From The Editor

Rich Hall

What is a "Pocket PC?"

The first item in our newsBYTES section announces "The Next Generation -- Windows Powered Pocket PCs." Microsoft has finally, formally announced the next version of its Windows CE operating system and the next generation of devices based on it -- the Pocket PC!

The Pocket PC is the successor to the Palm-size PC. It will be powered by the latest version of the Windows CE operating system and have additional built-in applications including Microsoft Reader, an e-book viewer. It will include Microsoft's Windows Media Player, to give Pocket PC users access to music in Windows Media and MP3 formats. It will also include additional built-in applications and a number of other important improvements -- more on this next issue!

In this issue, Jim Christian provides a frank, head-to-head comparison of three of the most popular and successful Palm-size PCs: The Casio E-105, the Compaq Aero 1520, and the HP Jornada 430se. I'm betting that each of these companies will release a Pocket PC, but I don't yet know which ones we'll be reviewing in the May/June issue.

The general focus of this (March/April) issue is utility and productivity. Ed Zabrek takes a fresh look at bSQUARE's updated utilities suite, the bUseful Utilities Pak, and his conclusion is... Well, you'll have to read the article to find out. Thanks to David Shier for his review of general purpose information managers. These applications make it easier to organize important data on your PC Companion.

I take a look at two nifty little programs that add a lot of utility to the PC Companion. The first, PocketDOS, lets H/PC users run DOS applications on their PC Companion. There are literally thousands of free DOS utilities and applications available. The second program, PocketTV, takes multimedia a step further by adding an MPEG player to PC Companions.

Thanks go to Michael J Posner and Randolph Sly for their advice on fine-tuning PC Companions and preparing for the worst. Thanks also go to Jim Christian for his Quick Tips and PC Companion Tricks, and to Steve Seroshek of Microsoft Technical Support for his advice on synchronizing data via Remote Access Server (RAS). Finally, thanks to Andy Seybold for his discussion of Bluetooth and the future of the wireless Internet.

YES! We support Handheld PCs!

I've received a couple of letters asking whether, with the increased focus on the Palm-size and now the Pocket PC, we will continue to support the Handheld PC and H/PC Pro devices. The answer is YES! In this issue the majority of the Tips, most of my answers to the letters, the software reviews, the user profiles, the Microsoft column, and the majority of new software products relate directly to the H/PCs, or co-relate to H/PCs and Palm-size PCs.

We write about the latest news and introductions, whether they be Pocket PCs or Handheld PCs. For the next few issues, much of this will relate to the Pocket PC. We will cover that news and review those products. As new H/PC Pros are introduced, we will continue to report on them. Our other sections will continue to cover all PC Companion platforms.

However, there will be a very noticeable change on the cover -- we are renaming the magazine. Beginning with the May/June issue, Handheld PC Magazine will become Pocket PC magazine. Over the next year Microsoft will strongly promote the new "Windows Powered Pocket PCs." We believe that "Pocket PC" will become the name users associate most with these devices. We want them to easily recognize our magazine as the best source of information and support for their new device.

Our name will change, but we will continue to be the same magazine, helping all Windows CE users get the most out of their PC Companions.