Pocket PC 2002: Sweaty Palms?

joestump98 writes: "It appears Microsoft is launching the latest version of their Pocket PC. Here's the announcement from Microsoft about it." Perhaps Palm will fire back with something involving BeOS?

Comments

I smell a rat.

[perdida]

Among the first machines loaded with Pocket PC 2000 will be Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (NYSE:HWP - news) HP Jornada 565 and 568 devices, with suggested retail prices of $599 and $649, respectively, less a $50 rebate good through the end of 2001.

The new Jornadas will be previewed tomorrow at the DemoMobile conference in La Jolla, California and are expected to ship in October.

Like most other Pocket PC devices, the Jornadas occupy the high end of the market, as devices loaded with the Palm OS can be had for as little as $100.

The higher-priced devices offer so many functions, according to Giga's Enderle, that they constitute viable stand-alone computers.

``The thing that impressed me the most is that it's a full Outlook client,'' he said, meaning the computer can have receive e-mail without relying on a desktop or laptop computer. ``These changes move the Pocket PC into what will likely be the sustaining generation of devices: they're always on, always connected and function as a stand-alone platform.''

Okay, what role did MS have in the Compaq/HP merger?

Merger is narrowing the field of competition in the laptop market, and Jornada device seems to replace laptop functions.

The merger makes it more likely that HP/Compaq will have enough money and credit to aggressively market this Jornada.

This announcement seems to be timed pretty close with the merger.

I have no problem with Microsoft producing its software, but I do have a problem with social engineering - the deliberate restriction of markets outside software - such as palmtop hardware - in order to pursue its social engineering goals (e.g. replacing the laptop, and wedding MS programming to the palmtop).