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At the Microsoft Mobile
& Embedded DevCon 2005
Bill Gates announced
Windows Mobile 5.0 - the
next Microsoft OS for
mobile devices. The name
of the new OS is
somewhat surprising, the
expected names were
Magneto and Windows
Mobile 2005. Windows
Mobile 5.0 has two
versions - for Pocket PC
handhelds and for
smartphones.
The most important new
features include
persistent storage, hard
drive and USB 2.0
support.
The smartphone version
got some features
previously available
only in Pocket PC -
Wi-Fi support, landscape
screen mode and QWERTY
keyboards support.
The PocketPC version got
something well known in
the mobile phones - soft
keys, they will help
one-handed use of these
devices.
Announcements of devices
running the new Window
Mobile 5.0 already
started to appear -
Samsung i300 will run
the smartphone version
and HTC MDA IV will run
the Pocket PC version.
HP and Dell will offer
Windows Mobile 5.0
update for their pocket
devices.
Here is the list of
all the new features,
according to the
Microsoft's press
release
Enhanced Business
Productivity
Windows Mobile 5.0
offers updates that make
device users even more
productive when working
away from the desktop:
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Microsoft Office
software for Windows
Mobile. For Windows
Mobile 5.0-based
Pocket PCs, Word
Mobile now supports
tables, lists and
embedded images,
giving workers
greater flexibility
to create, edit or
review documents.
Excel Mobile allows
users to view and
create charts and
graphs, and
PowerPoint® Mobile
allows users to view
and rehearse
presentations while
on the go. The back
seat of a taxi or an
airplane now can be
a mobile office.
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Persistent storage.
Persistent storage
has been added to
Windows Mobile
5.0-based Pocket
PCs, which will help
ensure that users
don't lose important
data when devices
run out of battery
power. In addition,
overall device
efficiency has been
improved, yielding
as much as 30
percent more battery
life.
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Faster access to
e-mail. Windows
Mobile 5.0 users
will have faster
access to e-mail and
information and an
improved experience
with MSN® Messenger.
MSN Messenger now
offers seamless
instant messaging
(IM) access for
friends and
colleagues; and
faster, one-key
access to Hotmail®
and MSN inboxes
within Outlook®.
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ActiveSync® 4.0
support. Windows
Mobile 5.0 offers
users new features
such as the ability
to sync pictures in
contacts and
wirelessly sync over
Bluetooth®, as well
as an improved
partnership wizard
and an improved
overall
synchronization
experience.
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Security. Windows
Mobile 5.0 is
compliant with the
FIPS 140-2 standard.
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Superior Multimedia
Experience
Windows Mobile 5.0 now
includes Windows Media®
Player 10 Mobile, adds
support for technologies
such as hard drives and
Universal Serial Bus
(USB) 2.0, and enables
improved media content
organization, making it
an amazing platform for
multimedia devices:
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Easy
synchronization.
Users can easily
sync media files,
playlists and song
ratings right from
Windows Media
Player 10 Mobile on
their desktop PC,
and listen to them
on their mobile
device.
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New formats and
content.
Windows Media Player
10 Mobile supports a
variety of file
formats including
Windows Media Audio,
Windows Media Video
and MP3; Customers
can now access more
than 1 million
protected digital
songs and videos
from online services
such as Napster,
CinemaNow, MusicNow,
Movielink and MSN
Music.
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Hard drive and USB
2.0 support. Windows
Mobile 5.0 adds
support for
integrated hard
drives, allowing
users to carry
several gigabytes of
music or information
right on their phone
or PDA, and provides
added support for
USB 2.0, which will
greatly increase
file transfer speeds
and synchronization
of information
between PCs and
Windows Mobile-based
devices.
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Ability to Customize
Windows Mobile 5.0
includes numerous
enhancements that allow
device manufacturers,
developers and end users
to customize the Windows
Mobile user experience,
add new functionalities
to specific devices, and
develop new
applications:
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For end users. End
users now can take a
picture from their
phone and easily
assign it to a
contact for display
not only in the
Contacts
application, but
also in the caller
ID window and e-mail
message header when
that contact calls
or sends e-mail.
Pictures also can be
assigned on a PC in
Outlook and
synchronized to a
user's device.
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For operators and
device-makers. With
Windows Mobile 5.0,
device-makers can
take advantage of
wireless
technologies
including 3G and
Wi-Fi. Windows
Mobile 5.0 enables
partners to build
devices for
Universal Mobile
Telecommunications
Service (UMTS)
networks and
supports
simultaneous voice
and data transfer.
Windows Mobile 5.0
also adds support
for Wi-Fi in
Smartphones, which
will allow for a new
generation of small,
connected devices.
In addition,
device-makers and
mobile operators now
have greater
flexibility to
customize branded
device experiences
and can take
advantage of
extensible menus and
new soft keys to
build new features,
such as push-to-talk
(PTT), right into
the phone dialer.
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For developers.
Developers can take
advantage of a host
of new managed code
and APIs in addition
to a new ARM-based
emulator, which
enables them to
build applications
more quickly and add
new functionality to
applications. The
new APIs include
Camera Capture,
which can integrate
camera functionality
with third-party
applications; State
and Notification
Broker; Contact
Picker; enhanced
messaging and Pocket
Outlook Object Model
(POOM); as well as
powerful new
graphics APIs for
Direct3D®,
DirectDraw® and
DirectShow®.
According to the Behind
the Scenes press release
"37 cell phones were
harmed in the making of
this product".
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