"Maps"

Palm has also included a mystery app called "Maps," which we identified on WMExperts not too long ago because it has a plug-in for the Today Screen. You can search for services and things near your location or near another, not-where-you-presently-are location. The interface is a weird amalgam of Windows Mobile forms and something that smells a bit like a stripped-down version of Google Maps.

The folks I spoke to from Palm were frankly unclear about who developed the Maps application or what it's based on. It does integrate with Sprint Navigation/Telenav when you want to get driving directions, which is helpful, but a full-on, easy-to-use Maps application it is not.

The other only thing Maps has going for it is that Today Screen Plug-in and a default assumption that you want to search based on your current GPS location. Otherwise there's nothing that I can find Maps can do that the Live Search app (also included on-board) can't do better.

Maps stinks. Whatever development time was put into it would have been better served on something else--like developing a Today Screen plugin for either Live Search or Google Maps.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

email in Windows Mobile 6.1

The Treo 800w is the first Windows Mobile Pro device to ship with version 6.1 standard. This is a big reason why Palm is pushing it as the ultimate business phone -- in addition to the speed and one-handed advantages mentioned above, it has built-in support for push email via ActiveSync and also for advanced enterprise device management features out of the box.

For the consumer, 6.1 may mean a little less, especially on the Treo 800w. Two of the main consumer-selling points on 6.1 were the addition of threaded SMS and a getting started guide. On the 800w, both are replaced with Palm versions and both are better for it. Palm's threaded SMS, although annoyingly not integrated into Outlook Mobile, is a better SMS system because it does a much better job of utilizing screen real estate.

(Oh yeah, as long as we're talking about SMS: No MMS here. Call Dan Hesse to complain and tell him we sent you.)

Palm also has their own custom getting started section which conveniently can point you to their online help sites, custom-formatted for the 800w. It's good stuff:

Another new feature that will benefit Treo 800w users is a slightly updated version of Pocket Internet Explorer. The main new feature is that it has a "zoom out" mode which lets you get an overview of the page. Although PIE doesn't do a great job on zoomed-in sections (although "Fit To Screen" mode works much better now, especially with a 320x320 screen), it does allow you to more quickly scroll through large pages and get to the section you want, which is convenient.

It's not out yet, but here's to hoping the speed and power of the 800w means that it will be able to run Opera Mobile 9.5 with nary a hitch.

Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 6.1

Otherwise the rest of Windows Mobile 6.1 is small improvements that don't jump out at you. Battery life (especially with ActiveSync) is improved, the Media Player doesn't require contstant re-scanning of the library, the Calendar has a nice overview "ribbon" (actually that was introduced in WM6), the Task Manager provides more information and is more user-friendly, and so on:

Note that last screenshot above -- that's full Internet Sharing and it's included, though Sprint does require that you have a full (and expensive) Phone-as-Modem plan in order to utilize it.

Included Applications

Let's run down the the included applications, with commentary:

• Office Mobile 6.1: Technically this isn't necessary for every Windows Mobile device, but it's pretty much expected. New is Office OneNote Mobile.
• My Treo: Links to Palm's online support
• Aces Texas Hold 'em and Astraware Sudoku: great to see some good games included.
• Oz Instant Messenger: the de facto multi-platform Instant Messenger Client.
• LiveSearch: I still adore this mapping and local search application
• PDF Viewer: Good to go.
• Pocket Express: A neat little app that gives you quick access to all sorts of mobile content like news, weather, sports, and more. It installs a few Today Screen plugins by default that some may find annoying. Also annoying is that you will need to pay for full functionality. A lot of people like this app, but I'm not one of them.
• Sprint Software Store: Yawner.
• Sprint Navigation: AKA Telenav
• Sprint TV: A great app for killing time, though again you will need to pay extra for some of the premium content
• Sprite Backup: Yep! Sprite Backup is included for free in the ROM! Good on Palm and Sprint for getting a great backup app built-in.
• Windows Live: Yep again! This is the full version of Windows Live, which gives you push email and contacts from Hotmail / Live Mail, a full MSN Messenger client, and some nice today screen plugins.
• Various Palm Enhancements: These include photo speed dial on the Today Screen, a slightly improved call screen with touchable speakerphone and mute buttons, and Palm's threaded SMS app.

All in all, a good set of included applications that you can use if you like or ignore if you don't. Again, Palm has done a great job of taking a "stock" Windows Mobile installation and keeping it fast and clean while still included some nice bonus software.

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