A Look Back on the Pocket PCs Rise to Success

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=1487&tag=nl.e539' target='_blank'>http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=1487&tag=nl.e539</a><br /><br /></div><i>"So far, until someone proves to me otherwise, Microsoft appears to be going about this build-out in all the right ways, and has been very smart about it. One of Microsoft's first stakes in the ground for mobile media, for example, was its PocketPC PDA operating system. Unlike with Palm's initial strategy and, for the most part, Apple's current strategy, Microsoft's only model for operating systems is to license them to hardware manufacturers and then to let those vendors duke it out in the market. When PocketPC first arrived on the market, a lot of people laughed it off. I didn't."</i><br /><br />This article is mostly about Microsoft's movements in the digital media realm, but the illustration that David Berlind gives is the history of the Pocket PC, and how Microsoft deftly positioned the Windows Mobile platform into a market success. It's an interesting read.

[emuelle1]

Very interesting article. I also agree with the conclusions. In 1998 or 99, I started to join in the "bash Microsoft" crowd. I quickly realized, however, that there really was no viable alternative to the Wintel platform. They did it better, cheaper, and farther reaching than anybody else.

I've watched companies like Sun whine about Microsoft, to which I always replied (to the TV or cnn.com or where ever I heard/read the account) "Why don't you guys get off your butts and produce a viable alternative?"

I'm not a great fan of Microsoft, but I'm smart enough to realize that it works. They have produced an OS that will cross platforms, and while Apple and Palm stagnate in the realm of proprietary hardware, Microsoft is beating their pants off with a system that will run on desktops, handhelds, TV's, servers, smart phones, or anything else the market can throw at us. It may not run perfectly, but, take note competitors, IT'S OUT THERE.