One of the more useful aspects of the Pocket PC is that it lets you read and respond to e-mail messages while you are away from your desktop PC. For many users, simple e-mail capability is all they want. However,
as simple as Pocket Inbox seems at first glance, it has a wide range of
additional capabilities. I'll describe them in this article, and show you a number of things you can do to get the most out of Pocket Inbox and best meet your business and personal needs.
Microsoft Pocket Inbox lets you send and receive e-mail from your Pocket PC
Note: I don't have the room in this article to provide detailed steps for configuring the services and options mentioned. Step-by-step
instructions for some of the options mentioned in this article can be found on Microsoft's Pocket PC website (www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/howdoi/default.asp).
Direct and remote connections
Before you can send or receive e-mail, you have to connect to your e-mail server. So before we talk about e-mail services, we should discuss direct and remote connections. The most common type of connection is the
"direct connection" using either a serial, USB or Infrared port to communicate directly between the Pocket PC and desktop PC. The other type is the "remote connection," which encompasses any other method of connecting. Remote connections go through a "network" of some sort to connect your Pocket PC to your desktop PC or e-mail server. This network can be the phone lines, a wireless service, or your company's LAN. To establish a remote connection, both devices (the Pocket PC and the desktop PC) must be connected to the same network. It is over this remote connection that data is synchronized or e-mail is sent and received. A few examples will help.
A Pocket PC user can connect to a corporate LAN using a LAN Ethernet adapter card. This would allow the user to synchronize e-mail (and other data) with his or her desktop PC or access corporate e-mail servers on the
LAN. Wireless LAN adapters are also available for Pocket PCs. If you are lucky enough to work in an organization enabled for wireless LAN, your Pocket PC could remain connected to the LAN wherever you are, letting you send or receive e-mail anywhere on the campus. If your company has a dial-up server you could use a 56k CF modem in your Pocket PC to dial into the server from an outside phone, connect to the LAN, and check your e-mail. Finally, there are dedicated wireless carriers offering CDPD and other data solutions. And while these services are relatively slow compared to a landline modem, they are very adequate for the sending and receiving of e-mail.
Sending and receiving e-mail using ActiveSync
synchronization
Most Pocket PC users access their e-mail using a direct connection and ActiveSync synchronization. Open ActiveSync, go to the Options menu and make sure Inbox is checked (see Screen 1). Then, every time you
synchronize your Pocket PC, ActiveSync downloads incoming e-mail to your Pocket PC and uploads and sends any e-mail you've composed on your Pocket PC. It's definitely the easiest way to send and receive e-mail. (If you only occasionally use your Pocket PC for e-mail, see "Windows CE Inbox Transfer" .
Pros: ActiveSync is the easiest way to access messages and requires little user action; e-mail is updated every time your Pocket PC
synchronizes with your desktop PC; easy to enable or disable this from the
ActiveSync Options menu; supports widest number of connection types.
Cons: Synchronization is limited to Inbox, Deleted, Outbox and Sent folders; every time you Synchronize, all new messages currently in the
folders listed above will be updated; if a message has been moved from the Inbox on the Pocket PC or desktop PC, to any folder other than the Deleted folder, it will not be synchronized; Inbox Synchronization goes through your desktop PC to access your local mail store or e-mail server.
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