With a newly released SDK, developers can build applications for Windows Mobile 2003–based Smartphones, which have already launched in China and are expected to launch in Europe by the end of 2003. The SDK confirms that the new features of these devices will be very similar to those of the latest phone-equipped Pocket PCs (PPCs). Most notably, the new Smartphone devices will have built-in support for the .NET Compact Framework, which is key to easing application development for these devices. The new platform will also have an enhanced browser and many other networking improvements that should enrich the overall user experience.

Smartphone Platform Now Includes .NET Compact Framework

The new Smartphone software platform will closely map to the features contained in the recently updated PPC Phone Edition (PPC-PE) platform. (See "Updated Software Platform for Pocket PCs" on page 21 of the Aug. 2003 Update.) Although the new Smartphones are considerably different than PPC-PE devices because of their smaller size, lack of a touch screen, and dependency on a numeric keypad for navigating and inputting data, their other capabilities are similar. Devices built using the new platform will include a significantly improved version (6.0) of the Pocket Internet Explorer browser, expanded virtual private network support, support for 14 additional languages, and more efficient data communications over carriers’ wireless WANs.

The most important aspect of the upgrade is that the new crop of Smartphones will use the updated Windows CE 4.2 platform and will have a Smartphone-specific version of the .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF) in ROM. The .NET CF is a version of the .NET Framework tuned for compact devices and, when combined with Visual Studio .NET, it gives IT planners and ISVs a consistent set of tools and APIs that span Microsoft’s desktop, server, and compact device platforms. In particular, this means that applications written for Smartphone 2003 devices can leverage the superior development tools and benefit from the improved reliability and security of the .NET platform. The Smartphone SDK also includes emulation software that allows developers to develop Smartphone applications without needing the actual devices.

Inclusion of the .NET CF does not mean that applications developed for the PPC will run unmodified on Smartphones, since each uses a special edition of the .NET CF tailored for the specific capabilities of each device. In particular, the classes that support the PPC’s touch screen user interface are absent. (All Smartphone menu choices are accessed through the numeric keypad and other buttons.) Furthermore, since Smartphones do not support SQL Server CE, the Smartphone .NET CF contains no classes for making database calls to it.

Until .NET CF support becomes a common attribute of the Smartphone installed base, developers cannot count on all devices having the prerequisites to run .NET CF applications. In the meantime, however, developers can opt to use the eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 development tools to build Smartphone applications that can run on both the Smartphone 2002 and 2003 platforms.

Upgrades Unlikely for Current Smartphones

HTC, the only manufacturer currently producing Smartphone 2002 devices, has not announced whether its current phone models will be upgradeable to the Windows Mobile 2003 software, but it seems doubtful. Based on the PPC 2003 upgrade program experience, Microsoft has left the decision whether to offer upgrades up to the device manufacturers and carriers, and only a few have made them available, and only for their most recent and pricier devices. The wireless carriers offering HTC Smartphones, such as Orange, would have to test, supply, and support the upgrade, and in any case, the existing flash ROMs probably have insufficient space to hold the upgraded OS plus the .NET CF. According to Microsoft, more information on upgrades should be available in Oct. 2003.

However, newer HTC phone models running Windows Mobile 2003 software for Smartphones have already begun shipping as part of Dopod's Smartphone 515 launch in China in Aug. 2003, and other carriers will begin offering Smartphone 2003 devices by the end of 2003.

Resources

For more information on Windows Mobile 2003 Software for Smartphones, see www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/products/smartphone.

To download the SDK, see www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A6C4F799-EC5C-427C-807C-4C0F96765A81&displaylang=en.