When it comes to buying a smartphone and choosing a provider, no platform has more options available than Windows Mobile.

Every mobile carrier has support for Windows Mobile smartphones – the only mobile operating system that can make this claim. Data plans are available from Cingular, Orange, Verizon, Sprint, T–Mobile and more than 100 others. Windows Mobile powered devices are available on GSM or CDMA networks.

Windows Mobile comes in three versions: Professional, Standard and Classic. For the boat, you probably want Professional.

There are also what seems to be an unlimited selection of phones. More than 40 different vendors produce Windows Mobile devices, including Motorola, Palm, HTC, Dell and HP.

The wide range of choices makes Windows Mobile a strong choice for boaters who are already using Microsoft products, such as a laptop running Windows and applications like Word or Excel. It is a platform that offers great flexibility.

The tradeoff is that users must navigate a landscape chocked with products that offer different features at different price points. The platform's ability to multitask, running multiple applications on the same processor, can also cause it to crash or hang. But overall, it is a rich and full–featured system that should be right at home onboard many boats.

UNDERSTANDING WINDOWS MOBILE

The Windows Mobile operating system comes in three flavors, Professional, Standard, and Classic. Standard and Professional devices are smartphones that allow you to add applications to your device. Classic devices are PDA's rather than mobile phones, but many have Wi–fi and allow you to browse the web and access email from hotspots. The Professional and Classic versions support touch screen devices while Standard does not.

The Professional version grew out of Microsoft's Pocket PC devices. Windows Mobile Standard grew out of Microsoft's Smartphone devices, which were originally designed without touch screens. For your boat, you should be looking at Windows Mobile Professional smartphones.

The Windows Mobile operating system is rich and full featured. Each successive version has brought it closer to the Windows system used on laptops. For many, this makes a Windows Mobile smartphone more familiar.

The web browser that comes with Windows Mobile works well. Look for version 6.1.

Performance is generally very good although Windows Mobile has been known to crash and hang occasionally. This is due in part to its multitasking capabilities. With multiple processes running at the same time, one is bound to see a performance drop and develop more problems with software interactions. Sharing the processor and memory between applications can allow an errant program to cause problems. Then again, this is just another example of the trade offs we boaters are so used to.

Windows Mobile is more powerful than Palm OS and does a better job of handling multimedia, including the HTML code that makes up most websites, music and video. All of these formats run well on a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphones can supply an internet connection to your laptop, a function called "tethering," using Microsoft's ActiveSync software. For users who need to exchange information with laptops running Windows, there is no mobile operating system that makes this easier.

The web browser that comes with Windows Mobile is quite good and version 6.1 added the ability to zoom out to a thumbnail view, which can help navigate a web page. Windows Mobile's web browsing capabilities can be enhanced with Opera Mobile, an excellent web browser replacement. (For a story on Opera and other third–party applications, see link.)

SELECTING A PHONE

When it comes to selecting a specific Windows Mobile smartphone the choices can almost be overwhelming. But with a little time and research we believe any user can find the right fit. We recommend that you start by looking for important features like a built–in GPS and a touch screen.

Many Windows Mobile smartphones have a built in GPS, which we feel is a big plus. Not only does it make configuring your smartphone for navigation quick and easy, it is one less device to mess with, remember to take along, and to keep from dropping overboard. If you are looking to purchase a new Windows Mobile smartphone, we strongly recommend getting one with an integrated GPS. However, if you already own one without a GPS there are several good options for adding a GPS. (For a story on adding an external GPS, see link.)