Is that Windows Mobile in your pocket?

How to Use Windows Mobile with a CISCO VPN Solution

Customers who have a CISCO VPN solution and want to extend it out to Windows Mobile devices need to look no further than the Bluefire VPN Client.

The company says its Mobile Security Suite 3.5 and Mobile Security VPN 2.0 applications have been certified interoperable with Cisco's VPN 3000 Concentrator.  The Mobile Security VPN 2.0 is a IPSec virtual private network client bundled with RSA's BSAFE Encryption, and compliant with Federal Information Processing Standards 140-2 (FIPS 140-2). It operates seamlessly across LAN, WLAN, GPRS/EDGE and 1xRTT/1EV-DO with no user intervention required.

Here are a few more features of the Bluefire VPN Client

• FIPS 140-2 Compliant.
  Utilizing Microsoft’s CryptoAPI™ library, the Bluefire VPN meets stringent federal guidelines as established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Federal Information Processing Standards 140-2. (Please note: The Palm version of Bluefire's VPN is not FIPS 140-2 compliant.)
• NAT-T enabled (Network Address Translation Traversal).
  Allows for multiple IPSec clients behind a NAT to be distinguished.
• Built to IPSec standards.
  The VPN software client easily fits in the existing network infrastructure and configuration.
• Compatible with RSA SecurID.
  The Bluefire VPN is certified by RSA Security as interoperable with the RSA SecurID two-factor authentication token.
• Compatible with certificate and smart card based authentication.
• ICSA Labs certified.
  Bluefire's VPN is the first mobile IPSec VPN to receive this certification.

Bluefire's VPN client works with the following Versions of Windows Mobile

Product Page: http://www.bluefiresecurity.com/products/vpn/
Download: https://www.bluefiresecurity.com/downloads/try/freeVPN1.asp

Windows Mobile and Language Support

I've been traveling quite a bit lately and the one question I've gotten a lot in Asia and in Europe is around Language Support in Windows Mobile so I thought I'd attempt to address it. 

Unlike Windows Vista, Windows Mobile doesn't have a MUI or Multilingual User Interface on a single image that supports double bit characters (Chinese/Japanese) unless you get a device in a region that uses that double bit language.

The question that I get most often is, assuming I use an English language version of the operating system.

1. Can I input in a double bit based language like Chinese or Japanese?
2. Can the system display and send and receive messages written in a double bit language?
3. Can I change the regional settings to support another language?

Since the Standard and Professional versions of the OS differ I've covered their multi language support independency.

Windows Mobile Standard/Smartphone (Non Touch Screen)

1. Inputting in a double bit based language like Chinese or Japanese - Unfortunately you cannot without a 3rd party add-on like CEStar
2. Reading double bit based language like Chinese or Japanese - Unfortunately you cannot without a 3rd party add-on like CEStar
3. Changing the regional settings to support another language - Here we do have an answer, on Windows Mobile Standard devices you can go to Start -> Settings -> Regional Settings -> and Choose Language - The number of languages listed here will differ on different phones and won't include double bit character languages in general.

Windows Mobile Professional (Touch Screen)

1. Inputting in a double bit based language like Chinese or Japanese - Unfortunately you cannot without a 3rd party add-on like CEStar
2. Reading double bit based language like Chinese or Japanese - Unfortunately you cannot without a 3rd party add-on like CEStar
3. Changing the regional settings to support another language - Windows Mobile Professional device do have a regional Setting menu that lets your choose the Region.  It is located under Start -> Settings -> System -> Regional Settings.  Here you can choose a supported language but you will find that Chinese and Japanese are not on the list. In addition, a few have a custom rom image prompt when you hard reset the device, that asks you for the location and then installs regional language packs.

Solutions:

If you are looking for a phone to support English and double bit characters you have 2 choices. 

1. You can purchase a regionalized phone.  They will come with the local language and English.   This can be difficult if you aren't in the region however companies like Expansys can get you a regionalized device wherever you live.
2. Purchase a 3rd party add ons like CEStar that will add the language support you need. 

System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 - Helpful Links

I've been getting a lot of questions around features and links for Mobile Device Manager and Macro Nelson did a great job and I added a few links of my own. 

System Center Mobile Device Manager - Overview:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/mobiledevicemanager

Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 Resource Kit - Best Practices Analyzer
http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/details.aspx?FamilyID=ec5eedea-7741-4d1b-aba8-a5181847fad3&displaylang=en  

System Center Mobile Device Manager Product Reference Guide
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/a/4/9a401fa2-4044-4550-af33-8821f826a708/MSCMDM_Product_Reference_Guide.pdf

System Center Mobile Device Manager Demo
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/b/a/4bad1be6-ad64-413a-b251-7100b70b1eb6/CTIA_Wireless_Clip1_500K.wmv

User Enrollment Demo
http://blogs.technet.com/vik/pages/how-to-enroll-your-windows-mobile-standard-phone-with-mobile-device-manager.aspx

System Center Mobile Device Manager Architecture Overview
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/strategy/architecturaloverview.mspx

System Center Product Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/mobile
One page overview:
http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/mobile/evaluation/overview.mspx

120-day Trial/Evaluation Download:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc339027.aspx
MSDN media: http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/downloads

TechNet Product Page:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scmdm

TechNet Forum for SCMDM 2008:
http://forums.technet.microsoft.com/en-US/SCMDM/threads/

Product Documentation:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scmdm/cc304592.aspx
This currently has the following guides listed:
- Architecture Guide
- Planning Guide
- Deployment Guide
- Security Guide

Resource Kit Tools: (v1.1 released on May 14th, 2008)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scmdm/cc304591.aspx
This currently has the following downloads:
- Self Service Portal (SSP)
- Server Tools (See my other blog posting for the v1.0 release)
- Client Tools: ConnectNow and VPNDiag see this blog posting, MDM Managed Device Status Viewer new with the v1.1 release)
- Best Practices Analyzer Tool (BPA)
- Reporting Services (new with v1.1)

One note on the Server and Client Tools:
The v1.0 downloads dated April 1, 2008 where removed and updated with the v1.01 or later dated after May 1, 2008.  Do not extract the older versions to your root C:\ drive folder as it will blow away your OS! See the KB article on this here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/952338.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Emulator
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3D6F581E-C093-4B15-AB0C-A2CE5BFFDB47
Emulator setup documentation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc461417.aspx

Windows Mobile 6.1:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/6-1/default.mspx

Proxy assistance:
To configure a Proxy running ISA server to tunnel HTTPS packets on port 8443 to the Device Management server, use the AddTPRange.vbs script from here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/isa/2004/plan/managingtunnelports.mspx

Filling out InfoPath Forms on Windows Mobile Devices

I've gotten a lot of questions around Line of Business solutions that would allow our customers to fill out forms on mobile devices to collect data.  While you could create a website, develop a form and connect it to a webservice that would collect the data Microsoft has a solution to do exactly that: InfoPath.

Similar in functionality to how InfoPath Forms Services renders browser-enabled form templates in a typical desktop Web browser, InfoPath Forms Services also renders forms in browsers on handheld, or mobile, devices. Most mobile devices are supported, including PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), smart phones, and any device that supports a Web browser with HTML, cHTML and xHTML; WAP is not supported. There are, however, some key differences in how forms are rendered in a mobile browser and considerations to keep in mind when designing a form template for use on a mobile device.

With Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 and access to a server running InfoPath Forms Services, you can create and deploy InfoPath form templates that can be filled out on a mobile device. For an overview of mobile form templates, see Designing Form Templates For Use On A Mobile Device. Its as easy as creating a basic InfoPath form template for use on a mobile device and then testing and debugging it by using downloadable tools that are also available with Visual Studio 2005.

Designing Form Templates For Use On A Mobile Device
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms772050.aspx

How to: Create, Test, and Debug Mobile Form Templates
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms772291.aspx

In addition to the built in solution available via InfoPath 2007 there is also a compelling solution from a Microsoft Partner: Formotus (www.formotus.com)

The main advantage from Formotus is the ability to put a client on the device that can handle offline scenarios.

Windows Mobile Battery Power Overview

Well I've been getting a lot of questions around Battery Power and I thought I'd write something covering battery power on Windows Mobile Devices.   When it comes to a mobile device, Windows Mobile or other, battery power is really limited by 5 things.

1. Processor
2. Screen
3. Radio
4. Hard drive
5. Battery Size / Type

1. The Processor: As we try to get more and more out of Windows Mobile devices, OEMs keep putting in faster and faster processors.  On some devices you'll find that the processors can step up and down power consumption based on usage,  however as we move forward we'll generally see faster processors using more power.

2. The Screen:  The Screen on the Device is yet another huge power hog.  The larger the Screen, the more power its going to use and this is something to keep in mind.  With OLED and other low power Screen technologies around the corner OEMS (Hardware Manufactures) should be able to improve battery life on devices. 

3. The Radio: The Radio (Wifi, CDMA, GPRS, EVDO, WiMAX, Bluetooth) causes major battery usage on Windows Mobile devices and its important to understand how quickly a device's battery can run down when these radio's are on.

• Cellular - GPRS, 1XRT, EDGE:  Most phones in the market have utilized this radio for the past few years  and when we look at a device we can use battery life with just the GPRS/1xRT radio as a base line if you want to compare it to other devices. 
• Cellular 3G - EVDO, HSDPA:   While the EVDO (CDMA) radio doesn't put a huge strain on a Device the HSDPA (GSM/UMTS) radio can considerably tax a devices battery.  Many Non-Windows Mobile manufactures haven't released devices that have HSDPA into the market place.  One of the speculated reasons is that HSDPA radios have an adverse effect on battery life and this is a major concern with current battery technology.  On the other hand with many Windows Mobile devices there are ways to turn off the high speed HSDPA radio.  I've blogged on how to do this on the Samsung Blackjack.  Disabling the HSDPA radio will improve battery life but it will also make you lose the functionality of the high speed radio.  This doesn't really effect the device if you are just using it for Activesync (Mail Sync) but if you are browsing the web or using your device as a modem for you PC then you'll want to make sure you don't disable the HSDPA Radio
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth is yet another Radio on the device that can affect battery performance.  While Bluetooth doesn't hit battery performance has heavily as perhaps an HSDPA Radio or a Wi-Fi connection it does impact how long the battery lasts. 
• Wi-Fi: The Wi-Fi Radio is perhaps the most power hungry radio found commonly on a Windows Mobile device.  For Customers running LOB applications with ruggedized devices the battery is normally big enough to handle all day usage of the WiFi Radio, however if we try to use the Wi-Fi radio on one of the consumer devices you're going to end up with battery life that will probably not meet a user's needs.
• Wi-Max: Wi-Max is something we've yet to find in any Mobile Device that are generally available however the battery consumption from a Wi-Max device is extremely high.  While I've yet to do side by  side comparisons, some have found that a Wi-Max radio can use more battery than a Wi-Fi radio.  Now Wi-Max is still in its very early stages so the Radio Battery consumption can be drastically improved.

4. The Hard Drive: While Few devices include a hard-drive, due to its moving parts a hard-drive consumes a considerable amount of power and can dramatically effect your battery life.

5. Battery Size / Type:  The battery size will directly impact how long the battery lasts.   Today with devices getting smaller the battery size also shrinks and its something to keep in mind when purchasing a device.

With all this said I often get the question:

"Well my old phone used to last for days but my new Windows Mobile Phone's Battery doesn't last that long."

If all you are using on your Windows Mobile device is the Cellular GPRS/EDGE radio then you should also expect a pretty long battery life.  I've used both the Blackjack and the HTC Dash with only GPRS/EDGE Radio enabled and I've gotten 2+ Days of battery life.  The Same device with 3G(HSDPA) had battery life that was considerably shorter.  When I left Wi-Fi on I got about half a day.   Now its important to keep in mind as you start turning on more and more radios it's going to impact your battery life.  Most non Windows Mobile devices don't have any of these advanced radios so their batteries last much longer.  Its key to keep this in mind when you compare and contrast the device you are purchasing.

I'm not advocating that you turn everything off on a device. What I am suggesting is that the more advanced your mobile device the higher you're battery usage;  in the end the enterprise or user will have the weigh the pro's of the the new advanced radios on a device with the battery performance. 

Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2007 SP1 Mobile Policies Matrix

I’ve been getting a lot of questions around which Mobile features work with the different versions of Exchange currently available in the Market – Exchange 2003, Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2007 SP1.  Since each is a drastic improvement from its predecessor they all have different features, and I thought I’d compile some of these feature sets into a basic matrix.

Additional information on the Matrix below at can be found on Technet and the Exchange Team's Blog.

For the Matrix below:
E2K3 SP2 - Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2
E2K7 - Exchange 2007
E2K7 SP1 SCAL - Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 with Standard Client Access Licence
E2K7 SP1 ECAL - Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 with Enterprise Client Access Licence