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It may be one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world, but that doesn't mean everything Microsoft touches turns to sold. No one wanted Windows when it first appeared, Excel was long considered inferior to Lotus 1-2-3 and the software giant's initial attempts at web browsers were - ahem - not very good.
Several revamps later, however, these products are all market leaders and Microsoft is no doubt hoping to repeat the recipe with the latest incarnation of its palmtop computer.
The Pocket PC is the rebuilt, rechristened descendant of the Windows CE-based Palm PC, and while there's still a clear resemblance between 'before' and 'after' devices, it's only superficial.
The swift, streamlined operating system and sleek, stylish hardware smacks of an ugly duckling transformation, and that's certainly the case with the first Pocket PC to arrive in our office - the HP Jornada 540.
The previous Jornada (the 430se) wasn't what you'd call a 'looker', but there's no trace of blue plastic or wobbly transparent screen covers with the 540. Instead, it is sheathed in cool gun-metal aluminium with a thin rubber strip around the edge of the case. The hinged screen cover is made from the same material, but for some reason HP decided not to fit a catch, which means the screen is still vulnerable to damage if the device is carried in a bag.
The underside of the lid also has a slot for the stylus, and while this may seem like a good idea on paper, it's less successful in practice. Not only does it necessitate an awkwardly flat stylus, but should you decide not to use the lid and remove it, there's nowhere to put your pointing device.
All change
All Pocket PCs use version 3 of Windows CE, but although this still resembles the Windows we all know and love, there have been some changes for the sake of usability. Palm PCs were criticised for their cluttered interface and so Microsoft has ditched many earlier conventions.
The Start menu now appears at the top-right of the screen (Microsoft has realised that people read from left-to-right, top-to-bottom) and much-simplified menus and toolbars sit at the bottom of the screen. A single tap starts an application or makes a selection; a tap and hold brings up a context menu - logical maybe, but it has taken two years to get there.
Windows CE 3's applications have also been overhauled to make them easier to use. Outlook's contacts and calendar tools have a much clearer and more usable layout, and the email client can now filter messages and handle embedded HTML.
Word, Excel and Internet Explorer also make their first Pocket appearance, and all look and work like their bigger brethren. Word and Excel can also natively convert their desktop counterparts' file formats to Pocket format, so you can edit Office email attachments on the move.
Thanks to Windows CE 3's USB support, syncing the Jornada with a PC is extremely rapid and - thanks to Microsoft's presence on both platforms - seamless. Entering information away from your PC is also a breeze and there's the choice of an on-screen keyboard or Graffiti-like handwriting recognition.
Most impressive of all, however, is the Microsoft Transcriber application. With no prior training, this allows you to write cursively in any Pocket PC application, anywhere on the screen, and your words are converted to text with near-complete accuracy.
Contact Hewlett Packard 0990 474747, www.hp.com/jornada
Jornada 545 (16Mb) costs £369 (inc VAT)
Jornada 548 (32Mb) costs £369 (inc VAT)
See also:
A truly large colour screen and a practical keyboard make this the perfect device for the business user. 02 Jan 2002
The Jornada 420 was a pioneering device when it was lauched with a colour screen. But newer models are starting to make it look a little dated. 29 Apr 2000All Palm PDAs
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