My most recent “gadget” is a Dell Axim x51v.  It’s a beautiful little PDA running Windows Mobile 5.0 and boasting a STUNNING 480×640 display.  My previous Pocket PC, a Compaq iPaq 3835, had a 320×240 display.  What a difference having the higher resolution!  Windows Mobile doesn’t just shrink everything to an eye-straining 1/4 size; instead it creates perfectly rounded characters that are as eye-pleasing as printed paper.  Another nice aspect of the higher-resolution display is the ability to connect into servers or PCs via Terminal Services and have the window adjusted to the available screen size, so I can troubleshoot servers from anywhere without carrying along a laptop.  This is an absolutely fabulous improvement.  No longer do I have to bring the laptop along on vacation.

For a bit of background, let’s step back a few weeks.  It was early January, and I was elated to learned that the Treo 700w had been released.  I quickly justified the purchase, as well as the additional month data fee of $45.  However, upon trying to purchase a Treo, I found that I would have to pay the FULL retail price, as I had used Verizon Wireless’ “New Every Two” plan to get a new phone within the past year.  So I chewed this over for a while, and finally decided that instead of getting a Treo, I would get a decked out PDA with WiFi and bluetooth.  Most of my clients have WiFi, so I could sync up wirelessly.  When I would be outside of WiFi coverage, I could simply use Bluetooth to get online via my cell phone — a Motorola v710.  Well, at least that’s what I thought I’d be able to do…

So I got my brand new shiny Dell Axim x51v and got it configured to synchronize with my Hosted Exchange account up at 1and1.  Everything was perfect and I was embarking on a path to better connectivity.  Then I hit the snag.  When I tried to pair up my Axim x51v and my Motorla v710 cell phone, the Axim didn’t show any available profiles.  My first attempt at rectifying the problem was to install the latest firmware update from Dell.  It probably fixed other things, but it didn’t fix my problem.  After probing around the ‘net for solutions, I ran across a forum at AximSite.com that was filled with people having the same problem.  The really odd thing is that this ONLY seems to happen when you’re hooking a v710 up to an Axim.  Other phones, even other Motorola phones, don’t seem to have the problem.  After digging through 11 pages of posts, I found the solution.  I just needed to do a quick registry change to make the two talk to each other.  Here are the steps I followed to make my Axim and v710 play nicely together:

  1. Create a file on the PC called “service.reg”.  Contents should be:
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Bluetooth\Device\ENTER_V710_MAC_HERE\Services]


    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Bluetooth\Device\ENTER_V710_MAC_HERE\Services\00001103-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb]
    “channel”=dword:00630001
    “name”=”Dialup Networking”
    “sdprecord”=hex:35,D3,35,D1,09,00,00,0A,00,01,00,01,09,00,01, 35,03,19,11,03,09,00,02,\
    0A,00,00,00,01,09,00,04,35,0C,35,03,19,01,00,35,05 ,19,00,03,08,01,09,00,05,\
    35,03,19,10,02,09,00,06,35,24,09,65,6E,09,00,6A,09 ,01,00,09,66,72,09,00,6A,\
    09,D8,00,09,65,73,09,00,6A,09,D8,03,09,70,74,09,00 ,6A,09,D8,06,09,00,09,35,\
    08,35,06,19,11,03,09,01,00,09,01,00,25,1A,44,69,61 ,6C,2D,75,70,20,6E,65,74,\
    77,6F,72,6B,69,6E,67,20,47,61,74,65,77,61,79,09,01 ,01,25,1A,44,69,61,6C,2D,\
    75,70,20,6E,65,74,77,6F,72,6B,69,6E,67,20,47,61,74 ,65,77,61,79,09,01,02,25,\
    17,2F,61,2F,6D,6F,62,69,6C,65,2F,73,79,73,74,65,6D ,2F,63,6C,2E,67,69,66,09,\
    02,01,35,03,09,30,02,09,02,02,35,03,09,22,B8
    “enabled”=dword:00000001
  2. Pair up your cell phone and Axim using the passkey 1234.
  3. Download and install Total Commander onto your Axim.
  4. Open Total Commander, double-click on “\\”, “Registry”, “HKLM”, “Software” “Microsoft” “Bluetooth” “Device”
  5. The folder with all of the numbers is the MAC address of your phone.  Write this down.  Then, open your service.reg file on your PC and replace “ENTER_V70_MAC_HERE” with the MAC address from the registry.
  6. Transfer service.reg to your Axim
  7. Using Total Commander, find service.reg, do the click-hold, and copy it to the clipboard
  8. Go to “\\”, “Registry”, click-hold on blank space, and paste from the clipboard.  Total Commander will import the information into the registry.

Now why didn’t I think of that???  :-)

Now that everything is working, it’s fantastic!!  The syncing over bluetooth is very seamless; it dials up, syncs, and then disconnects automatically.  Doesn’t use more than a minute of time total!  The solution is very flexible too… fast connection when WiFi is available, slower connection anywhere when needed, and I still have a very small phone that I can carry on weekends without lugging a Treo along.  And for the times that I don’t have my Axim with me, I can connect via Outlook Mobile Access from my phone to check mail, contacts, etc.  VERY SLICK!