In Search of a Virtual Cradle: mDesktop

Here comes the fourth review in a series that lamented manufacturers not supplying cradles anymore. However, I’m finding that with the new remote viewing applications, maybe we don’t need cradles anymore.

If you ever wished you could control your Windows Mobile device from your desktop using your mouse and full-size keyboard, mDesktop purports to make it possible.

Go to www.motionapps.com to install the program. You can purchase it for $19.95 or install a 7 day trial version. You have the option of installing an icon on your desktop.

Note that mDesktop requires .NET Framework v2.0 to be installed on the desktop computer in order to complete installation. This is not a problem, for it is a free download from Microsoft.

If you need any help getting started, check out the .pdf manual that comes with the program. However, I would say that one of the virtues of the program is that it is highly intuitive.

While the developer seems to promote it primarily as a tool for sending SMS from your desktop, it is far more than that. It virtually allows you to control your mobile device from your desktop, which is an invaluable service for screen captures, data transfer, inputting, and presentations.

When I first connected my device to my desktop and ran the program, it opened in full screen mode, which seemed weird and large to me. However, I soon discovered that I could click on the up arrow in the lower left corner of the screen to give me a more user friendly, slightly larger than life size screen view of my PDA. The program is not scalable in degrees, and that would be a nice feature.

A column of icons appears on the left side of the screen that offers various functions. I will briefly note the function of each icon beginning at the top.

The Phone icon allows you to make calls directly from your desktop using your computer keyboard and mouse.

The SMS icon brings up a screen with threaded chats. All you have to do is click on the one you want and start typing with your desktop keyboard to send out a message conveniently.

The Contacts icon displays a complete list of your contacts and an alphabetical index for easy access. I was disappointed that you cannot edit this file from with mDesktop and consider this a serious shortcoming.

The Calendar icon shows your upcoming appointments and complete calendar, but again, you cannot edit it, which is a pity.

The Camera icon is not a camera as I was expected. Instead, it allows you to view your pictures and to copy or paste them into other applications.

The Folder icon enables you to browse all the files and folders in your handheld device.

The screen icon places a real time image of your Windows Mobile device on your desktop. This is a valuable tool for copying, pasting, inputting, and for screen captures. It is also good for presentations. Sadly, this program will not capture videos nor animations.

The Down arrow icon allows you to drag and drop URLs from your desktop and thereby add then to your Favorites folder. You can also drag, drop, and install CAB files here too, which are both handy features.

The “I” for Information button displays the status of your system with information about your battery life, memory, performance, and more.

This program does allow you to use your desktop keyboard and mouse for navigation and inputting, but I lament that there is no left button mouse functionality. You cannot sync with your mobile device with this program either.

While I was testing the program, it froze. I tried to uninstall it, which it would not do completely. I discovered this when I tried to reinstall it, and it would not reinstall over the old program detritus. The only solution seems to be to remove all program remnants from the registry by hand.

I have been in touch with the developer and have tested three different Beta versions now on both Vista and XP machines with several handheld devices. Unfortunately, I have been unable to get the program to function properly. It may, on occasion, connect long enough to grab an email and SMS count but then disconnects and will not reconnect. The developer is aware of this problem and working on a solution. Perhaps it will work on your machine. It’s worth a try because it offers myriad features.

Go to www.motionapps.com where you can try it out for free. It is reasonably priced at $19.99, but try it first to make certain it works on your setup. Check out some of the company’s other offerings too such as mRing, mVoice, mVisual, and VoiceMail.