Pocket PC handhelds to include IE browser

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February 24, 2000
Web posted at: 8:38 a.m. EST (1338 GMT)

by Matt Hamblen

(IDG) -- When Pocket PC handhelds hit the streets later this spring they will include a complete Internet Explorer browser and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security protection, a Microsoft Corp. official said Tuesday.

The IE browser will be new for the update of the Windows CE operating system, which will lose that name and be called Pocket PC when the new handhelds appear, said Brian Shafer, marketing manager of the mobile device division at Microsoft.

Shafer made his comments in an interview at Computerworld in Framingham, Mass., but said a full announcement will be made Thursday at the CeBit computer show in Hanover, Germany.

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Pocket PCs will be made by Hewlett-Packard Co., Casio Inc. in Dover, N.J., Compaq Computer Corp., Symbol Technologies Inc. in Holtsville, N.Y., and other, smaller companies. As announced last fall, the Pocket PC will also feature the new ClearType reader from Microsoft and Windows Media Audio, the company's version of the popular MP3 music player software.

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The SSL security layer is designed to give users confidence about making banking transactions via handheld devices when connected to a network, Shafer said.

Current Windows CE handhelds boast many features, including color displays. So far, they have operated with third-party browsers, but not IE. The browser will function in the Internet programming language HTML and will also support XML, the content-tagging language. Users will have the option of condensing a Web view or downloading it in full-size to scroll through on the handheld screen.

Shafer said enterprise customers might find the IE browser more convenient to use. The feature will allow members of a corporate team that's spread worldwide access to a central server to receive daily progress reports they can read on a handheld device. Shafer's team is using HP Jornadas and other handhelds worldwide to link to daily updates from Shafer on a central server in Seattle. None of the devices are linked wirelessly, although he said Microsoft is interested in wireless products.

Windows CE has failed to make a big play in the handheld market, winning only 10 percent of it, compared with 80 percent for Palm Inc. handhelds, according to several analysts. But analysts at Mobile Insights Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., say they see the Microsoft system gaining in importance with corporate users as large companies develop applications for handhelds.

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