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Handhelds Microsoft Hardware

Microsoft Rolls Out Pocket PC 2003 195

Posted by Hemos from the brand-new dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Monday, June 23 was a big day for Microsoft's mobile devices software strategy. The company: (1) rolled out Pocket PC 2003 (and renamed it); (2) unveiled a new "Windows Mobile" branding strategy; and (3) launched a collaboration with three leading high-speed wireless service providers to provide easier access to more than 3,500 Wi-Fi wireless "hot spots" by Windows-powered PDAs throughout the US. All this (and more) is covered in this "special report" at WindowsForDevices.com (including a detailed list of enhancements in Pocket PC 2003)."
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Microsoft Rolls Out Pocket PC 2003 More

Microsoft Rolls Out Pocket PC 2003

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  • Windows (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Bigby ( 659157 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:38AM (#6272720)
    So they still aren't changing the name "Windows", since it has basically lost its trademark? You'd think they would change "Windows" to something else in all their OS products so they could trick..er..show that they actually changed the product (marketing scheme).

  • Wireless hotspots? Maybe this will make... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    the internet community develop a proper PKI infrastructure.

  • Ah... marketing (Score:5, Funny)

    by awtbfb ( 586638 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:39AM (#6272724)

    ... rolled out Pocket PC 2003 (and renamed it)

    again

    • Re:Ah... marketing (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      our good ol' pal bill gates once said something to the effect that "People don't buy good products, they buy good marketing"
      • But the scary part is that that statement is the absolute truth. Look at all the people that sign up for MSN, AOL, and own Windoze Boxes.
        • "But the scary part is that that statement is the absolute truth. Look at all the people that sign up for MSN, AOL, and own Windoze Boxes."

          Look at all the Slashdot users who run Linux for the sake of being cool here. It's pretty well marketed here.

          I'm still amazed that Mac isn't more popular than it is.

    • Re:Ah... marketing (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Bigby ( 659157 )
      My guess is that they want to market the Pocket PC OS on "won't fit in my pocket" mobile electronics, like Tablet PCs. Would you rather use "Windows Mobile" or "Pocket PC" on Tablet PCs? Plus, because it has "Windows" in the name, it must be better just like MSN must be better because it is based on Microsoft technology. :)

      • Re:Ah... marketing (Score:3, Interesting)

        by malfunct ( 120790 )
        They will never use the Mobile version of windows on tablet PC. The whole idea of tablet pc is to have a full desktop OS (Windows XP Tablet Edition) on hardware the size of a notebook. Its a "full power" pc with features of a pocket PC.

        PocketPC always has windows in the name, since it was Windows CE Pocket PC. Renaming is definitely a marketing thing though, when you rename something people think its new and give it another look. I don't think this is bad, its just the way things work. I'm glad that you can

      • My guess is that they want to market the Pocket PC OS on "won't fit in my pocket" mobile electronics, like Tablet PCs.

        More likely on GPS receivers that are designed for in-car use and are not really pocket ready.

        If you try to buy an in-car navigation system from the likes of garmin you end up paying $1500 by the time you have a usable system, the devicde costs $$$ then the maps cost $$$$ then there are updates, the car install kit and so on. Compared to that the cost of pocketPC plus software + GPS CF

    • As in windows compact edition or some such?

      My ever-changing mood.
    • ...(and renamed it)...Windows Mobile...


      Wind blows,

      Thru my butt cheeks.

      Words of Wisdom,

      Heartily felt.

  • WinCE? PocketPC OS? What about developers who got 'access' to WinCE code? And most importantly when's the 1st Service Pack coming up?

  • Why new name? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anime_Fan ( 636798 ) <slashdot&sjoelund,net> on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:41AM (#6272745) Homepage
    I see that the Pocket PC will be named Windows Mobile. It seems they want to use another brand, possibly to increase the wide-spread usage of the word 'Windows', but why?
    I for one have always thought PocketPC as something that is LESS Microsoft, which is a Good Thing (TM). I would never buy a copy of Windows XP while I could consider buying a PocketPC (but not a Windows Mobile)...

    I don't know what to do *Cries in horror*
    • You could think of novel ways to combine the two words to create a negative connotation.

      I like the sound of WinBile.

    • Re:Why new name? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Do you realize how stupid that sounds? You buy (or don't buy) products based on their name instead of their quality and usefulness?

    • Why? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      They're eliminating the generic nature of the acronym "PC". By implying it's a PC, they imply that something other than windows can run on it.

      Calling it the "Windows Mobile" is just an attempt to draw the Pocket PC hardware closer to Microsoft's bosom.

      ("snicker...he said bosom...")
    • check out the Zaurus [myzaurus.com] to see one of the best Pdas on the market. Granted it is linux based, and slashdot tends to have a lot of linux users :P
      • But even some Linux users (including myself) want a PDA that is more useful than the Zaurus. Eventually, the Z may live up to the promise of being more than something to show off at a LUG meeting. Yes, there are some useful things to do with the Z, I would be full of it if I said that. But most of the software for the Z is very rought around the edges, and outright lacking a lot of useful knids of apps. And, you can do most of the k00l stuff on a WinCE PDA- run X11, SSH/telnet, code on the PDA, wardrive

    • Re:Why new name? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tmark ( 230091 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:24AM (#6273125)
      Let's see. You know that Microsoft is behind both products, and you believe Windows sucks. But at the same time, you would consider buying a product if the OS is called "PocketPC", but you wouldn't consider buying the SAME product if it was called "Windows Mobile".

      Microsoft's marketing department is changing the product name precisely BECAUSE of people like you who are going to buy a product purely on name alone, its merits or lack of same notwithstanding. For more users than not, the Windows association is a *good* thing and the PocketPc nomenclature was probably confusing to many of them.

    • Re:Why new name? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by James Lewis ( 641198 )
      It seems rather silly to buy or not by something purely because of the name. Pocket PC is just as Microsoft as Windows XP is. They make almost all of the software the comes standard on the device. If you have some vendetta against MS, then you would be served best by looking past whatever MS decides to call their products and simply look at what products they make. I on the other hand, buy the best product available. Rarely does idiology factor into my buying (or software use) decisions. As such, I have bo
    • Half right. Windows Mobile is kind of the title, but it's really just a new name for Windows CE. You can still call a iPaq a PocketPC. In fact, Microsoft does too. I think that they new marketing is confusing really and all it is is PocketPC 2003. PocketPC 2000 was not really a new OS either. It was just new interfaces to the OS. It looks like, to me, they are trying to get people to write programs that are universal. Meaning the program will run on the SmartPhones, the PPCPE's (Pocket PC Phone Edit
      • I admit, I like the clam-shell style Windows CE devices as well. I have a Jornada 720, and it's awesome- I can do all those fancy things Zaurus users show off about, yet I have a nice big scren and a keyboard on which I can actually touchtype almost as fast as I can on a regular keyboard.

        However, I doubt they'll bring them back. PocketPC 2000 and 2002 have specified a smaller screen, fixed at 240x320, portraid orientation. I hope PPC 2003 has added something about scaling/resizing PPC apps, bringing the

  • Viewsonic V37??? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by devaldez ( 310051 )
    Does this mean they'll finally start shipping the MSDN freebie?! That would be nice...

  • Interesting timing on this announcement (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bshroyer ( 21524 ) <bret AT bretshroyer DOT org> on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:43AM (#6272769)
    I imagine that it wasn't a wild coincidence that Microsoft launches this product on the same day that a big part of the computer world is waiting on pins and needles to hear what Apple has to say at the WWDC [apple.com], which won't begin for another few hours.
    • Beat me to it. It was the first thing that popped in my head... and SOOOO M$ like.

    • Re:Interesting timing on this announcement (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      a big part of the computer world

      I think if I did a casual survey of the computer world about 5% would care about what Apple has to say and only about 1% are actually on pins and needles. I guess 1% of millions is still a big number but I would hardly consider it "a big part of the computer world."

    • "Pins and needles"? Nah, I don't think so. I think many people are interested in what Apple has to say, sure. I am. Probably so is much of the Slashdot crowd. Maybe some people are on "pins and needles" but these people would be on pins and needles if Apple was about to announce that future Macintoshes will be offered in 31 flavors including chocolate chip cookie dough.

      Honestly, I don't think Microsoft gives Apple that much credence. Such will be their downfall.

    • Apple is the trailblazer (Score:5, Interesting)

      by visionsofmcskill ( 556169 ) <vision AT getmp DOT com> on Monday June 23, 2003 @10:20AM (#6273541) Homepage Journal

      Apple is commonly referred to as "R&D south" by the Redmond campus. This term is quite apt of how most big players look at apple.

      essentialy apple is probably the greatest trend setter in consumer computers. The big boys don't use thier resources to explore new design concepts and tech use. Instead they watch apple roll out new products, and see whether or not they are succesfull and viable (iPOD + Itunes Music Store, iMac) or just a bad idea (cube).

      Apple hsn't got market share, they've got style share, or should i say... they are trendy. If something works within the apple community, it is almost garenteed to work in the windows community. Thus Companies who watch apples endeavors closely, can get a good idea on what markets to tackle, and what to leave alone.

      There are reasons why apple's brand and OS/hardware have a much higher user satisfaction, it's because they spend almost as much money (and more in some cases) on product development than the much larger players (MS, IBM, DELL, HP, etc...). They also can afford to do so... it's their identity, and what keeps them alive. Since apple has it's own market, it doesn't have to worry about it's dollars spent on reasearch vs dollars spent on market growth in comparison to other players in the same space.

      That is, dell must keep a tight budget on it's spedning, because they've got to save money to fight off sony, toshiba, HP, and others in distribution and identity. Whereas apple's identity is secure and has no DIRECT competitors in it's market (albeit a much smaller market, though apple ships nearly as many machines as the big boys do individualy) so apple's main goal is to preserve their identity of being something appealing, different and very well made. Part of being very well made and different AND APPEALING is TONS of R&D.

      I hear rumors that panther (OS X 10.3) will have native ActiveDirectory support along with a 970 at 2ghz (which should be on par with a P4 at 3.5ghz or so), Coupled with a 1ghz FSB along with a crapload of hardware goodies.... it looks like apple may be making a play for being more than trendy... but a horse-powered consumer product as well. If the next rumor is true... the implications are huge.

      Panther supposedly has a fully featured multi-user environment built for wireless displays. As in you can have 6 people with all of their own wireless displays connected to the same computer in their house. Each one has a full user environment complete with aqua and everything. Eliminating the need for multiple machines, and providing one point of data storage and access. The implications are quite similar to what was expected to be thin client computing of our day (everyone has a dumb terminal that runs from a server somewhere)

      but we shall see what happens. I personaly love the ideas of all these things, and think they would be great if implemented by apple (since apple does a stellar job on their projects)... but also find apple's releasal of products to be inconsistent, and often rumors are just that. Rumors.

  • Industry Name Identity Problem? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by peterdaly ( 123554 ) <petedaly@@@ix...netcom...com> on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:44AM (#6272778)
    Is it just me, or do you think cell-phone company when you read "Windows Mobile"?

    -Pete

  • obligatory theregister link (Score:5, Informative)

    by spiny ( 87740 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:45AM (#6272788) Homepage Journal
    theres also a summary here:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/31369.ht ml

  • Who cares? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CaptainZapp ( 182233 ) * on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:46AM (#6272804) Homepage
    Ok, apologies for seemingly being a luddite, but who actually cares?

    WiFi might be nice to give you added flexibility, but frankly do I really frantically want to search a hot spot every hour in order to download my 7 mails from which usually 7 are spam? I don't think so.

    Granted, it might be nice to pass your time by browsing the web when you wait for a train. But I can do that just fine with a newspaper.

    Methinks this is a rather desperate attempt to (finally) get a foot into the mobile, wireless world and Microsofts attempt to lure (GSM-)manufacturers/network providers in can only be described as a spectacular failure up to now.

    Also, WiFi is not the GSM killer; a notion which seems popular in the US, but it's just plain wrong. Those are two very, very different technologies with very different objectives..

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:3, Funny)

      by rosewood ( 99925 )
      Ill work your post backwards.

      Right on! It drives me crazy to read all these stories (on my pda) about how 802.11b > * . Grr. I do NOT want to go from hotspot to hotspot on my cell phone. Why do these crack smoking writers keep thinking that wifi is this amazing shiznit?

      Then, there is the whole Bluetooth v Wifi debate ... thats not even a debate. Seriously, I want to close my eyes and wait for that shit storm to pass.

      Wifi only as a time killer? Maybe... but think outside the box (heh). I use wif

      • Re:Who cares? (Score:3, Informative)

        by bleh-of-the-huns ( 17740 )
        I quite like bluetooth, although my phone has infra red, sometimes its a pain to sync data across it, and pull data from my phone. So I use bluetooth to transfer the data (my phone plays mp3's, but the damn multimedia card is under the simcard/battery, so its a pain to pull it in and out all the time). also, work well with bluetooth between my ipaq and phone (and maybe bluetooth wireless headset if they come down in price, and size cos they look rediculous currently).

        Bluetooth connects devices within a l


      • Damn it man, I'm waiting for you to get the hell out of the stall! I've got to go!!!

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Surak ( 18578 ) * <{moc.skcolbliam} {ta} {karus}> on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:53AM (#6272864) Homepage Journal
      Also, WiFi is not the GSM killer; a notion which seems popular in the US, but it's just plain wrong. Those are two very, very different technologies with very different objectives..

      Yeah...it's that whole U.S. mentality of "live free or die." People envision a world of free or very, very cheap wireless hotspots.

      What they don't get is that WiFi is for wireless LANs. It doesn't scale very well beyond providing wireless access for laptops and PDAs to a LAN and it's resources. And it doesn't even do that very well all the time, at least not until some of the major bugs are still being worked out of the technology.

      Seattle Wireless is cool and all, but take that on a national or global scale -- it just doesn't work.

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by bleh-of-the-huns ( 17740 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:54AM (#6272875)
      I am not sure what the deal is with wifi/gsm debates. But I believe this has something to do with possibly putting high gain wifi antennas on cell towers, and making phones with wifi built in. This would make for cheaper (and hopefully unlimited bandwidth at a flat fee) data service, in conjunction with cell services. as the current 3g technology is a little flakey. I am supposed to be able to get 1.5 megs down, 256k up via my phone, but I rarely get more then 45k in any direction, and at 0.008 cents per k, after my initial 4 megs.. I can rack up quite a bill by the end of the month.
    • browsing the web when you wait for a train. But I can do that just fine with a newspaper.

      That's some newspaper!

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by costas ( 38724 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @10:11AM (#6273464) Homepage
      I agree; Microsoft cares. Here's my take: Microsoft is aware that every major computer (or any technology) platform has been replaced ultimately by a lower-tier, commodity replacement. Big iron by mainframes, then minicomputers, then workstations and PCs. Their entire future and fortune depends on their control of one commodity platform, the Wintel PC. However, there is a huge emergent platform out there, and that is mobile phones and devices that talk to them, not the PC.

      I travel globally, mostly Europe and Asia; although PCs are common outside the US, mobiles are ubiquitious. Fifteen year olds SMS while waiting for a bus in Hong Kong and Paris and London, while they may just occasionally double-click on an IE icon on a desktop at home or a net cafe.

      Most of the /. crowd extrapolates from the US life-style which is car- and PC-centric while most of the world is public-transport- and mobile-centric; mobiles are much more useful and much more attractive to an average user, because they have much higher network value: think of it like this: PCs became a killer app when they started talking to each other, either via common standard or common networks. Power law of network value and all that... well, how can you compete for network nodes with cells?

      Microsoft is feeling the hit of an emerging, cost-competitive commodity platform and they want to hedge their bets. However, history is against them; Nokia makes much better phone UIs and they are riding GSM whereas MS has to deal with the fragmented and underdeveloped US cell market...
    • do I really frantically want to search a hot spot every hour in order to download my 7 mails from which usually 7 are spam?

      Speak for yourself. Me and most of my friends use e-mails and SMS to arrage meeting up, nights out etc. SMS is more popular because of it's instancy, but e-mail will catch up when proliferation of mobile e-mail becomes more widespread.

      Microsofts attempt to lure (GSM-)manufacturers/network providers in can only be described as a spectacular failure up to now.

      What failure? Please e

      • Speak for yourself. Me and most of my friends use e-mails and SMS to arrage meeting up, nights out etc. SMS is more popular because of it's instancy, but e-mail will catch up when proliferation of mobile e-mail becomes more widespread.

        So, and what exactly stops me from using sms on a phone without built in mp3 player, the capability to watch movies and the possibility to edit word/excel documents? The beauty of sms is its simplicity.

        What failure? Please elaborate on what you think is a failure.

        For star

        • Oh oh. I might be what you consider to be a "zealot". An ironic acusation, given the clear anti-MS slant present in any MS discussion here.

          This is the best phone I have ever owned, or seen. It offers functionality that is about a year ahead of the competition (at it's release). However, it is very complicated. You need to know a hell of a lot about tech to get the most out of it. Hooked up to a PC in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, this phone is spectacular. Seriously. It's a geeks dre

    • Nobody in the US refers to Wi-Fi as a "GSM Killer" because GSM is already dead here [linuxdevices.com] (CDMA has 6x the market share).

      What you're referring to is the comparison of 3G technologies (such as WCDMA or CDMA2000) to Wi-Fi, and here again you're still wrong. It's becoming very clear that the rapid growth of 802.11x hotspots will spoil the market for 3G, since they're dramatically less expensive to deploy, and they cover the spots where people are most likey to use a rich content mobile device. And spare us the

  • Dell Axim and Upgrades (Score:3, Interesting)

    by JimmyG13 ( 530501 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:48AM (#6272820)
    Does anybody know if existing Pocket PC 2002 models will be upgradable to 2003 (Especially the Dell Axim)?

    • Yes (Score:4, Informative)

      by kajoob ( 62237 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:14AM (#6273048)
      This was posted in a previous article, it is from a "contact" from within Dell. Whatever that means, but it seems legit.

      Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

      Yes, Pocket PC 2003 is real. I do not have a firm date when Dell will begin shipping Pocket PC 2003, or when upgrades will be available, or who will be eligible for free upgrades.

      One warning. I have been told that many applications that work in Pocket PC 2002 do not work in Pocket PC 2003. It appears that Pocket PC 2003 is a major Operating System upgrade and that some applications will have to be recompiled for it.

      I am at the moment testing a few applications on Pocket PC 2003, and so far I have only found one application, the game Argentum that will not run. I do not have a list of applications that will work with Pocket PC 2003, but I will try to keep you posted about any applications that I have trouble with.
    • well, looks like Dell will be selling upgrades for around $30.

      cnet article [com.com]

      aximusers.com [aximusers.com]

      think I'm going to pass on this one. considering I've been kicking myself since I bought it, I think I'll save the money for a new iPaq.

  • Apple? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Equuleus42 ( 723 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:48AM (#6272825) Homepage
    Here's to hoping that Apple truly does announce a 64-bit workstation today -- that will nicely put Microsoft's announcements in perspective. :^)

    /me dons asbestos suit...

    • Re:Apple? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by borgboy ( 218060 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:13AM (#6273027)
      Into what perspective exactly? That Microsoft released their 64-bit workstation OS almost 3 months ago? [microsoft.com]

      Just to be balanced...here [hp.com] is a shipping product.

      • Re:Apple? (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Into what perspective exactly?

        The /. perspective, obviously. Where Microsoft gets absolutely no credit for anything, ever.

      • I am willing to bet that Apple's 64-bit computer (assuming it is released) will be over a thousand dollars cheaper than the HP workstation you mentioned, and still score competitively against it...
        • Thats a new one. "Apple is better because it costs less."
        • And kudos to Apple if they deliver to your expectations. I am strongly FOR competition in the workstation market. However, my point was to the existence of shipping 64 bit software/hardware, NOT to speculate about price/performance.
          • Well, Apple just announced their Powermac G5:

            - Dual 2.0 GHz PPC970 processors
            - 160 GB of hard drive space
            - 4x DVD-R Superdrive

            $2,999

            vs. the HP system you mentioned, when configured as close to equivalently as possible:

            - Dual 900 MHz Itanium processors
            - 145 GB of hard drive space
            - CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo drive

            $10,043

            $7,000 cheaper... The only question now is how their performance compares. Time will tell!

    • Re:Apple? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by SN74S181 ( 581549 )
      You mean Apple will finally have a 64-bit machine?

      Kinda late, but I guess they've finally been invented. Now someone else can come along and copy them with, err, the Sparc and the Alpha.....

      They finally have symmetric multiprocessing (got it by buying it in from outside the company after failing time after time after time to implement their own SMP OS), so they might as well have the capability of slapping 'Now with 64 bits!' stickers on those plastic cases as well.

    • Re:Apple? (Score:3, Funny)

      by GoofyBoy ( 44399 )

      How about a PDA from Apple?

  • Was? (Score:2)

    by Enry ( 630 )
    It's 9:45AM on the East Coast of the US. Where did they announce this, London?

  • Perhaps I'm just paranoid where Microsoft is concerned, but could it, possibly, maybe, be a coincidence that Microsoft released all of this hoopla on the start of the WWDC, when Apple [apple.com] will be announcing all kinds of hardware and software releases?

    Of course it's coincidence. What was I thinking? Never mind.

  • A Little Early?? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Flamesplash ( 469287 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:49AM (#6272834) Homepage Journal
    Monday, June 23 was a big day for Microsoft's mobile devices software strategy.

    What do you mean was? It's still before 7am in Redmond, and only approaching 10am on the east coast. Sounds more like marketing.

  • uh oh, an guaranteed success. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ubergrendle ( 531719 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:51AM (#6272846) Journal
    Damn, Microsoft has hit their "version 3" of pocket devices...this is going to be a sure thing.

    1) Windows CE
    2) Windows Pocket PC
    3) Windows Pcoket PC 2003

    Damn you Microsoft! Damn you to hell!!!!!!
    • This is actually the fifth version of Windows CE. Windows CE 3.0 [microsoft.com] has been out for years. Reviews of WinCE devices came out in 2000 [geek.com], for cryin' out loud.

  • Wow! (Score:5, Funny)

    by zulux ( 112259 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @08:53AM (#6272870) Homepage Journal
    The NEW EXCITING Pocket PC 2003.NET - the best possible portable Bluescreen(tm) technology, now optomised for Intel Xscale for a 20% faster experience.

  • Who needs a PocketPC when I havemy Palm Tungsten C.

  • branding strategy (Score:3, Funny)

    by ch-chuck ( 9622 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:00AM (#6272907) Homepage
    Should you feel a sharp sting on your buttocks and the smell of searing flesh, don't worry, it's just Msft's Branding Strategy - simply continue walking down the chute and back out into the stock yard.

  • Since We've Slashdotted them.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by abcxyz ( 142455 ) * on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:02AM (#6272926) Homepage
    According to Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 Reviewer's Guide, the following new features and enhancements are contained in the newly announced 2003 version of the Pocket PC software platform . . .
    Enhanced Connection Manager user interface (UI) -- A new and more intuitive Connection Manager wizard features enhanced tabs to give users more control over selecting networks and setting dialing preferences.

    Zero Configuration connections -- Pocket PC 2003 has added Zero Configuration for Wi-Fi, designed to simplify connection with and authentication to 802.11 wireless networks. Zero Configuration is also supported when adding a dial-up modem or Ethernet network card.

    Improved animated connectivity status icons -- When using the cellular phone features of the PPC, new connectivity icons have been merged onto the navigation bar to better illustrate radio signal strength and data flow.

    Improved connectivity bubbles -- Connectivity message bubbles are clearer and less cluttered and more easily convey information about connection status, synchronization and signal strength.

    Bluetooth partnership wizard -- New wizard pops up at (Settings | Bluetooth | Paired Device Tab | New), which turns on the radio, searches for available devices and asks users to set a PIN to pair with a device. This feature allows users to easily configure Bluetooth bonding.

    Always-on Bluetooth discoverability -- The Bluetooth discoverable mode stays turned on after users activate it (until users manually changes the setting) to allow for easy Bluetooth bonding.

    Use of Bluetooth modems -- Bluetooth phones may be used as a modem to connect the Pocket PC to the Internet. This feature represents Microsoft's commitment to serving OEMs and mobile operators and to supporting the growing popularity of the Bluetooth wireless connection standard.

    Bluetooth beaming -- Users can now beam data such as Contact files using Bluetooth.

    Auto-correct -- Common spelling errors are automatically corrected during typing. Auto-correct can easily be overridden. (Not available in East Asia.)

    Auto-suggest -- Auto-suggest is extended to the email inbox, allowing users to type email more quickly.

    Turn all radios off -- One-touch ability allows users to turn off all wireless radios (802.11x, Bluetooth, cell phone, etc.) to conserve device power when not on a network or allow other features to be used while traveling on an airplane when cell phones must be turned off.

    802.1x support -- 802.1x Wi-Fi security is supported natively.

    Certificate Management UI -- New control panel applet allows users to manage client and root certificates. This is useful when users have installed a bad certificate and have difficulty logging onto Wi-Fi networks.

    IPSec/L2TP -- Windows CE provides the support for IPSec L2TP (the Microsoft VPN standard for connectivity).

    Support for Multiple VPNs -- The new Connection Manager also supports multiple VPNs.

    IPv6 support -- PPC now supports IPv6/v4 mixed environments.

    New Today screen -- Today screen automatically shows users the next day's appointments immediately after the last current day appointment expires to better manage early morning meetings.

    Smart Lookup in Contacts -- Pocket PC 2003 incorporates Smart Lookup, a feature that enables users to input the first few letters of the contact they want to open.

    Windows CE 4.2 operating system -- With the new and improved operating system, Windows CE 4.2, users will experience improved performance and stability of applications built for Pocket PC 2003 devices. .NET Compact Framework -- The integrated .NET Compact Framework brings the power of new applications that simplify the overall development and integration of Web services on smart devices, enabling developers and enterprise end users to access a wealth of data from various sources such as back-end servers, intranets and the Internet.

    Enhanced developer support

  • Only slightly offtopic (Score:5, Interesting)

    by boatboy ( 549643 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:02AM (#6272936) Homepage
    We've just begun a project developing an app for .NET Compact Framework, and I have to say, I'm impressed. RAD for a wide range of CE & Pocket PC devices using C# and VB.NET is quite inticing. The framework is fairly light, considering, but is similar enough to the full framework that it's esentially identical to programming for a full PC. Debuging is cool too: you can debug on an emulated or real-live device.

    That said: what are /.'s alternatives for rapidly developing mobile business apps?

  • PocketPC devices just make me... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Glock27 ( 446276 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:04AM (#6272952)
    WinCE.

    After all, you're buying from a convicted criminal...

    :-)

  • name changing (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SuperQ ( 431 ) * on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:13AM (#6273023) Homepage
    Name changing is basicaly a way to try and get people to forget how much your product sucks. two name changes is realy bad.

    Take Pascal for example, a teaching language, that has some major suck factor for real world programing. But a bunch of tech school clubies started using it for real world apps.

    Most real developers know it sucks, so they renamed it to Delphi, just to confuse people into using it.

    • Re:name changing (Score:3, Informative)

      by illusion_2K ( 187951 )
      Although I haven't used Delphi recently, I think you're a bit confused about it.

      They didn't 'rename' anything with Delphi. Delphi is a RAD tool which utilizes Object Pascal as it's base language (Okay... so they renamed it to 'Object Pascal'... that's what happens when you make it OO). Having used it myself in the past (well, about 5-6 years ago), I can say that in my opinion it's ***way*** better than VB. The code seems to me to be a lot cleaner and nowadays you can port your stuff to Linux really easily

    • Delphi: the real story! (Score:3, Informative)

      by fm6 ( 162816 )
      Your history is a little off. Two big mistakes:

      First, a lot of serious programmers dispute your estimate of Pascal's suck factor. Intel certainly didn't think so when they designed the 80x86 stack frame to efficiently support Pascal nested procedures. The Pascal-versus-C debate continues to this day, though I think in all practical terms C has won the argument.

      I used to believe in the "teaching language run amuck" theory of Pascal's origins too. But that was before I started using Object Pascal in the r

  • ...but I had to give it up. It used too many batteries, and it made me never want to leave the house.

  • Sounds good to me. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by djdole ( 588163 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:15AM (#6273051)
    I myself like that Microsoft renamed this version. With the name "Pocket PC" many people have abbreviated that even further to just PPC. When searching for software ventors, it's jsut a bit frustrating to be looking for Pocket PC software and keep getting Power PC related links. Both use PPC as their Acronym.

    Now all I have to worry about is a bout of retardism making me type MSM, to get SMS...:-p

    But anything MS does to improve their products is should be viewed as a welcome change.

  • Interesting... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Combuchan ( 123208 ) <seanNO@SPAMemvis.net> on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:21AM (#6273094) Homepage
    ... how slashdot uses an old Palm Pilot icon for Microsoft PocketPC announcements.

    </pedantic>

  • PocketPC? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Tsali ( 594389 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:22AM (#6273103)
    So when does the PocketPool module come out?

    Arm your Digimon against the Microsoft Menace!

    T.

  • HotSpots (Score:3, Funny)

    by SomeOtherGuy ( 179082 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @09:22AM (#6273106) Journal
    3,500 Wi-Fi wireless "hot spots"

    Make that 3,501 if you are standing within 20 feet of my basement window.

  • Microsoft Rolls Out Pocket PC 2003 (Score:3, Funny)

    by pmz ( 462998 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @10:18AM (#6273529) Homepage
    Geez, so it comes with wheels, now? It that what they mean by "mobile"?
  • Screenshots: http://pdajunkie.net/index.html?pdajunkie_net_ppc2 003.htm&2 Benchmarks: http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/ipaq_2215.htm

  • if someone actually cares - Tosh e740 (Score:3, Informative)

    by dubStylee ( 140860 ) on Monday June 23, 2003 @10:52AM (#6273794)
    133 comments so far and not a single one says anything other than "M$ sux", well, gee, I (and everyone else who reads /.) knew that already, what's your point?

    On the very limited possibility that someone is reading this thread for information, I just talked to Toshiba and they say that you get 2003 for free if you purchased an e75x after May 1, everyone else (including e740 owners) needs to pay $50 by calling 1-888-874-8247. I, for one, am going to get it just for the improvements in IE.

  • Terrible news to hear of more wizards falling under the dark one [microsoft.com]s power. All who become partners with him are eventually corrupted and fall under his control or been destroyed [netscape.com]. We can only hope the followship [opensource.org] will be able to travel to the Firey Mountains [usgs.gov] of Mordor [cityofseattle.net] and free us from this encroaching evil.

    -- Yes I know I could have picked better links, but I'm trying to work. :)

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