Delivering Applications

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Applications on Windows Mobile-based devices can be downloaded and installed through the following mechanisms:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile   The user can browse a corporate network or the Internet to find a download site and select a hyperlink to download an installation file that is then automatically installed on the Windows Mobile–based device. The downloaded file remains in the Internet Explorer Mobile cache until the cache is cleared. For more information, see Internet Explorer Mobile.

  • **Microsoft ActiveSync 4.0 **   Provides synchronization services between a desktop computer and the Windows Mobile–based device, allowing the user to take personal information wherever he or she goes by requiring that a partnership is created between the computer and the device. A setup application runs on the desktop computer and registers an application to be installed on the docked device. A device can be docked in the cradle using a universal serial bus (USB) or serial cable, or a device can be connected to its host computer through a Bluetooth or infrared (IR) connection. The Application Manager in ActiveSync sends the .cab file to the device by using the remote capabilities of the remote API (RAPI) interface and triggers the device CAB Installer. For more information, see ActiveSync.For more information, see ActiveSync.

    ActiveSync supports a set of APIs that allow applications running on the desktop computer to invoke functions directly on the device. These remote APIs (RAPIs) allow desktop computer applications to manage the device remotely. For more information, see Remote API (RAPI). For more information, see Enabling Remote API (RAPI) Bootstrapping.

    The Application Manager, CeAppMgr.exe, is used to load new applications to a device using ActiveSync. For more information about the Application Manager, see Using the Application Manager.

  • **E-mail/Short Message Service (SMS)   **An e-mail message or a Short Message Service (SMS) message can contain a link that a user can select, at which point Internet Explorer Mobile downloads the file. Alternatively, a .cab file can be attached to an e-mail message; when the user runs the attachment the file is passed to the CAB Installer.

  • **SI/SL   **The operator can send Service Indication (SI) and Service Loading (SL) messages through a Push Proxy Gateway to a Windows Mobile–based device. These special-case Short Message Service (SMS) messages are placed in the user's Inbox. In the case of an SI message, the user selects a link so that Internet Explorer Mobile receives the URL and downloads the file.

    For SL messages, if the action attribute is cache, the device attempts to cache the content on the device. If the caching is successful, a message is placed in the user's Inbox. From there, the user can select a link to activate the downloaded file. If the action attribute is execute-high or execute-low, then the downloaded service is run immediately without requesting permission from the user.

    For more information about SI and SL, see SI and SL XML Files, Mobile Device Service Management with SI and SL, and Mobile Device Service Management with SI and SL.

  • Storage card   Applications and/or data can be distributed on a variety of storage cards including MultiMedia Card (MMC), SD, and CompactFlash (CF) that are inserted into the device. Windows Mobile–based devices can automatically start an installation script if the storage card includes an Autorun file and the AutoRun security policy enables Autorun files on the device. For more information, see Managing Applications on Storage Cards with Autorun.exe.

The following diagram illustrates the process flow for Windows Mobile-based devices for the different application delivery mechanisms.

See Also

Provisioning OTA Through a WAP Push | Configuring the Registry OTA Example | Deploying Windows Mobile Applications

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