Donner’s Daily Dose of Drama

I am soliciting feedback about this Smartphone application - a milage tracker that lets you record and document business and personal trips, as required by the IRS. It was developed using the .Net CF 3.5 and Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5. Prior to installing the application, you will need to install the .NET Compact Framework Redistributable package and SQL CE for Windows Mobile from Microsoft’s website.

Once the prerequisites are deployed, download my CAB file using this link, copy it to your Smartphone and install it using the file manager. Once installed, you can delete the CAB file to free up space.
The installer will add a new shortcut to your start menu called Trips’N'Miles. Use this shortcut to launch the app.

This free version does not support the processing of the milage log on a host computer. The SQL CE database is not secured in any way, so nothing prevents you from using other tools to do that. However, I am working on a Windows application that will use RAPI to read the milage log from the phone and write it to a CSV file. I am planning to make this utility available for a small fee.

For now, I am just curious to know if there are any issues with the device application on certain phones. Feel free to install it and let me know what works and what doesn’t. [The app deployed and runs fine on my T-Mobile Shadow]

My new phone is the T-Mobile Shadow. I have been using it for a week now and have some initial experiences to share.
First of all, the phone scores on all fronts, compared to its predecessor in my pocket, the SDA. Windows Mobile 6 has some of the biggest pain points eliminated, the phone feels much more responsive, it is faster, the camera is fun to work with, and the phone looks really slick.
On the downside, there are 2 things to note. The most annoying “feature” for me is that it does not have a standard USB connector and that an external adapter cable is required to either connect a USB cable or the charger. The Shadow ships with only one of these adapters, and it is only a matter of time until I lose it. I need to carry the adapter cable with me, because the phone is plugged into my laptop at work and gets recharged at home over night (my battery typically lasts less than 24 hours).
The headset also shares the single connector that is used for the adapter cable, which means that no other (wired) headset can be used with the phone.
The other (preliminary) annoyance is that my attempts to application-unlock the phone were not successful. I follwed instructions on the web for making changes to certain registry settings, but the changes were not accepted.

11/25/2007: I contacted T-Mobile support and asked where I could purchase another one of these ExtUSB adapters, since it is only a matter of time when I will lose mine. The response came back the next day and it was clear that the question was not understood. However, I finally tried to plug the charger’s regular USB plug into the ExtUSB connector and - heureka - they are compatible. I do not have to carry the adapter with me at all.
So far I managed to Application-unlock the phone using the SDA Unlocker, and I installed Core TCPMP, a much better media player than the Windows one. I am still waiting for a solution to SIM-unlock the phone. I use a pre-paid One SIM when I am in Austria, and the phone does currently not work with it.

(to be continued)

Frequently Asked Questions for the T-Mobile SDA with Windows Smartphone 2005 Newbie

What does “Application Locked” mean?
What does “Locked” mean?
How can I unlock my phone?
How can I unlock my “Application Locked” phone?
How much memory memory do I need?
Is the Compact Framework 2.0 part of the platform?
Can my SDA phone connect to my company’s Exchange server?