Compu2go Interviews Hal Goldstein, Publisher of Pocket PC Magazine

Hal Goldstein is the founder of Thaddeus Computing. Since 1985, Thaddeus has been a force to be reckoned with in the portable computing world. Today Thaddeus is best known for Pocket PC magazine (www.PocketPCmag.com), the premiere print and Web magazine for Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system. In addition, they have just launched Used Handhelds (www.usedhandhelds.com), a site dedicated to buying and selling previously-loved PDAs.

Hal Goldstein, Publisher of Pocket PC magazine, presenting best product awards at the Pocket PC Summit ceremony in Hollywood

Hal took time between Pocket PC magazine's recent Pocket PC Awards and setting up for this year's Comdex to answer some questions about Thaddeus's beginnings, experiences in the Pocket PC world and upcoming endeavors.

C2GO: As founder of Thaddeus Computing you've produced several publications for mobile computing users and become a trusted name in the PDA community. It all started with The Portable Paper in 1985, one of the earliest publications dedicated to ultra-mobile computing devices. What led Thaddeus to jump into the PDA market?

HAL: It started in many ways by accident. I left my engineering position at HP in 1984 to become part of a world peace project connected with the Transcendental Meditation program (www.tm.org and www.mum.edu) in the small town of Fairfield, in southeast Iowa. HP had recently introduced one of the first DOS laptops, which came with its operating system and applications built into ROM. From talking with customers while still at HP, I realized people loved this new machine, but weren't making full use of it.

My wife, Rita, and I began Thaddeus Computing supporting HP Portable users with a user enthusiast newsletter titled The Portable Paper, and a small software catalog. In 1991 HP introduced the 95LX, a PDA with a DOS OS. We saw another opportunity and for 9 years produced The HP Palmtop Paper. It's still available online (www.palmtoppaper.com/) and a 200LX mailing list (www.palmtop.net) is still quite active. In 1997, we began Handheld PC Magazine to support the new Windows CE operating system, and when Microsoft introduced the Pocket PC in 2000, that publication became the present day Pocket PC magazine.

The Portable Paper (left), HP Palmtop Paper (right), Pocket PC magazine (center).

C2GO: Currently, Fairfield, IA-based Thaddeus Computing publishes the paper and Web-based Pocket PC magazine, which covers Microsoft Pocket PC devices and the community of companies and enthusiasts. In today's PDA market, why focus solely on Pocket PC?

HAL: Our philosophy has always been to focus on one platform. That allows a much greater depth of coverage (as opposed to breadth). We find our readers want to read about how to make best use of their machine, rather than focus on the many alternatives they aren't using.

C2GO: What goals did you have in mind when you started Pocket PC magazine? What surprises have changed the face of the magazine since then?

HAL: The goals through the years have been the same:

1. Provide readers with as much useful and practical information as possible.

2. Support as best we can all those who enrich the platform for end-users (Web sites, software and accessory developers, OEMs, and Microsoft).

The biggest surprise is how well our magazine has sold on the newsstand and how broad our newsstand distribution is. That surprise means more emphasis on the cover design, the table of contents, and the general look; since a strong look that brings out the contents encourages folks to purchase it off the newsstand.