Brilliant, in a video, Mel Sampat from Microsoft's Windows Mobile team shows how Windows Vista Gadget could work in future on Microsoft Windows Mobile devices and that's definitely something interesting.
Windows Vista Gadgets are mini applications with a variety of possible uses. They can connect to web services to deliver business data, weather information, news updates, traffic maps, Internet radio streams, and even slide shows of online photo albums or - like the WebGuide4 Gadget I've recently previewed at the::placeshift - connect to your Media Center to get a live stream back to your PC.

The ROK Media Store, which is about to launch in a public Beta mode, is designed to turn every mobile phone with a removable memory card into a video "iPod". According to ROK Entertainment Group, it's designed to become the ultimate management tool and resource for people's mobile entertainment needs.
98% of all content stored on iPods, it is reported, is uploaded personal music collections. 2% is specifically purchased from sites such as iTunes or is gifted to the user. In exactly the same way - but not limited to audio only and not limited to music videos only - ROK Media Store will offer consumers the ability to upload their entire personal music and movie collections to their PC's, protected by ROK's patented DRM solution, and side-load the content to their memory cards for play on their mobile phones.

Gone is the time, where Windows Mobile PDAs performed a hardreset, when they ran out of battery power but with the introduction of Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft introduced the persistent storage for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs as well, as introduced before with the launch of the Windows Mobile Smartphone.
However, from time to time it can happens, that the device either needs a hard reset or, because or a malfunction, the device performs a hardreset of itself. Also, after a ROM update, all data and installed applications are gone and reinstalling all the favorite applications can take some time.

Following the previous public Beta, this week, V2R (Vision to Reality) released the final version of proTone for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs (Windows Mobile 6 Professional) and Smartphones (Windows Mobile Standard).
proTone allows you to assign different ringtones, volumes and profiles for different numbers within one contact.
While most of the features above are supported in Windows Mobile 5 already, with proTone you can tweak your settings even more detailed.

Not that this is anything spectacular, basically most of us expected it anyway but Dopod International Corp, a share of HTC selling HTC devices under its own brand in Far- and South East Asia, recently announced its support of Windows Mobile 6 as a software platform in its new products. Dopod International plans to launch its first device running on Windows Mobile 6 in April 2007. All new products launched after that will also be equipped to run on this new mobile software platform.
This announcement is in line with Microsoft's recent launch of Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform which features new messaging tools, tighter security and improved productivity.

Following the mobile chip business takeover from Intel last year, Marvell, the leader in storage, communications and consumer silicon solutions, announced during last week's 3GSM World Congress its extended collaboration with Microsoft to support developers working with Microsoft's new Windows Mobile 6 operating system, with the recently introduced Marvell PXA3xx series application processors (internally code named "Monahans" and previously developed by Intel as well). This collaboration will allow the worldwide community of hardware and software developers, who have already developed on previous generations of PXA processors (namely Intel ARM, XScale and Bulverde CPUs) and Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, to accelerate development of their tools and products on the newest version, Windows Mobile 6.

While under the hood changes are not too significant that current Windows Mobile 5 optimized software might not work with Windows Mobile 6 anymore, Sling Media's Dave Zatz recently informed SlingCommunity that the SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Mobile will be indeed coming for Microsoft's next generation mobile platform as well. Rest assured at some point in the future, Slingbox owners will enjoy their home television on the latest mobile devices running Windows Mobile 6. Other details, such as timelines for release, etc., are unknown yet but I can confirm, that the current SlingPlayer Mobile works on both - Windows Mobile smartphones (Standard and Professional aka Smartphone and Pocket PC Phone Edition) as well as on PDAs (aka Pocket PCs with W-LAN connectivity).

According to an article at Unstrung, PDA pioneer Palm Inc. appears to be in play again, with sources saying the likely buyers could be Nokia Corp. or Motorola Inc.
Several sources note that such rumors have made the rounds before, but this time they appear to be more serious. They say that Morgan Stanley has been running the deal and that, in addition to Nokia and Motorola, one or more private equity players may be interested.
Executives from wireless firms and others that Unstrung spoke to at this week's 3GSM show agreed that the company has been rumored to be on the block for a while now.

Since not everybody upgraded to Windows Vista yet, to use the Windows Mobile Device Center, it's good to know Microsoft still supports and maintains ActiveSync and recently, Microsoft's Windows Mobile team released the final version of ActiveSync 4.5 - so far available in public Betas only.
Beside having a few new features like staying connected to cellular or wireless network when connected to a PC, you can also configure HTML E-Mail sync settings, getting a new improved user interface and experience more stable operation.

The U.S. Congress has changed the dates for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States starting in 2007 and Canada followed by adopting similar DST dates. These changes could cause clocks and Microsoft Outlook calendar appointments on Windows Mobile-powered devices to display incorrect times for March 11 – April 1, 2007 and October 28 – November 4, 2007 and again in subsequent years because Daylight Saving Time (DST) will now start three weeks earlier (2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November).

Opera Software announced during the 3GSM World Congress its plans to upgrade mobile Web browsing by developing Opera 9 for mobile phones in all major platforms. Opera 9 has enriched Web use on the PC with new technologies, and now the leading browser innovator will deliver the same groundbreaking functionality to mobile phones. The upcoming Opera Mobile edition includes the latest in PC browsing features such as Widgets and Intelligent Zoom.

Opera 9 on mobile phones will add completely new dimensions to navigation. Users can seamlessly alternate between viewing modes to get a birds-eye perspective or dive into the content they want. Users have the choice to see an overview of a Web page or adapting the page to the width of the screen. As first seen with the Opera browser for Wii, Intelligent Zoom allows users to then zoom in directly to a selected area.

At the 3GSM World Congress, Palm announced the findings of a milestone study it has sponsored across six European markets. The Global Mobile Mindset Audit revealed that for more than 80 percent of respondents, access to personal information management (PIM) such as calendar and contacts information is considered the leading advantage of owning a mobile device after being able to make calls and send text messages.

PIM data is valued more and used far more often by smartphone users than capabilities such as music, MMS/video messaging and camera. The study - conducted in association with the CMO Council's Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME) – found that calendaring and contact management are used 'all the time' or 'frequently' by 55 percent of smartphone users.

During the 3GSM World Congress, i-mate previewed its next product-line which unwires multimedia from the Windows Vista Media Center PC.
This new service gives the i-mate Ultimate users access to the Windows Vista Media by either being connected through a home W-LAN or any other broadband connection.
The new i-mate Ultimate devices can be enhanced with an i-mate self-developed server/client solution which gives full access to all media files on a compatible (i-mate) Media Center PC. If you know Orb or the Slingbox - you know the potential this solution has since it includes access to recorded TV shows as well as access to live TV, video and audio files as well as photos:

During the 3GSMWorld Congress, ALK Technologies, unveiled its latest installment in the award-winning CoPilot line with Version 7 for mobile phones and PDAs. Supporting Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices, CoPilot Live 7 redefines mobile satellite navigation with its simple and intuitive menus, clearer 2D/3D map views, and compelling mobile data services. Version 7 also touts a fully customizable user interface which allows mobile operators, handset manufacturers, and everyday individuals to adjust colors, styles, and features to suit their brand requirements or personal taste.

Since i-mate is going to release some exclusive devices soon, i-mate's latest announcement regarding it's cooperation with Brightpoint is definitely good to here, especially because i-mate wasn't widely available in Europe. Nevertheless has appointed Brightpoint EMA as a major distributor for its portfolio of Windows Mobile smart devices. This move follows i-mate's international team expansion and highlights the company's commitment to reach new markets. Brightpoint will be responsible for distribution and channel development in a number of key strategic European growth markets.

Or better no real news yet. As HTC confirmed in a press briefing yesterday, the Taiwanese ODM hasn't made the final decision yet, if, when and for which devices they might offer Windows Mobile 6 upgrades or even not.
While it's known that most of currents Windows Mobile 5 devices would support Windows Mobile 6 without any problems, and T-Mobile USA will release a free Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Dash, HTC hasn't done the final decision yet, how the upgrade path for its own devices might looks like.

Following Microsoft's official Windows Mobile 6 announcement from yesterday, HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.) today launched three smart devices from its Q1 2007 product portfolio at the 3GSM World Congress Conference and Exhibition. These ground-breaking devices showcase the latest in mobile convergence for both consumer and enterprise audiences and epitomize HTC's commitment to developing innovative, appealing and category-defining form factors and applications:

Seriously, I have no idea how old this information is, what's the status of the project is or who the lead developer is and well, Google's "Google Code" page isn't saying too much except that it's mentioning a project called "mobisync" which should be a "Generic Mobile Synchronization" client and "aims to build a generic data synchronization framework for all mobile devices".

While "all mobile devices" would includes Windows Mobile devices as well:

Okay, we have heard earlier about Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile version, so far known under its code name Crossbow and Monday next week officially announced as "Windows Mobile 6" (with all its flavors aka Windows Mobile 6 Standard, Windows Mobile 6 Professional and Windows Mobile 6 Classic) and may of you might be curious what all this Windows Mobile 6 stuff is all about - right?
Well, my fellow MVP Jaap van Ekris has put together a comprehensive review about the most important features and updates. While Windows Mobile 6 offers way too much, to be covered in one single article (I'm sure we will see many more during the next days), Jaap's reviews provides a great overview about the latest and greatest Windows Mobile 6 highlights, you can expect to come to a device near you later this year as well since it covers PIM functionalities, communication capabilities and system management enhancements:

With today's announcement of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft also introduced a new naming scheme of its PDA and smartphone device classes. No more Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, no more Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone Edition and no more Windows Mobile for Smartphone but just Windows Mobile 6 xyz where xyz becomes more generic then it was before; in fact it becomes similar to the Windows Vista and Windows Office 2007 naming scheme
The following overview should help you to get a better understanding what your device was in past and what it will be from now (with the official introduction of Windows Mobile 6):

Not officially announced yet, Microsoft unveiled more information about it's new Windows Mobile operating system, so far code-named "Crossbow" and soon to be known as Windows Mobile 6. On next Monday, during the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft will officially announce Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile phone software platform. By improving usability and adding new features previously only available on PCs, Windows Mobile 6 delivers a familiar and rich experience to the small screen that meets the needs of work and life while on the go, all with a single device. Windows Mobile 6 devices begin shipping worldwide by second quarter 2007 and it's sure, that we can expect some new devices, being announced next week as well.

Jeyo recently announced a new version of its Jeyo Mobile Extender which adds mobile text messaging capabilities to your Outlook application through a Windows Mobile Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone Edition. With this add-on program, you can exchange messages with other mobile phone users anywhere around the world directly from your Outlook. Jeyo Mobile Extender makes text messaging as simple and easy as E-Mail.
In fact, Jeyo Mobile Extender offers you better ways to send, receive, manage and even archive your mobile text messages, all using a PC application interface you are already familiar with.

While Vodafone, Hutchison's 3 and T-Mobile has signed with Google and Yahoo! in the past, the same operators as well as Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Cingular/AT&T are expected to hold talks next week about creating its own mobile phone search engine which could challenge US giants Google and Yahoo!.
As a Sunday Telegraph report says, the carriers will come together for talks at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, next week.
The operators believe that creating their own search engine could help them to 'retain a greater share of advertising revenues', the article mentions.

Following GooSync's previous public Beta, Toffa has now launched the final (and still free) service of GooSync, which synchronizes a users Google calendar to their mobile device.
The GooSync service is based on the Toffa commercial synchronization engine, SyncWiseLive, which supports industry open standards (SyncML). Therefore GooSync is compliant with all of the latest mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Any user with a free Google calendar account can now use GooSync to wirelessly (OTA) synchronize their appointments and events to their mobile device.

No question, doesn't matter if I plan vacation, a business trip or being just foreign in a new city, I've always used Google Maps on my Notebook get get a better overview where I'm or where to go. And all this worked great, as long as I had my Notebook with me (at home, in hotel rooms etc.) but if we are on the go, using a Notebook isn't handy, especially if we have Windows Mobile devices with us. Now, Google finally released Google Maps for Windows Mobile - as a dedicated application for both - Pocket PC and Smartphone! So far it was available in a J2ME version only which worked on Windows Mobile devices but for sure, the user experience wasn't too good if you run a sandboxed application.

Finally, only 2 days after Windows Vista was released globally, Microsoft also released the (missing) final version of Windows Mobile Device Center which is necessary to keep your Windows Mobile devices synchronized with your new or updated Windows Vista PC (see my previous review of the new Windows Mobile Device Center functionalities here).
As mentioned earlier, ActiveSync is no more for Vista PCs but the new sync client is called Windows Mobile Device Center which integrates nicer into the whole OS and offers way more functionalities then ActiveSync ever did.