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By Jim Forbes
Microsoft and its partners have been talking about a new operating system for mobile users for so long that some observers have all but given up. But the promise may finally be approaching reality.
With a tentative launch date of November, at least four companies-Casio, Goldstar, Hewlett-Packard and NEC-are expected to ship hand-held devices with the new OS. And in what marks a significant break with a longtime ally, the devices are not based on Intel microprocessors.
The new OS, currently code-named Pegasus, somewhat resembles Windows 95, although it is designed to run on machines with small screens that use ROM-based applications. It uses the Win32 kernel but doesn't include such components as DirectX APIs, sources say.
Other key aspects are its support of a monochrome 480x260-pixel display technology, power management, facilities for upgrading ROM-based software through "patches" and built-in support for the Microsoft Remote communications client. The best feature, however, may be the ability to refresh and synchronize files on your desktop or notebook PC with those on the Pegasus hand-held, without user intervention. The Pegasus platform also includes a low-level word processor and spreadsheet that can generate files for use in their native format with Word and Excel.
The first machines are expected to carry an entry-level price of less than $500 and follow a "reference" design established by Microsoft earlier this year. That design calls for the new hand-helds to be equipped with one serial port, one Enhanced infrared port, one Type II PCMCIA slot, 4MB of ROM and at least 2MB of RAM.
The primary medium for data entry will be standard keyboards about the size of those used on palmtops; basic navigation tasks require a pen or stylus. A future iteration will likely include character recognition code Microsoft acquired earlier this year from Aha Software.
Some machines are also expected to include sockets for proprietary
ROM, allowing users to load and access custom applications. One
potential use for that socket, of course, is a ROM-based Internet
navigation app that is a hybrid of Internet Explorer 2.0 and 3.0.
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