As a foreigner living in Japan, having the ability to display multiple languages on my computer is something of a necessity. However, when it comes to updating or otherwise modifying a Windows Mobile device to handle East Asian languages, it can be quite the challenge. Luckily, though, there are some options available to anyone who absolutely must have this ability.
DISCLAIMER: Before doing anything listed in this article, you should back up your data and have the factory firmware CD on hand in the event you don’t like using a Windows Mobile device with half its functionality stripped out! Shortly after applying this unofficial Japanese language patch to an HP iPaq 211, the following problems were found:
- buttons and direction bad became unresponsive
- word auto-completion was disabled
- Japanese Localization was set as default, changing several screens to show Kanji and Katakana characters rather than English (this can be easily changed back, though)
- system became more prone to errors and had to be reset at least once per day
- Block Recognizer (Grafitti Pad) began to have difficulties recognizing ‘a’, ‘c’, ‘g’, ‘r’ and ‘%’
While most of these problems are considered acceptable for heavily-used devices over 3 years old (well … it’s been common with my older hardware, anyway), it may not be something you want to live with on a newer machine. The localization file I’ve supplied was originally posted here (Japanese) and there is no warranty, expressed or implied, with the software. Please do not apply this patch unless you accept that some existing functionality may no longer operate as before.
That said, it seems to work well with HTC and Palm-based mobile devices.
Okay, with that out of the way, let’s update some software!
Installing the Patch
As I had mentioned in the disclaimer, the Japanese Language patch can be downloaded directly from Asukal’s site, and it seems to work for quite a few of the HTC phones, as well as Palm-based devices. Although my HP iPaq 211 was not happy with the software, I’m sure that it can be useful to a few people online.
Installing the patch was insanely simple. The files required are in .zip format and can be easily opened directly on the mobile device. From there, Windows Mobile will ask if you want to install the software, to which you should happily agree. This will install the necessary language files and update your regional settings to Japanese. Since I’m already in Japan, having the default currency symbol being set as ¥ and the time zone as GMT+9 isn’t really an issue. However, you might feel otherwise.
As with all language installations, you will be prompted to perform a restart, and should do so with all haste.
Once the system boots back up, one of the first things you’ll notice is the Today Screen. Or, I should say, the date on the Today Screen, as it will be in Japanese. For the most part, this will not be a problem. However, for some, it may be a bit of a concern. To change it back to English (or another language of your choosing), you will need to go to the “Regional Settings” in your Settings/System menu. From here, you can return the currency code, time zone and regional language to that of your choosing.
Checking the Hardware
Before getting to involved with this patch, I would recommend checking your system’s functionality right after the reboot. It was at this moment that I discovered, much to my horror, that the buttons, direction pad and auto-word completion functions would no longer operate. On top of this, there were a few features in Word Mobile that disappeared, such as the Word Count. If this is true for your system and you cannot live without the controls or simple features, you can uninstall the patch through the “Remove Programs” applet. At this point, the system will go back to normal and you can continue on your merry way.
Considering how I had just come from an older HP PDA that was only semi-functional, I had thought that I could live without these simple features. I survived two weeks.
Although the non-functional buttons had been one heck of a problem for me, the biggest deterrent to keeping this patch installed was the fact that the word auto-completion was missing and the Grafitti pad started having trouble recognizing some key letters and extended characters. I jot almost every blog post on my iPaq before uploading them to whatever site it was written for, so having any feature disabled that saves me time is a big deal-killer. Despite some of the excellent suggestions available on Asukal’s site, nothing I had done would resolve these issues. Also, considering how I’m in the midst of writing some software for Windows Mobile, having a semi-operational PDA is not quite the optimal situation for testing the quality of my code.
I’m Sure It’s Great, But It’s Not For Me
In the two weeks I had used a semi-Japanese PDA, I had come to enjoy several of the features that were present. I liked the fact that the dates were in Japanese, and that I could visit my site and those of some friends without seeing a bunch of rectangles in the place of Japanese characters. I liked the fact that I could see Japanese characters in my email, rather than weird high-ASCII or ugly squares. I also enjoyed how unique the PDA felt. I knew that I could, if I so chose, install some Japanese software and it would display just fine. Unfortunately, I never went quite that far, as the limitations were just to … well … limiting.
From what I’ve seen, this patch works great on HTC mobile devices, and some of the newer Palm-based devices. Since I will probably never own a product by either of these manufacturers, especially Palm, I don’t think this version of the software is something I can use for any serious amount of time.
So, just to be completely certain that the system is clear of any changes, I’ll be performing a factory reset and loading all of my software back onto the ever-tolerant iPaq 211. It’s managed to survive it’s first four weeks with me and, aside from a few occasions where it’s unexplicable lag has caused me to say “WTF!”, it’s been a great little unit.
Do you have any experience with other language packs on mobile devices? Have you managed to get Asukal’s patch to work on your Windows Mobile device? I’d love to hear any stories you might have.
Note: To perform a factory reset on HP’s iPaq 210-series PDAs, push and hold the voice record, start, and OK buttons, then hit reset. This will clear the system of all data and force a factory reload from ROM. Be sure to back up any data you might want to keep before doing this though, as everything (even the data in the iPaq File Store) will be erased.
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