased through iTunes, but you can transfer mp3s and podcsts.

Other updates: Synchronize Safari bookmarks with Pocket Internet Explorer, and Address Book photo contacts.

The Missing Sync is available for $40. Users upgrading from previous versions can get a copy for $20.

Filed under: Fun, Windows Mobile, Commercial, Time-Wasters

Animated Today screens for Windows Mobile - Today's Time Waster

Animated today 4.0Sometimes you just get sick and tired of staring at appointments and phone numbers all day, and you think to yourself, wouldn't it be great if I had an aquarium scene on the Today screen of my PDA?

Okay, maybe not, but Animated Today has come up with a solution to the problem that you never knew you had. For $14.95 you can add a system resource hog to your Pocket PC and add animated visuals to your Today screen.

Version 4.0 adds support for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, takes up less memory than previous versions, and supports landscape, square, and VGA screens.

I'm not really sure why a company that's been putting out software for at least four years is just now getting around to updating its products to Windows Mobile 5.0, but I'm also not entirely sure why you'd want to have an image of a dog romping around your PDA.

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With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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