The wireless Internet service available with Pocket PC Phone Edition devices from T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless is not the same as the wired Internet service you get from services like America Online. As I noted in my last column, T-Mobile does not provide the servers necessary for sending and receiving e-mail. Another difference is that neither T-Mobile nor AT&T Wireless provides unlimited Internet access.
Both companies provide plans where you pay a fee per month for a set amount of data sent and received by the Pocket PC. For example, T-Mobile's lowest-priced plan costs $19.99 per month for 5 MB of data transfer, with each additional MB costing $5. Clearly, your wireless Internet service can be very expensive if you do not manage the amount of data transfer each month.
Monitoring data transfer
The first step to managing your wireless usage is to monitor the amount of data transfer between your Pocket PC and the wireless network. Two programs that monitor data transfer are All-locations' GPRS Traffic Counter (www.all-locations.com) and Spb Software House's GPRS Monitor (www.softspb.com). I use Spb's GPRS Monitor, but there is little difference between the two programs and a choice between the two really comes down to personal preference. Each program costs just under $15, and can be used with a Pocket PC Phone Edition or any Pocket PC that connects to the Internet thru a mobile phone. Each program adds an icon in the Title Bar at the top of the Pocket PC screen that lets you view a summary of the data that is being monitored.
GPRS Monitor's icon graphically indicates the data transfer speed, data transfer amount, and battery strength as bars. When you tap the GPRS Monitor icon a notification bubble appears showing more detail about the data connection (Screen 1). You will also see the amount of battery life left, and a slider for adjusting the backlighting. On the current Pocket PC Phone Edition devices from T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless, you can only turn the backlighting on or off.
Screen 1: The icon added to the Pocket PC's title bar by GPRS Monitor displays, from left to right, the data transfer speed, the amount of data recently transferred, and battery strength. Tap on the icon and a notification bubble appears showing more detail about the data connection.
One feature of GPRS Monitor that I really like is the Connect button, which initiates a connection to the Internet in such a way that the connection is not dropped when you exit applications like Inbox and Internet Explorer. Inbox and Internet Explorer will automatically connect to the Internet, but if you exit either program while online they drop the connection. By initiating the Internet connection using GPRS monitor instead, the Pocket PC will remain connected when you exit either program.
Either of these programs is an important tool for people that make wireless connections to the Internet with their Pocket PC. (A more detailed review of GPRS Monitor is found on page 55 of the July issue.) By using them you can monitor your wireless usage and know when you are running out of data transfer so that you can avoid expensive over-limit charges. If you find that you need more data transfer you can contact your wireless service provider to change plans.
Controlling the amount of downloaded e-mail
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