WindowsForDevices.com Newsletter -- October 30, 2003 
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                        October 30, 2003

               by Rick Lehrbaum -- Editor-in-chief

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_____________________ * * * TOP STORIES * * * ____________________

MICROSOFT PRODUCTIZES MEDIA2GO, ANNOUNCES MANUFACTURING PARTNERS
Microsoft unveiled a new member of its Windows Mobile software family
this week: "Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Centers,"
formerly code-named "Media2Go." Microsoft began showcasing Media2Go
concept prototypes earlier this year, and hopes to establish the devices
as a new consumer device category.  The devices are intended to allow
users to take digital media content from their Windows XP PCs with them
and view them wherever they go. Multimedia content types initially
supported include digital music and videos, digitally recorded
television shows, and digital photos.  Story includes photos of Media2Go
prototypes.
Read full story


INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT'S WINDOWS EMBEDDED PRODUCTS AND STRATEGIES
As part of the "Silicon Valley Speaker Series" at Microsoft's Mountain
View, Calif. campus, Scott Horn, director of marketing for the Microsoft
Embedded Devices Group, gave a talk last week which provided an
introduction to Microsoft's Windows Embedded products and strategies.
WindowsForDevices.com was there . . . and has published the slide
presentation online.
Read full story


CE .NET POWERED HANDHELD IS OPTIMIZED FOR RETAIL POS
A pair of Korean companies have collaborated to create a Windows CE .NET
based handheld computer for retail POS (point of sale) applications with
integrated bar code scanner, magnetic strip reader, printer, and
optional CDMA/GSM wireless modem. Combining the functions of a PDA,
printer, bar code scanner, and credit card reader into an all-in-one
device optimized for POS applications saves cost and also eliminates
cumbersome use and configuration hassles, the companies say.
Read full story


TOSHIBA POCKET PC BOASTS HANDS-FREE VOICE I/O, BUILT-IN WIRELESS,
VGA DISPLAY
Toshiba rolled out two new Pocket PC handhelds last week -- a "value
priced" model, e400/405; and a "corporate" model, the e800/805. Both new
PDAs include hands-free voice functions consisting of audio playback of
text documents and voice command inputs, and the e800/805 features
integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) connectivity along with voice over IP (VoIP).
Read full story


DELL ADDS "INTEGRATED WIRELESS" POCKET PC
Claiming its previously announced Axim X5 has already established Dell
as the No. 2 supplier of Pocket PCs worldwide in less than a year, Dell
rolled out a new model this month, the Axim X3 "integrated wireless
handheld computer." The new PDAs are based on Intel XScale processors
running Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC.
Read full story


BITSTREAM UNVEILS ALPHA OF MOBILE PHONE BROWSER
Bitstream announced the "alpha" version of a mobile handset version of
its ThunderHawk web browser for handheld devices. The new browser,
called ThunderHawk SmartPhone Edition, consists of the combination of
server infrastructure along with a small piece of client code on the
handheld device. Web content is converted into a compact format on the
server, and then received by the browser client which displays it on the
handheld device. This makes fast and full-featured wireless web browsing
on mobile handsets possible even with the wireless industry's current
slow data speeds, Bitstream says.
Read full story


ACCESS BOASTS FIRST VGA BROWSER FOR POCKET PC PLATFORM
ACCESS says it has developed the first VGA-capable browser for Pocket PC
2003 PDAs. According to ACCESS, its NetFront v3.1 browser for Toshiba's
new e800 Series Pocket PC supports the device's VGA resolution (480 x
640 pixels) "ClearVue" mode, a first for the Pocket PC platform.
Read full story


MICROSOFT TO ENABLE WINDOWS DEVELOPERS TO BUILD WINDOWS MOBILE APPS
Microsoft's Mobile Devices Division unveiled plans to deliver a new set
of tools, technologies, and service offerings that are intended to
enable Windows desktop developers to use their existing skills to
develop wireless applications for the Windows Mobile software platform.
The announcement came as part of the 10th Microsoft Professional
Developers Conference, taking place this week.
Read full story


WINDOWS MOBILE GETS A JOB IN RESTAURANTS AND SPORTS VENUES
Symbol Technologies announced deployments of Windows Mobile powered
wireless handhelds in the Medieval Times dinner theaters chain, NBA City
restaurant, and NBA stadiums. The applications are based on Symbol's PPT
8800 "enterprise PDAs" running Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 software
platform, Symbol's Wi-Fi wireless networking technology, and "21st
Century Restaurant" software from hospitality solution provider Ameranth
Wireless.
Read full story


IP-BASED SET-TOP BOX MARKET TAKING OFF
The recent ITU conference in Geneva demonstrated that telecommunications
companies and broadband providers have more viable choices than ever
before to compete against cable's "triple play" of video, voice, and
data. The Internet Protocol (IP) set-top box (STB) market, still small
compared to the size of the digital cable STB market, is ready to take
off. Technology research firm ABI estimates that the market for IP STBs
will grow at a rate 6 times faster than that for digital cable STBs in
the next 3 years, worldwide.
Read full story


IDC: WORLDWIDE PDA SALES TO DECLINE THIS YEAR
The worldwide market for handheld devices grew in the third quarter of
2003, but overall sales for 2003 are likely to end up lower than 2002,
according to market analyst IDC. The news comes as part of IDC's
"Worldwide Handheld QView" quarterly report released this week.  Find
more details of IDC's report at WindowsForDevices.com's sister site,
DeviceForge.com.
Read full story


OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS FROM THE PAST WEEK . . .

*  Expert tips for finding security defects in your code
   Read full story

*  Development tool puts .NET apps on multiple mobile platforms
   Read full story

*  Spec for Microsoft C# 2.0 now available for download
   Read full story

*  Mapping and GPS components support .NET Compact Framework
   Read full story

*  "Advanced polyphonic ringtone engine" supports MS Smartphone
   Read full story

*  Second generation of .NET Framework obfuscation tool debuts
   Read full story

*  Kada debuts CDLC 1.1, MIDP 2.0 VM support for Windows Mobile
   Read full story

*  NEC to develop ARM-based multiprocessing CPU cores
   Read full story


. . . and that's not all.  Check here for the latest breaking news:

                WindowsForDevices.com News Page


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