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Microsoft's recently released Pocket PC 2002 now is a serious contender in the PDA market. Here's why.

In early October, Microsoft launched the Pocket PC 2002 platform at an event in New York City, introducing the latest version of what has slowly become a success story for the software giant. Pocket PC 2002 is now shipping on handheld devices from companies such as Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Casio Inc., and it includes some interesting new capabilities that have some analysts projecting it will dominate the PDA market within the next three years. What is Microsoft doing to ignite this market shift away from the Palm OS and toward Windows CE? What will Windows CE look like going forward?

Development Options

Application developers who have any Windows programming experience at all will face a very short ramp-up time in beginning a Windows CE project. As you might expect, Microsoft offers versions of its popular Visual C++ and Visual Basic toolkits for WinCE. It may come as a surprise, however, to learn that these tools (known as the eMbedded Visual Tools) are available free of charge from Microsoft. While not available under an open source license, Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 source code also is available from Microsoft for use in source-level debugging. SQL Server CE, a mobile version of Microsoft's enterprise-class SQL Server database, is available for Windows CE, as are powerful relational databases such as Oracle Lite and Sybase's Adaptive Server Anywhere and Ultralite products.

For Web developers, Microsoft includes the Pocket Internet Explorer browser, which offers nearly complete HTML support and an object model for client-side scripting using VBScript. Of course, Pocket IE also includes support for WML/WMLScript and cHTML, making it a wireless application client and a Web application client. Java is quickly becoming a viable option for Windows CE as well, with high-quality Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) appearing within the last year from Insignia, Hewlett-Packard and SavaJe.

For more information on Windows CE development, visit the following online resources:

http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/
http://www.vbce.com/
http://www.devbuzz.com/

Into The Future

Windows CE 3.0 includes a number of advanced features that are unavailable on most other mobile platforms. These include many features that you'd expect from Microsoft (such as support for DCOM, ActiveX Data Objects, the Internet Explorer browser and XML parser) and some that may come as a surprise (including a built-in HTTP server, protected virtual memory and a Microsoft Message Queue service client). The operating system itself supports full multitasking, allowing mobile users to, say, download a file while listening to an MP3 and checking e-mail. While Windows CE was derided not long ago for bringing a complex "desktop" UI and a powerful OS to the handheld, these capabilities appear to have evolved into the operating system's biggest strength. This is due to a number of factors, beginning with Microsoft's reworking of the Windows CE user interface in the 3.0 release, improved communications and synchronization capabilities, and seamless integration with Microsoft's popular Outlook messaging system.

Pocket PC 2002 makes use of the Windows XP look-and-feel as well as improved handwriting recognition (through the use of Transcriber software), an updated version of Pocket Outlook, Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, improved security, VPN support and a better Web browser that supports HTML, cHTML and WML/WMLScript for access to wireless content. From a software development standpoint, Pocket PC 2002 includes several new application programming interfaces, including telephony APIs that will provide access to GSM hardware on a device for sending/receiving SMS messages and placing data calls. Of course, not all Pocket PC devices will include built-in GSM functionality, but for those that do, Windows CE is clearly ahead of the game. The new Connection Manager API allows an application to programmatically make a communications connection and provides a management API for determining available connections.

Most exciting for Windows CE developers is the upcoming "Talisker" operating system release slated for arrival in 2002. According to Microsoft, Talisker runs on four major CPU architecture families and more than 200 CPU types and can operate in as little as 200 KB of memory (harkening back to the days of the original MS-DOS). Among the much-anticipated features are support for Bluetooth and Wireless LANs, device emulation and a customizable user interface. For more information on Talisker, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/taliskerpreview/.

Turning The Corner

While Windows CE gave the initial impression of being a massive albatross that was barely able to get off the ground before threatening to crash, like most products with Microsoft's commitment behind them, WinCE is turning the corner and becoming an all-around success story. Microsoft's plan to roll out "Windows everywhere" from servers and desktops to the smallest handhelds is finally hitting home for enterprise users, applications developers and the general public.

Unlike the Palm OS, Windows CE is in no way limited by hardware or software architectures, although it is clear that the Palm OS still has its proponents–and a majority of the market share. These market leaders have made it clear that their visions for mobile computing are in stark contrast to each other. Palm developers and users insist their platform of choice does all it is intended to do: take notes, track addresses and make installation/synchronization a pain-free, simple process. Microsoft, meanwhile, believes mobile users would like to do nearly everything desktop users do, except on a smaller scale. This may include multimedia-rich documents, messaging and database access–perhaps all simultaneously.

In reality, it is a given that both camps are correct. Some users will always opt for the simpler choice, while others will need to max out their mobile computer's capability. At the end of the day, however, the Microsoft vision is looking more like the platform of choice for developers and power users who want to take advantage of the latest technological advances within a powerful hardware architecture. If you're on the fence on this issue, keep an eye on projections and industry news. After all, the marketplace's decision is, almost by definition, always correct.  

Bryan Morgan is a software developer and regular DevBiz contributor.