Pocket PC 2002 (2001): The release of Pocket PC 2002 marked a shift of focus from pocket-sized computers to smartphones.
It offered appearance similar to Windows 95 and came with mobile-friendly alternatives of several popular desktop applications, including Pocket Office and Pocket Internet Explorer.
- Pocket PC 2000 (2000): Based on the Windows CE 3.0 kernel, Pocket PC 2000 was intended to compete with Palm OS.
- In total, Microsoft released eight major versions of Windows Mobile.
The era of Windows Mobile ended in 2010, with Microsoft’s decision to focus its efforts on Windows Phone, a family of mobile operating systems intended to compete with iOS and Android. They were intended mainly for business and enterprise customers, allowing them to be productive and connected anywhere and at any time. Most Windows Mobile devices included a similar set of features, such as multitasking, user-accessible file system, internet browser, office suite, media player, virtual private networking, and email. Microsoft envisioned Windows Mobile as the portable equivalent of its desktop operating system. Windows Mobile, as we remember it today, debuted in 2000 and was based on Windows CE 3.0, a member of the Windows family of operating systems intended for embedded products. However, the first two versions of Windows Mobile were confusingly called Pocket PC 2000 and Pocket PC 2002, so some Pocket PC devices were running Pocket PC as their operating system. Pocket PC was a term used by Microsoft to describe a personal digital assistant (PDA) running the Windows Mobile operating system. Microsoft is known for confusing product names (just look at the Microsoft Office product line and products like Office 2019, Office 365, and Microsoft 365), so we should begin our brief overview of the history of Pocket PC and Windows Mobile by clarifying a few terms.