Windows for Tiny PCs

Seamless information synchronization with desktop PCs will highlight Windows CE.

Dave Andrews

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Following an earlier effort to develop an OS for hand-held devices, Microsoft will release an OS called Windows CE this fall. The first products based on the new OS, which is code-named Pegasus, will be hand-held PCs that are about the same size as today's Psion 3A and Hewlett-Packard's 200LX.

Unlike these other devices, however, the new Windows CE hand-held PCs will feature an OS that provides a Windows 95 look and feel. Windows CE will also offer programmers a subset of the Win32 APIs, making it easier for developers familiar with those interfaces to write applications for these new hand-held PCs. Microsof t says that Windows CE will also be appropri ate for such items as cellular smart phones, digital information pagers, and entertainment and multimedia consoles.

The first Windows CE hand-held PCs will likely be released late this year. They will ship with slimmed-down versions of popular applications such as Microsoft Excel and Word, although the CE versions will probably offer only some of the features available in desktop applications. The devices will reportedly let you synchronize information with Schedule Plus and possibly other calendar programs from your desktop.

Microsoft declined to comment in depth on the devices or the OS, but company officials say the hand-held PCs will offer strong connectivity to Windows PCs. Initially, companies such as Casio, Compaq, HP, LG Electronics, NEC, and Philips Electronics will offer them. Compaq, perhaps PDA-shy from its initial work with the abortive WinPad OS, will reportedly resell a hand-held PC made by another company.

Windows CE is a 32-bit, multitasking, multithreaded OS. It is also portable to a variety of microprocessors, such as Hitachi's 32-bit SH3. Processors from NEC Electronics and Philips Semiconductor can also be used in Windows CE hand-held PCs. The OS will be stored in 5.5 MB of ROM, according to reports.

These hand-held PCs will probably sell for about $500. Whether they will be breakthrough products that breathe new life into the market or just another bust in a field littered with failures remains to be seen. However, even if Windows CE isn't perfect in its first release, it's possible that Microsoft will continue to improve the product until it is as popular in the hand-held PC arena as Windows 95 is on the desktop.

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Windows CE Highlights

 Good PC connectivity

 Programming interface based on Win32

 Windows 95 look and feel

 Backed by several hardware manufacturers

 Device price near $500

 First release slated for this month