Today the Windows Live for Windows Mobile Team posted that new bits are now available for everyone to download for their Windows Mobile phones.

Wait no more! The latest bits for Windows Live Client for your Windows Mobile are available for download. To get yours now, point your mobile browser to http://wl.windowsmobile.com

If you have Windows Live already installed on your device, you will need to uninstall it first. To do that, go to Settings->Remove Programs, select Windows Live entry from the list (if any) and click Remove. If you don’t find Windows Live on the list, then you are good to go.

With Windows Live client you will be able to:

• Synchronize Live contacts with your contacts on the device
• Synchronize your Live email (msn, hotmail, live)
• View graphics, web links and contact photos in emails
• Respond to emails with voice recordings
• Upload photos to your Windows Live Spaces

Go ahead, give it a try and let us know what you think!

As soon as I heard, I installed it quickly on my Samsung Blackjack 2. I simply cannot live without Windows Live for Windows Mobile on my phone. Windows Live for Windows Mobile allows me to sync (and when I say "sync" I really do mean *sync*) my Windows Live Hotmail mailbox to my phone as well as all my Windows Live Contacts. I can read a message on my desktop PC at home using Windows Live Mail and that same exact message I just read syncs to Windows Live Hotmail and then to my phone using Windows Live for Windows Mobile - including the fact it is now marked read as I had read it on my PC. I have the same email experience (emails read or unread, emails filtered into certain folders, etc) across multiple PCs using Windows Live Mail, on my phone with Windows Live for Windows Mobile, and on the web with Windows Live Hotmail.

I previously blogged about Windows Live for Windows Mobile (in a little bit more detail) a few weeks ago when the first set of bits went live.  

ALSO: if you're interested, try out the Beta of the new Windows Live Mobile Homepage at mhome.live.com on your mobile device!  I've got this page set up as my Home Page in Internet Explorer on my Blackjack 2.

Windows Live for Windows Mobile is now available to download for your Windows Mobile phone. Windows Live for Windows Mobile lets Windows Mobile users sync their email from Windows Live Hotmail as well as their Windows Live Contacts.

To download, just head on over to this URL on your Windows Mobile phone:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/mobile/wl/download-en-us.mspx

Just download the .cab file for the version of Windows Mobile you are running (Standard or Professional). Windows Live for Windows Mobile works on phones running both Windows Mobile and Windows Mobile 6 (and 6.1).

Let me explain how I use Windows Live for Windows Mobile today on my BlackJack II. Because Windows Live for Windows Mobile syncs up my Windows Live Contacts - I encourage many of my contacts to edit their profiles and make sure their email addresses and phone numbers are correct. When their Windows Live Contact is synced to my phone - their name appears under my Contacts on my Windows Mobile phone (Windows Mobile has a centralized "contact directory"). Information my Windows Live Contacts fill out in their profiles appear on my phone. Users can have multiple phone numbers entered into their profiles for a variety of locations such as Mobile, Home, or Work. When I choose to call a Windows Live Contact - I choose any of the numbers they provided to me that is in their profile. Of course I can also edit their contact information either in Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail or via the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

Speaking of Windows Live Hotmail - Windows Live for Windows Mobile also lets my sync my email to my Windows Mobile phone as well. With Push-Email - you can get your email from Windows Live Hotmail account as it comes in.  The sync features for email in Windows Live for Windows Mobile let me view the same unread/read email messages on my Windows Mobile phone, desktop PC with Windows Live Mail, or via the web with Windows Live Hotmail. If I read an unread message on my phone, it not only becomes unread on my phone but also becomes unread in Windows Live Mail and on the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

Windows Live for Windows Mobile however does not come with a Windows Live Messenger client for your Windows Mobile phone.  We've chosen to do this to support carrier's plans for IM services for their phones. If there is no IM client on your phone, you can try our browser based version of Windows Live Messenger to chat with friends or ask your carrier about IM options for your phone.

For me - Windows Live for Windows Mobile has become a huge asset for me in staying connected with Windows Live and is essential for my Windows Mobile device.

For more information on Windows Live for Windows Mobile - check out the Windows Live for Windows Mobile Team's new blog!

Yesterday, our friends on the Windows Mobile Team have announced Windows Mobile 6.1 at CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas. Windows Mobile Program Manager Mel Sampat made the announcement on the Windows Mobile Team Blog which also includes information on devices and carriers that will get upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.1. Keep your eyes on their blog for more Windows Mobile 6.1 information in the near future. You can also watch Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices Division Robbie Bach's CTIA Keynote from CTIA Wireless 2008 by clicking here!

I've had the pleasure of running around with Windows Mobile 6.1 on my Samsung BlackJack II for the last few weeks and would like to share some notable improvements and new features I've taken notice of with you.

The first thing I took notice of with Windows Mobile 6.1 was the new Home Screen. The Home Screen has been redesigned to accommodate easier navigation with "tiles". This is pretty much my most favorite feature and improvement in Windows Mobile 6.1.

Video: Demo: Windows Mobile 6.1 Home Screen

By default, I had tiles for my clock, communications (missed calls, emails, etc), Appointments, and Settings. I can scroll up or down on my BlackJack II to access different tiles and when I'm on a specific tile - I can then navigate left or right to access different parts of that tile.

 

As you see in the above screenshots - I can navigate to both my Hotmail and Outlook email in the same tile. I'm calling the tile my communications tile because it essentially handles all my communications like missed calls, voicemails, text messages and email - not an official name by any means. When this tile isn't selected, the UI is designed to display everything in a single line. That means at quick glance I can always see how many emails, voicemails and text messages I have.

The Settings tile allowed me to quickly change my ringtone or background as well as quickly access Wireless Manager. It also showcases the brand new Task Manager in Windows Mobile 6.1.

The new Task Manager allows me to quickly stop apps I have running on my phone to clear up some memory. The new Task Manager is slick but honestly - I've not used it much.

 However I can tell you about another feature I do use quite a bit: threaded SMS messaging.

This is awesome especially when sending text messages back and forth to the same person.

So what else is there? I've experienced improved performance and battery life after going to Windows Mobile 6.1. I could definitely feel a performance change after going from Windows Mobile 6 to 6.1 which is great.

Windows Mobile 6.1 also comes with improved Windows Live for Windows Mobile integration. Matter a fact, as you saw in the video above - there is a specific tile for Windows Live. This tile displays your Messenger display picture and personal status message. Your Hotmail isn't the only thing that gets synced - your Windows Live Contacts are synced to your phone as well. I rely on the close Windows Live integration extensively. I'm going to talk about Windows Live on Windows Mobile and syncing my Windows Live stuff to my Windows Mobile phone more in-depth in a later post.

Overall, I find Windows Mobile 6.1 an exciting release. It has certainly improved my mobile device experience. Windows Mobile 6.1 devices should work just fine with Windows Mobile Device Center. I use Windows Mobile Device Center quite a bit to get photos of my Windows Mobile phone into Windows Live Photo Gallery or to throw a song or two on to my phone. You can download Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista here.

Another announcement that happened at CTIA Wireless 2008 is that a new version of Live Search for Windows Mobile is on its way. Phil Holden, a Director here at Microsoft that works on the marketing group responsible for the Live Services on Windows Mobile (such as Live Search), has a detailed blog post explaining the new things we can expect in the upcoming new release of Live Search for Windows Mobile. Some of the new features coming in the new release is the ability to map your contacts using Live Search Maps, access your Live Search Maps Collections, and Weather. I use the current version of Live Search Maps for Windows Mobile on my phone today and love it. It helps me quite a bit - especially in regards to traveling and tracking traffic with Live Search Maps.