Microsoft releases upgraded mobile OS

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. today will officially unveil an upgraded version of its Pocket PC mobile operating system that's designed to provide users with improved support for accessing Wi-Fi wireless LANs.
Ed Suwanjindar, product manager for Microsoft's mobile computing division, said Pocket PC 2003 -- which is being renamed Windows Mobile 2003 -- includes a new network connection manager that can be used to set up WLAN access with "zero configuration."
The upgrade also has a revamped mobile information server that should resolve synchronization problems users experienced when trying to update their e-mail directories with earlier versions of the software, Suwanjindar said.
Michael Murphy, director of information systems support services at the Carlson Hotels division of Carlson Companies Inc. in Plymouth, Minn., said he has deployed 200 Pocket PC devices for use by business managers and his IT team. He described the task of setting up WLAN connections with older releases as "a challenge."
But Sam Bhavnani, an analyst at ARS Inc. in La Jolla, Calif., said that despite improvements in Pocket PC hardware and software, Microsoft rival Palm Inc. still offers buyers of handheld devices something they can't find in any Pocket PC model: a built-in keyboard that uses the traditional QWERTY design.
Dell Computer Corp. said it will wait until later this year to introduce new Pocket PC hardware. Hewlett-Packard Co. today plans to announce three Pocket PC models priced from $299 to $649, and Gateway Inc. in Poway, Calif., said it will release its first Pocket PC device in July, priced at about $300.