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Microsoft Palm PC competes with Palm Pilot

By Richard Morochove

First published January 15, 1998

By Richard Morochove

Microsoft's campaign to place Windows everywhere took two steps forward with the unveiling of new handheld and automotive computers based on Windows CE. At last week's Winter Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft announced a handheld Palm PC and a voice-controlled Auto PC.

Microsoft's Palm PC will supplement and not replace the company's Handheld PC, now in its second generation. The Palm PC is smaller and lighter than the HPC and can easily be held in one hand.

You enter information using a stylus on the touch-sensitive screen, since there's no actual keyboard.

In form and conception, Microsoft's Palm PC looks quite similar to 3Com's Palm Pilot. 3Com believes the name could lead to confusion and the company may file a trademark infringement suit against Microsoft.

The Palm PC includes a minimum 2 MB of RAM and 4 MB of ROM to store the Windows CE software and applications. The touch screen is a good-sized 240 x 320 black and white display that's operated by a stylus tucked away on the side. There's a speaker and a voice-quality microphone, serial and infrared ports and a CompactFlash slot for data storage and communications cards. Microsoft says the batteries should provide sufficient power for 15 to 20 hours of continuous operation.

The device includes four programmable application buttons, as well as a record button for voice recordings.

The Palm PC includes both natural and unistroke handwriting recognition, which sounds similar to the Palm Pilot's Graffiti. There's also a virtual keyboard you can call up on the screen and tap out the letters.

The key application is Pocket Outlook, which maintains your calendar of appointments, a contact book of names and addresses, a task list of projects and to-dos and an in-box for your E-mail. Other basic applications include a note taker, calculator, world clock and the world's biggest time-waster, the Solitaire game.

Mobile Channels lets you receive information from selected websites you can browse offline. There's also a Voice Recorder that allows you to record and play back short spoken notes.

You can slip the Palm PC into a cradle and use Microsoft's AutoSync software to transfer and back up the data on your PC. The docking cradle also connects to AC power.

While Microsoft developed the basic design and software of the Palm PC, it will not manufacture the device. Microsoft licensed the design to seven manufacturers including Philips, Casio, Samsung and LG Electronics. It's estimated that manufacturers will set prices ranging from $300 to over $1,000, depending upon the amount of memory and other options. The first Palm PCs should be available this spring.

Manufacturers may include additional capabilities beyond the base defined by Microsoft. For example, one model of Philips' Nino 300 Palm PC will include a 19.2 Kbps modem and 8 megabytes of RAM. The device uses a 32-bit MIPS-based, 75 MHz processor from Philips Semiconductors.

The hardware design of the Palm PC looks sound, but the key to its success will lie in its software. The version of Windows CE in the HPC is clearly keyboard oriented. It's Windows downsized from the desktop and not one designed from the ground up for mobile applications.

I haven't yet evaluated the version of Windows CE and the applications that will be included in the Palm PC, so I can't say if Microsoft now realizes the mistake it made with HPC software. I believe the key to the success of the Palm Pilot lies in the way its software anticipates what you want to do and allows you to enter appointments with a minimum number of keystrokes. Microsoft's Palm PC software will need to follow a similar design, if it hopes to take on the leader in handheld computers.

The other new device, Microsoft's Auto PC, is designed to fit in a car dashboard. It includes the voice recognition software of Brussels-based Lernout & Hauspie to enable drivers to use wireless E-mail, receive driving directions and hear reports of traffic conditions. The Auto PC includes an interface to an optional GPS (geographical positioning system) device.

In addition to the computing capabilities, the Auto PC will also include a radio and CD player. Aftermarket versions should be available this summer and it may be offered built-in to selected car models as early as the 1999 model year.

The Auto PC isn't the only car computer. Also at CES, Intel announced its own automobile device, called the Connected Car PC. At last year's Fall Comdex, IBM displayed its take, featuring wireless connectivity to the Internet. CW

Click here to order Philips Nino 301! (4MB)

Click here to order Philips Nino 312! (8MB)

Click here to order 3Com's Palm III!

Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.

Copyright ©1998 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.

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