Which Mobile OS is best?

10 10 2012
There are now choices for Rugged PDA Operating Systems

There are now choices for Rugged PDA Operating Systems

So in the next series of blogs, we’re going to uncover, discover and scratch ‘n’ sniff all the mobile operating systems that are out there and tell you which one’s are best for you.  With a plethora of mobile operating systems now available, it’s becoming more confusing and more complicated for businesses to make a decision on them.  We’ll uncover the pitfalls, kick out the myths and give you some real experience of all of these OS’s as we’ve played and tinkered with most of them here.

We’ll do this manufacturer by manufacturer and at the same time will talk about what we know is coming and what the future of each mobile operating system is.

We’ll cover off

  • Microsoft – Covering Windows Phone, Windows Mobile, Windows CE and Windows 8.
  • Apple – and their “IOS” platforms for smartphone and Tablets
  • Google – Covering Android, with special consideration for the Rugged Android!
  • RIM – Blackberry and why it’s failing.
  • The others, Nokia and OS40/60, Palm, Symbian etc etc.

I’ll put links up as we cover each one-off in the order above, starting with the grandaddy of them all…Microsoft!

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Windows Mobile Registry Tweaks Made Easy

25 08 2011
Windows Mobile Registry Tweaks Made Easy

Windows Mobile Registry Tweaks Made Easy

As you’re probably aware the Rugged PDA market is predominantly Windows Mobile or Windows CE, Microsoft in a word and despite being beaten up all over in the shiny smartphone sector of the market, both of these operating systems remain extremely competent for us line of business folk in the rugged market.  One area that’s extensive and quite interesting to discover on devices is the registry and it’s in here that you can browse, add and change existing settings on any rugged PDA.  In fact depending on the manufacturer there are often a plethora of things you can tweak.

However tweaking the registry is often out of the skill set of the average user, however there is a great little tool we use that can create a CAB file for you, that simply executes on your rugged handheld and changes the required settings.  CAB files can also be included as part of your OS build or persistent set-up to so once installed they will make the changes permanent no matter what happens to the device.

Here’s how:

  1. Download a tool called CERegEditor, which is freely available.  Come ask me here if you need a copy.
  2. Then connect your rugged PDA and browse and change the registry key you would like to change.
  3. You might need to unlock the registry before you can make edits, do this by selecting “Tools -> Unlock Registry” for the Menu.
  4. Now right-click on the key or keys you want to change and edit them.
  5. Now the tricky bit, you have to make a Reg file first that will contain all the details of the changes for you.  Click on the key and select the Export button.  Keep the default changes but create a nice name for the Reg file.
  6. When you;ve done this, open the reg file, it will just show you the registry information it has in it.  You might want to delete some keys, or add some at this point.
  7. Now just select “Reg -> CAB” from the conversion menu item, enter your owner name and version info and this will create a CAB file that can be run on the intended device.

It’s just a nice way to give our customers changes and tweaks without them having to dive in to the registry themselves so if you need any help like this at all, come talk to us here and we’re always happy to help.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

 

 


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WM6.5 – Touch Gesture Input Problems

21 07 2011
Was that a gesture you just made at me?

Was that a gesture you just made at me?

We’ve been seeing a lot of issues surrounding support of the WM 6.5 gesture Input on newer Rugged PDA’s sporting WM6.5 or even WEH6.5 so I thought i’d do a quick help article on the gesture input element of Windows Mobile 6.5.

For those that don’t know what the heck i’m talking about, the gesture input is the way the Windows Mobile team implemented the finger friendly touch interface in an effort to provide a more iPhone-esq user experience, using your finger to “swipe” the screen and getting the OS to respond to those swipes.  Gesture input on WM is far more basic though with very few input gestures being recognised.  however swiping right and left are usually well implemented on devices and this alone has been enough to cause havoc with some customers.

Was that a gesture you just made?

The problem seems to be largely with Proof Of Delivery or signature capture.  We love our touch resistive LCD’s in the rugged world world, it means we don’t have to worry about expensive stylus’ to take signatures and if lost during the day then the back of a biro will do just fine (Make sure you have a screen prtector though please!).  However everything that worked fine and dandy on WM6.1 or even earlier versions of WM6.5 seems to not be the case with a range of WM5.6.3 Rugged PDA’s we have tested with various software.  It seems that some software is recognising the swipes of a signature as gestures meaning you often can’t take a signature at all.

Gesture support was really made available in WM6.5.3 which is the most common build of WM6.5 we see on new rugged devices.  In this build a lot of gesture and input support was made as a last gasp attemp by the old Windows Mobile team to drag WM into the modern world.  All they really did was mess up an OS that was doing just fine in its Rugged Niche.

Looking beneath the bonnet, we see that gesture input is supported at a control level, so you really need to delve into code to access it and stop it working on the control you are using to take your signature, usually a bespoke one or picture control of some kind.  We haven’t come across any devices yet that allow you to switch it off totally and this is probably the reason for that as its not really possible to do this.

If you find this kind of issue then come talk to us as we can help here, whether selecting a device with gestures taken out of them or we can explain to your software provider or team.

http://www.ruggedandmobile.com


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New Microsoft Windows Embedded Operating Systems released

31 03 2011

Windows Embedded

So the newly merged Windows Mobile and Embedded or CE teams inside of Microsoft have been working hard and Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 is the first in a line of new OS’s that has been released into the market.

I wanted to cover off exactly what this means to anyone with a rugged PDA, with special reference to Windfows Mobile 6.5 users.

Firstly WM6.5 is not going anywhere just yet.  I said about 6 months ago that WM6.5 was going to be here for about 18 months and I still stand by that, however Microsoft have moved the goalposts a little bit by launching this new embedded OS in my view.  So why have they done this and what does it mean?

Windows Embedded Compact 7.0

Windows Embedded Compact 7.0

This OS is designed to take over form CE6.0.  However it also marks a departure from a code base that can be run on PC and mobile architecture, with WEC 7.0 now focussing solely on mobile tyopes of device.  It is released to OEM manufacturers, has a 10 year g’teed lifespan and is designed primarily for embedded systems.  CE was always a quick and cheap way of getting a rugged PDA to market and in my view is the only reason we still see it on devices today, other than where legacy compatability is required.

My personal take is that it is unlikely that we’ll see WEC on a rugged PDA at all because it’s not complex enough for these tyopes of devices.  Where we will see it though is on thin client, cloud supported devices where you will hardly know Microsoft is being used.  Expect your Fridge panel or any embedded, connected type of device to be using WEC if Microsoft is the chosen technology.

Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5

Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5

Now this OS is something us Rugged PDA folks need to know about.  Originally Microsoft slated this as WEH 7.0 and it was due Q2/3 2011.  However it got mysteriously dropped from the Microsoft roadmap later last year.  It’s now back as WEH 6.5 and it is the successor to Windows Mobile 6.5.

WEH comes in 2 flavours, standard and professional, for phone enabled and disabled devices and it comes with a fair raft of new API’s in its SDK all designed to make for a true line of business OS for mobile devices.  WEH is easily ported to from any Windows Mobile targetted application and it is the OS of choice for us Rugged PDA Folk.  Calling it Windows Mobile 7.0 would probably position it far better but microsoft want to stress the true LOB positioning of this OS.

We’re just starting to see it appear now on new Rugged PDA’s with the first one in fact already having been announced, see the thoughtfully named Honeywell Dolphin 99EX blog here.

Current until 2014 and supported until 2019 it is the roadmapped OS that we need in the Rugged PDA mission critical world and it will be as easily developed for from right within Visual Studio.

Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5

Windows Phone 7

So WP7 is the last mobile focussed OS from Microsoft and in a nutshell, forget about this if you’re looking for a line of business solution.  WP7 is for the consumer smartohone market.  It will move fast to serve a fickle and feature rich, often Fad driven market and it is not considered a wise choice to run your line of business applications on.

Conclusion

Line of business Mobile device = WEH 6.5

Flashy smartohone device = WP7

Thin client, cheap and completekly tailorable OS = WEC 7.0

Just ask if you need any help!

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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3G is your business taking advantage?

1 02 2010

3G as the driver to Innovation

We’re now starting to see a lot more devices come onto the Rugged PDA market with the latest 3.5G capability, however many of the most common devices, like Motorola’s MC55 are still using EGPRS which makes me wonder if the business world has caught up to 3G yet?

GPRS will give you about 114kbps throughput which in terms of syncing data is pretty much all you need.  Most businesses out there are using field mobility devices that sync simple text or database updates over the air and as such probably don’t require any more.  However we’re now seeing the next wave of applications hit the market where a GPRS connection would creak under the pressure.

A lot of mobile inspection applications are now trying to use the camera on the Rugged PDA in order to add another line of proof to their workflow and this puts an enormous strain on the data connection as hundreds of images can be queueing up to be sent back your servers. 

Social applications are also now starting to hit business process where sharing and updating of data from and to multiple devices and databases is going to be common place.  Add to this the frequency and nature of the data and you can start to come up against some much higher bandwidth requirements.

Background syncing is also something that is becoming essential.  As the devices become more central to workers daily lives, they need the ability to use the voice and data functionality on the Rugged PDA without interruption and this largely means using a 3G device, independant of the data speed it can attain.

We saw this with GPS.  All those parcel delivery applications suddenly wanted to add in location to their workflow and now with better and better connected devices we’re seeing businesses trying to find ways they can utilise this extra bandwidth.

With drivers like these, I think we’re in for some extremely excting times in the mobile world.

If anyone needs any help with any apsect of data capture then drop me an email, i’m always willing to help.

Dave

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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