Handheld PC - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Handheld PC, or H/PC for short, is a term for a computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

built around a form factor which is smaller than any standard laptop computer. It is sometimes referred to as a Palmtop. The first handheld device compatible with desktop IBM personal computers of the time was the Atari Portfolio

Atari Portfolio

The Atari Portfolio is the first PC-compatible palmtop computer, and was released by Atari Corporation in 1989. The Portfolio was licenced from Distributed Information Processing based in Guildford, Surrey, UK...

of 1989. Another early model was the Poqet PC

Poqet PC

The Poqet PC is a very small, portable IBM PC compatible computer, introduced in 1989 by Poqet Computer Corporation with a price of $2000. The computer was discontinued after Fujitsu Ltd. bought Poqet Computer Corp. It was the first subnotebook form factor IBM-PC compatible computer that ran...

of 1989 and the Hewlett Packard HP 95LX

HP 95LX

The HP 95LX was the first MS-DOS pocket computer or personal digital assistant, introduced by Hewlett-Packard in April 1991 in collaboration with Lotus Development Corporation....

of 1991. Other DOS

DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...

compatible hand-held computers also existed.

Some Handheld PCs run on Microsoft's Windows CE

Windows CE

Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...

operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

, with the term also covering Windows CE devices released by the broader commercial market.

Windows CE handheld PCs

The Handheld PC was a hardware design for PDA

Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...

devices running Windows CE

Windows CE

Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...

. It provides the appointment calendar functions usual for any PDA. The intent of Windows CE was to provide an environment for applications compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating system, on processors better suited to low-power operation in a portable device. Originally announced in 1996, the Handheld PC is distinctive from its more recent counterparts such as the Palm-Size PC

Palm-size PC

The Palm-Size PC was Microsoft's first attempt at a computer conforming to an 'in your hand' profile.- Information :...

, Pocket PC

Pocket PC

A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...

, or Smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

in that the specification provides for larger screen sizes as well as a keyboard.

To be classed as a Windows CE Handheld PC, the device must

Run Microsoft's Windows CE
Be bundled with an application suite only found through an OEM Platform Release and not in Windows CE itself
Use ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
Have a screen
Computer display
A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...

supporting a resolution greater than or equal to 480×240
Include a keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
Include a PC card
PC card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...

Slot
Include an infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

(IrDA) port
Provide wired serial
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...

and/or USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....

connectivity

Examples of Handheld PC devices are the NEC MobilePro 900c, HP 320LX, HP Jornada 720, and Vadem Clio

Vadem Clio

Vadem Clio refers to a Handheld PC that ran Windows CE H/PC Pro 3.0 . It was released in 1999. Data Evolution Corporation currently owns the rights to the Clio.- Overview:...

. A full list of Handheld PC class devices can be found at HPC:Factor in the Handheld PC Device Specifications List.

Microsoft has stopped developing for the Handheld PC since 2000, instead focusing development on the Pocket PC and Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

. Other Handheld PCs may not use Windows CE. Windows CE devices which match all of the hardware requirements of the H/PC specification but lack a keyboard are known as Windows CE Tablet PC or Internet tablet

Internet Tablet

Nokia Internet Tablets is the name given to a range of Nokia mobile Internet appliances products. These tablets fall in the range between a personal digital assistant and an Ultra-Mobile PC , and slightly below Intel's Mobile Internet device .- Maemo :Nokia Internet Tablets run the Debian...

devices.

External links

HPC:Factor — Handheld PC Community exclusive support and resources
History of Windows CE at HPC:Factor

Specific models

Handheld Attitude (j7xx) — Software information repository for Jornada 700 series devices
MyMobilepro — All about NEC MobilePros
Zona handheld PC— Foro de habla hispana

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Windows CE handheld PCs

See also

External links