Connect USB device to Pocket PC
Q: My Pocket PC has a port on the bottom that connects to my USB sync cradle. Can I use USB keyboards, hard drives or other USB devices with my Pocket PC? Are there USB adapters for my Pocket PC?
A: The short answer to this question is no. USB devices are either USB Hosts or USB Clients. A USB Host is a device to which USB peripherals connect. Your desktop or laptop is a USB Host. A USB Client, a USB keyboard, scanner or printer, is a device which connects to a USB Host. The vast majority of Pocket PCs are USB Clients, more similar to a keyboard than to a Windows PC.
There are Pocket PCs that have USB hosting capabilities, but not many. One such Pocket PC is the Toshiba e805. With an optional Expansion Pack, the e805 acts as a USB Host. The problem here is that very few USB devices have drivers written for the Pocket PC operating system, and without these drivers, the Pocket PC doesn’t know how to “talk” to most USB Clients.
If you own a Pocket PC with USB hosting, you’ll need to check with the manufacturer of any USB device you wish to use with it to make sure that Pocket PC or Windows Mobile drivers have been written for the device.
To connect USB devices to Pocket PC, use any drivers or applications, you need to have a PPC with USB host functionality like Casio E200, Toshiba e740/e335/e750, or FSC Pocket LOOX 720 etc. Download drivers from http://www.deje.gmxhome.de/
Without the Pocket PC with USB host capability, a USB host adaptor specifically designed for Windows Mobile is required to connect USB devices to your Pocket PC.
