Pocket PC sales boosted by enterprise apps

Microsoft has refuted claims that Pocket PC handheld devices using its software have made no impact on the market, saying uptake is strong among enterprises.

Speaking at the company's TechEd event in Amsterdam this week, Dilip Mistry, marketing manager of Microsoft's mobility solution centre, said that 50 per cent of devices running the Pocket PC operating system have been sold to corporate customers since its launch last April.

Mistry said claims by rival handheld device vendor Palm that the Pocket PC has made no impact on the device market are wrong. He said it is having a significant impact on the market and uptake is strong.

"Products like Exchange are driving the sell-through of devices," he said, adding that in Europe there are more than 800 enterprise class applications for the Pocket PC environment compared with 225 for Palm.

Mistry also said that Microsoft is developing a SQL Server database client for Microsoft CE devices, and working to improve the security and management functions of Pocket PC devices.

He also claimed that the availability of Visual Studio developer tools and the possibilities for application development offered by its Distributed iNternet Architecture (DNA) platform will help accelerate uptake of Pocket PC handhelds.

To drive Pocket PC further into the corporate market, Microsoft is also working with European carriers, including BT and Telefonica, to develop enterprise data and access services geared towards the Pocket PC devices. These initiatives, which are still at its early stages, will incorporate voice recognition features into the handhelds.

Microsoft also announced that Embedded Visual Tools 3.0 for developers writing applications for Pocket PC, is now available free of charge, but a shipping charge is payable.

According to the latest figures from researcher IDC, Palm has 53.1 per cent of the personal digital assistant market, with Psion registering a 22 per cent share.