14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft has announced recently that Windows Mobile phone users can now enjoy the features that its new My Phone service offers them. Available now in a beta version, the new service provides users with the ability to easily synchronize data from their mobile phone directly into the cloud. Basically, those who own a Windows Mobile 6.x handset will be able to synchronize contacts, calendar appointments, photos, and other information stored on their devices in a website, an option that also enables them, in case they change the phone or lose it, to have all the important data back on their new mobile phone.
Users who would like to benefit from the new Microsoft service will only need to download and install the My Phone client on their handset and then sync it with the cloud. Moreover, once the syncing operation is over, they will also be able to edit, add or delete contacts and calendar appointments directly on the website, and all the changes will automatically appear on the handset as well, as soon as a new syncing is performed. The nicest feature of the service is that it comes at no cost for the user, at least for now, says Microsoft, though data traffic fees might apply when the service is used.
For what it's worth, it seems that Microsoft is getting ready to roll out all the nice mobile services that it announced back in February at the MWC show in Barcelona that will come with Windows Mobile 6.5, so it might not be too long before the OS will become available too. On the other hand, the fact that the My Phone service offers compatibility with all Windows Mobile 6.x devices (or at least with some of them) is a great thing to hear about, especially since some of the recently announced services such as the Windows Marketplace for Mobile will only work with future iterations of the platform.
Although the Windows Mobile 6.1 users have been left out when it comes to access to some of the new features the company prepares for its Windows Mobile customers, some signs of hope exist for them too. On one hand, there are a series of handsets that will be eligible for upgrade to the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, and Microsoft announced that vendors would decide which handsets would see the upgrade and which wouldn't, but we are still waiting to see when the software company will make it available on the upcoming WinMo 6.5 as well (when the platform will be launched on the market), especially since the development team says that the OS is already finished.