The Pocket PC reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Pocket PC

According to Microsoft, the Pocket PC is "a handheld device that enables you to store and retrieve e-mail, contacts, appointments, play multimedia files, games, exchange text messages with MSN Messenger, browse the Web, and more." [1]

From a technical standpoint, "Pocket PC" is a standard from Microsoft that sets various hardware and software requirments for mobile devices bearing the "Pocket PC" label.

For instance, any device which is to be classified as a pocket PC must

• Run Microsoft's Windows CE operating system
• Come bundled with a specific suite of applications in ROM
• Include a touchscreen
• Include a directional pad
• Include a set of hardware application buttons
• Include a 320 x 240 resolution display (this will change with WM2003 Second Edition)
• Be based on a StrongARM compatable CPU

Microsoft's current release is Microsoft Windows Mobile? 2003 for Pocket PC, which consists of the Windows CE.NET 4.2 operating system bundled with scaled-down versions of many popular desktop applications, including Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Media Player, and others. Past Pocket PC operating systems include Pocket PC 2002 (launched October 2001) and Pocket PC 2000 (launched April 2000), both running Windows CE 3.0 underneath.

Pocket PCs are manufactured and sold by several different companies; the major manufacturers include HP (under the iPAQ brand), Toshiba, ViewSonic and Dell. In Mid-2003, Gateway Computers and JVC announced that they too are releasing Pocket PCs. Prices in 2003 ranged from around $800 USD for the high-end models, some of which are combined with cell phones, to $200 for low-end models. A $100-$200 model is rumored to be released within 2004 or early 2005.

Before Pocket PCs were released, there were other Windows-based machines of the same form factor made by HP, Philips, and others called Palm-size PCs. These devices ran Windows CE 2.0-2.11 and had an interface that was nearly identical to the then-current desktop version of Windows, Windows 98.

External links

• History of Windows CE at HPCFactor
• Mobile Devices at Microsoft.com
• Discussion about the Pocket PC
• Another discussion about the Pocket PC
• The Wikipedia can also be browsed offline on a Pocket PC (180 Mb file). See Wikipedia:TomeRaider database
• http://www.pocketpcsummit.com

See also: Microsoft, Personal Digital Assistant, Windows CE

This is the "Pocket PC" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.