Hello Everyone, 
 

INTRODUCTION:

If you are anything like me, you see your Windows Mobile Smart Phone as an all-in-one data center and communications portal.  That is, not only do you want your welterweight wireless wizard to reliably connect you to the internet, allow you to create and organize documents, remind you of upcoming appointments, oh yeah and let you make telephone calls but you also want it to be your private dynamic digital DJ and soft-spoken and sensitive story teller. 

While no one, in his right mind that is, will question the unprecedented success of the iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone, for some of us old-timers, the thought of slowly succumbing to the sweet sound of the siren’s song and, thereafter, forever swimming in the sweltering yet boorishly chic sea of Apple cider is simply too sickening to swallow.  We feel this way not because we are silly, stupid, or stubborn; it is only that we acknowledge and appreciate the beauty, the majesty, and dare I say it, the magic of Windows Media Player Mobile for Smart Phones. 

I am going to share some of this mobile media magic with you.  So, sit back, grab a glass of red Koolade (You thought I was going to say wine, didn’t you?), and be prepared to be dazzled.  
 

GETTING READY:

First, I want you to know that I enjoy listening to pod casts and old time radio shows because they are entertaining, informative, and, perhaps best of all, free.

Second, unlike commercial music purchased from online music stores, many of the free pod casts, old-time radio dramas, and even those audio files ripped from a CD, are not tagged with reference data.

In short, a file tag is a piece of information that identifies or describes the contents of the file such as its track number, track title, artist’s name, album title, album artist, genre, copyright date, etc. 

As you may guess, organizing untagged audio files can be most challenging on a Desktop computer and all but impossible on a mobile phone especially while you’re out and on the go.  As we are all aware, Apple has remarkably streamlined this task with its oh-so-wonderful iTunes and all its sleek and sexy corresponding hardware. 

Believe it or not, there is another way, boys and girls; and you don’t have to go out and buy an iAnything in order to enjoy organized media content on your wireless device.  All you need is a computer, a Windows Mobile Smart Phone, and a little imagination.  (Scratch that; you don’t really need imagination.  I just wrote that because it sounded good.)  (Smile)

 

TAGGING AUDIO FILES ON THE PC:

Please note that the following is for Windows XP, however, I am almost positive that the same or similar steps will work the same or even better in Windows Vista.

 There are several ways to tag an audio file by using audio software such as Gold Wave.  However, the Windows operating system allows you to tag audio files, also.  Follow these steps in order to tag one or multiple audio files: 

1.
Copy media files, such as MP3 audio files, with any similar attributes to the same folder on your PC.  That is, you may choose to copy all of the songs from the same album, pod cast show, or radio drama into the same folder. 

2.
Using Windows Explorer, open the folder containing the media files you wish to tag. 

3.
Select either one file or multiple files.  Note that selecting a file simply means to highlight, not open it.

4.
Please note that, at this step, sighted users need only to select Detail View from the Windows Explorer View menu and simply type in the tag information in the appropriate column.  Otherwise, while the file or files are selected, Right Mouse Click on any of them and choose Properties from the resulting Shortcut menu.

5.
Select the Summary tab.  If this is your first time using this Dialog box, you may need to Click on the Advanced button located at the lower right side of the Window.  A list of properties will appear in which you can type information.  Note that which fields will accept data will be determined by whether you have one or multiple media files selected.  You may move from field to field by pressing either the Up or Down arrow key on your computer keyboard. 

6.
When you have completed tagging the files, Click either OK or Apply to save your changes. 

7.
Copy the media files to your Smart Phone.  I strongly suggest that, if possible, you copy them to your phone’s remote storage card. 
 

VIEWING THE FILES ON YOUR WIRELESS DEVICE IN WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER MOBILE:

Now that you have successfully tagged your media files, you will want to view them in Windows Media Player Mobile.  To do this:

1.
Launch Windows Media Player on your Smart Phone.  I suggest that you fully explore all of the Media Player Mobile menus before procedding to the next step.

2.
Press the Right Soft key labeled Menu. 

3.
Select Library.  This will open a submenu. 

4.
Choose from which location you wish to add/view files.  You may select either the device itself, (the phone) or the storage card.  Once you make your selection, the menus will close. 

5.
Again, press the Right Soft key.

6.
This time, however, select the Update Library item.  Media Player will update your phone’s library to reflect the currently stored media files. 

7.
After a few seconds, the Right Soft key, labeled Done, will be enabled.  Press it.  You will now notice a file folder structure at the top of which you will see is labeled “My Music.”

8.
Assuming you are working with audio only files, select the My Music folder. 

9.
Now choose from one of the resulting folders including All Music, Artists, Album, and Genre. 

10.
Continue to drill down until you reach the file level of the data structure. 

Once you select a file, you can do many things with it including playing it or checking the number of times the file has been played on your Smart Phone. 

To check the number of times a file has been played on your Smart Phone do the following: 

1.
Select a file from within Windows Media Player Mobile.  Note that selecting a file simply means to highlight, not open it.

2.
Press the Right Soft key labeled Menu.

3.
Select Properties.

4.
Press the Down arrow on your phone until you see the Play Count field.  Note that each field is followed on the subsequent line by its value.  That is, once you see Play Count, you will need to press the Down arrow once more in order to see the number of times the file has been played on your Smart Phone.
 

MOBILE SPEAK FOR SMART PHONE USERS:

Please review the Windows Media Player list of commands found in the Quick Start Guide of MSS in order to learn how to create, move between, and delete bookmarks in your media files.  Click Here to read it now. 
 

CONCLUSION AND MORE:

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, that’s all there is to it.

Oh, one more thing.  I almost forgot. 

Click Here to receive a little gift I have for  you that I know you will like.

Enjoy,

Mark