| Updated 4:42 PM ET October 29,
1999 |
By Carmen Nobel, PC
Week
Microsoft Corp. can't seem to get a grip on handheld computing.
As the Palm OS continues to grow in popularity, some handheld hardware
makers are abandoning rival Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Windows CE. To compound matters, the Redmond, Wash., company is falling short in its efforts to simplify
an operating system that developers say is too complex for palm-size
devices.
The next version of CE for palm-size devices, which
comprises CE 3.0 and an additional software layer, is in early testing and
is likely to miss Microsoft's initial target to ship by year's end.
The main attraction of the new palm-size operating
system version, code-named Rapier, is supposed to be a simplified GUI
that takes a lesson from 3Com Corp.'s Palm OS. But, according to
some developers testing Version 3.0, changes to the GUI are superficial at
best. For example, certain icons and functions are more accessible in
menus than they are in Wyvern, the current GUI.
A new icon for the "@" symbol makes it easier to create e-mail
messages, and new pen and keyboard icons ease toggling back and forth
between handwriting and tap-typing, testers said. But other features, such
as the Tools menu and the Start menu, have simply been moved, not
improved.
"They've still screwed it up," said a software
developer who designs products that run on both the Palm OS and CE.
"I don't think Microsoft realizes that they have to get rid of the
Start menu. Moving the Start menu doesn't reduce the number of taps."
Cold feet Some hardware makers agree.
"I don't think CE translates well into the palm form factor," said
Michael DeNeffe, director of mobile PCs at NEC Computer Systems Division.
"It seems asinine that you have to go to a Start menu on a palm-size
device."
NEC builds tablet-size CE devices for vertical markets, but
the Mountain View, Calif., company scrapped plans for developing a
palm-size CE device after building a prototype two years ago. Motorola
Inc. entertained developing software for CE two years ago but decided
against it due to a lack of interest in the operating system by top
management.
Last month, consumer electronics giant Philips Mobile Computing Group,
of Campbell, Calif., announced it was dropping its Nino line of CE
devices, saying it wasn't satisfied with the market and wanted to focus on
smart phones.
Microsoft may be harming its CE efforts by trying to stretch the
platform too far, developers said. The company markets CE as a platform
for mininotebooks, pen tablets for vertical markets, embedded systems and
palm-size devices.
"They need to decide what they want to be when they grow up," said
another CE developer, who requested anonymity.
Microsoft officials declined to comment for this story.
As Microsoft struggles with CE, the Palm OS from 3Com's Palm Computing
division has become the hands-down favorite in the palm-size market. Palm
OS is expected to grab 80 percent of the market for palm-size PCs this
year, according to International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass., while
Microsoft's market share will remain stagnant at about 13 percent.
To jump-start interest in CE, Microsoft is looking to Rapier along with
a couple of initiatives announced this week. The company is creating a
venture with NTT DoCoMo to deliver wireless services in Japan. Microsoft
is also investing in Vadem Inc., a San Jose, Calif., startup that focuses
on handheld computing. Under the terms of the latter agreement, Microsoft
will retain the rights to Vadem's handwriting and ink compression
technology.
CE's major flaw, some users say, stems from
Microsoft's decision to mimic the look and feel of the traditional Windows
GUI on a much smaller form factor.
"They started out with an operating system that was lame on the
desktop, and they're sticking the same thing on a far more underpowered
platform," said Steve Durst, an engineer at Skaion Corp., in Arlington,
Mass., and an avowed fan of Linux and the Palm OS. "How can they expect
that to succeed?" |