As we discussed previously, there are four main considerations for developing a Windows Mobile application that are different from a Windows desktop application. Additionally, there are differences between Pocket PC and Smartphone devices that make it challenging to develop an application that works well on both. I explained how we overcame these challenges on the display and input fronts, and now I’ll finish up with details on the storage and battery life categories.

Use the “My Documents” folder for exchanging data files and documents:
When synchronizing files between a Windows Mobile device and a desktop computer, you can see the content of the “My Documents” folder on the desktop computer. The “My Documents” folder is very important on Windows Mobile. It is used for store data files and documents. If you have any documents stored outside the My Documents folder, they will not be synchronized with your desktop.

Battery life:
Windows Mobile devices are battery-based devices. Battery life will become much shorter if your applications are consistently sending or receiving data through Wi-Fi or GPRS or if they are running background tasks. The reason is applications with these kinds of behavior will not only use more battery power, but also prevent the device from going into the sleep mode. The latter is the key to saving battery power when a device is idle. When you design an application, try to avoid frequently exchanging data in the background. If you cannot, be prepared to use up your battery life much more quickly. This is not a good design practice as your users will become very annoyed if they find their batteries being draining more quickly.