There are a number of things that Windows Mobile devices are good for. I see a lot of people carrying around many devices with them such as iPods, cameras, GPS receivers and phones. Why bother when we can have all these devices packed into one neat unit that fits inside your pocket, allowing you to do more than all of the above gadgets combined.

I did not know the full power of my device when I first got it. My old Pocket PC was stolen and did not incorporate a phone so when insurance time came around, it was nice to be updated with a Ipaq rw6828.

This device has allowed me to experience Windows Mobile to its full potential and really find out what it can do for me in day to day life.

I have put together a list of features that you are able to use on your device. Many you already know about but it is nice to have them in one place and encourage non Windows Mobile users to make the leap, showing why Windows Mobile devices have advantages over other phone operating systems.

I am going to make a bad assumption, that everyone has a Windows Mobile device which incorporates a phone and bluetooth.

10. Record phone calls, meetings and well anything – With our devices having a microphone installed, we are able to record anything we want onto our devices for playback at a later time. While you aren’t going to get a great quality of sound recording a rock concert, the quality if fine for most other tasks. I always like to record meetings, so that I can remember what took place. Meeting minutes rarely cover the meeting as well as an audio recording. This is something our Windows Mobile devices do comfortably.

9. GPS – With a decent screen, a bluetooth GPS receiver and the right software we are able to keep the map in the glovebox, keeping the stress levels down for our partners who fail to read the map as well as the driver would like. The GPS tells us exactly where to go and corrects itself quickly if we decide not to follow its path. What more could you ask for. With the costs of GPS systems being so expensive, it is best to buy a Windows Mobile device and reap all the benefits of a GPS unit and that can do all this other stuff.

8. Play games – The range of Windows Mobile games is large and expanding daily. The standard of the games is increasing and this allows your device to be quite a powerful portable gaming unit. Kevtris on Windows Mobile is much more fun and playable than the Gameboy version ever was. If you dabble in a bit of emulation and SCUMMVM, you can have a lot of fun.

7. Remote control your computer – This is a nice feature that can be done many ways. We are able to use VNC or the Terminal services client to see our computer screen from anywhere in the world, as long as we have a network connection. I was at my parents house and we were talking about what’s on TV. We weren’t going to watch what I wanted so I connected to my home computer and set it to record the show. When I told them what I had done, they thought I was joking. Anyway, I left early and watched the show in my own comfortable house. This is just one example of how this could be useful but there are many uses for this.

6. Remote control your home stereo – Many Windows Mobile devices have an infra red port in them. We can use this for a number of things. There is a lot of remote control software available for free. Once this is installed, we are able to control all aspects of your home entertainment system. It is also nice to know that we can control televisions at the local club.

5. Personal Media Player – Gone are the days of the walkman. Our Windows Mobile devices can play music, videos and view pictures. Some devices even offer us the ability to listen to radio. We are able to store many more songs on a storage card than we can on a cassette, or even a CD, especially if we convert our music to Mp3 or Ogg files.

4. Internet – With windows mobile devices, we have the Internet in the palm of our hands anywhere we go. As long as there is phone reception or wifi, we are able to connect up and get information immediately such as maps or our email. If you have set up your device to control your stereo, it is nice to have a TV guide site in your favourites. This will let you be lazy and do everything from the couch.

3. Camera – This is thrown into most devices these days. The quality is not great but works well enough for most happy snaps. I love having a camera on hand for Kodak moments. It sure beats carrying around a separate camera. These are particularly useful if you are in a car crash or you witness a crime. You are able to pull out your phone and snap away quickly at whatever your target is, releaving you from memorising the information which is generally forgotten in high stress situations.

2. Mobile Office – Windows mobile devices have mobile versions Excel, Word and Powerpoint which allow us to make changes to documents on the run. While it is not an ideal format for working on office documents, it is more than what other phone operating systems offer. These programs become quite usable when we attach a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. With a connection to the Internet, you can receive your email and calendar appointments, meaning you will always know where you have to be, at what time, with the right information on hand.

1. Make phone calls, send text and video messages – This is the obvious one but it is often the reason why we buy the device in the first place. With either the keypad or on screen keyboard, sending text messages is much easier to do on a Windows Mobile device than most other phone systems.

I hope that this will encourage you to choose a Windows Mobile device next time you purchase a phone. As you can see, they are very powerful and I doubt you will find any other devices that can do all that is listed above.

Please have a look around Inspect My Gadget for more useful ways you can use your device or tweaks to get it just the way you like it.