Knight Ridder News Service

July 15, 2003

Mobile software eases PDA tasks

Knight Ridder News Service

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

The new Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PCs is a modest but worthwhile improvement to the Pocket PC 2002 operating system for personal digital assistants.

Introduced late last month, Pocket PC 2003 (www.microsoft.com/ windowsmobile) puts Microsoft further ahead of rival Palm for such high-end tasks as going online and viewing video clips - although Palm is still the leader in ease of use and affordability.

Microsoft only makes the software, but is signing up an ever- growing list of hardware makers to produce PDAs running Pocket PC.

Among those immediately offering PDAs running Pocket PC 2003 are Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Viewsonic, at prices ranging from $200 to $650. Gateway, JVC and Panasonic are due to introduce Pocket PCs before the end of the year.

Many older Pocket PCs can be upgraded to the 2003 version. Upgrades come from the hardware manufacturers, not Microsoft, and may carry a small fee. Dell and HP, for example, are charging $29.

The first piece of good news about Pocket PC 2003 is what hasn't changed. The basic look-and-feel is very much the same as Pocket PC 2002, and both resemble a slimmed-down version of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system for personal computers.

All Pocket PC 2003 PDAs come with a copy of Microsoft's Outlook 2002 software for PCs, as did Pocket PC 2002 models, and a connector - typically a USB cable - for synchronizing between Outlook and the PDA.

So what's new in Pocket PC 2003? Three things:

-- Wireless networking support. If you have access to a wireless network, Pocket PC 2003 makes it easier to connect. The software now detects the presence of a WiFi network, also known as 802.11, and will automatically sign on if there are no password restrictions.

A few high-end Pocket PCs, selling for over $500, come with built- in WiFi. But it's now easy to add WiFi capability with an adapter that fits into the Compact Flash slot found on many Pocket PCs. WiFi adapters now cost about $75 to $125; SanDisk (www.sandisk.com) and Socket Communications (www.socketcom.com) are introducing WiFi adapters this summer for the Secure Digital slot found on some Pocket PCs and many Palm PDAs. Pocket PC 2003 also provides support for Bluetooth, a short-ranging networking technology that isn't yet widely used.

-- Improved audio and video. Pocket PC 2003 incorporates a version of Microsoft's new Windows Media 9 player for digital music and video clips. Windows Media 9 makes it easier to put together a slide show of still images and improves video image quality.

There is also an application included within Pocket PC 2003 for organizing a gallery of still pictures, along with tools for simple editing.

-- Connections for corporate users. These features don't do much for consumers, but Pocket PC 2003 makes it possible to automatically receive new electronic mail on PDAs connected to a corporate network. There's also support for Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, an important security precaution for corporate users on the road.

(C) 2003 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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