|
Top Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Mobile 6Microsoft's new smart phone OS promises to make workers more productive while making the lives of IT managers easier.By Tim Kridel 04/23/2007 
Windows Mobile doesn't dominate the wireless industry like its PC cousin, but that could soon change. Windows Mobile had a bigger worldwide market share than BlackBerry in 2006, according to IDC, an independent analyst firm. (Symbian is number-one by a wide margin.) IDC expects Windows Mobile to be on 22.1 percent of all smart phones worldwide by 2010, thanks to support from an increasing number of handset vendors, such as HTC, Motorola, Palm, Samsung, and newcomer LG. For Windows Mobile users, market share is noteworthy because the more customers the OS has, the more developers will create apps for it.
In February 2007, Microsoft announced Windows Mobile 6-formerly known as Crossbow-which should be available by the time you read this. "We're excited about it because it brings some functionality that we've been looking for," said Niraj Gandhi, product marketing manager at HP, which was one of the first smart phone vendors to announce a WM6-enabled device. Unlike how Vista was upgraded from XP, WM6 wasn't stuffed with new features that outstrip the memory and processing power of WM5 handsets. For that reason, some wireless carriers and smart phone vendors will offer WM6 as an upgrade. One example is the T-Mobile Dash. There's a lot to like in WM6, but as with previous versions of the OS, there are still plenty of shortcomings for hacks and third-party apps to address. One example: When you hit the X to close an application, WM6 minimizes it instead of shutting down the app. Keep an eye on sites such as ppc6700users.com and pdaphonehome.com for hacks and third-party tweaks, as well as Handango. Is WM6 worth shelling out for an upgrade or for a new handset? The answer depends partly on whether you also want to upgrade to Exchange Server 2007, which is required to take advantage of the software's most compelling features. Read on to find out what the new OS has to offer.
Featured Site Sponsors
|
 |
|
