Ok, so I was dead wrong about the coolest feature in Windows Mobile 6. Don’t get me wrong, storage card encryption is cool, but coolest it is not. Over dinner I got a chance to play with the Mobile Terminal Server center and wow.. best…feature… ever.

In the long long ago (yesterday) when you opened a terminal server session to a Windows server you had two options: constrain resolution to the resolution of PocketPC (320×240) or die while scrolling around to the part of the screen you were interested in. Logging in was also a joy, with the terminal services client only accepting the server address as the only option, login information such as username, password and domain were up to you to type in during the session. No choices in terms of sound or color depth either, Windows Mobile 5 just picked the wonderful 16 color choice for you.

With Windows Mobile 6 not only are you given a ton of options to preset quickly on your PocketPC before the session starts, you’re also given the ability to provide authentication info, session preferences for audio and display quality but.. drumroll please.. once the session is active you’re given the ability to quickly scroll around the screen through a cool screen zoom map in the lower right hand corner. Just like in the WindowsXP magnifier tool where you can move the magnifying lense across the screen, Windows Mobile 6 gives you the ability to move the “display” around to the part of the screen you want to see in the remote session.

Say it with me: no more scrolling!!!

Oh, and don’t ask me for the ROM. Not only am I not going to support you through learning how to flash a device but this practice itself (pirated ROM) is illegal, voids warranty and is not easy. In short, you’d be insane to try and do this.

Second coolest feature: Pocket Internet Explorer

This is something I’ve been begging for for years – PocketIE should not download images. In Windows Mobile 6 this is an option, allowing you to quickly load up the page without the clutter and without the delay for the page to render. Not just that but you can browse around in full screen mode and without images that really makes a huge difference.

Office Mobile and live.com features are also integrated in Crossbow, making it a true business device instead of an Ipod with a dialtone. Make a commercial out of that.  

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