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.jpg) A CompaqiPAQ 3630 Pocket PC from 2001 | |
| Developer | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Type | |
| Lifespan |
|
| Operating system | Pocket PC/Windows Mobile based onWindows CE |
| Predecessor | Palm-size PC |
| Successor | Windows Phone(as a combined software and hardware branding) |
| Related | Handheld PC |
APocket PC (P/PC,PPC) is a class ofpersonal digital assistant (PDA) that runs theWindows Mobileoperating system, which is based onWindows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, and that has some of the abilities of modern desktopPCs. The name was introduced byMicrosoft in 2000 as a rebranding of thePalm-size PC category and was marketed until 2007. Some of these devices also had integrated phone and data capabilities, which were known asPocket PC Phone Edition and are comparable to more modernsmartphones.Windows Smartphone is another Windows CE based platform for non-touch and non-PDA devices.
In 2007, with the advent ofWindows Mobile 6.0, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of a new naming scheme:[1]
As of 2010, thousands ofapplications existed for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which werefreeware.[2][better source needed] Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can be used with many add-ons such asGPS receivers,barcode readers,RFID readers, and cameras. Pocket PC was replaced byWindows Phone in 2010 but even after versions were released based on the Windows NT kernel were ultimately unable to compete with the iPhone of 2007 and Android phones and interest waned in Pocket PCs without phones.
The Pocket PC was an evolution from prior calculator-sized computers. Keystroke-programmable calculators which could do simple business and scientific applications were available by the 1970s. In 1982, Hewlett Packard'sHP-75 incorporated a 1-line text display, an alphanumeric keyboard,HP BASIC language and some basic PDA abilities. TheHP 95LX,HP 100LX andHP 200LX series packed a PC-compatibleMS-DOS computer with graphics display and QWERTY keyboard into a palmtop format. TheHP OmniGo 100 and120 used a pen and graphics interface on DOS-basedPC/GEOS, but was not widely sold in the United States. TheHP 300LX built a palmtop computer on the Windows CE operating system.
Palm-size PC (PsPC) was Microsoft's official name for Windows CE PDAs that were smaller thanHandheld PCs by the lack of a physical keyboard. The class was announced in January 1998 originally as "Palm PC" which provoked a lawsuit byPalm Inc., and the name changed soon afterwards to Palm-size PC before release.[3] These devices were similar to the Handheld PC and also ranWindows CE, however this version was more limited and lacked PocketMicrosoft Office,Pocket Internet Explorer,ActiveX and some other tools.[4] Its main competitor was thePalmPilot andPalm III.[5] According to the specification, Palm-size PCs useSuperH SH3 processors andMIPS architecture. The term "palm-sized PC" was also used as a generic term of similar such devices that are not necessary connected to Microsoft, such as the PalmPilot.
Microsoft's Handheld PCs and Palm-size PCs did not gain much success in the markets compared to Palm, with users complaining the Windows CE software were hard to use and the devices themselves were thick.[6] On April 19, 2000, Microsoft introduced Pocket PC with a revamped interface and to better compete against the popular Palm devices. The Pocket PC was based on the all new version 3.0 of Windows CE. HP,Casio andCompaq were the first OEMs with Pocket PC devices in 2000.[7][8] The familiar desktop Windows UI from Palm-size PCs was removed in favor of a more tailored interface on Pocket PCs.[4]
According to Microsoft, the Pocket PC is "a handheld device that enables users to store and retrievee-mail, contacts, appointments, tasks, playmultimediafiles,games, exchange text messages withWindows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger), browse theWeb, and more."[9]
Prior to the release ofWindows Mobile 2003, third-party software was developed using Microsoft's eMbedded Visual Tools, eMbedded Visual Basic (eVB) and eMbedded Visual C (eVC).[10] eVB programs can usually be converted fairly easily to NS Basic/CE.[11] or to Basic4ppc.
In 2007, the Pocket PC name was dropped altogether. The Pocket PC Phone Edition became Windows Mobile Professional; the Smartphone became Windows Mobile Standard; and the classic phone-less Pocket PC (which by now had become a niche) became Windows Mobile Classic.[12]
The Pocket PC/Windows Mobile OS was superseded byWindows Phone on February 15, 2010, when the latter was announced at Mobile World Congress that year. No existing hardware was officially supported for a Windows Phone 7 upgrade. Additionally, not a single one of the thousands of apps available for Windows Mobile would run unaltered on Windows Phone.
From a technical standpoint, "Pocket PC" is a Microsoft specification that sets various hardware and software requirements for mobile devices bearing the "Pocket PC" label.
For instance, any device which is to be classified as a Pocket PC must:[citation needed]
Pocket PC 2000 was launched April 2000, and ranWindows CE 3.0. Pocket PC 2000 featured a mobile version of Microsoft Office, a chief feature being the ability to password-protect Excel files.
Pocket PC 2002 was launched October 2001, and was powered byWindows CE 3.0, as with its predecessor. Some Pocket PC 2002 devices were also sold as "Phone Editions", which included cell phone functionality in addition to the PDA abilities.
Windows Mobile 2003 consisted of the Windows CE.NET 4.2 operating system bundled with scaled-down versions of many popular desktop applications, includingMicrosoft Outlook,Internet Explorer,Word,Excel,Windows Media Player, and others.
Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition added native landscape, square screen and VGA support as well as other fixes and changes to those features already present in the original release of Windows Mobile 2003.
Windows Mobile 5 for Pocket PC was based on Windows CE 5 and contained many fixes and improvements over Windows Mobile 2003.
Pocket PCs running prior versions of the operating system generally stored user-installed applications and data inRAM, which meant that if the battery was depleted the device would lose all of its data. Windows Mobile 5.0 solved this problem by storing all user data in persistent (flash) memory, leaving the RAM to be used only for running applications, as it would be on a desktop computer. As a result, Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PCs generally had more flash memory, and less RAM, compared to earlier devices.
Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6, internally code-named 'Crossbow', was officially released by Microsoft on February 12, 2007. Mobile 6 was still based on Windows CE 5 and was effectively just a face-lift of Windows Mobile 5. With Mobile 6 also came Microsoft's new naming conventions and devices were no longer called Pocket PCs: devices with no phone abilities were named Windows Mobile Classic, and devices with phone abilities were named Windows Mobile Professional.
Microsoft'sWindows Mobile 6.1 was announced on April 1, 2008, and introduced instant messaging-like texting.[13] Windows Mobile 6.1 was built uponWindows CE 5.
The first Windows Mobile 6.5 device was first shown in September 2009. LeakedROMs surfaced in July 2009 for specific devices.[14] The genericROM images for Mobile 6.5 are also available as part of the officially distributed and freely downloadable development kit.[15]
Several phones running Windows Mobile 6.1 can be updated to Windows Mobile 6.5.[16]
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Before the Pocket PC brand was launched, there were other Windows-based machines of the same form factor called Palm-size PCs. These devices ran Windows CE 2.0–2.11 and had an interface that was similar to the then-current desktop versions of Windows likeWindows 95. The first of these was theEverex Freestyle, also known asHTC Kangaroo, from 1998.[17] Other examples includeCasio Cassiopeia E-10/E-11,Compaq Aero 1500/1520,Philips Nino andHP Jornada 420/430.
Pocket PCs were manufactured and sold by several different companies; the major manufacturers includeHP (under theiPAQ and now defunctJornada brands),Toshiba,Acer,Asus,Dell (under the now defunctAxim brand),Fujitsu Siemens,E-TEN,HTC, andViewSonic. In mid-2003,Gateway Computers andJVC announced they would release Pocket PCs, but the projects were discontinued before a product was released. Prices in 2003 ranged from aroundUS$800 for the high-end models, some of which are combined with cell phones, to $200 for low-end models. A $100–$200 model was rumored to be released within 2004 or early 2005, although the lowest price for a just-released Pocket PC never went under $300. Many companies ceased to sell PDA's by 2003–2004 because of a declining market. Major companies such as Viewsonic and Toshiba stopped producing new Pocket PCs.
Companies likeO2,T-Mobile andOrange were marketing Pocket PCs that have integrated mobile telephony (smartphones). All users have to do is put in theSIM card and follow the wizard, to put their SIM contacts in the address book. An example isO2's Xda, orT-Mobile's MDA Compact. Both of these devices, while bearing the phone operator's logo, are manufactured by the dominant Pocket PC manufacturerHTC.
One of the more popular high-end consumer-market Pocket PCs was theDell Axim x51v, which was discontinued in 2007. Hardware specs included 3.7" color TFT VGA display with 640x480 resolution, Intel XScaleTM PXA270 processor at 624 MHz, 336 MB of memory (256 MB flash, 64 MB SDRAM), integrated 802.11b and Bluetooth 1.2, integrated Intel 2700G multimedia accelerator with 16 MB video memory. Expansion was possible via CompactFlash Type II and SD slots (supporting SDIO Now!, SDIO and MMC cards). Included is a 1,100 mAh user replaceable battery (est. 4–6.5 hours, 2200 mAh also available).[18]
Some Pocket PCs featured integrated GPS often combined with mobile phone functionality. Pocket PCs with built-in telephony differ from Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition devices in several respects, including the lack of a touchscreen on the latter. Some examples of current Pocket PCs with GPS integrated are the Fujitsu SiemensPocket Loox N560, a high-end Pocket PC with a VGA screen and an integrated SiRF Star III GPS; theHTC TyTN, a small communicator with integrated slide in keyboard; the HP hw6945 and HP iPAQ hw6515 with integratedthumb-board, GPS and GSM/GPRS telephony; the HTC top-of-the-line Universal, branded as the QTek 9000 (also branded by various telecommunications companies as the Orange SPV M5000, T-mobile MDA Pro, Vodafone VPA IV, O2 Xda Exec, i-Mate JasJar, Dopod 900).[19]
A newer entrant into the Pocket PC market was its rivalPalm, which sold devices like theTreo 700w/wx based on Windows Mobile 5.0 and featuring integrated telephony. Previous to this, Palm only produced PDAs running its ownPalm OS (as did the first versions of the Palm Treo) before it was losing popularity to Pocket PC's Windows Mobile.[20]
HTC manufactured up to 80% of all phone enabled Windows Mobile devices for other companies (including HP and O2), as well as many non-phone Pocket PCs (for companies such as Dell, HP and Fujitsu Siemens) as of 2006. HTC was by now marketing Windows Mobile devices under their own brand, as well as that of Dopod.[21]
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