Windows Vista: The Missing Manual

19.3. Windows Mobile Devices: All Versions

Windows Mobile isn't really Windows. It's a much smaller, simpler series of operating systems designed for cellphones, palmtops, ultra -mobile PCs and portable Media Centers (handheld music/video/photo players).

All of them have certain Windows-esque interface elementsa Start menu is a common onebut they are not, in fact, all the same. For instance, a Windows Mobile Pocket PC palmtop includes stripped-down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer; you can manage folders and subfolders , create files, and play, download, and manage music and video. A Windows cellphone, on the other hand, has far fewer features.

Vista's new Sync Center is designed to keep Windows Mobile gadgets up to date with the latest info on your Vista PC, including your email, address book, and calendar. (More information about the Sync Center follows .) It's probably not as full-featured as the software that came with your device. It's primarily designed to:

• Sync up a gadget with Microsoft Outlook, and

• Sync up a laptop with a network server's files, in a feature called offline files.