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Via: Brighthand



Microsoft has decided to stop referring to devices as Pocket PCs or Smartphones. Instead, both these groups of products will be combined in one category, Windows Mobile devices.

Scott Horn, a senior director in Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices group, discussed this plan with the IDG News Service at last week's CES tradeshow in Las Vegas.

Microsoft believes that handhelds and smartphones are merging together, and having two different names for similar products is confusing.

Rather than requiring customers to decide if they want a handheld or a smartphone as a first step, consumers will be presented with the full range of devices to choose from.

This change is a continuation of a process that began last year, when Microsoft replaced Pocket PC 2002 and Smartphone 2002 with Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC and Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone.

However, this was more than a simple name change. About 90 percent of the code base for the two Windows Mobile versions is the same.

This plan will likely be reflected in the next version of Microsoft's operating system for mobile devices. Both version of this are expected to be called simply Windows Mobile 2005.

Microsoft is also going to ask its licensees to stop putting the term "Pocket PC" in their product names. Currently, this is quite common. For example, the full name of one of HP's high-end models is "HP iPAQ hx4705 Pocket PC."


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Posted: 2005-01-11 19:11:29
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the problem I see with this is that software for windows mobile for smartphone do not run on windows mobile devices and vica versa because the two standards require different processors so unless windows mobile 2005 standard requires them all to have the same processor range then there will only be confusion for people buying software

I'm sure they would have thought of this so I'll be interested to see how they deal with it

for example the programs I downloaded for my SP3i which is windows mobile for smartphones wouldn't run (or even load) onto my ipaq or JAM

btw the JAM is currently called windows mobile phone edition so there is yet another name fortunately all my iPAQ software runs perfectly on the JAM as they share common processor architecture
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Posted: 2005-01-11 19:15:48
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This all sounds very interesting.

Ok, so let's say Symbian has branded all its software "Symbian". But we still have UIQ, Series 60, 80 & 90 - each powering different types of devices with certain vital differences. Processor (like Masseur pointed out) is one core difference, and of course tied to that is feature-set and form factor.

While both Symbian, a Series 60 device and a Series 90 device are on two different plane. How is Microsoft going to handle this differentiation that each manufacturer wants to put in different devices?

Probably have to wait and see what Super-Software MS is going to come up with here. If they pull it off successfully.... whao!
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Posted: 2005-01-12 15:36:32
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