Posted on: Monday, October 8, 2001
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Pocket PC 2002 shows promise
Some of the most exciting stuff in personal technology these days is either wireless, pocket-size, or both. Earlier this year in La Jolla, Calif., the annual gathering called DEMOmobile provided a stage where the smartest companies in the business previewed technology that could change our lives in the next year or two. More than half of the 31 companies presenting this year call the San Francisco Bay area home. Among the most promising of them was the Pocket PC 2002. You know those horror-movie monsters that endure all manner of insults, a round of bullets and an ax to the head, only to get up and march forward?
That's Microsoft — and its competitors in the handheld computer field have every reason to be scared, considering how things turned out for Apple, Netscape, and Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson.
The latest slasher comes in the form of the Pocket PC 2002 software package (www.pocketpc.com) for handheld computers. Pocket PC is built on top of Windows CE, an operating system that some people 18 months ago called too slow and stupid to live. Well, it's alive. This time around, Pocket PC 2002 is adding features that allow remote workers to feel like they are sitting at their desks, with access to their e-mail and internal corporate network.
When it comes to handheld computer software, Microsoft does not care about soccer moms, students, or anyone else who buys gadgets one at a time and lacks a Virtual Private Network. Microsoft does not care about becoming a cultural icon.
The company's goal is to build software that will please the folks who buy tech equipment for mobile professionals at large corporations. If you or I want to buy one at our local electronics store, that's just an added bonus.
Still, Pocket PC 2002 has a couple of new features that will please the average consumer. You can now sort address book contacts by company name, and sync e-mail folders from Outlook. Also, a Pocket PC version of Vindigo — the popular city guide software for the Palm OS — will come bundled with new Pocket PC devices next month.
If you are a consumer who plans to use this thing mostly to track appointments and phone numbers, it is hard to justify spending $600 for the latest Pocket PC when a Palm Vx costs less than half that.
