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Microsoft and its partners unveiled several new handheld devices on Thursday as the software giant looks to make its operating system the industry standard.
 Compaq, Casio and Toshiba were among the companies that released new devices designed to run on the new version of Microsoft's operating system for handheld computers, Pocket PC 2002.
Microsoft claimed that 22 hardware vendors were currently supporting Pocket PC 2002, which the company is marketing primarily for its business functions but also for its multimedia applications, including streaming video. The new operating system also offers wireless networking and improved security.
The new version of Microsoft's operating system is an update of the system released by the company 18 months ago. It will let users connect to corporate networks, control desktop computers remotely, read electronic books, and run a new spellchecker function in the Pocket Word program.
Many of the upgrades and additional functions in Microsoft's new software are clearly an attack upon the market dominance of Palm.
IDC recently released a report which claimed that Pocket PCs were making a bid to overtake Palm in the market for handheld devices, which it projected would be worth USD6.6 billion by 2005. According to IDC, Palm devices still account for almost 60 percent of purchases by business, and the popular iPaq handhelds by Compaq were at 30 percent market share and showing signs of rising.
"Palm's pervasiveness gives it a default position in the enterprise, but Pocket PC vendors look poised to make gains," the research firm said.
Most of the devices launched on Thursday came with a wide array of different peripherals and software packages. But virtually all of the new devices had one thing in common: wireless connectivity.
In fact Microsoft said that with the release of its new operating system it will be offering support for different wireless local area network protocols. Specifically it cited support for 802.11b and Bluetooth as well as wide area networks via CDPD, CDMA, GSM or through two-body solutions utilising operator networks.
The company also said it was developing telephony software and working with industry partners to bring integrated wireless devices to market.
An example of this connectivity was the product launched by Compaq on Thursday. It produced its iPaq H3800, which has a built-in Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as well as support for Compact Flash and PC Cards through a slide-on jacket. The device has 64MB of RAM and will cost around USD599. It comes with integrated support for Bluetooth wireless connectivity as a USD50 option.
Casio launched its E-200 which has a Secure Digital and Multimedia Card (MMC) slot as well as a Compact Flash slot and support for PC Cards with an expansion pack. With 64MB of RAM, it will cost USD599. Toshiba, a relatively new face in the Pocket PC market, launched its e570 retailing for USD569. It too has both Compact Flash and SD slots built in, as well as 64MB of RAM.
Another aspect of its mobile operating system touted by Micorsoft on Thursday was its Mobile Solutions Partner Program. According to the company more than 3,800 partners have signed up as members of the program. These include independent software and hardware vendors and systems integrators, all developing applications and technologies for Pocket PC 2002.
Chris Hill, Pocket PC product manager at Microsoft said, "They (developers) see the rising volume of Pocket PCs sold, over two million units to date, then they look at the platform and see that they can do a lot more with it than competing platforms."
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