Everything you need to know if you're buying Windows Mobile-related hardware or software is conveniently available online. These sites include experts to answer your buying questions; reviews of hardware, software, and accessories; eBooks, movies, other downloadable content, and much more.
This article describes some of the sites that can help you. Many of these sites cover both smartphones and Pocket PCs (we'll note when they are specific to one or the other). Of course, there are other sites worthy of your attention. You can find a much more extensive listing on our Best Sites page (pocketpcmag.com/bestsites.asp).
Microsoft's site helps prospective buyers
Microsoft's Windows Mobile site (microsoft.com/windowsmobile) is an excellent starting point for someone considering a Windows Mobile device. The area of the site titled "Browse and Buy Devices" has separate sections for phone-enabled devices and PDAs. The phone section lists the devices available and helpfully allows you to sort the list according to country, carrier, and brand, as well as by features such as whether the device has a touch screen, Wi-Fi, a QWERTY keyboard, etc. Now that phone-enabled devices dominate the market, the PDA section lists a small number, many of which are specialized industrial models.
The area of the site titled "Microsoft Mobile Programs" gives you an effective overview of what one of these devices can do for you, including Office Mobile, Pocket MSN, Outlook Mobile, and Internet Explorer Mobile.
News and Reviews
Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine online (smartphonemag.com) contains archives of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine articles, including reviews of most of the devices and the major third-party applications. It has a searchable Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories (smartphonemag.com/_enc) and a Buyer's Guide (smartphonemag.com/BG) that lets you compare devices (Pocket PCs, smartphones, Phone Editions, or Vertical/Niche Market) feature by feature. There is an extensive archive of reviews of software, hardware, and accessories. Reviews from the previous issue are posted online once the current issue is on the newsstand. The Best Software Awards page helps you identify the best titles in each software category.
Mobility Site (mobilitysite.com) is one of the most active Windows Mobile communities, with over 200,000 registered users. You'll find a wealth of resources, including reviews, FAQs, and more. The site has one of the better collections of reviews of accessories and hardware peripherals for the Pocket PC. There are also over 150 reviews of applications, utilities, and games. (Smartphone and Pocket PC)
MoDaCo(modaco.com) has daily news, reviews, active forums with nearly 250,000 registered users, freeware downloads, and more. The FairDeal section (fairdeal.modaco.com) offers hardware and software. (Editorial content is mostly related to Windows Mobile phone-enabled devices, but the FairDeal section includes Pocket PC-related offers.)
CoolSmartPhone (coolsmartphone.com) has daily news, a large collection of helpful reviews, and hundreds of downloads. (Windows Mobile phone-enabled devices only)
Printer-friendly version