• Sidebar: Pocket PC 2002 Manufacturers and Devices
• Sidebar: Wireless Connectivity Options for the Pocket PC
• Sidebar: Mobile Information Server 2002 Gives Pocket PC 2002 Offline E-Mail
• Illustration: Compaq’s IPaq 3800 Pocket PC
• Illustration: Symbol’s Model 2800 Pocket PC
• Illustration: mmO2’s xda Hybrid GSM Phone and Pocket PC

Hardware manufacturers are now shipping handheld computers based on Microsoft’s Pocket PC (PPC) 2002 software platform. Based on Windows CE 3.0, this new release is targeted squarely at businesses, especially for mobile line-of-business applications and as a wireless communications device for mobile personnel. When used in conjunction with Microsoft’s just-released Mobile Information Server 2002, PPC 2002 lets users read and compose Exchange e-mail offline, then synchronize over-the-air when a wireless connection is reestablished. However, PPC 2002 devices will continue to be a problem for organizations that value centralized configuration and software distribution because the devices themselves lack management agents, and Microsoft has yet to support Windows CE in its systems management tools, such as Systems Management Server. Also, although the PPC platform is important to Microsoft’s .NET vision, PPC 2002 will have to wait for release of the .NET Compact Framework before it can run .NET applications.

Pocket PC 2002 Overview and Positioning

Introduced in Nov. 2001, PPC 2002 is the third generation of a Microsoft software platform based on Windows CE and an accompanying hardware reference standard. PPC 2002 devices resemble Palm Pilot personal digital assistants (PDAs), but are much more powerful, and are available from a larger variety of manufacturers, including PC OEMs such as Compaq and Hewlett-Packard (HP). The software includes the base operating system (OS) for the Intel StrongARM processor used in all PPC 2002 devices; a user interface designed for stylus-only use; applications like "pocket" versions of Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Word; and drivers for common hardware, such as the sound recorder, and connectivity interfaces such as Universal Serial Bus (USB). (For information on specific types of PPC 2002 devices, see the sidebar "Pocket PC 2002 Manufacturers and Devices".)

Although the higher prices of PPC 2002 devices (in the US$400 to US$700 range) make them generally less attractive to consumers than PalmOS-based devices, this third generation of the PPC platform has made substantial inroads into the handheld market dominated by Palm and Handspring, primarily because beginning with the last release (PPC 2000), Microsoft has targeted the PPC platform at corporations and governments rather than individual consumers. The new release continues this trend with better wireless support and features that make it easier to use as a platform for mobile line-of-business applications and mobile communications.

Although Palm has also introduced feature-rich high-end models and has a new OS due this year, these developments alone are probably not enough to retard Microsoft’s building momentum in the corporate segment: IDC estimates that the annual rate of PPC sales into the enterprise will pass Palm-based devices in 2002 and will outsell them two to one in enterprises by 2004. The reasons include broader developer support, broader manufacturer support, and better compatibility with the rest of the Microsoft software environment.

The one wildcard that could hurt Microsoft is growing support for Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). J2ME allows Java applications to run on any J2ME device. J2ME virtual machines are now available for the PalmOS, and J2ME-based PDAs running embedded Linux are beginning to appear on the market. However, Microsoft could thwart this threat with their upcoming release of the .NET Compact Framework for CE and PPC devices.

Microsoft’s .NET Compact Framework will provide features and benefits similar to those of J2ME, yet allow the hordes of Visual Basic developers to leverage their existing skills using the Visual Studio .NET development environment. (For background on .NET development and the .NET Compact Framework, see the July 2001 Research Report, "Understanding .NET," and the Feb. 2002 Research Report, "The .NET Development Platform.")

More Attractive to Corporations

The emergence of broad wireless connectivity options, combined with the evolution of the PPC feature set, make it particularly well-suited for two enterprise roles: as a platform for mobile line-of-business applications and as a communications device to help mobile workers keep in touch with their organizations.

Wireless Options Enable Mobile Applications

Most previous PPC devices had expansion slots that supported built-in and third-party connectivity options, such as serial and USB cables, Ethernet adapters, dial-up modems, and infrared ports. However, these technologies were either limited to a physical cable or were too slow to make mobile applications practical.

Two developments have changed this: the emergence of inexpensive 802.11b "Wi-Fi" wireless LANS (WLANs) that provide short-range and high-bandwidth connections, and the emergence of packet-switched wireless wide-area networks (WWANs) provided by cellular carriers to provide medium bandwidth connectivity with broad geographic coverage. In the near future, personal area networks (PANs) based on the Bluetooth protocol will add ultra-short-range wireless capabilities to the PPC 2002 platform. (For more information on wireless technologies available to PPC 2002 devices, see the sidebar "Wireless Connectivity Options for the Pocket PC".)

The emergence of broad public and private wireless connectivity options combined with the capabilities of the PPC 2002 platform allows organizations to incorporate mobile solutions into their business processes at a reasonable price. Previously, this capability was only available to the largest and most specialized businesses, such as package services like United Parcel Service or car rental firms like Avis, that could afford to contract for very large numbers of devices and build their own radio networks.

Security a Must

Organizations are especially concerned that portable devices do not introduce a security Achilles' heel given that the devices are small, extremely portable (and thus easily stolen or misplaced), and typically communicate over a wireless connection. With this in mind, Microsoft included the following security features in the PPC 2002 platform:

Local password security. The PPC 2002 supports a power-on password that protects all locally stored data. A device reset provides access in the advent of a forgotten password, but it also erases all locally stored data, which can be recovered by resyncing the PPC when docked to its parent PC.

Virus protection. Although PPC viruses are rare, the growing popularity of the devices will make them attractive to virus writers. PPC 2002’s new antivirus API allows products like Trend Micro’s PC-cillin for Wireless to protect PPC devices against known virus attacks.

Cryptographic API (CAPI) support. PPC 2002 supports the CAPI, which provides data encryption and integrity functions—such as allowing PPC 2002 to use the Secure Sockets Layer to encrypt communication with Web servers, for example.

Virtual private network (VPN) support. When the mobile client connects to the Internet, or if the data is so sensitive that normal wireless security is considered inadequate, PPC 2002 supports VPNs using the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). This securely encrypts all network communications between the device and a Windows 2000 Routing and Remote Access Services gateway.

Although not included, a PPC VPN solution that uses the IP Security (IPSec) protocol instead of PPTP is available from Certicom. (For more information on IPSec, see "IPSec Enhances Windows Virtual Private Network Security" on page 3 of the Feb. 2002 Update.)

Support for Mobile Line-of-Business Applications

Many businesses and other organizations would like to be able to collect information from or make information available to mobile workers. This requires applications that either:

• Run on the mobile device with a full-time wireless connection to a database server on the network, or
• Run on the mobile device using data from local files or an offline database on the device, yet synchronize with a file or database server when docked or when wireless network connectivity is available, or
• Run on a server and display on and take input from the wireless-connected mobile device using terminal services or a Web browser.

Corporate developers and ISVs such as PeopleSoft are building mobile line-of-business applications for the PPC platform that exploit one or more of the following features of PPC 2002:

Compatibility with the Windows development tools and environment. Because all PPCs run on Windows CE, a big selling point to ISVs and corporate developers is the platform's compatibility with the Windows development environment. A free SDK makes it easier to write PPC applications using eMbedded Visual C++ or eMbedded Visual Basic. This kit includes emulators that allow testing of PPC applications without loading them on the physical devices.

Upgradeable ROM. All new PPC 2002 devices have 32MB of flashable ROM that holds the basic OS and some or all of the applications. A new technology, called eXecute In Place (XIP), allows the CE-based OS of these devices to be field-upgraded with service packs and future OS releases. The first PPC 2002 service packs for Compaq and HP PPCs are already available, and Microsoft says that current versions of the 32MB ROM devices will be upgradable to a new release of PPC based on the Windows CE .NET OS, formerly code-named Talisker.

Cloneable configuration. Organizations can fully tailor a PPC 2000 or 2002 device with the settings and applications they need, and then clone the software image so that identical devices can be rapidly deployed in large numbers.

Terminal Services client. Just as PC versions of Windows can use Terminal Services to interact with end-user applications running on servers, PPC 2002 includes a bundled Terminal Services client that users can use to connect to applications running on back-end Terminal Servers, as long as a full-time network connection is present.

This solution is especially beneficial to organizations that have existing Visual Basic (VB) applications that they want to make available to wireless PPC 2002 devices. These applications must be modified; otherwise, the PPC’s limited screen size and lack of a keyboard would make them barely usable. However, it is much easier to modify a VB application specifically to display in PPC 2002 Terminal windows and tailor it to use mainly buttons and pick lists for user input than it is to port the same application to run on CE or to convert it to a Web application.

Pocket Internet Explorer (IE). Pocket IE allows mobile users to interact with Web-based applications. With the release of the Visual Studio .NET development platform and the Mobile Internet Toolkit, it is now much easier to write highly scalable ASP.NET applications targeted at the physical constraints of Pocket IE, especially for VB developers who previously did not have Web development skills. As with the Terminal Services example, this scenario requires a full-time network connection to the server.

SQL Server CE support. PPC 2000 introduced support for the SQL Server CE Edition, and this support carries forward to PPC 2002. This allows the creation of sophisticated mobile applications that can run in an offline state and still synchronize their data with a SQL Server server when reconnected to the network. (See "SQL Server for Windows CE Is Released" on page 17 of the Dec. 2000 Update.)

For example, a developer could create a PPC 2002 application that collects geographic information from a GPS antenna, allows the user to add information via an input screen on the PPC, and stores it in a local SQL database, then uploads this local database when the device is back in range of the firm’s WLAN or when it is docked in its cradle. (PPC 2002 supports a new feature called "desktop pass-through" that allows it to use the host PC’s network adapter to connect to other network servers, such as when synchronizing with a SQL Server master.)

Support for Mobile Communications

A PDA that exchanges information only when docked is not very useful as a communications tool. PPC 2002 devices, when combined with WLANs or WWANs, can act as communications tools for mobile employees. Unlike laptops, PPC 2002 devices are small, light, and can run for extended periods on batteries, and with wireless support they allow the user to remain connected to e-mail and instant messages. Some hybrid PPC 2002 devices even support cellular voice calls.

Key PPC 2002 technologies that support mobile communications include the following:

Pocket Outlook and ActiveSync 3.5. PPC users have long been able to synchronize Pocket Outlook with their desktop versions of Outlook using a program called ActiveSync. If the device has a network connection, Pocket Outlook users could also directly connect to a POP3 or IMAP mail server, albeit for messages only.

However, PPC 2002 offers a new capability that is far more useful to typical corporate users. With PPC 2002 and Microsoft's new Mobile Information Server 2002, users can synchronize a PPC-based instance of their Pocket Outlook message store directly with their mailboxes, calendar folders, and contact folders residing on their Exchange servers. (See the sidebar "Mobile Information Server 2002 Gives Pocket PC 2002 Offline E-Mail".)

By keeping all messages stored on an Exchange server, users can access the same information from any Exchange client: Office Outlook, Outlook Web Access, or Pocket Outlook. PPC 2002 goes one step further by allowing mobile users to roam in and out of wireless Internet access—incoming and outgoing messages will queue up when the user is disconnected and automatically synchronize when the connection is restored. In other words, wireless users never need to cradle their device to keep their Exchange information current.

MSN Messenger. PPC 2002 includes a pocket version of the MSN Messenger instant messaging (IM) client compatible with both the MSN Messenger and Exchange 2000 IM services. This feature allows wireless-equipped PPC 2002 users to use their devices like two-way pagers and exchange presence information with other IM users on their contact list.

CellCore. PPC 2002 supports a new API called CellCore that allows the PPC OS to interact with telephony features in a new crop of cell phones built on the PPC Phone Edition platform. This API allows dialing functions to be integrated with PPC applications—for example, selecting a number in the Outlook Contacts folder could automatically dial that number, or caller ID could be linked to a contact so that person's name appears on the display whenever a call comes in.

What’s Still Missing?

PPC 2002 has made significant strides and many organizations are now seriously considering these devices for uses that go beyond a simple PDA. However, it still lacks some features that organizations need, especially in the management area.

Currently, organizations have no way to remotely configure, inventory, or deploy software to PPC 2002 devices. This shortcoming means that adding software or installing updates requires a great deal of physical effort.

For now, PPC 2002 and other CE devices are not full peers with Microsoft’s other desktop OSs on the network. Windows 2000 Group Policy does not work with any CE device, and Microsoft’s Systems Management Server (SMS) has no management agent that runs on the Windows CE OS. However, it is possible to create an SMS installation package that installs a setup for a PPC 2002 application onto a user’s desktop computer. The PPC application would be installed on the device the next time it was docked to the user’s desktop.

Fortunately, third-party vendors such as Callisto Software (Orbiter), Mobile Automation (MA2000), and XcelleNet (Afaria) provide solutions for most of these PPC management needs.

Windows CE .NET and the forthcoming .NET Compact Framework should bring the PPC platform closer to being a full network peer to Microsoft’s other client OSs. Some of the most significant anticipated changes are as follows:

.NET Compact Framework. With the addition of the .NET Compact Framework to the PPC 2002 platform and its successors, client-side application development for the PPC will be easier, and users will benefit from the robustness and security benefits of .NET managed code and the use of Web services. (Microsoft has not yet said how the .NET Compact Framework will be delivered to existing devices.) Although with the current PPC SDK it is possible to craft applications that can consume XML Web services, the .NET Compact Framework will make this task substantially easier.

Kerberos. Kerberos support in CE .NET will allow PPC users to access network resources in a more secure manner than the NTLM authentication protocol supported in the PPC 2002 platform.

802.1x support. Not to be confused with the name’s resemblance to any of the 802.11(x) protocols (such as 802.11b), 802.1x is an industry standard authentication and access control protocol for many types of wireless networks, and it is currently supported in Windows XP. The addition of 802.1x support to CE .NET will help alleviate many of the security concerns surrounding PPC connectivity via WLANs.

Windows Messenger and Session Initiation Protocol. CE .NET includes the new Windows Messenger client for Real-Time Communications (RTC) instead of the current MSN Messenger client. Windows Messenger combines the IM capabilities of the MSN Messenger client with many of the conferencing and data-sharing features of NetMeeting. It blends these products with the help of a new real-time communication protocol standard, the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is driving an important strategic shift for Microsoft's conferencing products and technologies. SIP support will become more important as data, voice, and video services converge. (See "Windows Messenger Moves IM, Conferencing in New Direction" on page 8 of the Aug. 2001 Update.)

Availability and Resources

PPC 2002 devices are currently shipping from numerous manufacturers, and the core PPC OS and updates are only available through those OEMs. However, Microsoft has some PPC 2002 applications and utilities available for free download at www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/default.asp.

For more information on PPC 2002, see www.microsoft.com/pocketpc.

Microsoft’s PPC FAQ is located at www.microsoft.com/MOBILE/enterprise/papers/mobilityfaq.asp#large.

To find a Microsoft Mobile Solution Provider, see www.microsoft.com/mobile/enterprise/solutions.

To download the PPC 2002 SDK, see www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/downloads/ppcsdk2002.asp.

To download the Mobile Internet Toolkit, see msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/sample.asp?url=/msdn-files/027/001/817/msdncompositedoc.xml.

For more information on the .NET Compact Framework, see msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/technical/compactfx.asp.

For more information on Mobile Information Server 2002, see www.microsoft.com/miserver.

More information about Mobilsys can be found at www.mobilesys.com.

For information on Certicom’s IPSec-based VPN software for the PPC, see www.certicom.com/pdfs/whitepapers/movianVPN_whitepaper.pdf.