Microsoft targets the corporate mobile market with the launch of
Pocket PC 2002. Ian Murphy reports
At the launch of its latest operating system for handheld devices,
Pocket PC 2002, Microsoft unveiled a strategy with the emphasis
placed very firmly on the business sector. It also unveiled some
specific hardware requirements for suppliers wishing to build
devices using its operating systems. The company hopes to ride out
the anger of users whose equipment will no longer be directly
supported by operating system upgrades.
One of the biggest problems that Microsoft faces is the prospect of
existing owners of Casio and Hewlett-Packard PDAs having to throw
their devices away because they cannot be upgraded. The reason is
that the Pocket PC team has decided to standardise on a small
number of processors from ARM and to insist that the operating
system is stored within flash memory. Compaq decided to build
around ARM processors last year and put the entire operating system
in flash to support future upgrades. Existing owners of Compaq's
iPaq devices will be able to purchase an upgrade CD for Pocket PC
2002.
The Microsoft Pocket PC team feel that standardising on a single
processor will simplify the development of software for the Pocket
PC and make it easier for manufacturers to enter this hardware
market. The use of flash memory has another key advantage and one
that will appeal to corporate support teams. Microsoft has released
an upgrade process for Pocket PC 2002 and future versions that uses
a mechanism known as XIP (Exchange In Place).
This works by splitting the operating system into a number of
distinct sections. When upgrades are applied, each section is
upgraded before the existing code is deleted, with the result that
upgrades can be planned and managed by OEMs and support teams. As
yet, Microsoft has not shown the tools that will be available to do
this but extensions to the existing Microsoft Update, Systems
Management Server and Microsoft Operations Manager are
expected.
The hardware specifications for Pocket PC 2002 are very high, with
a 32-bit processor running at 100MHz (150-200MHz recommended for
multimedia), 16Mbytes of memory (32Mbytes recommended) and 16Mbytes
of onboard flash memory for Pocket PC and 24Mbytes for wireless
devices. Battery life has also been an issue and Microsoft has set
targets of 15 hours use for greyscale devices and eight hours for
colour devices. Wireless devices must supply over 100 hours of
standby with three hours talk-time.
In recognition of the problems faced by users when they are away
from home and unable to effectively charge their devices, Microsoft
has set a requirement that once the battery on the device has
reached the automatic low power shutdown point, the memory contents
must be maintained for a minimum of 72 hours.
Pocket PC 2002 boasts a range of new features that shows Microsoft
has recognised the strength of Palm. For those who use their PDA
for e-mail and contact information, the big news is that they no
longer need to synchronise with their desktop as Outlook 2002 on
the Pocket PC will now synchronise directly with an Exchange
server. Previously, this could only be done through third-party
tools.
Pocket PC 2002 has the ability to synchronise multiple e-mail
folders, so those who use the rules option within Outlook and
Exchange to organise their incoming mail can download it already
sorted. Another feature that has been added is support for HTML
e-mail, which is becoming increasingly popular with both corporate
e-mail administrators and ISPs.
One of the major concerns for corporate IT security teams is the
lack of security on mobile devices. While Certicom has taken a
major slice of the mobile security market, suppliers have been slow
to react. Microsoft has added virtual private network support to
Pocket PC 2002 and this should allay security concerns and increase
the use of mobile devices.
Support for stronger passwords has also been introduced, allowing
alpha- numeric passwords to be used. Connection manager also allows
the user to have multiple profiles. Further support for corporate
environments is provided by Microsoft's Terminal Services client,
which allows a user access to any application that has been made
available to any thin client. From a mobile perspective, this works
for both corporate IT departments and for ASPs.
Microsoft has also recognised that it had a problem with USB
drivers for the Pocket PC and, although this appeared to be
primarily a Compaq iPaq problem, it has issued an updated version
of Activesync, version 3.5.
Unfortunately, this version introduces a significant problem for
any site using Terminal Services as it will not allow a handheld
device attached to a client device to use port redirection for
synchronisation. This will not only affect sites that use Terminal
Services as their thin-client solution but will also impact
schools, universities and application service providers who rely on
Terminal Services to offer access to e-mail.
For developers, Microsoft will be announcing the availability of a
beta version of the .net Compact Framework at its Professional
Developers Conference in Los Angeles later this month. This is a
version of the .net e-commerce platform specifically targeting the
embedded and mobile space. At the same time, Microsoft will be
releasing the alpha version of Hailstorm, now known as .net My
Services, which is designed to open up Web services to individuals,
especially through mobile devices.
Microsoft enters the cell phone market
Microsoft has
started to reveal more information about its operating system for
cell phones, currently known as Stinger. The company is
distinguishing between Pocket PCs with telephony and wireless
capabilities and phones by providing a subset of Pocket PC
features. This is Stinger, not a PDA phone but a phone PDA - which,
according to Microsoft, is different from an integrated wireless
Pocket PC. The difference is subtle but Microsoft believes it can
clarify this over time so that corporate users will
understand.
Stinger is seen by Microsoft as a direct competitor for the current
Symbian operating system used by Ericsson and Nokia. One of the key
components to making this strategy work is the incorporation of
Microsoft's Cellcore APIs, which will support tools to allow
developers to integrate Stinger with the major mobile telephony
standards.
To back up Stinger and Cellcore, Microsoft has also announced the
availability of the next version of its Mobile Information Server
(MIS) which allows corporate IT departments to add support for
mobile devices in their communications strategy. MIS contains the
new Server Activesync application to allow a mobile device to
synchronise e-mail, calendar and contact information directly with
an Exchange server.
As with version 1.0, MIS 2.0 will be available in a corporate and a
carrier version and Microsoft believes that the extra security
components offered through the carrier version will allow operators
to build new business services to sell to corporate customers.
Ostensibly, Microsoft has little competition in this space but BT's
adoption of Research In Motion's Blackberry always-on e-mail
devices and expected PDA phone releases from Palm and Handspring,
which are also being targeted as carrier products, will increase
contention for this market space.