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The Dell Axim OS: Pocket PC 2002
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The current batch of pda's comes with processors running from 33 to 400Mhz, 16 to 128 MB of memory, and screens with resolutions from 160x160 monochrome up to 480x320 displaying 65K colors. But, hardware is only one part which gives the pda its functionality and performance. Another significant part, and one that heavily contributes to a pda's "personality", is the operating system.
While there are a number of different OS's for the embedded environment, for the pda, Palm OS and Pocket PC are the two primary operating systems with embedded Linux beginning to make an appearance.
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The pda essentially began with the ill-fated Apple Newton in 1992. While possessing a number of impressive features, in practice, the Newton was overly ambitious and ended up being more irritating than useful. One of the most frustrating things with the Newton was its poor handwriting recognition.
A third-party software developer, Palm Computing, came up with a shorthand recognition system, called Graffiti, which greatly improved the speed and accuracy of input. But, it was already too late for the Newton.
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Palm Computing decided to build its own pda in 1996. They created the PalmPilot running the Palm OS. The Palm OS was designed to be simple and straightforward. It came with a basic set of built-in applications including an address book, calendar, to do list, memo pad, calculator, and expense tracker. It also had a small amount of memory for storing data and applications.
There have been a number of OS version upgrades. These upgrades have typically focused on enhancing the built-in applications or expanding the hardware compatibility. The current Palm OS based pda's ship with either Palm OS 4.1 or 5. Palm-based pda's rapidly became dominant in the market and today they still hold approximately a seventy percent market share.
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But, this dominance is set to change. Either because of its "less is more" beginnings or its market dominance, Palm computing has been slow to add new software and hardware features. It wasn't until its licensees such has Handspring and Sony began adding new expansion ports, connectivity options, and higher resolution screens, as well as the emergence of newer, lower-cost Microsoft WindowsCE/PocketPC pda's, that Palm began to feel pressure to make significant updates to their features.
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WindowsCE2.0/2.11 PalmSize PC
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Windows CE has had its own development issues. Microsoft's dominance in the desktop environment and its "windows everywhere" mentality influenced their approach to a pda operating system. Initially, it did not translate well. The first versions of Windows CE for pda's tried to closely (some say too closely) emulate the Windows 95 environment. Users found the GUI implementation to be overly complicated, there were a number of glitches with the built-in applications, and the overall stability was poor necessitating frequent resets. Version upgrades improved application performance and increased hardware compatibility supporting color displays and more memory.
The greatest change came in 2000 with the debut of Windows CE 3.0 and Pocket PC. Windows CE 3.0 improved reliability with Protected Virtual memory, sophisticated interrupt management, and better multi-threading. Pocket PC introduced a completely new GUI and application suite running on top of the Windows CE 3.0 kernel.
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Pocket PC 2002
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Pocket PC had a browser-type look-and-feel which was much easier to navigate and more responsive. Simple changes such as moving the Start menu to the top and changing the 3D buttons and icons to 2D made much improvement in screen real-estate management and speed.
Microsoft had been trying unsuccessfully to compete with Palm OS in replacing the daytimer-type notebook organizer, but Palm Computing had spent the majority of their efforts in optimizing their operating system for just such tasks. With the legacy of the Windows OS, Microsoft was never going to "out-simplify" or "out-streamline" Palm OS. Microsoft decided to provide a solid implementation of PIM applications and then introduce new applications to "out-feature" Palm OS.
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More Powerful Applications
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To that end, they included a pocket version of Microsoft Office applications, such as MS Word, Outlook, and Excel. Pocket PC also included, for the first time, a version of Internet Explorer and Media Player. Now instead of simply managing appointments and To-Do Lists, pda users could work with the same documents as their desktop, browse the internet, listen to music, or even watch small video clips.
The Dell Axim runs the Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Premium operating system. Pocket PC 2002 included more modest improvements. Microsoft added a new input method called Block Recognizer which is a Graffiti like shorthand character input that would be familiar to Palm users making the switch to Pocket PC. The IR port implemented the industry standard OBEX protocol so that the Pocket PC could connect with other consumer devices such as Palm pda's and IR-enabled cell phones.
Other application were expanded to allow flexible password based security and synchronization with either desktops or servers, as well as a pass-through feature for browsing the internet using a desktop internet connection. The addition of a Terminal Services Client let the Pocket PC user remotely run desktop or server applications by signing into a Terminal Server over a dial-up or network connection. Pocket PC 2002 made the user interface skinnable, so that the look and feel could be changed to better suit the tastes and personality of the user.
One of the more important changes was a Smart Minimize memory management feature. It improves startup time of frequently used programs, but does away with the ability to actually close an application. Clicking the "X" icon in the upper left corner of the window simply minimizes an application rather than closing it. This is fine for most programs but for those which can run in the background such as media players, it can cause an unnecessary and unintended constriction of memory and processing resources. Fortunately, third-party programs, such as IcBar or Switcher Bar which is included in the Dell Axim, are available for directly managing the running applications. Such a feature is a prime candidate for inclusion in the next Pocket PC operating system.
Pocket PC is due to be updated in the Summer of 2003, however, it is likely to be mainly a maintenance release having only a few minor improvements and bug fixes. The next "Big" Pocket PC operating system (no official release date yet) will be based on Windows CE .Net. As the name would suggest, CE .Net has significant enhancements to the networking features of the OS, especially wireless. CE .Net moves beyond simple internet browsing with support for Web Services technology such as XML, WSDL, and SOAP. This will further the view of the pda as an extension of the enterprise-wide computing environment. No longer will the Pocket PC be constrained to the computing resources that are packed into its highly portable, but limited, form factor, but rather it will access a large number of optimized and coordinated remote services. CE .Net also includes multimedia improvements designed to take advantage of the rich content which is becoming increasingly available over higher bandwidth network connections.
With Pocket PC 2002, Microsoft included a reference hardware specification in its licensing agreement. Part of the specification included a Flashable ROM for installing upgrades to the OS. As a result, the new Pocket PC .Net operating system should be upgradable for the current Pocket PC's. That's if the hardware vendors decide to offer an upgrade, whenever Microsoft decides to release the OS.
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