I am not only syncing my smartphone with MacOS X, but also with Windows Vista. Gone is the horrible sync application ActiveSync, and in comes Windows Mobile Device Center. The tool is still in beta, but has for me already proven to be a far better solution the ActiveSync. Sadly Microsoft decided not to include this tool in Vista. The first thing I think of, is to avoid any new unneccessary anti-monopoly lawsuits. Windows Mobile Device Center can be download from Microsoft manually or through Windows Update.

The installation couldn’t get smoother. Windows Vista detected all the neccessary drivers automatically and mounted my device. The first thing I noticed was that Windows Mobile Device Center had a complete redesign of the graphical user interface compared to ActiveSync, making it a far easier approach for endusers.

syncing

Just as ActiveSync the new sync solution synchronizes business-critical information such as e-mail, contacts and calendar appointments with Outlook, new is the focus on syncing media. My smartphone also syncs with Vista’s Photo Gallery and Media Player.

sync vista pda

Problematic is that Windows Mobile Sync Center yet again breaks compatibility with Lotus Easy Sync and Commontime mNotes, both for syncing with Lotus Notes. I need at least one of them before I will be able to move myself completly over to Windows Vista from XP.

pda-sync

One thing that I find strange is that Microsoft has chosen to not let us synchronize our devices with Windows Calendar and Contacts, two applications that come preinstalled in all versions of Vista. It is not a big problem, but it for now forces all to install the copy of Outlook that comes included with each device.