Getting Started on the Pocket PC

Microsoft made many changes to the new Pocket PC. They added a number of new applications, including Pocket Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Money. They also beefed up its multimedia capabilities with Microsoft Reader and Windows Media Player. But perhaps the most noticeable change was to the user interface (UI). Microsoft gave the Pocket PC a new flat-looking UI that is simpler and easier to use than that of its predecessor, the Palm-size PC. Microsoft kept the successful features of the UI untouched, redesigned some, added a few new ones, and removed others.

This article takes a look at a few of these features and provides some tips on how to get the most out of the new Pocket PC user interface.

Launch programs quickly

Hardware buttons -­ There are four ways to launch programs on the new Pocket PC. The fastest way is to press one of the hardware launch buttons. These buttons are found on the face of the Pocket PC, below the screen (see Screen 1). Press one and the application assigned to it opens automatically. Press one of the buttons when your Pocket PC is off, and it turns it on and launches the program.

Screen 1: The hardware quick-launch buttons are found on the face of the Pocket PC, below the screen. Shown here are the four launch buttons on the face of Compaq's new iPAQ H3600. The large button in the center is a combination navigation control and gamepad.

By default, three of the hardware buttons are assigned to Pocket Calendar, Contacts and Tasks ­ the three most commonly used Pocket PC programs. But these buttons may be reassigned to launch any application on the Pocket PC, whether it's a built-in or user-installed program. You do this by going to the Start menu and tapping on Settings, and then Buttons.

Start Menu - Pocket PC users access this by tapping on the top left corner of the screen. On some devices, the 4th hardware button activates the Start menu. Tap once on any program in the Start menu to launch it (see Screen 2). The earlier Palm-size PCs had menus cascading within menus. But you could only place 11 programs on the main Start menu. That limitation is removed on Pocket PCs; if you wanted to, you could launch every single program on your Pocket PC from the Start menu.

Screen 2: Pocket PC users can access the Start menu by tapping on the top left corner of the screen. Tap once on any program in the Start menu to launch it.

When more than eleven applications are listed on the start menu, scroll up and down arrows appear at the top and bottom of the list. You have to tap on these to scroll through the list. This can slow you down. I recommend placing eight programs on the start menu. And remember that if it's already assigned to a hardware button, you don't really need it on the Start menu.

Shortcut Menu - When you activate the Start menu, you'll see a row of icons immediately below the word "Start." This is the Shortcut menu, a series of icons representing the last six applications you've opened. You can tap on any one of these icons to open the application it represents.

Programs Menu - The fourth and final way to launch a program is from the Programs menu screen. On the original Windows CE Palm-size PC, programs not in the Start menu were accessed from a cascading menu. On the Pocket PC they are accessed from a single screen displaying the icons of the programs (see Screen 3). Tap on an icon once to launch the program. Note that if you assign a program to the Start menu, as described above, you will no longer see it in this screen.

Screen 3: Access the Programs menu screen by tapping on Start and then Programs. Any program not assigned to the Start menu will appear on this screen.