Deciding to upgrade users mobile devices running Windows Mobile 5 to ones that are running Windows Mobile 6 isn't cut and dry. When weighing the advantages of one version over the other, it's important to first look at which functions users require in a mobile device. Another upgrade consideration depends on which version of Exchange Server you're running. This tip highlights new features in Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 to help administrators running Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2007 decide if now is the right time to replace users' Windows Mobile devices.
Windows Mobile 5 was designed to work with Exchange Server 2003. If you're running this platform, you may find a few new features that are desirable. If users in your network are using Exchange Server 2007, then an upgrade is probably a worthwhile investment.
Viewing HTML messages
Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 offers the ability to view email messages in HTML format on either Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2007. Previous versions of Windows Mobile could receive HTML email messages, but converted the message to plain text before displaying it. Aside from being annoying, this wasn't usually a major issue. But if an HTML message contained an important graphic or other element, Windows Mobile users couldn't view those elements.
Windows Mobile also converted email responses to plain text, which meant that users couldn't respond to an HTML message in its original format. This could be disruptive if one user in an email chain was using a Windows Mobile device, while everyone else was using a full-blown copy of Microsoft Outlook.
Mailbox search
One frustrating aspect of using a Windows Mobile device is its limited storage capacity. Many new devices offer more storage than their predecessors, but even this built-in storage isn't enough to hold all the data you may need.
This can be particularly aggravating when dealing with email messages. For example, my mobile device was configured to store three days worth of email at a time. By limiting email storage on the device, I could access my current email messages without running out of memory.
For the most part, this solution worked well. However, I ran into an issue when I had to rely solely on my mobile device for longer than three days. Because of the three-day configuration, Windows Mobile removed important messages that I needed to save or read again to make room for new messages.
Fortunately, Microsoft addressed this problem in Windows Mobile 6. Users whose mailboxes reside on an Exchange 2007 server can initiate over-the-air searches against their Exchange mailbox using the Search and Index feature. This allows users to store a minimal amount of data on a mobile device, but still have access to older messages if needed.
Additionally, you have some search flexibility. You can not only search for messages containing specific keywords, but you can also narrow down search results by date. Searching by folder and specifying a particular folder that you want to search is also possible. Users also have the option to include all subfolders beneath the folder they want to search. Figure A shows a search screen.
Figure 1. Windows Mobile 6 allows you to search by keyword, date and folder.
Remote document access
Limited storage capacity on a mobile device has always been an issue. While a device generally has enough memory to store some text documents, there isn't enough space for a large quantity of them.
For some users, this situation isn't an issue because you can use a Windows Mobile device to connect to a corporate VPN and access your files. Unfortunately, not every company has a VPN; and some VPN configurations aren't compatible with Windows Mobile.
Microsoft solved this problem with Windows Mobile 6 and Exchange Server 2007, which can act as a proxy to a file server or a SharePoint server. This means that if a mobile user accesses files that are stored on a file share or SharePoint server, they don't need a VPN connection. Instead, the mobile user needs to establish a connection with an Exchange 2007 server.
After doing so, the user must enter the unified naming convention (UNC) associated with the share containing the file, the path to the file and then the filename: \\server1\files\user1\document.doc, for example. Exchange Server then will proxy the request, retrieve the file and allow the mobile user to download it.
Figure 2 shows a Windows Mobile 6 screen listing a UNC path and filename on the top part of the screen. Once this information has been entered, Windows Mobile prompts a user to download the requested document.
Figure 2. Windows Mobile 6 and Exchange Server 2007 offer you the ability to download remote documents.
Additional features of Windows Mobile 6
If a Windows Mobile user wanted to mark a message for follow-up prior to version 6, he could only mark the message as unread. The ability to flag messages for follow-up, or to categorize messages, is new Windows Mobile 6. This capability gives mobile users the same message-flagging option as Outlook users.
Windows Mobile 6 also provides several calendar enhancements, including the ability to Forward, Reply and Reply to All for calendar entries. Users can also view the acceptance state for meeting invitees. I believe these new features work with both Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2007.
About the author: Brien M. Posey, MCSE, is a four-time recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional Award for his work with Windows Server, Internet Information Server (IIS) and Exchange Server. Brien has served as CIO for a nationwide chain of hospitals and healthcare facilities, and was once a network administrator for Fort Knox. You can visit Brien's personal web site at www.brienposey.com.
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