Palm-size PC
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The Palm-Size PC was Microsoft's first attempt at a computer conforming to an 'in your hand' profile (or, as commonly referred to, a PDA).
These devices demonstrated many firsts for this form factor, including comparatively high-resolution screens with later versions even having color displays and a standardized software environment that ran on licensed OEM hardware platforms.
Palm-size PCs were unique in that they were one of the few standardized modern computing platforms that did not use any standard microprocessor - Palm-size PCs were commercially available with SH3 and MIPS. An x86 build environment - better referred to as x86EM - was available for the purpose of IDE build debugging through the PsPC 1.2 development SDK, but was not available on a commercial level inside devices. Palm-size PCs held similarities with their older cousins the Handheld PC in terms of GUI (closely resembling the Windows 95 desktop) and underlying kernel subsystems. The Palm-size PC was based upon either Windows CE 2.01 or 2.11 core.
The Palm-Size PC was never hugely successful, largely due to the price range and lack of connectivity options when compared to their Handheld PC counterparts. Microsoft later refreshed the release into a more distinctive package as the Pocket PC and would ultimately abandon the MIPS / SH3 CPU in favor of standardisation around the ARM architecture.
Microsoft's original name for the device was Palm PC, however this provoked a lawsuit from Palm Inc. for infringing their trademark. Microsoft was subsequently forced to change the name to Palm-sized PC, then, later, to Pocket PC
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- HPC:Factor — History of Windows CE
