The .NET Compact Framework (CF) is a version of the .NET Framework for mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and Pocket PCs. The final versions of the CF and the Smart Device Extensions (SDE) were released in February of 2003, yet in spite of widespread interest in the technology, there has been very little information released so far to help developers master these powerful new tools. Together the CF and the SDE provide a rich development environment for building both stand-alone and connected applications on both the Pocket PC and Windows CE platforms. The authors have been teaching developers about the CF and SDE for months now, and have based this book on the real-world questions raised - and solutions developed - in those training sessions. The authors strike a perfect balance between the "whys" of mobile development, the architecture, and the "hows", the best practices. Busy developers will appreciate their concise style.