by Kimberly Munsey-Carlton

Created on: April 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 02, 2012

Although the Pocket PC 2003 was more or less an upgrade from the previous version, there were some changes that really made a difference on this version of the Pocket PC. No longer is the name Pocket PC used by Microsoft but in the early 2000s, Pocket PC 2003 was an awaited update to its predecessors. Microsoft, known for its grand build up to new releases, then giving minimal real differences, was thought to do this with the Pocket 2003. Pocket PC 2003 may have, more than anything else, offered a lot of fixes for problems found in the previous version, Pocket PC 2002, with a few extras included in the additional software that is installed, such as Media Player 9. (1)

The first major improvement is better support for WiFi, with the automatic connection to available WiFi networks. PocketPC Internet Explorer not only speeds thing up considerably, but now internet standards are available in PocketPC 2003 like XHTML, CSS, HTML 4.0, JavaScript 5.5, WAP 2.0, WTLS, IPv6 and many more. This makes the web browser compatible with the vast majority of websites found on the internet and intranets. (1)

Ring tones in WAV, MIDI or Windows Media Player format, allow for custom ring tones and the ability to make your own recordings as a ring tone, saving on the costs of downloads from carriers. Text and picture messaging are fully implemented. Replacing 8, Media Player 9 is new for the PocketPC 2003, offering even smaller file sizes and smoother playback. (1)

This product kept the best things about the 2002 edition such as enhanced user interface (UI), with the Today screen and the rest of the UI being "skinnable", letting you change the color scheme of the various screens. There is also a title bar at the top of every screen that you can tap on speakerphone icon and change or mute the volume. The title bar also shows a clock with a tappable icon showing time, battery status, and your next appointment. In any application, except the Today screen, you can close using "OK" or an "X" button. There was still e-mail and ActiveSync, to synchronize e-mail subfolders with a desktop PC. Another message source is MSN Messenger.

Windows Mobile 6, released in 2007, brought the ultimate death of the name Pocket PC in favor of new names. Phoneless devices are now called Windows Mobile Classic and devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are Windows Mobile Professional.[2] Companies like Hewlett Packard no longer have available The Microsoft Pocket PC 2003 upgrade.

(1) http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1635 /

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_PC

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