Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine Hangs Up Its Boots

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blog/4/final-issue-smartphone-pocket-pc-magazine' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blog...ket-pc-magazine</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"I have sad news. After 11 years, we will be publishing a final 2008 issue of Smartphone &amp; Pocket PC magazine and then suspend publication! We are working hard to make it the best Windows Mobile issue ever, a keeper, a reference guide... It is with great regret I make this announcement. We are a very small, self-funded magazine publishing company. We did not make this decision lightly, especially after 11 years of issues. It has become harder and harder to grow our circulation over the past three years since Windows Mobile changed from being PDAs to being phones.&nbsp; Pocket PC manufacturers like HP used to work with us to offer their customers a free issue of our magazine in their packaging. The phone companies have not shown similar interest in working with us. The other business challenge has been the lack of advertising sponsorship from Microsoft, phone companies, and OEMs, despite our coverage of their products. In order for us to sell subscriptions at current low consumer magazine-type prices, we must have a stronger and growing circulation, and we much attract the large advertisers who benefit the most from our existence. Of course, the irony is that almost 20 million Windows Mobile units were sold this past Microsoft fiscal year. We think there is a great opportunity to continue the magazine in this high growth smartphone market&nbsp; for a more sophisticated publishing company or a funded entrepreneur."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/spt/auto/1219771146.usr2.jpg" border="1" /></p><p>After eleven amazing years, the folks at Smartphone &amp; Pocket PC Magazine are suspending publication due to a lack of interest and sponsorship from a number of parties. For many years, I've had the pleasure of working with Hal Goldstein and his committed team in the Best Software Awards, and have appreciated their enormous level of dedication and enthusiasm shown toward the Windows Mobile platform and community. It's sad news, and on behalf of the team at Thoughts Media, I wish Hal and his team the very best in their endeavours. Of course, the door is still open; if you'd love to see Smartphone &amp; Pocket PC Magazine continue on and have sponsorship ideas, you might want to <a href="http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blog/4/final-issue-smartphone-pocket-pc-magazine" target="_blank">contact Hal</a>.</p>

[RayanMX]

Wow!

This really is sad news! :(

But why don't you stick to an online subscription based magazine only?

We can't afford to loose such iconic source of info!!!

Sad... really sad!!!

[acharn]

I have a sad feeling that the MS Smartphone will be gone in 5 years. The article didn't even mention the advances in competing technology- i.e. the iPhone, but I am sure that was a big issue for them. Also, the prices of laptops have come down considerably (sub $400) and laptop-minis are on the rise- all eating into the already narrow market for MS-based smartphones.
What happened to all the third-party apps advertising space? Are third-party apps the next to go?

[subzerohf]

Video killed the radio star! I think online sites, such as the (excellent) thoughts media, have done it! Unfortunate but true. I stopped buying magazines on gadgets because online sites are faster and more convenient. Not to mention more feed back through the discussion forums. What do you think?

[soho_1]

There were some quotes missing from the link:

Our focus in 2009 will be the four scheduled iPhone Life issues, which we will publish under the umbrella title of Smartphone Magazine under the same newsstand distribution as Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine. That title and our 4 iPhone issue 2009 schedule leaves us space to produce more Windows Mobile issues, a Google Android issue, a RIM Blackberry edition, or a generic Smartphone issue depending on where the opportunities lies.

Thaddeus Computing is launching a new publication, iPhone Life, which will appear on newsstands starting September 8. The premier issue will be sent to all current Windows Mobile subscribers. Subscriptions can be purchased at http://www.SmartphoneMag.com/2010. More details will be given in a future press release.

All current subscribers will receive the premier issue of iPhone Life and the final issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine. Those subscribers with issues remaining will continue to receive Smartphone Magazine's iPhone Life for the duration of their subscription. Alternatively, by contacting [email protected], subscribers can receive the knowledge or renewal bundle.

Calling the decision to switch focus to Apple's revolutionary iPhone "a business decision," publisher Hal Goldstein says: “Feel free to E-mail me your comments, angry or supportive or in between at [email protected].”

[Reid Kistler]

Pocket PC Mag won't be the first Technology publication to either disappear or be significantly reduced in size (content and/or staff), and it probably won't be the last.

Still sad when it happens.

[blazingwolf]

So they think the bread is buttered better by the iphone? Hmm, go figure.

[ucfgrad93]

Video killed the radio star! I think online sites, such as the (excellent) thoughts media, have done it! Unfortunate but true. I stopped buying magazines on gadgets because online sites are faster and more convenient. Not to mention more feed back through the discussion forums. What do you think?

Agreed. Online sites are usually more up-to-date as well, due to the lead time in order to print. I can't remember the last time I bought a tech magazine. I find all my information about tech online.

[MadSci]

I have always looked thru the mag on the newstands, and over the years I've bought several that had something specific I was interested in, but the truth is it just takes too long to get this kind of a magazine out to the public. Their most interesting headlines were usually 3-6 month out of date.

I was never able to use one of their comparisons or buying guides, 'cause I'd already made my decisions, bought the phone/software and moved on. Also, their level of analysis was so far below what's available on line here, at MoDaCo, Howard Forums etc. So little by little, for me the mag changed from an anticipated tombe of advice, to something of a joke. Sad but true. :(

Frankly, I'm not sure if there is a large enough market for such tech-laden publications. Most people are not like 'us'. They aren't interested in the technology, they just want a good, useful and cool phone!

Their leap to the iPhone is very interesting, as it shows two things: that this is where most of the new 'smartphone' customers will come from for the next few years, and that most of them will not be tech-oriented cognicenti, so they will need help and advice.

Is their new focus viable in the long run? I have my doubts. I wonder why most of their target market would buy a magazine when they are paying over $100/month to have the internet in their hands! Given how tightly constrained the iPhone is and the slow pace of device evolution (it's only 1 phone from one manufacturer after all!) - how much is there to say about it? What will the big stories be? "To buy or not to buy!" "8G or 16G!" "How to get your Company's Tech Support to make your email work!":p

No, the only thing to talk about will be "How to get started", followed by "What's in the i Phone App store?", and really, who still thinks the best place to get that advice is in a magazine! More importantly, if you are thinking about shelling out for an i Phone, are you likely to be the kind of person who thinks the best place to get that advice is in a magazine?

I'll bet that people thinking about an iPhone will get an issue or two off the stands, then once they're set up and working, will have no futher reason to bother with it.

Phones, smart or not, are only going to be popular with the masses if they are SIMPLE TO USE! (Which is after all the whole shtick for the i Phone!) Combine that with the fact that they actually give you good access to the Internet anywhere, and there will be no market for paper magazines like this anymore.

MadSci

[bobbert]

That's sad news. I was a print subscriber while I used WinMo. I expect to be back on WinMo, so I'll miss it, but the online site is spectacular and will apparently continue....

What about the future of this Web site?

We feel proud about our great content here, and there is no reason not to continue to support and grow it. We have these great blogs and our support forum. We also have 11 years of magazine archives, a huge tip and how-to library, our 5000 product Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories, Best Software Awards winners, Device Comparison chart, and free weekly newsletters.

[WyattEarp]

Wow, I've been a subscriber since the 95LX days and have always loved their magazines. Unfortunately, I this situation was probably inevitable. Web sites like this for example always have the advantage of delivering information first; so by the time the next Smartphone & PocketPC Mage is released just about everthing in it is old news. It made and excellent reference mag and their busines solutions section was something no one else covered as completely as they did. I will miss it even though I stopped subscribing a year ago but I suspect they will return in an all new mag as they have done in the past.
Their really big issue is getting subscribers since most people who own smartphones don't know of the magazine much less take advantage of everything a smartphone can really do. If you take a poll on the street asking anyone who owns any type of smartphone you'd come to realize just how few of us there really are who use these devices as intended and beyond.

[rck]

I have been a long time subscriber to Smartphone & PocketPC. Recently, when the touch screen on my Windows Mobile phone died, this was the first place I turned to see which newer Windows Mobile phone model to buy next. Hopefully, this is only suspension of service and not truly the end.

[Mikey]

I traded several emails with Hal on how his magazine took a turn for the worse about 2-3 years ago. They dumbed down every magazine with pages & pages of the same entry level content. I did not renew my subscription after that correspondence with the editor. I must say I'm not surprised as I told Hal, his magazine went from writing to those that have been with Pocket PC's since the magazine was H/PC Magazine to attempting to write every article to a newbie. Sad, as it could've still been around had he stayed true to his original core reader. 1 issue per year dealing with catching a new person up on the lingo would have been fine, but every article??? Come on! I wish them the best as well as I was a BIG FAN until the recent years.

[Jason Dunn]

A sad day indeed. It's really a shame that the OEMs and Microsoft weren't backing the magazine to a greater extent. There's a large (and growing) segment of Windows Mobile users that aren't the type to read Web sites - I think of my father, who has a HTC S720, and I don't think he's ever installed an application on it. I put Windows Live Search on there and he was quite amazed at it - these are the types of users that a magazine can still reach. I think having a news-stand presence is still an important part of any brand, and it's a shame that the one and only Windows Mobile-focused magazine has vanished.

Why wasn't every OEM putting a small insert in the box for the magazine? Why weren't they buying advertising in the magazine?

[Jason Dunn]

So they think the bread is buttered better by the iphone? Hmm, go figure.

From a newstand point of view, yeah, it is - practically everyone has heard of the iPhone, so there's instant brand recognition there. Windows Mobile? You're lucky if 1 in 100 people have any clue what that is. :(

[JamesM]

From a newstand point of view, yeah, it is - practically everyone has heard of the iPhone, so there's instant brand recognition there. Windows Mobile? You're lucky if 1 in 100 people have any clue what that is. In fact, the last few issues seemed to be capitalizing on iPhone by cleverly placing it on the cover in some way or another.

A sad day indeed. I've been a subscriber since the Handheld PC Magazine days, and I'm sorry to see them go.
-James

[jadesse]

Not surprising because they are at least a month behind on the news.

[Jason Dunn]

Not surprising because they are at least a month behind on the news.

But does anyone read monthly publications for news? I sure don't - the magazines I read are read for in-depth coverage, the kind of detail you can't always get online.

[Gerard]

I must say I'm not surprised as I told Hal, his magazine went from writing to those that have been with Pocket PC's since the magazine was H/PC Magazine to attempting to write every article to a newbie. Sad, as it could've still been around had he stayed true to his original core reader.

My perspective is a little bit different on this front, though I come to a similar conclusion. When in the summer of 1999 I missed a few client's visits to my workshop - because I was out shopping or having a coffee and forgot their appointments - it became clear that I needed a 'reminder' sort of device. A daytimer wasn't doing the job, because if I failed to look at it often, appointments got forgotten. Something had to start making noises in my pocket, prompting me to look at messages so that I could stay on top of business (which admittedly isn't always the most fun thing to do).

So I started looking into the only such devices a non-computer-user knew about: Palm 'Pilot' handhelds. I had no computer experience, at all. Palm was out there, getting mentioned in popular media, so that was the place to start. Checking a few out at local shops left me somewhat impressed... but with a feeling that, so long as I was making the jump into the computing era, perhaps there was something more sophisticated available. No Pocket PCs were there yet, and the shops I visited didn't stock the Palm-size Compaq Aero or Casio E-105, so to learn more the only option available to me was through magazines.

I bought issues of Pen Computing and Pocket PC Magazine that winter and pretty much wore them out, memorizing every bit of information there, especially the more detailed technical articles. By early spring of 2000 I was completely decided, largely thanks to an article in PPC Magazine on the Casio E-115. I paid over $800 for that device, and it was every bit as wonderful as the magazine said it would be. The screen was amazing (indoors), the expandability via the CF slot very exciting (I bought a CF modem and a CF camera soon after, along with a whopping 64MB memory card!), and besides offering more than I'd imagined possible for business uses, the gaming was a complete hoot.

I owe my adoption of the Windows Mobile platform, and the 12 devices I've owned since 2000, to the pages of my Pocket PC Magazine subscription (which I let lapse before long, thanks to the more current information available on pocketpcpassion.com and brighthand.com at the time) where there was a lot of fluff, but a lot of solid technical information for a newbie like me. Spoonfed sales pitches were of no interest to me then. I wanted specs, critical comparisons, anything solid *not* written by OEM ad copy specialists. PPC Mag largely delivered, making this newbie's experience a good one.

And sure, I read magazines devoted to Palm... but frankly there didn't seem a lot in them, and over the 9 years since then there really hasn't been a lot happening with Palm compared to WM, so the choice seems to have been a good one. The sheer breadth of functionality offered in third party software for Windows Mobile has never been matched by Palm softwares, and the iPhone seems to be similarly limiting by design. Or not. Maybe it'll open up. It'll have to if that thing is to survive more than a few years as a fashion trend, then wind up in flea markets as a curiousity for $20.

Anyway, thanks long overdue Hal. Your magazine served me well all those years ago, and perhaps if the level of sophistication hadn't taken a back seat it'd be serving the same purpose to new users today.

[Ilium Software]

This is very sad - not just for Hal and his staff, but for the whole Windows Mobile market. This magazine was one of its big supports, and many people will miss it.

Looking back through my archives, the August issue had 26 advertisers. A random issue from 2004 had 52 and one from 2000 had 37. Microsoft advertised in some of these, not all of them, and the more recent issues had almost no hardware manufacturers, distributors or big companies advertising. The WM software companies did what we could to support the magazine, but, clearly, we're not enough to be able to keep it running.

Meanwhile, my latest issue of MacWorld had 81 advertisers, including big companies like CDW, MacMall, Western Digital and other very recognizable names. Apple's showing TV commercials specifically about the iPhone App Store and adding over 250 new titles each week.

Of course Hal's going to try an iPhone publication - who wouldn't, in those circumstances? If Microsoft cares about the future of Windows Mobile, at least as a consumer platform, they need to do something major - and soon - to support it.

[burtcom]

But does anyone read monthly publications for news? I sure don't - the magazines I read are read for in-depth coverage, the kind of detail you can't always get online.

Hmm, why not evolve sites such as Pocket PC Thoughts to fill the space left by the departing print magazines?

How about more in-depth how-to articles, hard-hitting reviews and comprehensive news stories, written by real journalists and edited by professional editors?

While we're at it, layouts with multiple photos, sidebars, etc would be a nice change from the current plop-it-in-a-template mentality of many sites.

/Not that I'm picking on the Thoughts Media sites -- I love PPC Thoughts and I visit daily :) I just think online sites should consider moving past the 10-second cookie-cutter blurb stage and into real journalism -- these are the sites that will have ultimately more impact in the industry.

[caywen]

This magazine has always been kind to me in nominating my software for awards and giving me some press. I'll be really sorry to see it go. They always went out of their way to be very fair in their reviews.

[Menneisyys]

I traded several emails with Hal on how his magazine took a turn for the worse about 2-3 years ago. They dumbed down every magazine with pages & pages of the same entry level content. I did not renew my subscription after that correspondence with the editor. I must say I'm not surprised as I told Hal, his magazine went from writing to those that have been with Pocket PC's since the magazine was H/PC Magazine to attempting to write every article to a newbie. Sad, as it could've still been around had he stayed true to his original core reader. 1 issue per year dealing with catching a new person up on the lingo would have been fine, but every article??? Come on! I wish them the best as well as I was a BIG FAN until the recent years.

There is a rationale behind this. Some kinds of articles just can't be published in a paper-based article - the format is just too restrictive. No clickable links, for example (while, for example, my articles are full of linked, additional screenshots). The physical layout is also restrictive. Thinking about, for example, trying to put my 100 kbyte-long HTML charts into the paper version? No way.

[dequardo]

Why MS doesn't throw a $$$ bone to these guys is a mystery. The amount it would cost them would be a rounding error to just one of their division's bottom line.

[Jason Dunn]

Why MS doesn't throw a $$$ bone to these guys is a mystery. The amount it would cost them would be a rounding error to just one of their division's bottom line.

If anyone cared, you're right, they'd do exactly that. But for some reason, the people that hold the budgets are quite often the ones far away from the product, the ecosystem, and the people in it. This is a sad testament to this reality.

[Gerard]

While logically it seems not to make sense that M$ allow Pocket PC Magazine to falter... even to drift into an iPhone-heavy publication, it does make sense from one small perspective. M$ has been trying for a few years to disassociate itself from the 'Pocket PC' name. It's 'Windows Mobile' (Professional, Standard, and Whatever) now, not PPC. Perhaps (but of course who knows) if Hal had approached the vaunted halls at Redmond on bended knee and begged to use 'Windows Mobile Magazine' the story would have played out a bit differently.

[Hal Goldstein]

Thanks to all the kind words from many of you. I'll respond to a few general points.

The advantages of the Internet as an information source are timeliness and interactivity. However, there are advantages to print. To quote me in my iPhone Life publisher's message: "Magazines contain engaging, graphically compelling, well-written and well-researched content. Limits in space mean only the best content gets published. And, of course, magazines are physical. Many of us enjoy picking up, highlighting, and dog-earing a paper magazine. We put them down and pick them up again and again. We read them in bed, in comfortable chairs, on planes and trains, in bath tubs, and in waiting rooms. Many of us simply prefer paging through a print magazine over onscreen reading."

I don't agree with the poster who said we dumbed down the magazine. We have had the same editorial philosophy since I started 24 years ago. We are writing for intelligent educated users, who may or may not have a strong computer background. We packed a ton of material in each issue from hardware, software, accessory reviews, comments from our judges, tips, profiles, Enterprise solutions, and device comparison. Some content served newbies, some experienced users. IMHO even the most sophisticated Thoughts reader might have a hard time scoring more than 70-80% on a test from the content in an issue.

I especially appreciate the comments here from product vendors. One of the things I am most proud of is the support we have given Windows Mobile software and accessory developers.

As to support from phone companies -- we weren't on their radar. They are used to large ad campaigns to reach lots of folks. I don't think anyone in power understood our value.

I am most disappointed in Microsoft. My relationship with Microsoft is complicated, and cannot be easily summarized. The folks in the field, the ones selling devices and training partners, loved us. They always ordered extra issues to hand out. I have gotten a lot of E-mail from them. However, the best word to characterize the folks in Redmond towards us is "indifferent" (and even that isn't 100% true.) Bottom line is no one in power in Redmond was willing to carry an onoing conversation with me, to see the many win-win opportunities -- at the least to get the hands of our magazine into Windows Mobile users' hands in a systematic ongoing manner. I have been warning Redmond for two years, and more aggressively in this past year that we needed some kind of meaningful cooperation if we were to continue.

At the end of the day, of course, it is not Microsoft's fault that we cannot produce the magazine profitably. Business is business and the market is the market. However, IMHO by ignoring us, Microsoft threw away a great resource that supported end-users, potential users, software developers, partners, etc. It really would not have taken that much, for Microsoft to work with us and for us to be able to continue. We are a small company, in a small rural town with low overhead.

I am not burning bridges or closing doors, but frankly I am exhausted from trying to explain what seems obvious to me of our value to Microsoft. In the meantime I have been forced to downsize, letting people go who have worked for me for more than 10 years, and giving temporary layoffs to others in order that we regroup.

BTW -- "Windows Mobile" and "Pocket PC" had nothing to do with it. Microsoft would not let us use "Windows Mobile" and my plan was to make the title "Smartphone & PDA" or simply "Smartphone Magazine" next year.

If you haven't done so, you might want to read my blog on the situation: http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/finalissue. In that post I talk about alternatives for existing subscribers who don't want to receive iPhone Life.

I see a real passion from iPhone users, and am quite optimistic that we will be able to make the transition. Also, the best way to support us is to subscribe to iPhone Life: www.SmartphoneMag.com/2010. I am proud of the launch issue.

[Jason Dunn]

BTW -- "Windows Mobile" and "Pocket PC" had nothing to do with it. Microsoft would not let us use "Windows Mobile" and my plan was to make the title "Smartphone & PDA" or simply "Smartphone Magazine" next year.

They wouldn't let you license the name? That's horrible of them. :mad:

[Gerard]

Yeah, pretty weird of ol' M$. Early on I just sort of assumed that there was a direct affiliation between them and your magazine, what with the name... and I'd be willing to bet I was far from alone in that assumption. I mean, it'd be kind of like a magazine called 'Harley Rider' not being commercially affiliated with the Harley Davidson company. Or at least heavily supported with advertising by same. Oh well, so much for M$ getting a brain when it comes to advertising.

And sorry, Hal, for my comment earlier on the magazine 'dumbing down' (though I don't recall using that phrase exactly... did I?). I meant no offense. Perhaps it was more that as my own experience grew, the magazine just didn't seem to offer much news from that changing perspective.

[Hal Goldstein]

They wouldn't let you license the name? That's horrible of them. :mad:

To be clear, I approached the subject 3 or 4 times over the past three years with Microsoft. I was basically told that Microsoft lawyers were extremely reticent to let anyone use "Windows" and "Windows Mobile" and that I would probably have to pay a very stiff licensing fee if I wanted to use it. I did not think the effort was worthwhile, but if I persisted, Microsoft may or may not have relented.

If Microsoft had given me a simple OK, I probably would have switched the name. However, I don't think "Windows Mobile" has the appeal or even the name recognition as "Pocket PC" or "Smartphone". "Windows Mobile" is in a sense an abstraction. "Pocket PC" and "Smartphone" are names of devices and concrete and more appealing on newsstand.

[Gerard]

Amen to that! Many of us were puzzled at both the decision to drop the 'Pocket PC' name, and the timing of that change. Pocket PC as an identifiable brand was finally sinking into the public awareness generally, if still not quite as completely as had Palm before it. Then whoosh! We were told PPC was no more, and all these WM flavours were to replace it. Not a smart move, imo.

[Jason Dunn]

To be clear, I approached the subject 3 or 4 times over the past three years with Microsoft. I was basically told that Microsoft lawyers were extremely reticent to let anyone use "Windows" and "Windows Mobile" and that I would probably have to pay a very stiff licensing fee if I wanted to use it. I did not think the effort was worthwhile, but if I persisted, Microsoft may or may not have relented.

That's more or less what I've been told about using Windows Mobile Thoughts as a site name. It seems like the marketing people are a bit afraid of me actually asking the lawyers, but I've pondered going all the way up to Ballmer to ask for permission to use the name, under a free license. He always says he want to hear from his MVPs, so... :D

However, I don't think "Windows Mobile" has the appeal or even the name recognition as "Pocket PC" or "Smartphone". "Windows Mobile" is in a sense an abstraction. "Pocket PC" and "Smartphone" are names of devices and concrete and more appealing on newsstand.

Indeed - Windows Mobile as a brand is unknown in the market as a whole, but people have heard the term "smartphone" before. This is the exact problem I'm having with what will happen to Pocket PC Thoughts and Smartphone Thoughts. Do I use Windows Mobile Thoughts, even if I were to get permission? Or do I use Smartphone Thoughts as the singular site for the merged PPCT + SPT site?