Whether you're a hardcore road warrior or a desk jockey who would simply like to access work documents from the neighborhood Starbucks, you can turn your PDA or smartphone into a fully functional wireless office. Of course, Windows Mobile comes with all the basics to access your e-mail and documents, but with a few quick upgrades, you can make your handheld a powerful wireless office that opens the latest Office documents, verbally screens your calls, records your ideas, and even let's you access information on your desktop computer when you're miles away.
Create and read Office 2007 documents
Figs. 1 & 2: Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1 allows you to save files in the Office 2007 format (left) as well as the ability to use SmartArt and Themes in PowerPoint Mobile (right).
Until now, Windows Mobile devices were not able to open the new XML-based file formats (.docx, .xlsx, and .pptx) introduced in the desktop PC version of Microsoft Office 2007. But with the new Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1 upgrade, users can open documents saved in the Office 2007 format (Fig. 1), and save new ones in that format. The software also features new functionality, like enhanced charting capabilities in Excel Mobile and the ability to display SmartArt and themes in PowerPoint Mobile (Fig. 2). But, for most users, the compelling feature will be the ability to work with Office 2007 documents if your company is already working with the newest version of Microsoft's Office suite.
Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1 is available for Windows Mobile 5 touch screen devices with a build number higher than 14847 (tap Start >Settings >About to find your build number) and all Windows Mobile 6 devices (touch screen and non-touch screen). The upgrade is available for free for some users, and you can find out if you're eligible by visiting Microsoft's Web site (microsoft.com/win dowsmobile/software/officemobile/upgrade.mspx). Otherwise, you can purchase the upgrade at handango.com for $49.95 (search for "Microsoft Office Mobile").
Hire a virtual secretary
Another Microsoft application that will help you create a mobile office is Voice Command 1.6. This software uses voice recognition to respond to spoken commands that you give it. For example, saying "Call John Seabreeze at work" dials the work number listed for that person in your Contacts list. Obviously, it's great to use this hands-free application while you're driving, but it makes navigating through the Windows Mobile interface much easier in any situation. For example, saying "redial" calls the last number you dialed, and "callback" dials the number of the last person who called you. This is much easier than opening the Phone application, tapping the Call History button, and tapping on the last person who called you.
Fig. 3: Voice Command adds speech-activated functionality to many of the Windows Mobile applications.
Voice Command isn't just limited to phone features. The software also adds commands for the Windows Mobile Calendar application so that you can ask your device "What is my schedule today?" and it will respond by reading you all of the day's appointments in Calendar. And, if you set reminders for your appointments, Voice Command will announce your appointment subject and location instead of the usual reminder sound that's played. You can even ask the software "What's my next appointment?" and it will respond with the corresponding information for your next obligation.
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