Auto Call Recorder for Windows Mobile

I came across a link to this application on the Clove Blog (http://blog.clove.co.uk). Auto Call Recorder is a free application for the Windows Mobile platform that, as its name suggests, allows you to automatically record the phone calls you make and receive on your PDA.

The application can be downloaded from the XDA Developers web site here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=528507

The application is still in beta stage and the author of the application cannot guarantee compatibility on all devices. The author is also keen to stress that the recording of phone calls is not legal in all countries, so to be on the safe side it is probably best to let the person on the other end of the phone know if you are recording them.

Auto Call Recorder requires that the .NET Compact Framework version 2.0 or later be installed on the Windows Mobile device. This can be downloaded free of charge from the Microsoft web site.

Once installed, an icon for Auto Call Recorder is added to the Programs folder:

Launching the application allows you to enable and disable the call recording feature and specify the location where you want the recorded sound files to be saved:

To save recordings to a memory card, enter a location of \Storage Card

Once enabled, any calls made or received will be recorded automatically and saved in WAV format to the location specified. The filenames will be created in the format [Direction] [FileAs] [Phone Number] [Call Length]

The bit rate and codec used to create the recordings can also be specified:

Selecting a higher sampling rate will result in larger sound files - you may need to experiment with the settings to find the configuration that works best on your device.

Eltima SyncMate - synchronise your Windows Mobile PDA with your Mac

Sync Mate is a utility for Mac OS X that allows you to synchronise your Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device with your Mac.

The free version of the software is available for download here:

http://www.eltima.com/products/syncmate/

The free version allows you to synchronise contacts and calendar with the Mac Address Book and iCal applications, as well as read your SMS messages.

The Expert verison, which you need to purchase, allows you sync awhole lot more, as you can see from the screenshot above. But the real benefit of the free version of the software is that when the PDA is connected to the Mac for the first time, a network adapter is installed within the System Preferences, which allows you to use your Mac's Internet connection from the Windows Mobile device:

The other really cool feature, which to the best of my knowledge is unique, you can also mount the Windows Mobile PDA as a drive, to view the contents of the device and drag and drop files to and from the Mac. Once mounted, the PDA is displayed as a drive:

Which can be controlled via the Finder:

Eltima supports both USB and WiFi connections.

Finger Keyboard for Windows Mobile

Finger Keyboard is an application for Windows Mobile Professional (Pocket PC) devices that provides a replacement to the standard keyboards that are available as part of the operating system.

The application can be downloaded from the XDA Developers web site - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=501122
NOTE - the application is available for a wide range of different display resolutions - be sure to download the correct installation package for your device.

Once installed, the Finger Keyboard is added to the list of available keyboards within Settings --> Personal --> Input, as shown above.

There are a wide range of options available to further control the behaviour of the keyboard:

• A wide range of different colour schemes are available
• Customisable click sounds and vibration feedback can be configured
• Cut, copy, paste and undo shortcuts
• Customisable emoticon shortcuts for fast typing
• Customisable shortcuts for email addresses, web sites, names, or anything you want

Setting up Google Sync on Windows Mobile

Google’s Sync service allows you to backup the contents of your Contacts and Calendar folders from your PDA to Google’s servers, where you can access the information from any web browser with a connection to the Internet.

The system uses Microsoft’s Server ActiveSync protocol, and therefore does not require that any additional software be installed on the Windows Mobile device – you can simply use the ActiveSync client already present on the device.

You will need an account with Google, but registration is free: browse to http://m.google.com/sync from your PC.

Setting up a Pocket PC device

Tap on Start and open the Programs Folder. Tap on the icon for ActiveSync.
Select the option to Set up your device to sync with an Exchange Server.
On the next screen, untick the option to ‘determine settings automatically’ if the option is available, the following screen will be displayed:

In the Server address field type in ‘m.google.com’ as shown above. Ensure that the option ‘This server requires an encrypted connection’ is ticked.

Tap Next, the following screen will be displayed:

Enter your username and password information.
Your username will be your full Google email address, normally in the form ‘xxxx@googlemail.com’.
Your password will be the password you specified when you created your GoogleMail account.
Leave the domain field empty. If your device requires a domain to be entered, use ‘google’.

Tap Next, the following screen will be displayed:

Select the option to synchronise the Contacts and Calendar folders. Untick the Email and Tasks options.

Tap Finish. Your device is now configured for Google Sync.

Addendum

Google have now added Email support to the platform - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/google-adds-push-email-support-google-sy...

Tweak your Windows Mobile device

The Advanced Configuration Tool from TouchXperience is a free to use utility that enables you to configure virtually any aspect of your Windows Mobile device: from controlling which icons are displayed by default on the status bar at the top of the screen, to altering the GPS polling interval.

The application also allows you to edit the default key mapping behaviour on the device, so that should you wish you can make pressing the left soft-key launch the music player, for example.
File associations can be edited, enabling you to change what applications handle certain file types.

For the advanced user, once you have made all of the tweaks you wish, you can export the registry configuration as an XML file, which can then be re-imported should you need to hard reset the device.

You can add and remove icons from the Comm Manager window as well as editing the TouchFLO tabs.

The software can be downloaded from here - http://www.touchxperience.com/en/advanced-configuration-tool/downloads.html

Before installing the software, you will also need to install the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 3.5 on your device, this is a free download from the Microsoft web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=e3821449-3c6b-4...

There is also an article on the Tracy and Matt web site detailing common tweaks that you can perform using the software, as well as a nifty trick on how to 'unlock' hidden features on the HTC Touch Pro 2 camera. Read the article here:

http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/2009/06/07/touch-pro2-adva...

NOTE - the software does come with a disclaimer warning you that you use it at your own risk and you should not make any changes to your device's configuration unless you understand the ramifications of doing so.

Happy tweaking!