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Microsoft My Phone Beta open to the public

May 19, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

It looks like My Phone is available now to the public.

Microsoft My Phone syncs information between your mobile phone and the web, enabling you to:

  • Back up and restore your phone's information to a password-protected web site
  • Access and update your contacts and appointments through your web account
  • Share photos on your phone with family and friends

Find out more

Try it out (You'll need a Windows Mobile device)

So I wrote a bit about this service last week for the book (Windows 7 Secrets) and will try and get something up on the site soon. My Phone is free, of course, but it pretty much requires that you have gotten data into the phone; there’s no way to use the web site to import contacts, calendar, or whatever from the desktop directly. That said, once it’s there, it’s pretty easy to managed. Overall, it’s not bad.

More soon.

Thanks to Zlatko Z. for the tip.

Discuss this Article 44

LandonAB
on May 19, 2009
Would be nice if Microsoft would give us BlackBerry users a way to sync with Windows Live Mail and Live Mail Calendar. I have completely switched to Google Mail and Calendar because of GSync.
DRWAM
on May 19, 2009
Landon has a good point. Live calendar's big weakness is the inability to sync with any calendar, including Outlook. Google calendar can do this [sync with Outlook or iCal] with their own software, GSync, which is all free. So why can't MS sync Live Calendar with Outlook? You must export as an ICS file then import to Live calendar. Heck, Gcal syncs with WinMo, iPhone and Blackberry phones too, but I like Win Live Calendar better. I just wish that MS got the sync software added since Google has had it for quite a while. Patience is a virtue, I guess.
Waethorn
on May 19, 2009
"Live calendar's big weakness is the inability to sync with any calendar, including Outlook." Actually, the latest version of Outlook Connector supports calendar sync. Ever since Windows Live Calendar came out of beta, it's worked.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
I'll have to give My Phone a spin with my Omnia... --tayme
tayme
on May 19, 2009
OK, the first thing that I notice when setting it up...it does not sync data from memory cards...that could be a huge fail on Microsoft's part. I'll play with it more and see what I can find out. --tayme
tayme
on May 19, 2009
A little deeper digging shows that there is an option to sync memory cards...the initial install set-up said that it would not do so automatically. Maybe I have to do so manually... --tayme
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
Of course this probably only works with Windows Mobile? Asking my work provided Treo 800W to do anything beyond basic Exchange Sync and phone service is probably going to require a second daily battery removal. Windows Mobile, the mother of all shitty operating systems.
LandonAB
on May 19, 2009
@DRWAM, I prefer WLM Calendar too over Googles. I tried to use the Outlook Connector, sync to WLM Calendar, then use the BB Desktop Manager to sync my phone. Or install GSync, click 'sync now' on my phone and have 2 way sync without ever touching a cable. I chose the latter.
shark47
on May 19, 2009
"Of course this probably only works with Windows Mobile?" Of course you knew the answer to that one. The only reason you brought that up is so that you could b*tch about yet another MS product.
gfryesc1
on May 19, 2009
meh, I guess this is cooler news than knowing the Pre is out on June 6th.
Waethorn
on May 19, 2009
"the mother of all shitty operating systems." That title is reserved by fruit-branded companies. (So Paul, where is that AUP now?)
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
shark I love how predictable live is sometimes. Paul posts an article on some new Microsoft product and there follow a bunch of posts saying something like; "Microsoft stuff sucks. I'd never use anything they make. Does anyone know if this works with ?"
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
Yes I am hoping to trade in my Srint Treo 800W for Pre ASAP. Shark I posted to get you to respond.....so I can check that off of my to-do list, thanks. MS could have made this work on the iPhone/RIM, or other popular phones OS'es, some of which support MSN messenger already. If I were a iPhone user I would like to have the ability to get at all my live/hotmail data. Yahoo, AIM and GMAIL are on there. Apple would not block MS if they wanted to write an application.
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
Waethorn That's unfair. Fruit branded companies don't make "the mother of all shitty operating systems." They make an actual SOS. The "Mother" of them would be Unix since all the SOS seem to decend from it.
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
@Mike that is funny coming from you really. I can some you up like this, "If it is made by Microsoft its the best, if its not it sucks". I have never once heard you say that anything is better, when Microsoft is competing with whatever the other option is. Predictable has your picture next to it in the dictionary. You are the RobertsJoe of MS. Even Wae is more objective than you are, which is amazing really. Then again these blog posts, in all technology blogs are like this "what I like is the best, what you like sucks".
daveinla
on May 19, 2009
"Try it out (You'll need a Windows Mobile device)" Does anybody have a WinMo device to lend me to try this ?? No ? Next news...
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
bettieblue Like I'd take a guy named "bettie" with a picture of Steve Ballmer as his avatar seriously...
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
Dave If you're not interested in news about Windows products then hanging out on the comment section of a Windows news site may be a less than optimal choice for what you want to do with your life.
meason
on May 19, 2009
@mikegalos "Microsoft stuff sucks. I'd never use anything they make." kinda interesting is not if they do say this I mean winsupersite runs on windows 2003 and IIS so Iguess they do use something MS makes. http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=winsupersite.com
tayme
on May 19, 2009
Oh boy...here I thought that this would be a good round of conversation as some of us WinMo users tried this out...I guess that like everything else here, this had to devolve into Microsoft vs Apple...give it a rest, people. You ALL are really quite predictable. Meanwhile, I am still doing some testing with this. Once I get out of the hardened datacenter tonight, I'll see if it can do a full sync without failing. My Omnia likes to drop the EV connection in here. So far, my contacts and calendar are synced up. The few pics that I have on my main storage will run for 10 minutes, then I lose the connection. Music and Videos have not even started yet - but I don't think I have any of those on main storage. If this conversation does not fall too far into the depths of the normal "Balmer's d*ck is longer than Jobs' d*ck" then I might post more info later. --tayme
lotsamystuff
on May 19, 2009
"meh, I guess this is cooler news than knowing the Pre is out on June 6th." Either that or it reeks of desperation. Certainly it isn't going to give Microsoft any advantage in the PR war vs. the Pre. It makes them look as "me too" (and frankly second-rate or, if you prefer, also-ran) as always. "Like I'd take a guy named "bettie" with a picture of Steve Ballmer as his avatar seriously..." As opposed to a bargain-basement reseller with a lazy cat for an avatar? Amazing what you'll take seriously, oh bearded one.
gorath
on May 19, 2009
Wasn't there mention some time back of a similar MS product, that would work with several phones from various manufacturers, such as Nokia, Samsung etc? Is this the same service, but limited to WinMobile because it's still in testing?
Waethorn
on May 19, 2009
"As opposed to a bargain-basement reseller with a lazy cat for an avatar? Amazing what you'll take seriously, oh bearded one." Meanwhile, NOBODY takes you seriously, lotsaego.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
@gorath - This is similar to the Live Mesh service...but specific to WinMO. I am not sure if it will evolve into part of Live Mesh or not...at one time Mesh was supposed to include phones. Last time that I used it I could sync files between all of my Windows and OS X computers...the phone portion still said "Coming Soon" Maybe this is it. If mikegalos can step away from his p*ssing match for a few minutes, he might know. --tayme
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
"Wasn't there mention some time back of a similar MS product, that would work with several phones from various manufacturers, such as Nokia, Samsung etc?" Exactly what I was getting at. I remember something announced but I just don't know what. @tayme lets look at who pointed at Apple? I simply stated that I cant stand WinMO. We turned off our BES server in August. The decision (not by me) was made to stop paying RIM for the server and client cals to save money. We also shut off a Windows server that was dedicated to it, one of the few remaining physical boxes. Ok I get that on paper BES is expensive especially when BES lives to connect to Exchange. So we went fully to Active Sync. The company replaced about 250 phones with WinMO phones. Moved from ATT to Sprint. At first some users were happy because they got new toys. Many liked the BB platform. Rock solid, great battery life, OS is simple, fast and perfect for a work phone. I personally would never buy a smartphone but I have one for support only. Well its less than a year later and I am not sure we have one single happy user now. Everyone hates the phones, more like hates Windows Mobile. The complaints are many but they come down to 3 basic complaints. Its UI is a mess compared to a BB. Its slow. Its locks up. Note we are using 3 different smartphones, by two different vendors Palm and HTC. All Windows mobile 6.1 I think? So now we have some "executive" users turning their phones in and using their own iPhones since it supports ActiveSync. We even have one smart enough to go back to a BB, and use ATT's service that allows for Exchange email only to be forwarded to his BB device. MS makes some great products, I am a huge fan of 7 already. Windows Mobile is not one of them.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
Looking at the Mesh site, I have to wonder if it has been abandoned. It still says "Coming Soon" on the Your Mac link, but OS X is a choice in the dropdown for adding devices. https://www.mesh.com/welcome/default.aspx --tayme
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
"Like I'd take a guy named "bettie" with a picture of Steve Ballmer as his avatar seriously." LOL your Larry Flint wannabe mug is what the cover of CIO magazine material?
Waethorn
on May 19, 2009
@tayme: Do you use the default UI on the Omnia? That is, the Samsung-provided Touchwiz UI? Quite frankly, I'm taken aback by the HTC one. Access to programs is limited, and yet they still don't get the same kind of level of access to PIM data. It's a mess. My phone is a business organization and communication device. On the screen, I want instant access to PIM data, and near-instant access to programs without letting icons get in the way. Instead, the "Home" screen has a big stupid clock, the number of calls I missed, and a calendar link that doesn't tell me if I have upcoming appointments. STUPID! Ooooh, but I can click on icons to get access to email, internet (Opera Mobile, YouTube, or bookmarks), text messages (which I never use), or photos (which I very rarely use. Anything else, such as weather, music, settings, or additional programs, and I have to slide my finger along the bottom of the screen until the icon shows up in the bottom middle of the screen. Having programs at the far right is another ridiculous UI convention too. HTC's TouchFlo 3D v.2 in the Touch Diamond 2 will have tiles that are rearrangeable. It still doesn't do it for me though. I tried going back to TouchFlo after a firmware update, but it just didn't hack it. I still go back to the classic WM Home screen and a customized Start Menu. All my PIM data as soon as I turn on the phone, including email message summaries, and RSS updates (which I use a lot of on my phone because of the reading clarity), and I don't have to do anything special. Programs are hidden, but only a single-click away. Everything is customizable too, of course.
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
Waethorn I've found SPB Software's Mobile Shell 3.0 to be the best alternative shell for Windows Mobile. They have a demo version (and a retail version) available at their site at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/
tayme
on May 19, 2009
@waethorn - No, I used it for a while, but tried Spb Mobile Shell. Its available on Handango. Version 3 came out a few weeks ago and it is the Omnia done right. Widgets that actually work and a very thumb friendly interface throughout. When in applications, you still have the standard WinMo UI, but the rest of Spb is top notch. MS should have considered this for 6.5. --tayme
DRWAM
on May 19, 2009
Any one have a link to how to get the Outlook Calendar to sync with Win Live calendar? I set up Outlook Connector and it isn't syncing.
DRWAM
on May 19, 2009
I see that Outlook Conector created an entirely new account [and still did not sync with it my Live calendar], rather than syncing my Outlook calendar, that I use with Exchange, to the Live calendar. GSync worked fine by typing the Gmail account and password, and that's all.
Waethorn
on May 19, 2009
@mike, tayme: The only screen that interests me on SPB is "Professional Home". Even then, it doesn't seem to offer program add-in support for programs that already support the WM Today screen. That's a no-go for me. It still looks limited to me. Under all that customization, you're still having to flip through several screens to get to the same information that you can pack on "Today". Big clocks don't impress me. It's wasted space. Put a small clock at the top and be done with it. What I don't like about this is that it's just another Widget-based system. I hate that. Give me text instead. You know, maybe I'm pulling a Dvorak here, but I don't really like all this move into over-stupification into dumb appliances. If my device can't act like a computer in my pocket then it's not doing the job of the device that it's designed to replace. The reason I want computer functionality on a device is because I don't want to lug around a full-sized laptop. That's probably why I despise the iPhone OS. It's a$$-backwards as far as UI design, and yet it's very limiting from a computing standpoint. The majority of applications are a joke. Apple pretends like there is no limit on the hardware and software and they try to mask it. I know what the limits are on Windows Mobile, and they aren't as bad as they are on the iPhone, and yet I don't pretend they aren't there. Instead, I choose to work within them, which is why I prefer RSS on the small screen. Screen real-estate is still probably the most limiting factor, but I don't try to throw large, glam icons on the screen either. Text is easy enough to read. You can fit more informational text on the screen than you can load large glam icons on too, so information is presented in a much more natural way.
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
Wae There's NO question that the default Windows Mobile shell is the best choice for a lot of users. There are very good reasons why Microsoft has kept the basic UI the same now for several versions. It works well for a lot of users. If you are looking for an easy to use functional shell the new Spb is a good choice. If you want a very customizable shell then PointUI 2 is a very flexible UI framework. But there's NOTHING inherently wrong with the shell that comes with the product. Of course the nice thing about Windows Mobile is that users can get a shell that works for them if the basic one isn't what they need and still get the benefit of a rich software ecosystem and amazingly easy to use programming model.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
@waethorn - You prefer text, and you say that I am bad at IT because my company hasn't rushed to replace XP with Vista when it was not a fit in every situation? Wow. Re: Spb Mobile Shell...I use Professional Home and it meets my needs. I also like the Launcher , because it remembers your most used apps and keeps them at the top...making access pretty quick. --tayme
lotsamystuff
on May 19, 2009
"It's a$$-backwards as far as UI design, and yet it's very limiting from a computing standpoint. The majority of applications are a joke." Once again, "waethorn", you've confused "iPhone OS with "Windows". "@waethorn - You prefer text, and you say that I am bad at IT because my company hasn't rushed to replace XP with Vista when it was not a fit in every situation? Wow." Heh. Bravo for that. Nice one. "There's NO question that the default Windows Mobile shell is the best choice for a lot of users." "A lot", in this case, being "ten or twelve".
adamb1000
on May 19, 2009
Gotta agree that Mike is MS's biggest fan. You're probobly the only one that thinks Windows Mobile is good. Using a 10 year old foundation in the day of interactive web applications and touch screen functionality isnt working. Before you bash Linux/OS X/ about the unix foundation be aware that it's held up like a rock and been refined nor is it crumbling. Before you call me an Apple fanboy I'm not. I only owned 1 mac and sold it a few years ago to switch to windows vista full time and looking forward to Windows 7 so I can use it full time.
robertsjoe
on May 19, 2009
This is amazingly boring news.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
I'm not sure if it's Verizon, my Omnia, or the MyPhone service; but I keep losing connection to the sync server. I'll have to dig through the beta info to see if I can find any info. --tayme
mikegalos@msn.com
on May 19, 2009
adamb1000 You have two objections to Windows Mobile First, that it has a 10 year old foundation. And then you defend an OS with an over 30 year old foundation. Secondly because these days it should do that new touchscreen thing. Of course Windows Mobile (and it's predecessors) have had touchscreen support for all those years you complain about (whereas Unix was developed for teletypes) So, what are you actually trying to complain about?
bettieblu
on May 19, 2009
I think 50% of why WinMO sucks is the fact that Microsoft does not own the hardware. I am sure that some of these cell phone makers put WinMo on devices that can barely run them. My Treo 800W has wifi and GPS, plus EVDO. I turn off wifi and GPS so that I can make it a whole work day with out having to change the battery or put it on a charger. Palm with Palm OS, iPhone and RIM all own the hardware and OS. MS needs to bust out a Zune phone like yesterday. The problem is then they another play for sure problem. Same stuff happens when a Acer or whomever puts together a low end computer and then jams it full of crap ware. Vista gets a bad name because of it.
shark47
on May 19, 2009
Windows Mobile touchscreen support wasn't great, but that was because the OS was never meant to be a finger touch based OS. That said, I still think it's amazing that it has taken MS 2 years after the iPhone's launch to come up with one. What's worse is that it's still half-baked. Microsoft isn't moving fast enough. RIM would have been a pretty decent acquisition, I guess.
tayme
on May 19, 2009
If I disconnect from the network, then restart te sync it will run for 10 - 15 minnutes. I'll have to file a bug and see what becomes of it. Of course, most of the rest of you are too busy measuring Balmer's and Jobs' dicks to care about what Paul actually blogged about...enjoy that. --tayme
tayme
on May 19, 2009
The automatic overnight sync failed. It is either Verion or my Omnia. I turned on WiFi and it is cruising along fine. Time to call VZ support.

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