| Microsoft competitors often joke that it takes the software giant three tries to get anything right. By that logic, the Pocket PC, introduced recently, should be a hit.
Palmtops running the four-year-old Windows CE bombed because they were too large, too power hungry, and too expensive.
Microsoft handheld PCs hold only about 15 percent of PDA sales; Palm owns nearly 80 percent. Enter version 3 of Windows CE for handhelds, slimmed down to run on smaller, more power-efficient hardware.
Microsoft upgrades and new features of CE include easier synchronization of the Pocket PC’s e-mail and contact management app with Microsoft Outlook on a PC; pocket Internet Explorer that displays Web pages that fit on PDA screens; menus at the bottom of the screen, so a user’s hand doesn’t obscure the readout when tapping the screen with a stylus; the first shipping version of Microsoft’s ClearType software for improved legibility of text on a computer screen; and the ability to play MP3 files and Pac-Man.
Pocket versions of popular Microsoft applications, including Internet Explorer, Word, and Excel, are also included, Microsoft executives said. |
