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T-Mobile PPC Phone Edition - Developer Impact
Written by Dwayne Lamb  [author's bio]  [read 35530 times]
Edited by Derek

      

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SMS

When using the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone, users will have well integrated SMS (Short Message Service). SMS messages have their own folders in the Inbox and can be used for near real-time notification of events and information. Many carriers provide subscribers a significant number of free incoming SMS messages per month, making it practical to create server applications and web sites that send out SMS messages to users on the go. You can also enable your PPC applications to send out SMS messages, just be aware that most carriers charge their users a small fee for outgoing messages. SMS may also provide a bridge to users of other less powerful phone devices as a broad range of devices support it.

Web Services

I believe some of the most compelling solutions PPC developers are going to create will be based on Web Services. The possibilities seem too vast to explore in any kind of serious detail in a short review article. In general Web Services are going to be one of the most powerful and simple ways to bring our mobile applications to life. Lots of consideration will need to go into the best way to leverage and implement them in your applications but Web Services will give you the ability to empower both the enterprise user and the personal user to pull live data into your application from just about anywhere while on the go. Add other exotic ingredients like triangulated location to the mix and stir.

Multi-Player Games

Games are touted as a huge growth area for mobile devices in general. The Pocket PC Phone Edition has the power and display of a regular Pocket PC but also offers the added plus of flexible connectivity. Can you think of an idea or two that might make the morning commute more fun for your users that have T-Mobile devices? Web Services, SMS messages and even simple email might make for some interesting gaming solutions, but keep an eye open for new game server solutions and platforms that you may soon be able to take advantage of as well.

POOM

The idea of integrating your application with Pocket Outlook or coming up with brand new application ideas based on the Phone support will be another area that will keep some developers busy as carriers subsidize a growing population of Pocket PC Phone devices. Lets hope better support for POOM in the .Net Compact Framework isn’t too far off.

Ring Tones

Pocket PC Phone Edition devices raise the bar for ring tones to the wav format. By making skins, ring tones, and products that take advantage of the multimedia features of the Pocket PC Phone Edition device, you have yet another way to enhance the popularity and general user appeal of this new hybrid device.

Many of the mentioned items above relate to or overlap with other form factors as well as the Pocket PC Phone Edition. After working with the T-Mobile unit for a couple of weeks, I was struck by the nice balance that this device achieves. It has the screen size and power of a Pocket PC that will allow for a much richer application experience than, say a SmartPhone, yet it offers the connectivity that many regular Pocket PCs lack and it provides the voice call capability and features that are the main motivator for many people to carry around a device in the first place. So, in many ways the Pocket PC Phone Edition sets the stage for a new generation of interactive applications that talk to servers and enables enterprise solutions with broader reach and mobility than previous devices have offered. When using this new generation device it made me more conscious of the fact that user needs will change as a result of this technology. That change presents new opportunities for PPC developers. Our opportunity or responsibility to create these innovative solutions will impact how quickly the next generation of personal communication devices is adopted and in turn what the next generation of devices may actually look like. We are part of an interesting cycle of change that may significantly change the way people connect to each other and to information.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to see a T-Mobile device first hand, here are some of the important things to know about:

Size:
The T-Mobile is .7 of an inch thick, 2.9 inches wide and 5.1 inches high excluding the small protrusion for the antenna. Numbers aside, holding onto this well tapered unit is much different from holding any previous generation PPC. It fits nicely in the hand. The unit weighs in at slightly more than 7 ounces. I found the weight and size much less noticeable in the shirt pocket than my old Casio’s.

Battery Life:
Documentation claims you will get 4-5 hours of talk time, up to a 170 hours (about one full week) of standby, or 15 – 17 hours of straight PDA use; also much better than previous generations of similar consumer oriented PPC only devices.

In The Box:
Packaged with the T-Mobile unit is a USB cradle along with cables and adapters that allow you to power up the device without the use of the cradle. Included in the box you will also find an ear bud/mic for hands-free calling and a nicely designed carrying case.

The unit itself seems to have been well thought out and designed, in ways of shape and simple things, like providing a good way to eject your SIM card. I found the stylus unnecessarily short and uncomfortable to use compared the longer styli of other PPCs. I also missed not having 802.11b support or a compact flash slot to pop my 802.11b card into. The unit does have an SD slot that would provide a way for expanding storage but that doesn’t help much with the compatibility of my existing media or digital camera.

Perhaps one of the most important issues is that the unit has a good sounding speaker and microphone that help make it a pretty darn good phone.

So, regardless of how you may have felt about the dipping of phone technology into the PPC space or the dipping of PPC technology into a phone space, the recently released T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition may make a real impact on how smart your phone is going to be in the future. Smart developers will give the issue some thought.

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