Is there a Smartphone that can run Windows XP Programs?

June 10, 2010 3:22 PM

Is there a Smartphone that can run Windows XP Programs?

I still use a personal information manager called "Ecco Pro" that's from the 1990's and haven't found any "modern" program that can replace it. I've held off on getting of a sophisticated phone because I'd like to be able to (at least) view the data I have stored on Ecco Pro on my smartphone.

Is there any sort of emulator out there that can do this (i.e., run a wondows program on a phone)? (I saw something about an upcoming "Windows XP Phone," but wasn't sure how real that was.)

Thanks,

Jon

posted by Jon44 to technology (6 answers total)

You're the last one. You're like Will Smith in "I Am Legend". You have to move off of Ecco Pro at some point. There is no other simple alternative.

You can sync Ecco Pro to Palm devices via Hotsync so an older pre-Pre device may be your best bet.
posted by GuyZero at 3:28 PM on June 10, 2010

ECCO PRO still alive:

Additionally, there is exciting news for PalmOS and webOS users. Finally, after 13 years, manual editing of the Windows Registry is no longer required. We have updated our latest EccoPro installation in cooperation with MotionApps to make it compatible with webOS and the new Palm Pre.

posted by artlung at 3:32 PM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

No phone exists that will run programs that were originally written for Windows desktop operating system. While Microsoft has operating systems like Windows CE (compact edition), Windows Mobile and the forthcoming Windows Phone 7, none of them are full implementations of desktop Windows. Each of these are special purpose operating systems that have some common underpinnings to help desktop developers write programs for the mobile device but the similarities between them end there. Applications for the mobile platform have to be written especially for the mobile operating system.

On preview, you will at least have something to sync to. With that said, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start researching and experimenting with alternatives for your desktop software.
posted by mmascolino at 3:45 PM on June 10, 2010

There are a couple of phone-ish things that do run Windows and all its programs...HTC Shift and Viliv N5 are two examples. I say phone-ish things because even though these can connect to the cell network, they only make calls with extra software. And they're quite a bit larger than a regular phone, are very expensive, and get poor battery life.
posted by miyabo at 6:25 PM on June 10, 2010

No phone exists that will run programs that were originally written for Windows desktop operating system.

Not yet, perhaps, but there's one on the way. Android Dosbox. It's in early alpha and will run on G1 and G2 phones, but does not play very nice yet.
posted by zippy at 10:04 PM on June 10, 2010

Probably not ideal, but the best I can come up with - run a direct connect client on a smartphone. I think you can do this on Windows phones, but on my Android I use PhoneMyPC. I have it set to connect to my XP machine that is always on at home and I can access data/programs through my Droid.
posted by bristolcat at 7:37 AM on June 11, 2010