Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants. Designed to be the portable equivalent of the Windows desktop OS in the emerging mobile/portable area, the operating system is built on top of Windows CE and was originally released as Pocket PC 2000.
Microsoft introduced the Pocket PC keyboard-less PDAs in 2000, with Pocket PC 2000 being the software. It was based on version 3.0 of Windows CE, the operating system originally developed for the Handheld PC in 1996. The next versions were Pocket PC 2002 and Smartphone 2002, the latter of which would power a new category of keypad-based cell phone devices named Smartphone. With the release of Windows Mobile 2003, the software was rebranded to a single "Windows Mobile" for both Pocket PCs and Smartphones, and to connect the brand with its desktop counterpart. Support for SH-3 and MIPS processor architectures were dropped, focusing only on ARM. In the next major release, Windows Mobile 5.0 in 2005, Microsoft unified the separate developments of Pocket PC and Smartphone software into a single Windows Mobile codebase. Data could be synchronized with desktops using ActiveSync software, and later using Windows Mobile Device Center.
Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 were the next major releases, in 2007 and 2008 respectively, by which time the hardware devices were also solely under the Windows Mobile banner. Along with the final major release, Windows Mobile 6.5, the first to be designed for use without a stylus on touchscreens, Microsoft also introduced the Windows Marketplace for Mobile for software distribution, for Windows Mobile 6.x devices. Following the success of newer mobile operating systems like iOS, Windows Mobile faded rapidly; in 2010, Microsoft announced the more modern and consumer-focused Windows Phone 7 as its replacement, and Windows Mobile has been deprecated since existing devices and software are incompatible with Windows Phone.
Features
Most versions of Windows Mobile have a standard set of features, such as multitasking and the ability to navigate a file system similar to that of Windows 9x and Windows NT, including support for many of the same file types. Similarly to its desktop counterpart, it comes bundled with a set of applications that perform basic tasks. Internet Explorer Mobile is the default web browser, and Windows Media Player is the default media player used for playing digital media. The mobile version of Microsoft Office is the default office suite.Internet Connection Sharing, supported on compatible devices, allows the phone to share its Internet connection with computers via USB and Bluetooth. Windows Mobile supports virtual private networking over PPTP protocol. Most devices with mobile connectivity also have a Radio Interface Layer. The Radio Interface Layer provides the system interface between the Cell Core layer within the Windows Mobile OS and the radio protocol stack used by the wireless modem hardware. This allows OEMs to integrate a variety of modems into their equipment.
The user interface changed dramatically between versions, only retaining similar functionality. The Today Screen, later called the Home Screen, shows the current date, owner information, upcoming appointments, e-mails, and tasks. The taskbar displays the current time as well as the volume level. Devices with a cellular radio also show the signal strength on said taskbar.
History
Windows Mobile is based on the Windows CE kernel and first appeared as the Pocket PC 2000 operating system. It includes a suite of basic applications developed with the Microsoft Windows API, and is designed to have features and appearance somewhat similar to desktop versions of Windows. It allowed third party developers to develop software for Windows Mobile with no restrictions imposed by Microsoft. Software applications were purchasable from Windows Marketplace for Mobile during the service's lifespan.Most early Windows Mobile devices came with a stylus, which can be used to enter commands by tapping it on the screen. The primary touch input technology behind most devices were resistive touchscreens which often required a stylus for input. Later devices used capacitive sensing which does not require a stylus. Along with touchscreens, a large variety of form factors existed for the platform. Some devices featured slideout keyboards, while others featured minimal face buttons.
Windows CE
Microsoft's work on handheld portable devices began with research projects in 1990, with the work on Windows CE beginning in 1992. Initially, the OS and the user interface were developed separately. With Windows CE being based on Windows 95 code and a separate team handing the user interface which was codenamed WinPad. Windows 95 had strong pen support making porting easy; with some saying "At this time, Windows 95 offers outstanding pen support. It is treating pens right for the first time." WinPad was delayed due to price and performance issues, before being scrapped in early 1995 due to touchscreen driver problems relating to WriteTouch technology, made by NCR Microelectronic Products. Although WinPad was never released as a consumer product, Alpha builds were released showcasing many interface elements. During development of WinPad a separate team worked on a project called Pulsar; designed to be a mobile communications version of WinPad, described as a "pager on Steroids". This project was also canceled around the same time as WinPad. The two disbanded groups would form the Pegasus project in 1995. Pegasus would work on the hardware side of the Windows CE OS, attempting to create a form factor similar to a PC-esque PDA like WinPad, with communications functionality like Pulsar. Under the name Handheld PC, a hardware reference guide was created, and devices began shipping in 1996, although most of these devices bore little resemblance to the goal of a pen-based touchscreen handheld device. A specification for a smaller form factor under the name Palm-size PC was released in 1998.Pocket PC 2000
Pocket PC 2000, originally codenamed "Rapier", was released on April 19, 2000, and was based on the Windows CE 3.0 kernel.Pocket PC 2000 was the debut of what was later to become the Windows Mobile operating system, and was meant to be a successor to the operating system aboard Palm-size PCs. Backwards compatibility was retained with such Palm-size PC applications.
Pocket PC 2000 was intended mainly for Pocket PC devices; however, several Palm-size PC devices had the ability to be updated as well. Furthermore, several Pocket PC 2000 phones were released, however at this time, Microsoft's "Smartphone" hardware platform had not yet been created.
At this time, Pocket PC devices had not been standardized with a specific CPU architecture. As a result, Pocket PC 2000 was released on multiple CPU architectures, such as SH-3, MIPS, and ARM. The only resolution supported by this release was 240 x 320. Removable storage card formats that were supported were CompactFlash and MultiMediaCard. Infrared File beaming capability was among the original hardware features.
Aesthetically, the original Pocket PC operating system was similar in design to the then-current Windows 98, Windows 2000, and the yet-to-be-released Windows Me desktop operating systems. Crucially, the Pocket PC had a less cluttered interface more suitable for a mobile device, unlike the interface on predeceasing Palm-size PCs. Mainstream support for Pocket PC 2000 ended on September 30, 2005, and extended support ended on October 9, 2007.
This initial release had multiple built-in applications, many of them similarly branded to match their desktop counterparts; such as Microsoft Reader, Microsoft Money, Pocket Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. A version of Microsoft Office called Pocket Office was also bundled and included Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Pocket Outlook. Notes, a note-taking app saw its first release and would be supported by most later versions of Windows Mobile. Intelligent character recognition support allowed Notes to distinguish styles of handwriting to be learned by the OS during processing to improve accuracy and recognition levels.
Pocket PC 2002
Pocket PC 2002, originally codenamed "Merlin", was released on October 4, 2001, and was based on the Windows CE 3.0 kernel, like with Pocket PC 2000. Although targeted mainly for 240×320 Pocket PC devices, Pocket PC 2002 was also used for Pocket PC phones.Aesthetically, Pocket PC 2002 was meant to be similar in design to the then newly released Windows XP. Newly added or updated programs include Windows Media Player 8 with streaming capability; MSN Messenger, and Microsoft Reader 2, with Digital rights management support. Upgrades to the bundled version of Office Mobile include a spell checker and word count tool in Pocket Word and improved Pocket Outlook. Connectivity was improved with file beaming on non-Microsoft devices such as Palm OS, the inclusion of Terminal Services and Virtual private networking support, and the ability to synchronize folders. Other upgrades include an enhanced UI with theme support and savable downloads and WAP in Pocket Internet Explorer.
Smartphone 2002
Smartphone 2002, originally codenamed "Stinger", was released in 2002. Based on Windows CE 3.0 like Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2000, Smartphone 2002 was built for GSM cell phones with standard keypad-based form factors, as opposed to Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition which targeted standard touch-based PDAs. The first device that was supposed to ship with Smartphone 2002 was the Sendo Z100 which was canceled after Sendo sued Microsoft.Windows Mobile 2003
Windows Mobile 2003, initially named as Pocket PC 2003 and originally codenamed "Ozone", was the first release under the Windows Mobile banner, released on June 23, 2003, based on the Windows CE 4.2 kernel.It came in four editions: "Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Premium Edition", "Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Professional Edition", "Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone" and "Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone Edition". The last was designed especially for Pocket PCs which include phone functionalities. The Professional Edition was used in Pocket PC budget models. It lacked a number of features that were in the Premium Edition, such as a client for L2TP/IPsec VPNs. All versions of Windows Mobile 2003 were powered by Windows CE 4.20.
Communications interface were enhanced with Bluetooth device management, which allowed for Bluetooth file beaming support, Bluetooth headset support and support for Bluetooth add-on keyboards. A pictures application with viewing, cropping, e-mail, and beaming support was added. Multimedia improvements included MIDI file support as ringtones in Phone Edition and Windows Media Player 9.0 with streaming optimization. A puzzle game titled Jawbreaker is among the preinstalled programs. GAPI was included with this release to facilitate the development of games for the platform.
Other features/built-in applications included the following: enhanced Pocket Outlook with vCard and vCal support, improved Pocket Internet Explorer and SMS reply options for Phone Edition.