June/July 2003

Better support for wireless networking is one of the key attractions in Microsoft's new Windows Mobile 2003 environment for Pocket PC-based devices, which was launched in June, and coincides with the release of Pocket PC 2003 itself.

The system automatically detects Wi-Fi networks, and has built-in support for Bluetooth networking. There is also enhanced support for integrating mobile devices with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, simplifying functions such as email synchronisation.

On the programming front, Microsoft describes Windows Mobile 2003 software as a "rich, extensible platform for application development" that takes full advantage of the new Windows CE .NET 4.2 operating system and the .NET Compact Framework in ROM.

That means developers can use Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET 2003 tools to build develop and deploy applications and take advantage of Web services.

 

Several handheld device manufacturers using the Pocket PC platform have announced support for the new environment. Intermec, for instance, says its 700 Color Series models will be available with the new system during the third quarter, and that upgrades will be available for current 700 Series Color customers.

Other new features in the main Pocket PC 2003 environment include support for smaller displays (2.8in rather than the previous 3.5in), and built-in support for integral QWERTY keyboards.