Software

As with all WM Pro phones, the Intrepid includes Office Mobile, which consists of mobile versions of Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint and Word. All but PowerPoint can create and edit documents synched from the desktop with minimal loss of formatting (only a problem with documents with very complex formatting). PowerPoint is a viewing tool only.

Since the Intrepid includes a GPS, Sprint offers SprintNav, a navigation package with voice prompts that include street names. There's a trial version included with the Intrepid, but there's a monthly subscription fee for continued use (currently $9.99/month). Although not bundled, Google Maps can also be downloaded for free and works very nicely on the Intrepid. The GPS itself was impressively fast at acquiring satellites... after the first "cold" start, I'd typically have seven or more satellites in under five seconds. And the connection was strong... I never had any problems with losing satellite reception.

Another interesting app bundled with the Intrepid is Microsoft's TellMe, which provides voice dialing, sending text messages created by voice, searching and more. If you're looking for the nearest coffee shop, activate TellMe and just say "coffee" and BING will come up with the closest ones based on your current location. It seems to work pretty well and the vocal responses sound much more natural than the old Voice Command.

I also liked the SmartReader app. I've seen business card readers on other phones, apps that use the camera to take a picture of a business card and then use OCR to try to pick out the pertinent details. That's what SmartReader does, but it seems quite a bit more accurate than apps like this that I've seen previously. It can also scan and interpret text documents. When I used letter size paper and filled the camera with the width of the text on the document, the OCR was very accurate, which really impressed me. That would give you about 1/2 page. The interpreted text can then be saved in a Word format.

Figure 25: The App Store - Microsoft style.

WM 6.5 is the first version that includes the Marketplace, MS' answer to the App Store for the iPhone. It features most of the same options found in their "cross town rival", but far fewer apps at this point and they're quite a bit more expensive in general.

Here are a few more notable apps bundled with the Intrepid:

• File Explorer;
• YouTube player;
• Sprint TV;
• Remote Desktop;
• Internet Sharing.

Unfortunately, despite the refresh of the interface in general, the only games that the Intrepid includes are the creaky old versions of Solitaire and Bubble Breaker that have been included on Windows Mobile devices for years. Time for an update, guys.

Conclusions

Given that the Intrepid's combination of BlackBerry style and touch screen with WM Professional is new to me, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I must say that overall, I liked the Intrepid very much. Though I was most inclined to use it "Windows Mobile Standard" style (using the directional and action keys most of the time in lieu of the touch screen), using the touch screen to scroll while browsing or navigating a long list of contacts is a handy feature. I'm hoping to see a future version of the Intrepid with a higher resolution screen and a stylus that doesn't take an act of a higher power to remove, or even better yet, one with a touch screen design that doesn't require a stylus, but the basics are all there and the Intrepid does an effective job of combining business with pleasure.

Doug Raeburn is a Data Architect specializing in Data Warehouse design. He lives in Lannon, WI.

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