marketplace CE

Windows Powered Handheld and Palm-size PCs

Hal Goldstein

"Has anyone here heard any good lawyer jokes lately?" asked Bill Gates as he opened his COMDEX keynote address. No, but we're often asked whether the Windows CE market will be effected by the U.S. Department of Justice case against Microsoft. The short answer: it's unlikely.

However, Microsoft hopes that its own internal restructuring and marketing initiatives will have a positive effect in the handheld and palm-size PC market. Microsoft recently merged its Consumer Windows Division and Business and Enterprise Division into simply, the Windows Division. Along the same lines, Microsoft is re-branding its Windows CE product line. Microsoft believes that multiple Windows operating system names such as 98, NT, CE, embedded NT confuses the average consumer. Consequently, as new versions of Windows CE and smart card technology are introduced, we will see a new "Windows Powered" label on Windows Powered Palm-size PC and Windows Powered Handheld PC devices.

You and I and other "insiders" can still refer to the operating system of these handhelds and palm-size devices as Windows CE. To industry and developer audiences, Microsoft will continue to refer to the various iterations of this operating system and related development tools as Windows CE.

What Windows CE Device Manufacturers Say

At COMDEX I met with Compaq, HP, Casio, Sharp, and NEC. Essentially what they said was similar. Yes, they wished Microsoft would spend more in marketing and educating the public about the virtues of Windows CE. At the same time each seems to have carved out its own niche and is reasonably pleased with its sales. The HP Jornada 680, the Sharp Mobilon 4600, and the NEC 770 are small form factor devices with keyboard and touchscreen. These small computers have proven popular, especially among corporate clients.

Gates in his keynote spoke about the Compaq and Casio Palm-size PCs:

"The miniaturization continues to amaze me. One of the ones that I'm very excited about is this Aero 1500. It's a palm-sized PC. You probably can't get a sense of how thin this is, but people said we couldn't get Windows CE devices to be this thin. We've also got the Casio (E-105) here, which was the first palm-sized PC to have digital music and digital video capabilities built in. It's sort of a digital media device. This version here has the digital camera, the CompactFlash camera actually built into it. So, lots of neat new things going on with Windows CE."

Gates went on to describe how you will use your Windows CE device in the future:

"...you have a little PDA device and you're walking around your home. You'll be able to select what songs you're interested in. It will be sent across the network to the speakers that are there. You could use your device to show some digital video or photos on, say, the little screen that you've got on your refrigerator. We're also very enthused about digital books."

Reading Books on your PC Companion

I love books. While intrigued by the potential of digital books (eBooks), I wonder if they will really catch on as quickly as digital music and photos. Next year Windows CE users should be among the first to test the new technology and find out.

Microsoft believes that jagged type, varied margins, and blurry displays are the main reasons for the current lack of success of eBooks. Microsoft hopes to change that with Microsoft Reader and ClearType.

Uncluttered ClearType text using a Microsoft Reader on an LCD screen

Microsoft used the book, which has evolved over centuries, as the "blueprint" for Microsoft Reader, their electronic book viewer. Built into MS Reader is Microsoft's ClearType technology, designed to dramatically improve the clarity of text viewed on an LCD screen. A typographically well-designed book frees the mind to focus not on letters and words, but on the story and meaning. Microsoft believes that MS Reader, with its ability to display clean, crisp and easy-to-read text, will give eBooks a big boost.

Although nothing official has been announced, we can probably expect to see Microsoft Reader and ClearType technology as part of the next version of Windows CE.