A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile operating system, which is based on Windows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, and that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 as a rebranding of the Palm-size PC category and was marketed until 2008. Some of these devices were smartphones, which were known as Pocket PC Phone Edition. The Windows Smartphone is another Windows CE based platform for non-touch, smaller and non-PDA devices. The HP iPAQ 100 Classic series (models 110 to 116) represented the final stage of manufacturing of pure Pocket PCs, without telephony functions. The release timeline began at the end of 2007 with the iPAQ 110 and 114 models, expanding throughout 2008 with the arrival of models 111, 112, and 116. This line was HP’s last major effort in the market of PDAs based on the Windows Mobile system before the industry's definitive transition to smartphones in the following years. Asus was another company that had its pure Pocket PCs being produced until 2008, the year that marked the end of this category for the brand. The A696, launched in mid-2007, was the last model of the MyPal series, with its trajectory extending into 2008 — including its final official updates being released as early as January of that year — because the company's focus shifted entirely to netbooks (Eee PC).
Windows Mobile Classic (formerly Pocket PC): devices without an integrated phone; Windows Mobile Professional (formerly Pocket PC Phone Edition): devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen; Windows Mobile Standard (formerly Smartphone): devices with an integrated phone but without a touch screen. As of 2010, thousands of applications existed for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which were freeware. Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can be used with many add-ons such as GPS receivers, barcode readers, RFID readers, and cameras. Pocket PC was replaced by Windows 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.
History
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's HP-75 incorporated a 1-line text display, an alphanumeric keyboard, HP BASIC language and some basic PDA abilities. The HP 95LX, HP 100LX and HP 200LX series packed a PC-compatible MS-DOS computer with graphics display and QWERTY keyboard into a palmtop format. The HP OmniGo 100 and 120 used a pen and graphics interface on DOS-based PC/GEOS, but was not widely sold in the United States. The HP 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 than Handheld PCs by the lack of a physical keyboard. The class was announced in January 1998 originally as "Palm PC" which provoked a lawsuit by Palm Inc., and the name changed soon afterwards to Palm-size PC before release. These devices were similar to the Handheld PC and also ran Windows CE, however this version was more limited and lacked Pocket Microsoft Office, Pocket Internet Explorer, ActiveX and some other tools. Its main competitor was the PalmPilot and Palm III. According to the specification, Palm-size PCs use SuperH SH3 processors and MIPS 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. 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 and Compaq were the first OEMs with Pocket PC devices in 2000. The familiar desktop Windows UI from Palm-size PCs was removed in favor of a more tailored interface on Pocket PCs.
According to Microsoft, the Pocket PC is "a handheld device that enables users to store and retrieve e-mail, contacts, appointments, tasks, play multimedia files, games, exchange text messages with Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger), browse the Web, and more."Prior to the release of Windows Mobile 2003, third-party software was developed using Microsoft's eMbedded Visual Tools, eMbedded Visual Basic (eVB) and eMbedded Visual C (eVC). eVB programs can usually be converted fairly easily to NS Basic/CE. 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. The Pocket PC/Windows Mobile OS was superseded by Windows 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.
Specification 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:
Run Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Pocket PC edition Come bundled with a specific suite of applications in ROM Include a touchscreen Include a directional pad or touchpad Include a set of hardware application buttons Be based on an ARMv4 compatible, Intel XScale (ARMv5), MIPS or SH3 CPU. (As of the Pocket PC 2002 specification, ARM-based CPUs are required.)
Operating system versions
Windows CE 3.0
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