| Pocket PC 2000 | |
|---|---|
| Version of theWindows Mobile operating system | |
 | |
 Today screen of Pocket PC 2000 | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Source model | Closed source |
| Released to manufacturing | April 19, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-04-19) |
| Supported platforms | |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (Windows CE) |
| License | Proprietarycommercial software |
| Preceded by | Palm-size PC |
| Succeeded by | Pocket PC 2002 |
| Official website | www |
| Support status | |
| |
Pocket PC 2000 (marketed asPocket PC) was the first member of theWindows Mobile family ofmobile operating systems that was released on April 19, 2000, and was based onWindows CE 3.0. It is the successor to the operating system aboardPalm-size PCs;backwards compatibility was retained with such Palm-size PC applications. It was mainly intended forPocket PC devices, however several Palm-size PC devices had the ability to be updated also. Furthermore, several Pocket PC 2000 phones were released (under the name Handheld PC 2000), although Microsoft's "Smartphone" hardware platform had not yet been established at that time.
Aesthetically, Pocket PC 2000 was meant to be similar in design to the then-currentWindows 98 andWindows 2000 desktop operating systems, as well as the yet-to-be-releasedWindows Me (which was still in development at the time of Pocket PC 2000's release). It had multiple built-in applications,[1] many of them similarly branded to match their desktop counterparts, such asMicrosoft Reader,Microsoft Money,Pocket Internet Explorer, andWindows Media Player. A version ofMicrosoft Office calledPocket Office was also bundled and included Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Pocket Outlook. Notes, a note-taking app saw its first release and would be supported by most later versions of Windows Mobile.
When Pocket PC 2000 was released, Pocket PC devices had not been standardized with a specific CPU architecture. As a result, it was released on multiple CPU architectures, such asSH-3,MIPS, andARM. The only resolution supported by this release was 240 x 320 (QVGA). Removable storage card formats that were supported wereCompactFlash andMultiMediaCard.Infrared (IR) File beaming capability was among the original hardware features.
Mainstream support for the operating system ended on September 30, 2005, and extended support ended on October 9, 2007.[2]
Microsoft long knew of the importance and potential of mobile computers, and in the 1990s had made previous attempts to capture the market. It released in 1993Windows for Pen Computing, a software used to addpen computing functions to mobile computers runningWindows 3.1. The software's potential for success was hampered by its ponderous base code and the fact that handwriting recognition technology at the time had practical limitations. Microsoft then sought to develop a device called WinPad, which would have been used to wirelessly access and synchronize data between it and desktop machines, as well as other WinPads, but its operating system's large consumption of resources caused the company to redesign asMicrosoft at Work, an embedded operating system for office machines, with similar synchronization functions. However, its delayed, costly development and device manufacturers subsequently abandoning it led to the project's cancellation. During that time, Microsoft also began work on a project to develop a device used to communicate withpaging systems, and its operating system was to be used inset-top boxes, but that project proved to be too ambitious and thus folded in 1995.[3]
The teams of the two cancelled projects were consolidated in 1995, and Microsoft hoped to create a mobile device that ran on theWindows NT kernel. It decided to use its new kernel, Windows CE, after realizing that Windows NT was too bulky to fit on a device. This kernel debuted in Microsoft's "Handheld PC", and reappeared in the company'sPalm-size PC,[4] both of which were criticized for their slow performance, short battery life, and graphical user interface. With these devices, Microsoft had only ten percent of thepersonal digital assistant (PDA) market share, whereas its rival,Palm, Inc., had over half of it.[3]
Microsoft reapproached Windows CE's design in the development of its third PDA, then codenamed "Rapier".[5] Its desktop user interface was replaced with one more suited for mobile devices, more applications came preinstalled, and the company more firmly defined and extended both the hardware and software specifications to ensure software compatibility.[3] Windows CE 3.0 became the operating system for Microsoft's next PDA and the first member of the Windows Mobile family, Pocket PC, and it was launched on April 19, 2000.[5] A Japanese-language edition of Pocket PC was released in Japan on July 13.[6] To distinguish it from its successors, the operating system is referred to as Pocket PC 2000.[7]
Built on the Windows CE 3.0 kernel, the user interface was designed from the ground up to more closely resemblePalm OS's and much less that of a personal computer, while still retaining the look and feel of Windows desktops.[3][8] The first screen that is displayed upon booting is the Today screen, where the user can check their email inbox and view the calendar and their scheduled appointments and tasks, as well as the device's owner information.[9] The top of the screen is filled by a navigation bar, which on the left side contains a button that opens theStart menu and on the right the current time. On the bottom of the screen is a "command bar", containing menus and buttons that execute commands for programs.[10] The user navigates the interface by tapping the stylus and pressing the buttons on the device.[11] New to Microsoft's line of PDAs is tapping and holding on items to opencontext menus, analogous to right-clicking on a desktop computer.[12]
When the Start button is tapped, the Start menu drops down, revealing a bar of six last-run applications, a number of pinned applications, the menus where the applications and system settings are located, the ability to search files' names and contents, and an online application that provides help relevant to the current program.[13] Files are managed using theFile Explorer. They may be placed inside folders, and are all found inside the root folder, My Device.[14] Character input is provided via either an onlinecharacter orhandwriting recognition system or an on-screen keyboard.[15]
Pocket PC 2000 is bundled with a pocket version ofMicrosoft Office, anoffice suite that features pocket versions ofExcel andWord.[16] Also included is a pocket version of the web browserInternet Explorer, based on version 3.1. Features of version 3.1 not supported by Pocket Internet Explorer areJava applets;VBScript; andHTML tags<applet>,<blink>,<isindex>,<link>,<marquee>,<object>, and<style>. The web browser's encryptionkey size is only 40 bits long, rather than 128 bits at the time.[17] Microsoft released a separate add-on offering support for the 128-bitSecure Sockets Layer protocol.[18]
The capabilities of the hardware devices running Pocket PC made the operating system suitable formultimedia and playing Windows CE games.[19]Windows Media Player is used to play backMP3 andWMA files.[20]Voice Recorder is used to capture sound via the device's microphone, which is then saved in theWAV format, and can be played back here.[21] A majority of the games for Windows CE were made freely downloadable from the Internet, and a few were titles launched commercially at retail stores and on websites.[22] Included in every Pocket PC device is the card gameMicrosoft Solitaire.[23] The rest of the games are installed by connecting the device to and running the setup program on a computer.[24]
All Pocket PC 2000 devices have aUSB port and an infrared port that meets theInfrared Data Association standard. The USB port has the sole function of synchronizing data with PCs and does not support peripherals.[25] The infrared port is used to transfer data between PCs or other Pocket PC devices at a maximum speed of 115.2 kbps.[26]
Most Pocket PC 2000 devices shipped with 32 MB ofrandom access memory (RAM) and a few had an expansion slot formemory cards. These slots supported PC cards and those for mobile devices, such as theCompactFlash.[27] The memory itself is used to store both files and working data, and is allocated to either of them both automatically and manually.[28] At this time, there was no set standard for whichinstruction set architecture to use, but all devices used eitherMIPS,SH-3, orStrongARM processors.[29] The processors ran with top speeds ranging from 131 to 206 MHz.[30]
CNET compared Pocket PC 2000 and Palm OS devices and considered the latter to be its favorite personal digital assistant, scoring it 8 points out of 10—one point higher than Pocket PC—because of its simple interface, stability, and lower price. It praised Pocket PC's improved user interface, bundled applications and ability to continuously synchronize mobile and desktop computer data, but criticized its inconsistent character recognition system. It concluded that Pocket PC was best suited for users who liked Windows and were unconcerned about budget.[8]InfoWorld viewed the operating system as an excellent platform for application developers, especially those writing inC++, praising the ease of development and portability of Windows applications, as well as support for networking and database access, although criticizing the lack of scripting inJScript and VBScript and decisions by hardware manufacturers such as to limit the devices to one expansion slot, not design their USB ports for expandability, and an underpowered infrared. It wrote that Pocket PC was a viable alternative to laptops for its price.[31]
Within ten months, one million devices running Pocket PC 2000 were shipped. In May 2001, the figure was 1.25 million.NPD Intelect reported that in the US, the devices made for 26 percent of sales priced at $350 or higher, but only 10 percent of sales overall, and that Palm OS devices filled almost all of the rest of the market share.[32] By August, about two million Pocket PC devices were sold.[33] The best-selling model series wasCompaq'siPAQ, which had dominated the market since its debut in 2000.[34] The operating system's successor,Pocket PC 2002, was released in October 2001.[35]
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