Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile RampUp track is now available on MSDN

Lou Vega — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:00:17 GMT

Are you interested in learning about Windows Mobile Application Development from the ground up and looking for some easy-to-use content that helps you get started? We have good news for you. We have just launched the MSDN RampUp track for Windows Mobile Application Development on MSDN.

There's a new Windows Mobile RampUp track available on MSDN

Follow up from my 0wn Your Phone Code Camp/User Group presentation

Lou Vega — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:17:40 GMT

One of the questions that has come up several times during my presentation on using the Windows Mobile State & Notification Broker to build call blocking applications or SMS Interception applications was to find out what effect multiple apps monitoring for the same state change event would have. I had suspected all along that each app would be able to handle it just fine since in essence the OS on the phone is also monitoring for that state change to accomplish the built in functionality at the same time your app is monitoring to accomplish any custom functionality.

I confirmed this last night with a little experiment on the Call Blocking application I wrote. I'll write that up further and post the examples to my VBMobile blog later on.

Reason #139 my Windows Mobile phone is better than iPhone

Lou Vega — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:42:00 GMT

I saw "big" news today that Google released a search app for the iPhone that lets a user search using their voice as input. ~~Wow - I'm impressed. That's pretty groundbreaking.~~

Those of us using Windows Mobile Live Search have had this feature for some time...sorry Google/iPhone zealots!

FWIW, I'm not really bashing Google - they do their core function (search) very well. I just don't get all the swooning over Google/iPhone.

AT&T Tilt - Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade

Lou Vega — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:42:40 GMT

It's finally released for the Tilt. While AT&T as a company pretty much sucks IMHO, the Tilt is still a pretty cool phone and now you can update to Windows Mobile 6.1

I've downloaded the update and will probably apply it tonight or tomorrow.

Jacksonville Code Camp - Fay did not stop it!

Lou Vega — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:15:46 GMT

Friend and fellow SC UG leader Chris Eargle and I headed down to Jacksonville Code Camp on Friday night wondering what might be in store for us since Fay had dumped so much rain over the past few days. We were assured by the JAX CC folks that Fay wouldn't stop them. Even with a venue change, Fay didn't stop them so huge props to the folks in Jacksonville for pulling this together and managing it through the changes dictated by that storm blowing through.

Getting down there was a small adventure. Turns out *someone* (cough Chris!) was using an inferior mapping product which will remain nameless and it just so happened that it "auto-suggested" a fix for the destination address which unfortunately wasn't caught until we exited off I-95 towards a rather dark and more run-down area of Jacksonville. I remember saying to Chris there was no way there was a Hyatt hotel anywhere on that street we were turning down based on the faulty map address.

That whole experience with the map felt like this:

We mastered the Spectral Wolf and got back on track and finally arrived at the hotel...only we were too late for the hotel restaurant for dinner so we grabbed a quick meal in the sports bar and then I had to call it a night.

Waking up early the next morning we headed out to East Pointe Church (the site of the code camp after relocating due to Fay). The church actually was a pretty good facility. They had plenty of rooms available for the sessions.

Although I hadn't signed up to speak at this code camp (I only found out about it roughly a week or so before hand) I always travel to code camp with a slide deck. Figuring there would probably be a couple of last minute cancellations due to the weather I approached Jonathan Bates about speaking and he was glad to have me fill in. I ended up giving the Windows Mobile State & Notifications Broker talk where I build a call blocking application.

While I was there I got to re-connect with folks I haven't seen in a while (Joe Healy, Russ Fustino, fellow GWB'er Scott Dorman) as well as meet plenty of new folks. I also got to meet some in person for the first time that I had only previously knew online. All in all a great time.

Richmond Code Camp

Lou Vega — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:52:19 GMT

I had such a great time up in Richmond last year for Richmond Code Camp that I'm planning to head back there again this year. The folks up in Richmond are planning this event for Saturday, October 4, 2008. You can find out more at their web site: http://richmondcodecamp.org/default.aspx as they continue to post information.

Although last year I "just attended" (for the very first time actually!), this year I plan on giving a presentation on Windows Mobile development. Hope to see you there!

5 Reasons Why my Windows Mobile powered Tilt is better than the new Iphone 3G

Lou Vega — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:20:34 GMT

I'm pretty tired of hearing about how "great" the Iphone 3G is. So here's a short tribute to my trusty Windows Mobile powered Tilt.

My Tilt already had GPS, Bluetooth, and 3G capability when I bought it. I didn't have to wait hours overnight for a sales clerk to tell me "here's your phone, it doesn't work all the way, but good luck activating it at home!"
My Tilt has MMS capability - Granted I don't use it as much as others do, but for such a "great" phone you'd think Apple would have included such a basic feature.
Sorry Iphone users - apparently another basic feature such as Copy/Paste was left out. Seems that's a basic part of my Windows Mobile 6 powered phone's core OS.
My Tilt's camera capabilities (still photo and video) are better - wait, oh yeah, Iphone doesn't have a video camera.
I was able to develop software for my Windows Mobile powered Tilt the day I brought it home from the store...didn't have to wait for the vendor to "decide" to offer 3rd party app support.

A neat trick with Windows Mobile Live Search and Community Megaphone

Lou Vega — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:08:36 GMT

Glen Gordon just posted an entry on his blog about this and it's pretty neat. He can explain it far better than I can, so just read his blog post on this.

Speaking tomorrow at Pee Dee Area .NET User's Group

Lou Vega — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:57:31 GMT

I've been invited to speak tomorrow at the Pee Dee Area .NET User Group (PDANUG). The meeting starts at 6PM and I'll be covering Windows Mobile topics to include the State & Notifications Broker and how I built the call blocking application I blogged about earlier this year.

Catch me at Mobility Developer Roadshow(s)!

Lou Vega — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:00:39 GMT

I had previously blogged about Brian Hitney and Glen Gordon bringing a Mobility Developer Roadshow to Atlanta and Charlotte...well they're still doing it, and they've asked Chris Craft and I to join them in the presentation. I'll be covering the section on managed code development for mobile devices. This should be a lot of fun, so if you're into mobile development or looking to get into it, come out and join us!

Overview

This session is geared towards familiarizing the attendee with developing smart clients using the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 on Windows Mobile 6.x.
Labs will be by demo only (not hands on), and will be available for download after the class.
Lunch will be provided. Class times: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM, 1:00 PM–5:00 PM.
Click the links below to register

Charlotte - June 18, 2008

Atlanta (Alpharetta) - June 24, 2008