Smartphone Tips & Tricks

Change screen from portrait to landscape mode.

Pocket PCs running the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems can switch between portrait and landscape viewing modes. There are two ways to do this.

1. Open the Start menu and select Programs > Settings (tab).
2. Tap on the icon labeled Screen to open the Screen setup utility (Fig. 1).
3. Tap on one of the three radial buttons to change the screen orientation: Portrait, Landscape (right-handed), or Landscape (left-handed).

Fig. 1: The Screen setup utility lets you change the screen orientation on Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition or later versions of the OS.

Some Pocket PCs come pre-configured so that you can press one of the application launch (hardware) buttons to toggle between portrait and landscape orientations. Check the user manual to see if your device is one of these. If not, you can use the Buttons setup utility to assign this function to one of the buttons. Follow these steps:

1. Open the start menu, select the Settings option, and tap on the Buttons icon.
2. In the Select a button list tap on the button you want to assign this function to (Fig. 2).
3. Tap on the down arrow in the Assign a program section to display a pop-up list of the functions and applications you can assign to the button.
4. Tap on <Rotate Screen> in this list. (It will be towards the top of the list.)
5. Tap OK to exit the Buttons setup utility.

Fig. 2: You can use the Buttons setup utility to configure a button to toggle between portrait and landscape viewing modes.

Better hardware navigation on Phone Edition devices

Some Windows Mobile 5.0 Phone Edition devices have dedicated Start and OK buttons (e.g. the Treo 700w and the Sprint 6700), but some do not (e.g. the T-mobile MDA and the Cingular 8125). Fortunately, some buttons can be configured by the user to perform these and other functions (see previous tip). Having Start and OK buttons makes it much easier to control the device without touching the screen. Follow the instructions in the previous tip. When you get to the step where you display the pop-up list in the Buttons screen, look for Start Menu and OK/Close, which are displayed towards the top of the list.

From the Windows Mobile Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/

Speed-dial Contacts on your Phone Edition device

You can assign phone numbers to speed dial keys on a Phone Edition device as follows:

1. Open Contacts and find the phone number in the main list view that you want to assign to speed dial.
2. Press down and hold the contact with your stylus until the edit menu pops up.
3. Select Add to Speed Dial from the edit menu.
4. Select the speed dial number in the Location field.
5. Tap on OK.

From the Windows Mobile Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/