The big news in this issue is Microsoft's release of the Windows Powered Handheld PC 2000 platform. H/PC 2000 is powered by Windows CE 3.0 and includes the latest version of Microsoft's built-in applications for the Handheld PC platform.
Back in the good ole' days of 1997, the only Windows CE devices around were Handheld PCs. All of the early H/PCs were clamshell devices with keyboards and screens, small enough to fit in your pocket or purse and carry around with you. Then Palm PDAs were capturing market share and the imagination of consumers. Pretty soon, when someone said "handheld," most people thought "pen-entry PDA," or worse, "PalmPilot." This led to some serious strategic re-thinking on the part of Microsoft, and to the introduction of the Windows CE Palm-size PCs (which did not fare well against the Palm) and later, the Pocket PC (which is doing quite well). What got lost in the shuffle, especially over the last year, was the Handheld PC.
I remember reading obituaries for the Handheld PC as early as the spring of 1998. According to these articles, the H/PC was either too big, or too small, or too simple, or too complex to be successful. To be fair, there was truth in the criticisms. For most computer users the H/PC was just too "in-between" for them to understand. It looked like a notebook computer, but it was very small and you couldn't run desktop PC programs on it. And it had Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks app's on it, but it seemed too complicated and too much like a Windows laptop PC to be easy to use. H/PCs never became the mass-market success Microsoft and the
manufacturers hoped for. But the H/PC caught the attention of one group mobile professionals.
Professionals in sales, marketing, service and other industries lead highly mobile lives. They're looking for ways to be more productive while traveling. At the same time, they want to carry as little extra baggage as possible. When the first 35-pound portable computers came out, mobile professionals used them but pushed (screamed) for lighter-weight laptops. They were the early adopters of the first pocket-sized handhelds, including the Hewlett-Packard 95LX through 200LX and the Psion Series III.
Microsoft and manufacturers quietly worked on improving the software and hardware of the H/PC, and began repositioning it as a mobile professional and enterprise solution. The Windows CE operating system and built-in applications became more competent and most of the Handheld PCs got bigger to accommodate a more easy-to-use keyboard and larger, color display. The last iteration of the H/PC, the "Handheld PC Professional Edition" was the most successful to date.
More manufacturers are creating Windows CE devices now than when it was launched in 1997. But many are making highly specialized "embedded systems" for industry. Others are creating specialized consumer devices, like Compaq's Home Internet Appliance mentioned in the newsBYTES section.
Microsoft recently announced the latest version of the Handheld PC, the Windows Powered Handheld PC 2000. The same day, Hewlett-Packard introduced its Jornada 720 Handheld PC 2000. NEC and MainStreet Networks have said they will follow suit, and Casio is considering doing the same. It's true that there are fewer manufacturers of the traditional clamshell devices, but they still seem pretty interested in manufacturing the Windows Powered Handheld PC.
As far as we can tell, the Handheld PC is alive and kicking!
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