MAGNETO IS SET FREE 16/05/2005

Microsoft has released the latest version of its operating system for mobile devices to the manufacturers. Code-named Magneto, after the X-men comic book superhero, the new OS has moved away from the older convoluted name, in favour of a more manageable Windows Mobile 5.0.

Microsoft is keen to stress that regardless of device, the fundamental basics of the OS is the same, regardless of platform. However, it will still be releasing three separate flavours of the OS to support smartphone, Pocket PC and phone enabled Pocket PCs.

Regardless of which platform the OS will support, there are a host of improvements across the board. The naming conventions of Mobile Office have also been changed. In keeping with customer feedback, the OS no longer needs to convert files to “Pocket” versions before they can be read on the device, as the OS will now readily accept native Word and Excel files. What’s more, with the addition of edit features, you’ll be able to amend documents and send them back and forth without formatting being lost.

Scalability seems to be one of the key themes arising from the new OS. Which means device manufacturers will be able to design far more interesting devices than currently on offer. With support for keyboards now built into the OS, we should see a return to the clamshell style of handheld PC.

Emphasis has been placed on the smartphone version of the OS, which is only natural as it’s the only growing handheld sector. So, in comes support for landscape mode and a far more phone-based interface, with improved navigation and more one-click functionality. There is also support for hard drives, so we’ll see larger capacity storage becoming commonplace in the next year.

Synchronising with your laptop or desktop PC is still a fundamental part of the OS, with Activesync 4.0. File management has been streamlined to make it look more like Windows, so users can quickly get to the right information. However, with no features in Activsync that allow wireless users, whether Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, to synchronise on the fly, it’s not as active as we’d like to think. So, for the time being at least, you’ll still need to physically knock you device in order to update it. To make this easier, USB 2.0 support now comes as standard.

The OS also now offers support for non-volatile memory, which means your device won’t lose all its information when you run out of power. In real terms, this should offer most devices up to 30 per cent increased battery life, as the device will no longer need to designate a certain portion of battery life to maintaining the ROM cache. That said, with no devices actually announced to support the new operating system, we’ll have to wait until later in the year before we can see whether any of this actually lives up to expectations.