It's a dangerous world out there, and sometimes the Internet can seem like the Wild West. It can be exciting, but every time you connect your Pocket PC to the Internet, you expose it to a host of dangers. If this concerns you, read Chris De Herrera's article about Windows Mobile security issues. A little caution and common sense, combined with the knowledge in Chris' article, will help you deal with the dangers.
Darryl Burling extends the security theme by discussing the importance of creating a security policy for mobile devices used in a corporate setting. He points out many of the dangers associated with them and offers practical, step-by-step advice on how to formulate and implement a corporate security policy that will help protect your company's data.
Rick Winscott has some useful information for those considering integrating GPS capability into an application. Understanding the technology, including its quirks and limitations, can help you avoid bumps along the development road.
Rich Mullikin describes 4Smartphone, an interesting solution that simplifies the task of using a Smartphone to access Outlook information on your PC or LAN.
Jeffrey Wales weighs in on the prospects for the convergence of cell phones and Windows Mobile devices. Can we get it all in one device, or will we still be lugging around two devices in the future?
Finally, the Infosys Mobility Team offers an inside look at some of the choices a group of programmers made as they developed an application. It's fascinating to see how they overcome challenges and difficulties in order to deliver a reliable and satisfying user experience. In the process of development and testing, they distilled nine principles for improving the performance of mobile applications.
Letter Received
In response to Joe Schurman's article on Windows Mobile vs. RIM, we received the following letter with technical clarifications and information on the RIM technology.
Hi Joe and Duncan,
I am a product planner on the Windows Mobile applications and services team in Microsoft. I recently came across your article on Blackberry Connect in the April 2005 edition of Pocket PC magazine. While I love the fact that you point out what a limited solution RIM is, there are some technical inaccuracies in the article I thought I would bring to your attention.
1. Blackberry Connect does not require a VPN connection to function. Just like normal RIM handhelds, Blackberry Connect devices utilize the RIM NOC. For enterprise users they utilize the Blackberry Enterprise Server deployed behind the firewall. BES does not require a VPN connection for two-way communications between it and any Blackberry device (through the NOC). It utilizes the RIM proprietary SRP (service routing protocol) over port 3101 to communicate with the RIM NOC from behind the enterprise firewall.
2. Additionally RIM does not purchase ISV applications for its J2ME environment on the RIM handheld. There is currently an ecosystem of approximately 95 ISVs that target the Mobile Data Service (MDS) on the Blackberry Enterprise Server and the J2ME runtime on a RIM handheld. An enterprise customer still has to purchase these applications/services just as they would any other. However RIM does require the use of a proprietary IDE known as the RIM JDE (java development environment) for all app development for the RIM handheld.
To date there is no MDS support for Blackberry Connect devices nor does their JDE support writing applications for anything other than a RIM handheld.
Thanks,
Samir Kumar (samirk@exchange.microsoft.com)
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