According to a source in the handheld industry, Pocket PC 2003, the upcoming version of Microsoft"s operating system for handheld devices, will be launched on June 23.
According to information leaked on several websites and newsgroups, many of the changes in Pocket PC 2003, codenamed Ozone, will be related to improving its wireless capabilities. This includes a new and improved Connection Manager, which should be music to many users" ears as it is one of the most complained about parts of the current operating system. The new Connection Manager is supposed to be easier to use for beginners while offering advanced users more control over connections.
PPC2003 will offer built-in support for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, encouraging licensees to integrate these into their handhelds -- a strong reminder that "wireless" doesn"t just mean CDMA or GPRS.
Internet Explorer will get a major upgrade, gaining support for XHTML, CSS, JavaScript 5.5, animated GIFs, and improved performance.
Pocket PC 2003 will also include support for SMS and there will be an MMS plug-in for the Inbox. Both of these are ways of exchanging instant messages, with the second one offering multimedia. The Inbox will also gain the ability to add email signatures.