When Microsoft released the Pocket PC in April of 2000, there was a lot of media praise for the new "Windows Powered" platform. But there was also speculation that we'd seen the last of the Handheld PC. The original H/PC was never that popular with end-users, and individual consumers hardly knew it existed. Of the eight original manufacturers, three had dropped the H/PC completely and only two, Hewlett-Packard and NEC, seemed to be doing well with their H/PC lines.

But Microsoft had put a lot of effort into improving the Handheld PC since its release in 1997, and its previous release, the "Handheld PC Professional Edition," was well received as an enterprise solution. In addition, Hewlett-Packard's Jornada 680 and 690 remained popular with users wanting a smaller, "pocketable" Handheld PC. So when the Pocket PC and Windows CE 3.0 were released last April, H/PC users and the companies that still made them began demanding an upgrade to the Handheld PC. Microsoft's response was the release of the Handheld PC 2000, which includes the improved Windows CE 3.0 operating system along with three additional programs to the suite of built-in Microsoft software.

A "Windows Powered" Handheld PC

One of the biggest, but least outwardly visible changes is to the operating system. The H/PC 2000 is a "Windows Powered" device. That's Microsoft's way of saying that it uses the latest version of the Windows CE OS, 3.0. Microsoft spent a lot of time upgrading CE from 2.11 to 3.0 prior to the release of the Pocket PC. The H/PC 2000 version of Windows CE 3.0 has many of the same improvements, including:

• More efficient memory management
• Faster multitasking
• Faster connectivity
• Faster program execution
• Support of direct download/installation of app's from Web

Chris De Herrera's article in the July/August 2000 issue of Pocket PC magazine, titled "It's What's Under the Hood That Counts!", looks at these changes in more detail. However, some of the features he describes relate only to the Pocket PC.

Windows CE 3.0 supports a number of new APIs for developer use, including the Crypto API (CAPI) for adding encryption software, Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) for "exactly-once in-order messaging" and the SmartCard API enabling SmartCard applications.

User interface same as H/PC Pro

Microsoft chose to keep the user interface of the Handheld PC 2000 essentially the same as the H/PC Pro. The application icons you find on the H/PC 2000's desktop have the newer two-dimensional flat look that you find on the Pocket PC. But that seems to be the only change. Microsoft's reasoning behind this is that the H/PCs are perceived of as, and used like, desktop and laptop PCs. One of the common enterprise uses for the Handheld PC platform is as a thin client for an organizations network. Microsoft kept the user interface the same to make the switch between local and remote applications easier for the H/PC user.

New built-in applications from Microsoft

Microsoft added three applications to its suite of built-in programs that come with every Handheld PC 2000: Media Player, Internet Explorer for Handheld PC, and Terminal Server Client.

Windows Media Player ­ This is one of the most popular applications on the Pocket PC. Microsoft's Windows Media Player lets you listen to your favorite Windows Media and MP3 format music from your Handheld PC 2000 (see Screen 1). The H/PCs don't generally have hi-quality speakers built in, but the only one I've seen so far, the Hewlett-Packard Jornada 720, has a stereo headphone jack. The quality through stereo earphones is great. You can use the desktop PC version of Windows Media Player to convert audio material from any CD (music, training material, audio books) and listen to it on the new Handheld PC 2000.

Screen 1: The Windows Media Player for the Handheld PC lets you play WMF and MP3 formatted music. H/PCs with stereo headphone jacks, like HP's Jornada 720, play high-quality audio through stereo earphones.

Microsoft Internet Explorer for Handheld PC ­ Previous versions of the Handheld PC came with Pocket Internet Explorer. This newer version is enhanced to be compatible with Internet Explorer v4.0 on the desktop. If you're familiar with the desktop PC version of IE, there's nothing new to learn. Internet Explorer lets you surf the Web or an organization's intranet. You can create shortcuts to your favorite sites, view local HTML files, download Web sites to review later, and display animated GIFs. Internet Explorer for Handheld PC supports XML/XSL for data-based web applications and DHTML for forms-based applications in the browser.

Screen 2: Microsoft Internet Explorer for Handheld PC is an enhanced version of Pocket Internet Explorer, supporting animated GIFs, XML/XSL data-based web apps and more.

Terminal Server Client ­ This integrated thin client turns the Handheld PC 2000 into a Windows-based Mobile Terminal, letting H/PC 2000 users remotely access full-function desktop applications when connected to Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Services. You can use it to connect over both wired and wireless LANs, or dial-up connections. When the Mobile Terminal is disconnected, you can still access local data and applications.

H/PC Pro upgrades?

Each Handheld PC manufacturer has the option to provide an upgrade path from Handheld PC Pro to the Handheld PC 2000 software. They can offer an upgrade ROM chip, provide a device exchange program, or offer a field software upgrade for devices using Flash ROM. (Only the rugged device manufacturers [e.g., Husky, Itronix] build devices with Flash ROM.) When Windows CE was first introduced three years ago, this was supposed to be one of its big advantages. But as I wrote this article, only HP had responded to my question about upgrades. They will NOT offer an upgrade ROM chip or a device exchange program.

Why choose an H/PC 2000 over a Pocket PC?

Like the Pocket PC, but unlike traditional laptop PCs, the Handheld PC 2000 is an instant-on, solid-state device with its operating system and applications built in. The Pocket PC is highly portable and great for accessing information and light data entry. But its screen is small and it has no keyboard. Its batteries are fine for regular use, but if you like to listen to a lot of music, or want to use add-on options like wireless communications, you can quickly get a "low battery" message.

On the other hand, Handheld PCs have larger screens, small but useable keyboards, and longer battery life. Handheld PCs have greater expansion possibilities. They generally come with two expansion slots, one for the smaller CompactFlash card and one for the larger PC Card. The PC Card slot opens up a number of wireless communications and other input/output capabilities to the Handheld PC that the smaller Pocket PC cannot access yet. (The Pocket PC exception to this is the Compaq iPAQ. Its optional PC Card Expansion Pack adds a Type II PC Card slot to the iPAQ Pocket PC.)

Serving the enterprise and the end-user

According to Microsoft sources, 80 percent of the Handheld PCs sold are used in business situations, replacing paper-based business processes. Microsoft and the manufacturers of Handheld PCs see service personal in various industries as the primary user of Handheld PCs. They expect the other 20 percent to go to general business users needing a mobile computing device without a laptop's bulkiness or the limitations of a Pocket PC's smaller screen.

Hewlett-Packard is first out of the blocks with its new Jornada 720 Handheld PC 2000. Casio, NEC and MainStreet Networks (which acquired the Vadem Clio) have announced plans to support the platform but have not announced shipping dates. I think it's safe to say that we haven't seen the last of the Handheld PC.

For more information on the Handheld PC 2000, visit Microsoft's Mobile Devices web site (www.microsoft.com/mobile/hpc/default.asp).