For a limited time, the Windows Mobile site offers free downloads of Halloween wallpapers and ringtones. Get them at https://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/domore/halloween-ringtones.mspx.

[Cross-posted from http://blogs.msdn.com/tommer/archive/2007/10/25/spooky-halloween-ringtones-and-wallpapers-for-windows-mobile-owners.aspx]

About one year and half ago, I blogged how you can configure an i-mate SP3i to enable GPRS and MMS for Proximus, a Belgian mobile phone operator. Recently I got a Qtek 8310 and apparently the configuration is a bit different on this phone. That's why I'm updating the configuration steps in the blog post.

1. Set up data connections
Click "Start"; "Settings"; "6 Connections".
Click "3" for "Dial-Up"
Open the menu and choose "Add"
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus WAP Data
  Connects to: WAP Network
  Phone number: +32477151927
  User name: wap
  Password: wap
  Domain:
Click "Done" to save this dial-up connection. Click "Done" once again to go to the overview of different connections.
Click "4" for "GPRS".
Open the menu and choose "Add"
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus Internet
  Connects to: The Internet
  Access Point: internet.proximus.be
  User name:
  Password:
  Primary DNS: 195.238.2.21
  Secondary DNS: 195.238.2.22
  IP address:
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Open the menu and choose "Add" again
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus MMS
  Connects to: WAP Network
  Access Point: event.proximus.be
  User name: mms
  Password: mms
  Primary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  IP address:
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Open the menu and choose "Add" for the third time
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus WAP GPRS
  Connects to: Secure WAP Network
  Access Point: wap.proximus.be
  User name: wap
  Password: wap
  Primary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  IP address: 10.253.7.3
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Click "Done" to quit the list of GPRS connections.
Go to the home page.

2. Configure MMS
Click "Start"; "Messaging".
Click "4" for "MMS".
Open the menu and click "8" for "Options".
Click "4" for "Account Options" and choose "2" for "MMS".
Open the menu and click "1" for "MMSC Settings".
Edit the existing configuration (probably named "Sample Server") and apply the following settings:
  Name: Proximus
  MMSC URL: http://mmsc.proximus.be/mms
  WAP Gateway: 10.55.14.75
  Port 9201
  Connect Via: "WAP Network"
  Max. Sending Size: 100K
  WAP Version: WAP 1.2
Click "Done" and go back to the home page.

It is necessary that GPRS and MMS are activated for your Proximus account. If you don't know how to activate these, please call the Proximus help desk from your mobile phone on the number 1212 (or +32 (475) 151212).

I don't know if all these settings are absolutely necessary, but I do know that once I set up my Qtek 8310 like this sending and receiving MMS'es worked correctly... If you only want to have GPRS connectivity, you only have to configure "Proximus Internet".

Please remember that I'm not employed by Proximus and don't have access to all their information. The information I share in this post was gathered from different sites on the internet and might or might not be correct.

The new Beta Experience program is about "the pleasure of testing" Windows Vista and 2007 Office System. That's why we needed a new set of Windows Mobile themes to replace the theme of the previous Beta Experience (that was about Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005). I've already had a few people asking for it.

Installation of the new theme is easy:

• Download your copy of the theme that you want to use.
• Unzip the file and copy the unzipped file onto your Smartphone or Pocket PC (version 2003 or 2003 Second Edition only).
• Use the device's Explorer to navigate to the file and "click" the file.
• You'll probably get a warning for the installation; after acknowledging the message, your theme will be installed.

Click the image to download the version you want:

Windows Mobile Smartphone

Pocket PC

Note: unfortunately these themes do not work on Windows Mobile 2005 devices at this moment...

With Microsoft Global Contact Access, you can use Pocket Outlook on your Windows Mobile-based Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone Edition to look up contacts in the Global Address List (GAL) on your corporate Exchange server. You can also check your co-workers' schedules to see if they're free or busy, and add multiple recipients to a meeting request.

Even if you're away from your office you'll have all the information you need to connect with any co-worker in your organization, and send them e-mail or request a meeting.

Available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/downloads/global/default.mspx.

This is way cool... You can give the home page of your Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone or Pocket PC a nice Beta Experience look-and-feel. (For those that don't know the Beta Experience, have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience.)

This is an example at how your Smartphone/Pocket PC home page can look like if you install the themes:

Smartphone theme

Pocket PC theme

You can install it on your own phone by following these steps:

• Download the file to your desktop PC.
• Copy the file to your mobile phone. (I placed it under "Storage/Windows", but I guess you can place it anywhere.)
• Start up the File Manager and go to the location where you stored the file.
• Click on the file and confirm the automatic installation of the theme.

It is possible to switch back to other home page skins at any time through the Settings menu.

Do not hesitate to drop me a note if you've installed them on your Smartphone/Pocket PC.

Note: If you decide to install the home page skin, you take full responsability for it. I had no problems installing it on my Windows Mobile 2003 powered Smartphone, but I cannot guarantee that it will work with yours too. Damage to your device, data loss or earthquakes (or anything else) are your own responsability if you decide to download and install these home pages.

Update: The files are now available from the Microsoft.com Download Center. I also updated the instructions.

Update April 2006: a new Beta Experience campaign started and a new Windows Mobile theme is available now.

At the same time that I installed Voice Command, I also tried out Pocket Streets 2005. Now not only does the phone understand me when I talk to it, it can also show me where I am and display a map of the neighbourhood...

Microsoft Pocket Streets 2005

Pocket Streets 2005 displays maps on your Pocket PC and Smartphone. You can zoom in, zoom out, see points-of-interests, etc. If you throw in a Bluetooth GPS receiver, Pocket Streets 2005 will indicate where you are on the map. I cannot tell if this works well, since I didn't try it. It's important to note however that Pocket Streets does not give road directions and is not a navigation software.

Maps can be exported from MapPoint and some other software.

Here are is one of the utilities I installed a few days ago on my Smartphone. Not only is it extremely cool (and geeky), it can be handy from time to time too...

Microsoft Voice Command

With this product I can talk to my phone -- without needing to train it first! Some of the questions/commands you can ask are rather dull: "what time is it?", "what is my signal strength", "what is my battery level", etc. But some others are quite nice:

• What calls have I missed?
• What's my next meeting?
• What's my schedule tomorrow?
• Call <name> on mobile
• Call <another name> on work
• Dial +3227043000

Ok, what makes the "Call" command really good is that you don't have to create a voice recognition tag for everyone. The Voice Command software actually recognizes the name and looks it up in the Contacts list. To be honest, there is one problem though... I don't know how pronounce some Dutch names in American English. so it doesn't always work that well for all names, especially non-English names. To give an estimate, I would say it works for approx. 80% of the names, but that's only because of my lousy English.

There are many other instructions too, for example to launch applications, to play media files, and much more. Be sure also to check out the demo's on the Voice Command website.

With a price around $40, it isn't for free but it isn't expensive either. And I can tell you: it feels good to be on the bleeding edge of consumer technology...

Some people asked me it, so here is some extra info about the i-mate SP3i I just got. I bought it online at Expansys. And since there are so many SP3i's on that website, this is the one I ordered. It was paid for by CC and arrived 3 days after I placed the order by FedEx.

The phone arrived without Dutch T9 dictionary support. So after registering my phone on i-mate's website, I could download a new ROM image that contained the Dutch T9 dictionary. Approx. 10 minutes of flashing the new ROM on the phone and I had the new dictionary up and running.

In Belgium the i-mate SP3i will also be released as the Qtek 8020. As far as I know it is not available yet, but it should become available soon. More info on http://www.smart-phones.be (Dutch or French only).

This model - the HTC Typhoon - is also known as Orange SPV-500, Audiovox SMT5600 and T-Mobile SDA in other countries.

MsMobiles writes "HTC Typhoon - not just the smallest smartphone in the world but also the most modern one". I couldn't agree more.

Just as Stijn - Cutting the C# - Guillemyn, I bought an i-mate SP3i Smartphone. I'm not going to say much about it, except that I think it's a great device.

There was one thing difficult however: the configuration to get GPRS, WAP and MMS working correctly for Proximus. Their own website was much of help, but there were different other resources that all together helped me to get this working. These are the different configuration settings I had to do.

1. Set up data connections
Click "Start"; "Settings"; "More"; "Data Connections".
Open the menu and choose "Edit Connections"
Open "Dial-up Connections"
Open the menu and choose "Add"
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus WAP Data
  Connects to: WAP Network
  Phone number: +32477151927
  User name: wap
  Password: wap
  Domain:
Click "Done" to save this dial-up connection. Click "Done" once again to go to the overview of different connections.
Open "GPRS Connections" now.
Open the menu and choose "Add"
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus Internet
  Connects to: The Internet
  Access Point: internet.proximus.be
  User name:
  Password:
  Primary DNS: 195.238.2.21
  Secondary DNS: 195.238.2.22
  IP address:
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Open the menu and choose "Add" again
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus MMS
  Connects to: WAP Network
  Access Point: event.proximus.be
  User name: mms
  Password:
  Primary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  IP address:
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Open the menu and choose "Add" for the third time
Apply the following settings:
  Description: Proximus WAP GPRS
  Connects to: Secure WAP Network
  Access Point: wap.proximus.be
  User name: wap
  Password: wap
  Primary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
  IP address: 10.253.7.3
Click "Done" to save this GPRS connection.
Click "Done" to quit the list of GPRS connections.
Go to the home page.

2. Configure MMS
Click "Start"; "More"; "More"; "Configurations"; "MMS Settings"
Set "Connect Via:" to "WAP Network".
Click "Menu" and choose "MMSC Settings".
Edit the "Sample" entry or create a new one. Apply the following settings:
  MMSC URL: http://mmsc.proximus.be/mms
  WAP Gateway: 10.55.14.75
  Port 9201
  Max. Sending Size: 100K
Click "Done" and go back to the home page.

It is necessary that you activated GPRS and MMS with Proximus. If you don't know how to do that, call them from your cell phone on the number 1212 (or +32 (475) 151212).

I don't know if all these settings are absolutely necessary, but I do know that once I set up my SP3i like this he worked as a charm...

Of course, this is for informational purposes only. I do not guarantee anything...

From the Trend Micro website:

"Trend Micro™ Mobile Security is designed to protect data-centric mobile devices such as smartphones against viruses and short message service (SMS) spam."

Available for free but the product will expire on June 30, 2005 September 30, 2005 30 days after installation. Who would ever have thought a few years ago that he would have installed an antivirus software on his phone??

More information
Direct to download

BTW: In a previous post on my blog you'll find links to several antivirus products that you can use on your home desktop PC for personal use only.

Update (July 3, 2005): Trend Micro now has a new version for download that will expire on September 30.
Update (March 27, 2006): The free version has been replaced by a 30 day trial version.