Microsoft has made the Office 2010 beta available for public consumption, which means you and I can download it for your desktop as well as your phone. The mobile version is available in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and you can get the desktop version here. The beta includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint Workspace and OneNote. Exchange 2010 will require your Exchange provider to push it out once it's released.

Do note that the beta will expire on April 5, 2010, so don't be expecting to use this forever. We'll be tinkering with Office 2010 over the next few days. Share your thoughts in the comments, and let us know what you would like to see.

One of the best things about writing for this website is when I write up a review, and post it; only to have a whole bunch of people post comments about another product that is unquestionably a more complete package. The review that I’m referring to was the one that I posted on Documents to Go Premium, which is an upgraded Office package over what is included in Windows Mobile. You guys, who are obviously Windows Mobile Experts yourselves, pointed us in the direction of SoftMaker Office 2008; which I’ve heard good things about from a number of different sources since that little nudge.

On to the review, you know where to go.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every once in a while, you come across something that Windows Mobile does fairly well, but doesn’t quite handle everything that you throw in its direction. The Office applications that are built into Windows Mobile are a great example.

Documents To Go has been one of the leading applications for viewing and editing Microsoft Office documents for many years. With each release of Windows Mobile however, native Office support has been improved to include new features. Where does that leave Documents To Go and its $29.95 price tag? The answer to that and more are on the other side of the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The silly season is in full effect, when legitimate companies and patent trolls file lawsuits against much, much bigger fish.

First came i4i's suit in which a federal judge in Texas ruled that Microsoft must stop selling its Word software because it blatantly and willingly infringed on an XML patent. And Microsoft must pay $240 million.

Now, EMG Technology has filed federal suit in the same East Texas district that will hear just about any patent case, it seems, taking on Windows Mobile, an online brokerage firm and an airline. Reports Information Week:

EMG, meanwhile, contends that Microsoft's Windows CE, PocketPC, and Windows Mobile products infringe its patent for viewing Web content on a mobile device. EMG also lists investment broker Scottrade and Southwest Airlines in its complaint.

The patents in question are 7,441,196 (Apparatus and Method of Manipulating a Region on a Wireless Device Screen) and 7,020,845 (Navigating Internet Content on a Television using a simplified Interface and a Remote Control).

TG Daily translates for us:

EMG alleges that Microsoft breaches the patents in operating system software including Windows CE and Windows Mobile. Scottrade is alleged to have breached the patent by providing financial and stock market information on mobile devices. Southwest, it's said, breaches the patents by allowing customers to book travel and cargo services reformatted for a small screen.

Welp, folks, that's it for Microsoft. Stick a fork in 'em. They're done. Let's all buy iPhones. No way they'll survive th- ... Wait, what's that? More money than who? Oh, OK.