Is there any difference between a soft reset and powering the device off and then back on? Thanks in advance?

Thanks Tim. Yes you are probably right -- probably the main diff between the French and Dutch packages is the language of the PC installation software. Can you confirm, though: you have a UK i600 that you updated to WM6, and you can choose different languages for the whole OS?

Guys, a colleague of mine has just ordered an i600 which will come with WM5 and he wants me to update it to WM6. I'm in Belgium, where the languages are French and Dutch, but my colleague is anglophone and likes his OS to be in English. In WM5 there was built-in language provisioning that allowed you to choose your OS language. Can I gather from the way that Samsung is distributing the WM6 update country-by-country that this is no longer the case in WM6? Samsung is already providing the update for Belgium -- in two versions, French and Dutch. What I need to know is, if I do the update, say using the French-language link, will I be able to then switch the OS interface language to English? Or will my colleague then be stuck with an irreversibly French-language phone? Thanks in advance!

Before I take the time and trouble to add voice dial tags to certain of my Contacts, I would like to know whether, on the next sync, they will somehow be saved to my Outlook Contacts so that I won't have to re-do them every time I flash a new ROM or get a new WM device. Does anyone know if and how this works?

I'm not a developer but to me that sounds like a business decision, not a technical necessity. And to be honest I don't understand it as a business decision. Think about it: there are of course still some WM2003 devices out there (although they're getting pretty old by now). But even so, the kind of people who are still happy to be using WM2003 today are clearly not that concerned about being up to date, so they are not going to be interested in "AppToDate" anyway. One or two, perhaps, but I'd say it's not worth putting that constraint on Paul for this product.

As you say, it's a personal thing. Since you ask, however, I am happy to give you my feedback, since I DID try Pocket Informant and was disappointed (not suicidally so -- I just committed uninstall... or tried, rather).

For me, the Pocket Informant suite doesn't give me anything that I need. It offers lots of different ways of arranging and viewing PIM information, which might be great for many people, but, unless I am mistaken, it doesn't add any actual functional capabilities -- i.e., actual calendar operations -- that aren't there in the native PIM apps. And given that your PIM apps were considerably slower to launch than the native ones, and that I really like the clean simple look of the native ones, I decided to forego PI. (I've got to say I was also a little unhappy with all the residue left behind after an uninstall. One can clean most of it up using other tools, but still, it's not cool.)

If you were to offer a Calendar product whose main purpose is to support the most convenient and intuitive one-handed navigation of Calendar on Pocket PC devices, with a nice clean simple interface but things like, for example, being able to use the D-pad to navigate from day to day (up and down and side to side) in month and year views, then that would be really cool (at the moment up and down in your Calendar app skips months, just like in the native app, which is incredibly frustrating when all you want to do is go, say, from one Thursday to the Thursday just below it in a given month).

In sum: business users need a quick, clean, easy-to-use, one-hand-supporting, capable-but-simple Calendar. At the moment, the native WM calendar app is still the best. But something to make the Pocket PC experience navigationally more like the SmartPhone experience (but of course with the additional functionality available in Pocket PC) would be nice, for when one is in the car or using the other hand to hold a land-line phone to one's ear or to carry one's laptop bag...

I would love that.
Obviously, it would need to be published with a list of which apps are included.
The major developers would need to be in -- SPB, the MemMaid people, SK Tools, etc. (WebIS as well, obviously, although I don't use their stuff.)

Thanks Mandt -- I in fact looked at that possibility. Unless I'm mistaken, however, Spb Diary isn't a full Calendar app -- it's more of a today-screen plug-in.

Just like what most weather services do anyway -- just show one icon for what the weather supposedly is at the moment. If it changes, the icon changes -- there's never an effort to log the whole day with a series of icons. But the main point is of course to have the forecast for future days. Most weather services I've used have found a way to summarise a future day's forecast into a single icon. It's basic information, of course; mostly it's about how sunny or rainy it's going to be and maybe the predicted temp. But that's mostly what people want to know. So there would be one of these icons for every future day for which a forecast is published, and as for changing forecast, well, the icon would just change (the app would sync with the service regularly, of course, like every four hours or so, and change the icons in the calendar as relevant).

I'm looking for a calendar app and a weather app that work together such that the weather forecast is shown by an icon in any given view of the calendar (perhaps a more detailed forecast in the day view, and minimal icons for each day in the week and months views). Does anyone know any apps that can work together in this way? There are so many weather apps out there, and quite a few calendar ones, and I'm surprised that no one seems to have integrated weather into a calendar -- unless I have missed something. Thanks!

In WM5 Smartphone, the month view was great for navigating to a particular day – the D-pad or joystick would let you select the day by moving the little squre day-selection up or down or left or right on a given month, just as one would intuitively expect. Now, in my new WM6 Pro device (Ubiquio 503G), d-pad movements make the calendar jump to the next month (or something, it’s not even clear because you lose the little red day-sized square that should show you where you are). Is this how all WM6 Pro devices behave? Is there any solution or fix for it? It certainly is a massive “de-provement” from WM5 Smartphone!

Well, finally got it. Here's what I discovered, through a little experimentation:
- When creating the VPN connection in "My Work Network", use PPTP and *not* IPSec/L2TP.
- Before you can get the VPN to connect and stay connected, you have to set the ActiveSync schedule settings to manual. My guess is that ActiveSync cannot connect if there is a VPN tunnel open (which would be a lot like the fact that your Outlook-over-http can't connect when you've got a VPN open on your laptop) so, if it is trying to connect, it just plain takes over the internet connection, forcing the VPN to close.
- Don't forget to set the ActiveSync schedule settings back to "As Items Arrive" when you're done doing whatever you needed the VPN for.

Remote Desktop works like a charm once you have a VPN open. In case your device didn't come with RDM (Remote Desktop Mobile) on it (some OEMs don't include it in their ROM for some reason), here you go:  Microsoft_Remote_Desktop_Mobile.cab.zip ( 303.78K ) Number of downloads: 278

UPDATE: I solved this issue, so I'm taking most of what had been in this formerly very long post and putting it in the attached txt file (there may be something of some use to someone in there), and changing the title of the thread. It was previously "VPN Setup on WM6 Pro (Cross-post from 503G thread)". See next post for solution.
 The_rest_of_this_post.txt ( 4K ) Number of downloads: 416

People, I'm having trouble setting up a VPN. I seem to be doing everything right but it won't connect. here is a thread (most recent on top) of correspondence between me and a UBiQUiO person but they don't really know either. Can anyone help? Thanks!

-------------

Hi ,

Thanks for this.

I have tried those steps many times, checking and double-checking. The necessary security certificate is on my device.

The B2B tech support guy I spoke to at Proximus was knowledgeable – he knew exactly what I was talking about but assured me that if there is a data connection then VPN is enabled – nothing further is required. I believe him but just to test it, I tried a VPN connection from my laptop through via internet sharing on my 503G, and it worked perfectly, so there is no problem with VPN as such via my Proximus account. The issue is local on my device.

Thanks and kind regards,

Michel
________________________________________

Hi Michel,

If that is the case then try setting up a normal GPRS connection as normal.
Then on the connection screen under “My Work Network” you should be able to set up the VPN.
Enter your settings, make sure you install any security certificates required.
That
should do it if Proximus are right, I know over here(U.K) VPN needs enabling on the account.
If that does not do let me know and I will dig around some more.

________________________________________


Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi ,

I spoke to B2B Tech Support at Proximus and they confirmed what I thought, which is that as far as the Sim card goes, VPN is no problem as long as I have data internet access (which I do).

Therefore I would appreciate any further information from your side.

Thanks and kind regards,

Michel

________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Thanks ------.

However, I don’t think the Sim is the issue because I once did manage to get a VPN connection with this device. However, for unrelated reasons I had to do a hard reset, so I lost all my configurations. I set up the VPN again in exactly the same way (it is extremely simple) but now it doesn’t work anymore.

I will call Proximus just to be sure but I don’t think it’s the SIM.

Thanks and kind regards,

Michel
________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi Michel,

You would need to contact Proximus to activate it.
You need to ask for the VPN-APN (access point) to be active on your Sim / account.
Try and get to 2nd line support, as most of the time the guys that answer the phone will not know what you are asking for.

________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi ,

My network is Proximus in Belgium.

Where would I find the settings for activating this on the Sim?

Thanks and kind regards,

Michel

________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi Michel,

What network are you with?
And is VPN access active on the Sim?
I have only recently found out that VPN needs to be activated on the sim to allow the VPN tunnel.

________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi ------,

I want to set up the VPN over my 3G data connection. (I don’t use wifi on mobile devices – I never really saw the point of it...).

Thanks and kind regards,

Michel

________________________________________

Subject: RE: Tech support needed for VPN setup on UBiQUiO 503G

Hi Michel,

Sorry this is taking so long, but I have never set up a VPN connection on a mobile device.
Due to the way our systems are, I have had to involve one of our network guys just to try and work this out.
I will let you know our findings, one question for you, how are you trying to connect? Wifi or GSM/ 3G?

Following the indications in the user's manual (yup, I actually R'd part of TFM) I let the battery go through several complete full-discharge/full-recharge cycles, and this did in fact increase battery life. It's still not great -- certainly less than I'm used to. But I'm not able to judge whether it's good or bad for always-on-3G -- as someone else here pointed out, 3G devices do take more juice, especially when the connection is on most or all of the time, as it is likely to be if you have ActiveSync set to notify as items arrive.

Are you using the charger that came in the box, or charging via USB from a PC? I find that when I do the latter, it doesn't take a full charge, just like you describe, but with the charger that came with the device, it charges fully. I also note that the connector on the "official" charger is slightly different from the standard mini-USB connector -- hold the two next to each other, looking at the ends, and you'll see. I think that must have something to do with it.

- Dropped calls. I thought my device was free of that issue -- have had it for almost two weeks without that problem, but this afternoon suddenly it dropped two calls, and hung each time after that. I must add, though, that shortly before this happened, I had installed Vito TaskSwitcher. Could it be that this has something to do with it? Seems so unlikely, but yet... if TaskSwitcher is causing the Phone application to close or crash... or is doing something else...
- Here's something the product manager told me might be looked at in the future but not for the ROM that is coming with critical fixes, because, sensibly enough, they don't want to delay that for non-critical improvements, so if you can do something about this Paul, that would be really cool: the scroll wheel and keyboard should be active when a call is in progress, whether or not the keypad had been locked when the call came in. Often a call comes in when the keypad is locked, and the "Answer" soft key picks up the call, but then that's it -- you can't, for example, change earpiece volume using the scroll wheel if the keypad had been locked when you answered the call.
- Scroll wheel should control in-call volume with simple scrolling, without the need to press-hold-release first.
- There should be a settings option to allow waking the phone up with the D-pad or other key and not only the power key, which is too finicky and time-consuming.

That's all I can think of so far; may come back with more later.

In spite of the various issues, I'm really liking this device. If issues are addressed and performance increased with a new ROM, I will positively love it.

I asked Expansys why I couldn't find styli for the 503G on their site (I know I'm gonna lose mine soon), and they said they were still coming and would be made available online when they were in stock. Perhaps the same goes for the other accessories. There is an Ora USB-based charger available but it seems to charge the device pretty slowly. You can also charge via USB cable from your PC, but again, it seems a little slow. Screen protectors, I've never used 'em.

Yes, I've thought about the 750v as an alternative. It has several counts against it, however. Here they are, the first of which you've already mentioned:
- no hsdpa
- a crippled screen (240 x 240)
- WM5 instead of WM6
- proprietary connector instead of USB
- slower processor

I don't consider wifi to be that useful in a mobile device (in what situation would it come in handy, and how often would that happen? I cannot imagine ever needing it for anything if I've got hsdpa) and the lack of it wouldn't bother me. But those other items are serious negatives.

I must also say that while the 750v is supposed to be so nicely designed and ergonomic physically, I find its keys much more finicky than the 503G's keys -- all of them, the D-pad, the function keys, and the qwerty keyboard. The 503G is just nice and easy to use. But mostly, it's the only device at the moment that's got the right spec in a candybar qwerty form factor.

How?

I don't know whether this is a 503G issue or a general WM6 Pro quirk, so I'm cross-posting in both places.

The problem is that when I delete something in my Outlook Inbox, it gets cleared from the mobile device's Deleted Items folder the next time Active Sync connects, and there doesn't seem to be any setting that affects this. It should be controlled by Messaging - Menu - Tools - Options - Storage - Empty deleted items: - Manually, and indeed this setting controls my Yahoo account as expected, but does not seem to control the Exchange account.

In fact, the deleted e-mails are not completely gone -- they stay in Deleted Items in my Exchange mailbox and can be accessed via Outlook on my laptop, but that doesn't do me much good if I'm on the move and accidentally deleted something and need to undelete it right away.

Why can't I just have my Deleted Items folder in Exchange synched 1:1 like any other folder?

Any thoughts anyone?

I don't know whether this is a 503G issue or a general WM6 Pro quirk, so I'm cross-posting in both places.

The problem is that when I delete something in my Outlook Inbox, it gets cleared from the mobile device's Deleted Items folder the next time Active Sync connects, and there doesn't seem to be any setting that affects this. It should be controlled by Messaging - Menu - Tools - Options - Storage - Empty deleted items: - Manually, and indeed this setting controls my Yahoo account as expected, but does not seem to control the Exchange account.

In fact, the deleted e-mails are not completely gone -- they stay in Deleted Items in my Exchange mailbox and can be accessed via Outlook on my laptop, but that doesn't do me much good if I'm on the move and accidentally deleted something and need to undelete it right away.

Why can't I just have my Deleted Items folder in Exchange synched 1:1 like any other folder?

Any thoughts anyone?

Here's something odd: on my WM 6 Pro device (503G), when I send mail from my Yahoo account, which has html enabled, I cannot add any formatting. Incoming mail shows html formatting just fine, but outgoing mail just ignores any attempt to add even basic things like bold or underline...
(My Exchange mailbox on the device doesn't support html at all, presumably because I'm still on Exchange Server 2003...)

Mine does not lose its volume settings after soft reset. That said, I've got SPB Phone Suite installed; maybe that has something to do with it (it controls volume settings among other things). Try that -- it's an app you'll definitely want to have on any WM Pro (or Pocket PC) device anyway. I think a trial version is available. http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/phonesuite/?en

Good stuff, looking forward to more!