Getting the IMEI number for Pocket PC phone edition devices

Introduction

Take a situation where you have a mobile application running on a Pocket PC phone edition where you want to automatically get the unique device ID to track which device is doing what. Well, as standard, each phone device will have an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) which is a unique 15-digit number. Reading this number from the device in eVB or VB.NET/C# means we can attach this to our data to know exactly which device we are dealing with.

It’s also useful for security purposes to know what devices to “lock” should they get stolen.

Sapphire Solutions (http://www.sapphire-solutions.co.uk) have developed a utility that allows eVB and VB.NET/C# developers to retrieve the device’s IMEI number right from within the program. Of course, it only works with SmartPhone and Pocket PC 2002/2003 Phone Edition devices.

Utility overview

The Sapphire IMEI Utility is a small DLL that can be called from within eVB and VB.NET/C#. It will return the unique IMEI number that can be used within your application.

Running the demo project

Sapphire have also provided an extensive demo project in both eMbedded Visual Basic and VB.NET that show how to use all the functions of the DLL. You get all the eVB and VB.NET source code which is not only great for experienced programmers to implement the utility, but also great for new programmers to see how the application has been approached.

The latest version of the Sapphire IMEI Utility can be downloaded from their web site here:
http://www.sapphire-solutions.co.uk/product.asp?product=IMEI

Once you have downloaded the demo project and unzip it, you will have two versions of the demo project, one for eVB and the other for VB.NET. You will also have a folder containing the different DLLs compiled for the different devices.

Simply select the DLL that matches the device. If you are developing in eVB, then you will need to copy the DLL to the \Windows\ path. Alternatively, if you are developing in VB.NET or C#, you need to copy the DLL to the application path. Check the project settings to see where the demo project will deploy itself to.

Now you are ready to run the demo. Please note the following screenshots have been taken from the VB.NET demo project.

IMEI Demo

Sample code

Public Function IMEI(ByVal lDeviceID As Integer) As String

  Dim sIMEIStore As String

  Dim hInstance As Integer

  sIMEIStore = Space(100)

  sIMEI(sIMEIStore, hInstance, lDeviceID, SapphireIMEILicence)

  IMEI = StripString(sIMEIStore)

End Function

Dim sIMEI As String

Dim lDeviceID As Integer

For lDeviceID = 0 To 10

  lblDeviceID.Text = "Device ID is " & lDeviceID

  lblDeviceID.Update()

  sIMEI = IMEI(lDeviceID)

  If Len(sIMEI) >= 15 Then

    sIMEI = Mid(sIMEI, 1, 15)

    lblIMEI.Text = "IMEI Number is " & sIMEI

    lblIMEI.Update()

    Exit For

  End If

Next lDeviceID

Manual documentation

Sapphire Solutions also provide a comprehensive manual for all their utilities. It includes a definition of the DLL function calls, some sample code and FAQs to help with any troubleshooting.

Their manual documentation can be viewed online, downloaded as a HTML document for offline use and even a downloadable Windows help file. These can all be found on their web site at http://www.sapphire-solutions.co.uk/manual.

Licence of use

Sapphire Solutions provide an unlimited use demo version of the Sapphire IMEI Utility. While the product will function as normal, the user will receive a popup message stating that it is a demo version. It is great for trying out the utility, checking device compatibility, building it into your application and selling the idea to your customer. Students can use it as well for their college or university projects without having to purchase it either.

Of course though, for commercial applications being developed you will need to get a licence for the utility to make it run without any pop-ups. The good thing about Sapphire’s pricing policy is that it is a one off fee and you or your company can use it as many times as you like for your projects royalty free. There are no royalties required for rolling out your application to your client.

With that you will also get 12 months support via email to their experienced technical team. They also provide upgrades for the latest versions at discounted prices which also extend the 12 months support by a further 12 months