Phones that run Windows CE?

[eldren]

I'm thinking of getting a new phone in the next couple of months, but I'd like one that runs Windows CE. That way, I can load the .NET compact framework, and pretend to write games for it.

I've had a cursory look around, but haven't been able to find any phones that run CE. I also don't want a PDA that doubles as a mobile phone, for the same reason I wouldn't want a Nokia N-Gage; it's like talking into a brick.

So does anyone know of any phones that run Windows CE? Thanks.

[Aaron]

Windows CE underpins three Windows Mobile platforms at the moment capable of telephony:

• Pocket PC: Pocket PC runs on all of the PDA-style devices. Most of them are very large, but the i-mate Jam (aka T-Mobile MDA Compact, Orange M500, 02 XDA mini, etc) is actually of a reasonable size. The main problem is that Pocket PC was never designed with telephony in mind and missing some pretty key phone features, like a visible battery indicator.
• Smartphone: This is probably what you're looking for. Devices based on Windows Mobile Smartphone edition look like regular phones and some of them are actually pretty small. The three main contenders at the moment are the Orange SPV C500, T-Mobile SDA and the Motorola MPx220. The C500 has been the most popular out of the three, but is now looking a little bit out-dated. Luckily for SVP fans, it should be replaced by the C550 very soon. I'd personally avoid the Motorola MPx220 like the plague as it's seen no end of problems.
• Neonode: A swedish company called Neonode came out with their own smartphone platform and sell a couple of contract-free phones based on it from their website. The phones look pretty decent but I'm suspicious of how much software support you'll see for it.

I'd think that you'd probably be best off with the Orange SPV C500 or the C550 when it's out. They're cheap, small and Orange offer developers are decent amount of support. You'll need to get it unlocked though - since by default you can't install unsigned applications on it.


Of course personally, I think you should buy a super-sexy Symbian smartphone like the Nokia 6680 instead and learn Java J2ME/Flash/Python/OPL/Symbian C++, but then I'm a little biased.

[Lord Kordir]

I'd recommend the c500, very very impressed with it. Big step up from my SE z600

[nvening]

that 6680 looks niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

[Moby-Dick]

aaron - the latest version of PPC has a visible battery life indicator ( it also swaps from landscape to portrait at the push of a button , which is nice )

I'm running it on my SPV M1000

[eldren]

Thanks for the rather comprehensive reply, Aaron. That Orange phone looks very promising, but for the fact I've never heard of Orange (Or SVP, or T-Mobile), outside of mentionings here and there on Hexus. So getting it in this country may prove to be difficult. As for the Motorola, thanks for the heads up.

The brands availible in this country include Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Alcatel (ew), and Sagem (Rather new around here). Can't think of any others, unfortunately. Are there any options among those brands? Or should I rather wait a year or so and try again?

[Aaron]

aaron - the latest version of PPC has a visible battery life indicator ( it also swaps from landscape to portrait at the push of a button , which is nice )

It does? Thanks for the heads-up.

The brands availible in this country include Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Alcatel (ew), and Sagem (Rather new around here). Can't think of any others, unfortunately. Are there any options among those brands? Or should I rather wait a year or so and try again?

Nokia and Sony Ericsson exclusively use Symbian for their smartphones. Sagem were going to release a Windows Smartphone, but I think it got canned in the end. Your only option is Motorola. Either the MPx200 (should be very cheap, but is missing bluetooth and a camera) or the MPx220 (more expensive, dodgy past, might be OK with the latest ROM).

[herulach]

You might find that they are available, things like the SPV are made by a company called HTC, so networks brand them as their own, look around at what your networks offer under their own branding.

[eldren]

Another three brands I've remembered are Seimens, LG and Samsung.

As far as I know, you don't get network-branded phones here. The three networks typically just offer packages with one of the aforementioned manufacturer's phones.

[Scouse.Paul]

btw ce is diffrent then windows mobile i think, you could have the two mixed up as phones like the c500 run wmsp2003se not winCe

with the announcement of windowsmobile 5 a few weeks back and the promice that no current phones will have the rom released by the carriers it could be worth waiting for the new batch of smartphones

[Aaron]

btw ce is diffrent then windows mobile i think, you could have the two mixed up as phones like the c500 run wmsp2003se not winCe

Windows CE is the core on which Windows Mobile is based. Windows CE provides the essential components like the kernel, whilst the Windows Mobile bit provides the UI and applications.

So any phone/PDA that runs Windows Mobile is also running Windows CE.

[Scouse.Paul]

but a wm2003se can have problems running ce applications and vise the versa?

[Aaron]

but a wm2003se can have problems running ce applications and vise the versa?

Yes, because although they share the same core, the UI and certain other components will be different. The majority of the code underneth will be the same and modifying a program to run on the other platform doesn't take long in most cases.

[Scouse.Paul]

i still recomend that you should atleast wait untill the new gen of smartphones running 5 come out at least then the older phones may get cheaper and you can see the nice diffrences between the two os versions

[eldren]

Firstly, what's so great about this new Windows Mobile 5? Why is it worth delaying any purchases until it's availible?

As to brand availibility, apparently i-mate is also here.

The Motorola MPx (Or MPc300, or MPx300, depending on where you ask) looks promising. It runs Windows Pocket PC 2003 SE, and it seems it can be used as both a phone and a PDA. Any thoughts on that?

[nichomach]

The MPX is being killed - see HERE - which isn't a good start.

WM5 (Magneto) integrates support for 3G, better landscape display handling, push-to-talk, soft buttons, push email (Black who? ), basically a ton of stuff. It's a pretty compelling platform, especially for enterprises using Exchange 2003.