icrosoft has recently announced the release of Windows Mobile 6 to device manufacturers. While it will be sometime before you can get your hands on a Windows Mobile 6 device, Microsoft has since released the Windows Mobile 6 SDK so that developers can have an early look at it and prepare for the impending launch of these newer devices. A good portion of the features of the newer platform is for native developers (using Embedded Visual C++), and it will take some time for these new features to be supported on the .NET Compact Framework, making them available to managed developers. Nevertheless, the release of Windows Mobile 6 contains some cool new tools and utilities for managed developers.
With the launch of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft has yet again introduced a new naming convention for Windows Mobile devices. Table 1 shows the new names for each device category.
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Previously known as
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Now known as
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Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC
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Windows Mobile 6 Classic
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Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone
Edition
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Windows Mobile 6 Professional
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Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone
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Windows Mobile 6 Standard
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Table 1. New Naming for Windows Mobile devices
The previous version of Windows Mobile has a point release number, which is Windows Mobile 5.0. But in this latest version, Microsoft has decided to do away with the point and simply calls it Windows Mobile 6 (and not Windows Mobile 6.0).
Downloading the SDKs
To develop for the Windows Mobile 6 platforms, you need to download two SDKs, depending on the platform you are targeting:
- Windows Mobile 6 Classic/Professional: Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK (Standard and Professional)
- Windows Mobile 6 Standard: Windows Mobile 6 Standard SDK
Both SDKs can be downloaded
here.
Note that installing the new Windows Mobile 6 SDKs requires the following:
- Visual Studio 2005 SP1 or later
- ActiveSync 4.5
- .NET Compact Framework 2.0 SP1
If you don't have the prereq before installations, a dialog will appear during the installation process. Simply click on the Prerequisites button to download the appropriate components you are missing.
