Windows Mobile, Palm OS & General Smartphone Tips
Tip: How to Hard Rest Palm's Windows Mobile Treos
If you own a smartphone, particularly a Windows Mobile or Palm OS device, chances are you are eventually going to run into a problem that even a soft reset ( which is analogous to rebooting a PC) can't handle. That's when its time to pull out the big gun, the hard reset.
In many difficult cases, a hard reset is the only way to get your smartphone up and running properly again. It is a last resort, however; because it’ll delete all applications and data on your smartphone and restore it to its default factory settings.
This makes backing up your device regularly very important. That way, when the time comes for a hard reset, and it will eventually, even though you will have to re-install all your software, at least your data will be safe.
On the bright side, knowing how to wipe your smartphone clean is also important for when it's time to get another one—whether you give your current device away, sell it, or trade it in. You don't want other people having access to your personal information, right?
The process by which you perform a hard reset varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and smartphone to smartphone. Become familiar with how to do it for your smartphone by looking in its user manual, for it may or may not be on hand when you need to implement a hard reset.
As an example, we’ll go over the process for all of Palm’s Windows Mobile Treo models: the Treo 700w, Treo 700wx, and Treo 750. They illustrate two different ways to hard reset smartphones. And these were built by the same vendor, run one the same OS, and are in the same family of device.
We’ll start with the newest model, the Treo 750.
First perform a soft reset, if that's even possible. To do this: open the Treo's miniSD card slot cover (located on the side) and use your stylus to gently push the recessed Reset button in.
Once that's done, and after the Treo reboots, you'll need to press the Reset button again. But this time hold down the End Call button (see red button below) simultaneously. The display will turn black.
Treo 750 Reset Button - Lower Left-Hand Corner
Don't release the End Call button until you see the Erase All Data screen.
When that appears press the Treo 750’s five-way navigator up to select YES.
The Treo 750's End Call Button
Once the smartphones come on again, it'll be in the same state as when you bought it from the store. All your software and data will be gone.
The process for performing a hard reset is very different for Palm's other Windows Mobile Treo models, the 700w and 700wx.
Perform a soft reset by removing the battery for about a second, before reinserting it.
Keep the battery door open.
Hold Power/End and remove the battery again for second, then put it back. All while holding the Power/End button.
When you see "Erase all data" release Power/End. Press Up to confirm the hard reset.
Tip: How to Personalize the Today Screen on Your Pocket PC
Personalizing your Today screen by replacing Microsoft's standard wallpaper and background with a picture of your choice is simple.
If the photo you want to use is on your PC, connect your Pocket PC to your computer and launch ActiveSync.
Click on the Explore icon in the ActiveSync window and then drag the photo you want to use from your desktop into the My Pictures folder on your mobile device. (Acceptable file formats are .gif, .jpg, or .bmp.)
Once the file is copied to your device, use File Manager to locate it, then double-tap the image file to open it.
Tap Menu and select "Set as Today Background." You'll be presented with the option to set the display area and the amount of transparency.
When you're ready, click OK and your new wall paper will automatically be saved.
Tip: Smartphone – Maximize Battery Performance When Traveling
Carry An Extra Battery
If your business trips are full of busy-ness, you may not have the time to stop and recharge your phone during the day. Even a car charger or a five-hour battery might not be able to go the distance on a 12-hour day spent in conference calls, interviews from your hotel room, or emergency meetings from the airport lounge.
Smart business travelers will pack an extra battery, especially for phones with a high-resolution (read "battery-draining") color screen. If you don't mind adding a some extra weight to your Treo, BlackBerry or other type of smartphone you can also purchase (from your provider) an "extended" battery, which is larger but increases your handset's talk and standby time performance.
Maximize Battery Performance
Your smartphone's camera or video features are fun to use, but they're also a heavy drain on your battery. If you want to increase the value of a single charge—for instance if you're traveling and will be unable to re-charge for a day or two—avoid using these power-sucking features. Gaming and Web browsing also eat up battery much more greedily than talking or IM'ing, as does using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Tip: Windows Mobile - E-Mail Basics
Just as you do on your desktop PC or laptop, you have several options for reading and sending e-mail from your Windows Mobile device. Here are a few:
Messaging is where all of your email accounts (and your text message account) are located. You can send and receive Outlook mail or other e-mail from there.
The Web browser allows you to access Web-based mail accounts, such as Google or Yahoo!.
Windows Live enables you to send and receive e-mail with an MSN Hotmail account.
Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync makes it possible to wirelessly sync your e-mail and other information directly with the data stored on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and 2007.
Some devices also have custom applications such as Good Mobile Messaging for IBM Lotus Domino customers.
--If your corporate e-mail system uses Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or 2007, your can use Exchange ActiveSync on your Windows Mobile device to sync your mail and organizer information directly with your company's Exchange server. To do this, though, you must have an account on the Exchange Server.
--Check with your system administrator to find out your Exchange Server address and domain name, user name and password, and any special security requirements, such as SSL authentication. You may also need to activate a data plan with your carrier to utilize ActiveSync.
--If your company uses Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007, the Global Address List (GAL) contains all user, group, and distribution list e-mail addresses for your organization and is stored on the Exchange Server. Using Exchange ActiveSync on your Windows Mobile device, you can access the GAL and use it to plan a meeting, update a group, or find e-mail addresses, etc.
Click here for more e-mail basics.
Tip: Windows Mobile - More E-Mail Basics
Here are some more tips to get your wireless e-mail up and running successfully and efficiently on your Windows Mobile PDA or smartphone. If you haven't seen part one yet, you can check it out here.
Setting Up E-Mail
Before you can send and receive e-mail messages using the Messaging feature on your Windows Mobile device, you'll need to set up your e-mail account(s). The E-mail Setup Wizard will walk you through the process for both Outlook mail and other POP3/IMAP4 addresses. You'll need your account type (POP3 or IMAP), your user name and password, your account name (for sending and receiving mail), and the SSL, if required, for outgoing mail.
Mobile Web Mail
Using your Windows Mobile device's Web browser, you can get access to your Web-based mail (such as Gmail). Although you can use the same Web address that you use when you check your account from your PC, you'll get faster and better results if you use the page designed specifically for mobile devices. For Hotmail, type http://mobile.msn.com/hm/folder.aspx. For Yahoo!, type http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail. For Gmail, type http://m.gmail.com.
Windows Live & Hotmail
Windows Live enables you to access your MSN Hotmail account and manage your Hotmail folders. (To set up a Hotmail account, go to www.hotmail.com.)
To activate Windows Live on your device, tap Start, then Programs, then Windows Live. Tap Sign in to Windows Live. (If it's your first time, read the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement and tap Accept.)
Enter your username and password. You can select the "Save password" check box if you do not want to enter your password in the future.
You can also choose whether or not to show Windows Live's search bar and applications on the Today screen by checking the appropriate boxes.
Once you've made your selections, tap Next.
Choose what information you want to sync online with your device from the list (Contacts and Messenger, E-mail, etc.) and then tap Next.
After the synchronization is complete, tap Done.
On the Windows Live screen, you will see your Live Mail information. Tap the left or right arrow to switch between Windows Live Messenger, Live Mail, and Sync status.
Tap the Live Mail area to access your e-mail messages.
Tip: How to Maximize Pocket PC Performance
Tip: Windows Mobile -Trust Your Smartphone's Alarm
Don't rely on the hotel alarm clock to get you up in the morning. Set your trusty Windows Mobile alarm instead.
For devices without touch screens, such as the Samsung Blackjack, begin by pressing Start and scroll to Settings.
Press the Center Joystick to select Settings.
Scroll to Clock & Alarm and press the Center Joystick.
Under Alarm time, press the function key and enter the time you want the alarm to ring. (The function key has a half moon or dot on it.)
Scroll to Alarm and use the left and right joystick controls to toggle from Off to On.
Press the Done button to accept all your entries, and press the Home key to return to the Today screen.
Also, just because you've entered an event in your calendar, it doesn't mean you'll actually remember to attend it.
To help ensure you won't miss an important conference call (or Little League game), when entering a new appointment, scroll down to the Reminder field to set an alarm to remind you of the appointment.
You can use the left and right joystick controls to choose how far in advance of the appointment you want the alarm to go off—anywhere from one minute before to one week ahead of time.
Tip: Windows Mobile - How To Install Ringtones
If you've been craving a new ringtone, but aren't sure how to get Avril Lavigne or Phish into your Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, have no fear. It's as easy as any drag-and-drop action.
After you've downloaded your new ringtones to your computer, connect your Pocket PC to your PC (via the USB cable). Open ActiveSync on your PC and click the Explore button. Double-click My Windows Mobile-Based Device, and then double-click Application Data. Choose Sounds from the list of folders. Locate the ringtones you downloaded on your PC and then drag them into the Sounds folder in ActiveSync.
Once you've done this, disconnect your Pocket PC from your computer, and on your Pocket PC, press Start, then Settings. Tap Phone. From the Ringtone dropdown menu, select the ring tone you want to use. (If you wait a second or two after selecting each choice, you can hear what it sounds like.) When you've found the ringtone you want, tap OK and you're good to go.
Tip: Smartphone - How to Locate Voice, Data Coverage (Sprint Nextel Users)
If the carrier for your smartphone is Sprint, you can check voice and data coverage using the Power Network Coverage Tool, an interactive online map. Just visit the page, type in your zip code (or the zip code of your travel destination) to find out if Sprint or Nextel offer adequate coverage.
Strength of voice and non-3G coverage is indicated in shades of green, while orange shades indicate cellular-broadband (3G) data coverage.
You can also check to find out the locations of towers built recently (within the last 90 days) and the locations of towers that are planned to go operational within 120 days.
Tips: Windows Mobile - Pocket Internet Explorer Shortcuts
Open Pocket IE in Full Screen
Pressing Menu, then V, then F, will quickly bring up Internet Explorer in Full Screen viewing. (Essentially, you open Internet Explorer's Menu, select View, and then select Full Screen viewing.) This eliminates the top and bottom status line as well as the Web address bar to maximize the screen reading area for Web pages. You can switch back to normal viewing mode by pressing RightSoftKey-Menu-V-F.
Favorites Shorcuts
To quickly select your favorites in Internet Explorer, press the Menu key, then F, to bring up the Favorites list. Even though none of your favorites have underlined letters, you can still select them by pressing the first letter in any name. If several sites have the same first letter, press that letter repeatedly to scroll through them. For instance, if you want the second Web site that starts with "M," press the T key twice. If you want the third, press the M key three times. It seriously speeds up navigation and saves you from unnecessary scrolling. To visit a Web site just press the Enter key to select it.
Moving Backward & Forward
In Internet Explorer, the back button takes you to the last Web page you viewed. If you are in full-screen mode, you can press LeftSoftKey-Back. If you pressed the Back button by accident and want to return to the Web page you were just viewing, press O to select the Forward option in the Menu list. ('F' is used to select Favorites so 'O' is used for Forward.)
