You’re probably very familiar with the plethora of widget or gadget technologies on the web or your desktop by now – Vista Sidebar, Windows Sideshow, Google, Yahoo and Microsofts web and desktop offerings as well as a collection of Web 2.0 offerings that it’s pointless to try and enumerate because it would already be out of date.

Well, they continue to spread and Access (the folks behind the NetFront browser which has been doing a great job on Palm and Windows Mobile for several years) have brought a gadget runtime framework to Windows Mobile Professional (aka Touch or PocketPC) devices that they call Netfront Browser Widgets.

Installation and setup on my HTC Diamond was quick and simple. You need to register at the Netfront Browser Widgets site and from there download the installer to your phone (though you can do it over the air I found it easier via the desktop browser)

The installer comes with a couple of widgets (World Clock and Weather) pre-installed, but there are several others (such as the Twitter one above) that you can download and install.

The widgets themselves seem to have a very similar philosophy to their desktop and web counterparts – development will be using standard HTML and Javascript (a subset of the W3C Widgets 1.0 specification) with some javascript extensions to access hardware specific things such as location, power and wireless status.

Unlike many development environments / tools, widgets are fairly straightforward to develop for (thanks to the HTML and Javascript basis) and are also safe – because they operate in your default browsers sandbox they’re not going to get uncontrolled access to your device or data so they’re safe to experiment with.

At the moment although there are some widgets created by Access themselves to get you started the developer information isn’t available, but I imagine it won’t be too long before we see that released and folks start to get creative…

Lifecasting is a big thing at the moment. One step beyond blogging and tweeting is the ability to record and broadcast live video from a cellphone to share what you’re doing – and engage with your audience.

Qik is probably the best known of these, and is slowly rolling out an early beta service for Windows Mobile users. But Qik are not the only game in town – there are a couple of existing solutions that have great support for Windows Mobile users.

LiveCast provide a live video streaming platform for Windows Mobile and laptop or UMPC users. The video is synchronized with GPS position data so your viewers can see where you are when you’re broadcasting (or when they review archived footage where you were).

While the video quality on LiveCast is pretty good for high end phones the client is not the most intuitive (so expect to spend some time figuring it it), and the web site is a bit clunky.

LiveMedia from IncaX provides very similar capabilities – private or public broadcasting from either PC or Mobile device, though as well as streaming video it allows you to insert other media from your device to enhance the presentation.

The LiveMedia GPS mobile client (currently in beta) adds GPS location data to the broadcast from your phone, and also allows you to record a broadcast to local storage for later upload. This feature is particularly useful as it allows you to keep a record of a trip without having to worry about connectivity.

Although feature-for-feature these two solutions are fairly similar my preference is for LiveMedia. The video quality is slightly less fluid and there is no audio in the current beta version but the interface is significantly easier to work with and there are more options to share your broadcasts.

The great thing is that both of these products are at fairly early stages and are evolving quite quickly, as are the capabilities of the phones they run on. Missing features and complicated user interfaces will quickly give way to slick controls and, especially as bandwith increases, high quality video and audio.

Apparently there are some people using Gmail and the Google Calendar service rather than Live Mail or an Exchange solution and they’re not sure if they can still get their email, calendar and contacts synced to their Windows Mobile phone or PDA.

Well luckily for them (and me, yes I use Gmail as well) there are solutions – and they are simple (and free or cheap).

Although connectivity is pretty good I like to make sure I have a local instantly available backup (and you can’t check your web calendar on a plane yet). Being able to store contacts, schedule and email in Pocket Outlook and work with them anywhere is one of the biggest reasons I’ve used a Windows Mobile device for quite some time.

Email

To get the most of out Gmail you’ll want to use IMAP to sync your mail – leaving the technical stuff aside (click here if you want that) it’s a two way sync so if you read a mail on the phone then Gmail knows about it when you go back to the website.

To use IMAP in Gmail you’ll need to enable it first. Once that is done you can access Gmail over IMAP in any mail client – Outlook, Thunderbird and, of course, Windows Mobile Outlook Mobile. To set it up for your device follow the steps for Windows Mobile5 or Windows Mobile6 (the instructions are slightly different because the default mail setup wizard for WM6 tries to use POP3 and you’ll want to work around that!)

Of course if you don’t want to do this there is always the Mobile optimized web version of the Gmail site but once you‘ve tried using the Outlook Mobile client you won’t want to go back

Contacts and Calendar

What use is email if you don’t have all your contact details available (and after all it probably makes sense to keep your contacts details in sync across web and the phone).

If you get an email inviting you to a meeting or a party you want to be able to put it in your calendar… but unless your phone and the online calendar are in sync how will you ever keep your schedule straight?

Well, for Live Mail users there’s always the Windows Live client which takes care of keeping that in sync for you, but for Google users there is OggSync.

OggSync supports both Outlook and Windows Mobile clients so you can choose one or both depending on what you need. Personally I usually use the web interface from a PC so just have the mobile client.

The free version supports basic calendar syncing and the (very reasonably priced) pro version adds a lot more flexibility/control to the calendar sync (including support for multiple calendars) and contact sync.

With the pro version you can synchronize multiple calendars (with mapping) to a time schedule so you never have to lift a finger.

All of the sync functionality (in either version) is bidirectional so you can update on the phone or via the web and, like using IMAP for email, know that everything will be only one sync away from being up-to-date.

Check out OggSync and … welcome to the world of Outlook Mobile

Do you care about Windows Mobile? Do you use a Windows Mobile powered Smartphone or PocketPC? Do you have any feedback or comments on how Microsoft could make it better?

By all means leave a comment here, but the best place to get your voice heard (and let others contribute refinements to your ideas) is over at the Windows Mobile Connect site.

You don’t need to sign up in order to view existing feedback but if you want to comment or submit a new item you will need a LiveID to log in.

If you’re a developer you should also check out the Windows Mobile Developer Forums for more in-depth nut-and-bolts type discussions.

One of the problems with using most smartphones or UMPCs is that while the form factor is ideally suited to portability they are not exactly the best form factor for composing an essay on.

A while ago I ordered a USB roll up keyboard for the Q1U but it was too big and the keypad layout was weird (and the action was terrible). The backlight was the coolest thing about it (but it made a buzzing noise). Needless to say it wasn’t a hit (and as the Q1U only has 2 USB sockets it was a bit of a nuisance).

I’d asked around a bit and folks said great things about the iGo Stowaway keyboard but sadly while it is still available it’s been discontinued – mainly because developing new drivers wasn’t cost effective for iGo. While that meant I could get one today and it would probably work with any of my phones and my Vista / WinXP machines there was no guarantee it would stay current as new devices and operating systems appeared on the horizon.

So I went hunting again and found a great little bluetooth keyboard from Freedom (the same folks who make my current GPS dongle). It supports both HID and SPP profiles which means it can be paired with Windows PCs, Windows Mobile smartphones and professional (touch) devices as well as Blackberry, Nokia and Palm phones.

Installation on the PC was easy – like pairing with any other device (though typing in the pass key “blind” was funny!). Pairing on the phone was a little harder as it requires downloading a driver and then generating an unlock key (I understand that they do that to ensure people only use their drivers with keyboards from Freedom but the process wasn’t fool-proof for me… I’d like the driver to include the smarts to negotiate the connection and guide me through verification) – but it works perfectly.

The keyboard, although folding, has a great layout (apart from the /? key being to the right of the shift, and the spacebar being in two parts), great action on the keys but having 5 rows (including a full number row), Windows key, function key (Fn+number) and a physical on/off switch (toggles on, HID or SPP profiles) makes this a great option for both UMPC or smartphone users fed up with cramped (or missing) keyboards.

It’s not tiny. Folded it’s about the size of two SGH-i780s side by side (see here for comparisons) but it’s lightweight, and takes standard AA batteries. Unfolded and locked it’s stable and feels solid. It even includes an integrated stand for your phone – can double as a notes holder.

The only thing I’d like to see is a pointing-stick style mouse to avoid reaching for the stylus or having to tap the screen on the Q1U but even that omission doesn’t distract from using this (as any bluetooth mouse could also be paired to complement the setup)

And yes. I wrote this review on my UMPC using the Freedom keyboard. I would have used my i780 but I don’t have a blogging app on there that I really like.

Did you know that 5 of the 10 top selling ‘Smart Phones’ in the US run on Windows Mobile (yes, even more than the iPhone)?

Have you always wondered what it takes to write something like ‘Bubble breaker’ and how you can get started on an applications that could get used by millions of people around the world

If so, then the Mobility Fire Starter Events are for you!

The Mobility Fire Starter events are either a 1-day seminar or a 3  day lab with in-depth coverage of building applications on the Windows Mobile platform.

You will be introduced to the nitty gritty of writing applications on the Windows Mobile platform. In a typical Fire Starter fashion, the day begins with something really simple and build to more complex applications by the end of the day.

The following seven areas will be discussed in detail:

· All About Windows Mobile
· Windows Mobile for Line of Business
· The Tools
· Managed Development
· Data Management Strategies
· Performance and Optimization
· A Whole New Level

All you need some basic level of understanding of the .NET platform. The event uses familiar tools such as Visual Studio, the .NET Compact Framework, SQL Server Compact Edition and more.

There are only a few events left in the US and they’re filling up fast (I’ve got my place in Redmond booked!)

Thanks to Jason for the heads up and Loke for an insight into the sort of things the event contains.

If you’re a developer looking to get a headstart on the most open smartphone development on the market you really need to be there…

Microsoft’s SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) has had quite a long life in it’s original form, with up to date information being delivered to various devices – as diverse as watches and coffee makers – but as times have changed demand has waned.

Partners are no longer selling SPOT enabled watches – although the good news for us who use them is that the service will continue to deliver news, weather and other updates as expected for time to come.

That doesn’t mean it’s the end for the brand though. The MSN Direct service is changing along with the needs of it’s audience and delivering content in more appropriate and targeted ways… the SPOT devices are becoming less visible and more just a part of every day life.

What use is traffic data and gas prices delivered to your phone? If you’re in the car then wouldn’t it make sense it your GPS device knew that information and could make use of it? Well, with the partnership with Garmin (“MSN Direct services for GPS Navigation Devices” according to the marketing folks) the technology is embedded into your Satellite Navigation to help make smarter decisions.

One criticism of the SPOT enabled watches was the screen size. Well, a lot of people already carry a device with a much larger screen every day – their phone. Using over the air data delivery or WiFi (for phones that support that) the MSN Direct service is available both as a native Windows Mobile client or via any mobile browser by visiting the mobile enabled http://phone.msndirect.com.

It’s great to see how this really simple technology has evolved from it’s useful but admittedly clunky origins. Of course, if you’re determined to have a really high tech watch you should check out the Epoq EGP-WP98B – a smart watch that runs Windows Mobile 5 (yes, it’s a phone!)

I still think my new Shadow is a pretty good phone. Needs GPS and better (much better) battery life to be perfect (and some workflow tweaks to the OS), but that’s another story.

One thing I’ve noticed about the non touch device though is that it’s a bit harder to manage stuff than on the old Wizard… and now I think back that was sometimes a little painful – tracking down photos or SMSs or editing a bunch of phone numbers.

Luckily I don’t have that problem any more. With Dashwire I now don’t have to think about it. No wires, just a simple app installed on my phone synchronizes everything – SMSs, photos, videos, contacts, call log, voicemail, ring tones, speed dials and even Pocket IE favorites – to a web interface.

From there I can edit, synchronize back to the phone and choose what to share in a public gallery.

If your client is up and running on the phone you can even use the web interface to compose and SMS message and have it sent from your phone.

The convenience of Dashwire is one thing, but having a backup of all your phones content is a pretty fantastic facility. If you’re ever faced with a hard reset of your phone (say to upgrade the firmware) or you manage to lose or break your handset having an up-to-date backup is going to easy the pain.

For the backup plan I’d love to see them able to retrieve details like it IMEI and serial number, and if they know your operator make reporting a stolen device painless (or at least guide you through the process) – but just having the information to hand would be a real bonus.

Looking forward to seeing how Dashwire evolves, and what their business model looks like

One of the things I wanted in my perfect phone was GPS, but sadly my new Shadow doesn't have it built in.

The reason was simple. I'm new to the US and even still get lost in Redmond. Also after living in Australia for a decade I find my internal sense of direction is out of whack (it took me about 2 years to trust it after I moved to Aus)

Luckily there is a solution. Navizon have a small app you can download to your phone that uses cell towers, wifi access points and, if you have it, GPS to triangulate your location. Once it has that information it lets you navigate and record your trail (including options to export to Google Earth or as a CSV). You can geotag where you've been and share the information with buddies (or see where they are right now).

As it happens I also have a Bluetooth GPS device so I can pair that with the phone when I really want accuracy but it's good enough to locate the hotel I was in based on the 13 WiFi access points and 7 Cell Phone towers it could locate just from my room!

The application is available as a native Windows Mobile application and they also support iPhone, Blackberry and Nokia S60 devices. They even have a desktop app if you don't have WiFi or GPS on your phone.

This software relies on a community of users who contribute data to the system (WiFi and Cellular towers) when they have a GPS device. Not only do non GPS phone users get the benefit of that data but users who have a GPS device get to take part in the Navizon rewards program - each cell tower or access point you provide GPS coordinates for earns you points and those points translate (once you've got enough) into dollars via PayPal. You can even refer folks and earn a percentage of their points (they don't lose out, your bonus is in addition to their credit!)

One thing it doesn't do it let me post my location to Twitter (nice to do when I get off a plane - helps me remember where I am when I wake up in a strange hotel!) but I've send them a feature request for that ;)

It's been a long time since my first mobile phone - a venerable old Motorola MicroTAC but it really set the tone for many features that I consider to be valuable in a communications tool today.

Of course compared to today's phones there are many features I'm glad we've moved on from, though when it comes down to it the basic functionality is pretty hard to innovate much beyond while the form factor remains close to what the world thinks of as a phone.

Since then I've had many phones - StarTAC, Nokia 6110, 6310, 7650, 3650 and a trusty 8210, Sony Ericsson T610, Motorola A1000, Sony Ericsson P910, LG U8120 and LG U890 (I worked on TV shows that were sponsored by phone networks... it helped provide a never-ending supply of phones and paid for calls!). Then I got my iMate K-Jam (AKA HTC Wizard / T-Mobile MDA) and for a long time it's been good.

The trusty Windows Mobile device has seen me through a bunch of projects, kept me in touch (phone, email, IM and now Twitter) and since joining Microsoft it's been used to dogfood upgrades and patches to help work out the kinks before you get them. With PointUI it now even looks as cool as the new HTC TouchFlo devices (at, at least on the home screen, gives the iPhone a run for it's money!)

Time however hasn't been kind to the Wizard. The battery doesn't last 24 hours, the screen gets confused if it should be in landscape or portrait (the micro-switch doesn't always switch!) and it's generally starting to show its age.

It's time for a new phone.

But when I look around the market I find that my expectations are maybe a little hard to satisfy. Even if I'm willing to compromise on a couple of things on my wish-list there's still no one phone that leaps out and says "buy me!"

So, what does that wish list look like - and can you help me find the ideal new companion?

• Windows Mobile. A combination of loyalty to my employer, but more so I can be sure of connecting to our Exchange server with all the various security protocols in place.
• A real keypad. One of the disappointments with the Wizard is trying to dial quickly. A physical keypad means you don't have to wade through an on-screen menu with no tactile feedback just to make a call. I'd like a full keyboard as well but as long as it's got T9 or smart auto-complete I can live with it.
• A decent camera. I don't need 10MP with 25x zoom... but I do need 2MP or better, ideally with a lens cover (or some way of cleaning it) and if possible a flash. Responsive camera s/w would be a real bonus as well
• WiFi, 802.11b and g. There are some great phones out there (eg Samsung i620 or HTC Touch Dual) that are crippled because there is no WiFi.
• GPS. Not essential (if I only have to drop one thing it would be this) but I love being able to locate myself using Windows Live Search or track where I've been.
• Good battery life. Let me go 48 hours without desperately needing a charge. I want to be able to do email, check twitter etc without hearing the beep-beep-beep of a dead battery. And that includes being able to turn off the radios and play solitaire and listen to music on a flight from Seattle to Heathrow, and still have enough juice to call my brother when I land.
• On the subject of music... if I can converge my iPod and my phone in the same way I converged my PDA and Phone with the Wizard I'll be very happy That of course means I want a standard headphone jack (3.5mm) as well as good stereo bluetooth support.
• Ideally the screen and input functionality will be good enough to write quick notes to myself, dash off emails and respond to comments on my blog.
• Which leads me to web browsing. Compared to Safari on an iPhone or Opera on other mobile devices PocketIE really needs a workover. Apart from the circa 2000 UI on Windows Mobile Professional devices (SmartPhones are a little better) web browsing is the more compromised experience on these devices.
• Ideally upgradable. Windows Mobile 6 is okay, but I know I'll want Windows Mobile 6.1 or 6.5 or 7 or whatever comes next...

Annoyingly one of the best devices for most of these, apart from the critical email access question, is the Nokia N95 8GB. Most of the Windows Mobile devices don't quite get there at the moment, thought the HTC S730 is pretty darn close. If the Touch Dual or i620 had WiFi they'd be very strong contenders (I love the idea of the smaller slider, or even a clamshell, form factor) but with the other things I'd have to give up they don't quite make the cut.

I guess my Wizard will last a couple more weeks... in the meantime I'd love some suggestions what should replace it. Michael thinks the Samsung SCH-i760 is pretty cool and Frank can't make up his mind between a Treo, Tytn-II or Shadow ... no wonder I'm confused ;)