Category Archives: Windows Mobile

Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and Smartphone

MobileViews Podcast 382: Reminiscing 25 years of Windows CE with Craig Peacock


Jon Westfall and I are joined by guest panelist Craig Peacock to reminisce 25 years of Windows CE/Mobile.

We also discuss:

  1. Notability blinks on charging users more, grandfathers in existing users
  2. Google One members on iOS get new ML-powered filters in Photos, including Portrait Light & HDR
  3. Jon tested out his iPhone 13 Pro at the Cleveland, MS “50 Nights of Lights” tree lighting last night. Overall the 13 Pro’s blacks were better (less light pollution than the 12 Pro Max). Can really see this in live photos video versus still image. Very happy with the video quality.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast 379:Reminiscing 25 years of Windows CE/Mobile/Phone with Jason Dunn


Jon Westfall was unavailable for this podcast. Fortunately, our mutual friend Jason Dunn was available as a guest co-host to reminisce about Windows CE/Mobile/Phone as it nears its 25th launch anniversary (November 1996).

Unfortunately, something weird happened during the recording process, however. The Audio HiJack audio-flow template that I’ve used to record hundreds of previous podcasts only recorded what Jason said. The good news is that I mostly asked questions and provided a few discussion prompts. Moreover, Jason is an excellent extemporaneous speaker. So, you can guess what I said. I removed the blank audio spaces (silences) during the segments I spoke.

Way back in Nov. 2010, Jason and I discussed the then new Windows Phone 7 which made a clean break from Microsoft’s older mobile devices and didn’t maintain app compatibility with Windows Mobile 6. Today, we’re looking back even further to Windows CE 1.0 as well as doing a catch-up conversation since his last visit to the podcast in October 2016!

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast 378: Guest Frank McPherson; Windows CE 25th anniversary; AirPod 4A400 firmware update & more



Jon Westfall and I are joined by frequent guest panelist Frank McPherson to reflect on Microsoft Windows CE’s 25th anniversary and Microsoft mobile journey over the decades.

We also discussed:

  1. My $48 Bluetooth earbuds have two features my Air Pods Pro do not: (1) Over the ear “hooks” so they don’t fall out when walking and (2) a digital display on the charging case that shows the battery charge level for each earbud. It seems like a decent product so far. However, despite having “noise cancellation” in the product name, it does not have such a feature.
  2. New this week: Apple pushes out AirPods firmware, enables “Conversation Boost” – “Apple says Conversation Boost is designed to help people with mild hearing challenges stay more connected in conversations. The feature uses the AirPods Pro’s beam-forming microphones to boost the volume of a person talking in front of you, making it easier to listen to a face-to-face conversation, and there is also an option to reduce ambient noise.” – How much longer until commercial BT headphones replace $$$ hearing aids? — Firware Version 4A400
  3. Also, MacRumors has a massive iOS 15 tips/tricks document – some things I forgot about – drag and drop support greatly improved, square calendar widget (Month view!), iOS password manager now supports 2 factor codes, AR walking mode directions (would be great for cities), background sounds (e.g., rain, other ambient sounds to help improve concentration).

    And something I didn’t realize you could do – when sending a photo in messages, you can search by month/year. Really helps when you know you had a picture you took last March that you want to send someone now.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast 122

Jon Westfall and I (Todd Ogasawara) take a look back on Microsoft’s ultra-mobile strategy since 1996 in light of its recent announcement that it will write down $7.6 billion in assets related to its purchase of Nokia’s smartphone business and lay off an additional 7,800 employees (most of whom came to Microsoft from Nokia). Ref: Microsoft

You can find more details and my recollections of Microsoft’s mobile strategy since 1996 in this article I wrote for Extreme Tech: Microsoft Windows Phone: A 20-year retrospective of a meandering mobile strategy

We also briefly discuss Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10166 released on June 9 and my initial impressions of joining the smartwatch club by buying a Moto 360.

MobileViews Podcast 73: Bye bye Nexus?

In MobileViews Podcast 73, Todd Ogasawara and Jon Westfall talk about: