So, what am I to do ? It would appear that Microsoft are to phase out the “Pocket PC” and “Smartphone” brands, and instead head into “Windows Mobile” territory. But what does this mean? Will I need to rename the site.. ? CoolWindowsMobilePhone.com ? Sounds a bit bonkers. How much confusion will this raise ?
Will software carry a new sticker? “Designed for Windows Mobile, but only the phone, not the bigger thing with the pointy stick that used to be called a Pocket PC”
Will Pocket PC and Smartphone be merged together into just one type of device ? Up until now, we have had a Pocket PC, a Pocket PC Phone and the Smartphone. We all knew the difference – the stylus was the key. Generally – if you had a stylus, it was a Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone. So are Smartphones to be dropped totally ? Will any device with phone functionality, with or without a stylus, be called a “Windows Mobile Phone” ?
Confusion confusion. As far as I can see, there still needs to be a “Smartphone” and a “Pocket PC” – calling it “Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition” is ok, but blurring the lines between Pocket PC and Smartphone may lead to problems with software capability and usability issues.
From what was said at CES by Microsoft bod Scott Horn, a senior director in Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices group, it seems that MS don’t quite now how they’re going to handle it..
“Without the Smartphone and Pocket PC names, there is no longer a distinction between Windows Mobile phone-centric devices and data-centric devices, which could confuse consumers. “We will have to be more explicit in communicating device capabilities,”
So – how do we “be more explicit in communicating device capabilities” ? Hmm.. I know one way.. we could call it “Smartphone compatible” or “Pocket PC compatible” …. Oh no, wait a minute…
Source – InfoWorld.com