Windows Mobile 2003 is pretty damn nice. I think the OS is starting to show some real maturity, in spite of a number of bugs and limitations. However, with the announcement of the Motorola MPx Pocket PC Phone - with its dual-hinge functionality allowing both portrait and landscape mode - and, to a lesser extent, the rumoured availability of the hp iPAQ 6000 series (commonly referred to as the h6300) later this year, I think it's time to start posing a few questions about where Windows Mobile needs to be before these phones are made available.

HTC built devices and Windows Mobile 2003

With the HTC based devices we've become so familiar with - such as the O2 XDA II and i-mate Phone Edition - the focus has been very obviously toward being "first to market". Thus, a fairly buggy and perhaps even incomplete OS is provided with these phones, with the expectation of a fix being delivered later. In terms of the i-mate Pocket PC, one fix has already been delivered, while the O2 XDA II is still awaiting any fixes. The i-mate Smartphone2 and O2 XPhone have perhaps benefitted from a slightly delayed release, as they certainly seem more stable than than their "big brother", but nonetheless do have some bugs which seem inherent in the current build of Windows Mobile 2003.

It's fairly well known that one of the big problems with a number of Windows Mobile 2003 devices on the market - including the O2 XDA II and i-mate Pocket PC Phone, where these problems become most apparent - is Bluetooth. Lacking a full Bluetooth implementation, with fewer profiles and some bugs in the implementation of those profiles that exist, has meant that many Bluetooth devices will either not work at all, or will have problems with simple tasks like re-bonding (such as my Jabra BT200). This problem is most apparent when using devices such as Bluetooth GPS, where the initial OS release lacked the ability to connect a serial port for use with GPS software.

Bear in mind, though, that not all of the issues can be blamed on Microsoft and HTC - certainly vendor specific enhancements (such as with some Jabra, Nokia, and Sony-Ericsson Bluetooth headsets) also contribute. Low-end "cheap" Bluetooth headsets which support just the headset profile tend to work almost flawlessly. Much of the problems come from additional "non-standard" profiles such as hands-free. The argument is, though, that Microsoft should try to support as many "non-standard" Bluetooth implementations as possible - so that they make their product as strong as possible.

Add-in utilities such as Pocket Bluetooth Tools can be part of the solution (for the Pocket PC Phone at least), but ultimately the onus is on Microsoft to provide a full Bluetooth stack (including the non-standard profiles, in order to make them as compatible as possible) - or the manufacturer (in this case, HTC) to provide an alternate Bluetooth stack that has more (if not complete) functionality. The second one is more unlikely, since it's liable to drive the device cost up even further, which is in no-one's best interest.

Motorola MPx and landscape mode

Enter the MPx. You're looking at a device which needs a way to provide both landscape and portrait modes. There's two ways that this can be done - either write a piece of add-in software to perform this for you (bearing in mind that existing products out there have somewhat of a reputation of being unreliable, require soft resets to change modes, and often do not work with a number of applications), or integrate it into the OS.

OS integration would likely provide the best basic support for this functionality, with Microsoft likely envisaging either a future add-on application (or third-party application) to make this work even better - thus taking the pressure off them to provide a "perfect" implementation. I suspect Motorola would be most likely to use integrated OS support for landscape mode - since bringing a third-party application onboard, or writing an in-house application, would raise unnecessary cost and support issues.

Motorola are almost certainly likely to prefer as much integrated OS support as possible, the exceptions likely to be their "Over-The-Wire" update software, and Java support. These both, however, are not intended to modify core OS functionality, but rather to enhance it. Arguably landscape mode is a modification of core OS functionality, and it's likely that Motorola will steer well clear of this.

Windows Mobile 2004 has been raised a number of times as the likely candidate for OS integrated support for landscape mode. I see a few problems with this in terms of the Motorla MPx. Firstly, it needs to be ready in time for Motorola's scheduled release - and even if Motorola work with early beta releases, they're likely to still have quite some work to do to create their "release" version of the OS.

Given that the MPx200 was released running the Smartphone 2002 platform, AFTER the release of Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone, it's clear that Motorola's preference is to work with the current "release" version of an OS, rather than betting on a new OS release which may, after all, be delayed.

hp iPAQ h6300 and Bluetooth

Let's go back to the iPAQ 6000 series. Given that no product announcement has yet been made, anything in the public domain at this stage really amounts to rumour and speculation. However, this phone is much more similar to that O2 XDA II than the MPx, so we don't need to worry so much about landscape mode.

It's highly unlikely, though, that hp will accept a "limited" Bluetooth implementation for their first iPAQ foray into the Pocket PC Phone market - remember, they need to make significant inroads against the XDA II, not to mention against the forthcoming MPx - and although they could consider a third party Bluetooth stack, it would be much more cost-effective (both in terms of integration and support) to rely on a Microsoft solution.

Again, I very much doubt that hp will work with a "beta" release of Windows Mobile 2004. It's not worth their while to use anything other than Windows Mobile 2003, given that all their existing devices are Windows Mobile 2003, and that placing a dependency upon the release of a new OS creates a huge risk for the project.

So let's work on the assumption that both Motorola and hp is working towards Windows Mobile 2003 based releases of their respective devices. This is certainly the most likely eventuality.

iPAQabilities and landscape mode

Our friend Marc over at iPAQabilities seems to have some similar thoughts:

"Hmm, I'm suspecting more and more after hearing a few rumours here and there and seeing this on DevelopperOne's website that we will not see Windows Mobile 2004, but rather an update for Windows Mobile 2003 which could get released towards the end of the first half of this year (June/July timeframe).

'Version 5.6 coming soon, supports coming Pocket PC 2003 update for dynamic Landscape mode and more!'

I'm sure a lot of you have wondered how Motorola achieved Landscape support on their recently announced MPx featuring Windows Mobile 2003 Phone Edition. This was quite possibly done with an update to Windows Mobile 2003.

Whether its an update to Windows Mobile 2003, or Windows Mobile 2004, it should include the much anticipated Landscape support and I am definitely looking forward to it!!"

Marc also wrote a piece, primarily about the hp iPAQ 6000 series but still relevant:

"BargainPDA is pointing out that the H6300 series will be released on April 1st of this year. I very much doubt this information. Why?

• Pocket PC Italia had said that the H6300 series would be available in the summer time frame
• Pocket PC Dubai has also heard from an HP representative in the Middle East that it will be available in June or July
• Motorola's MPx which has Landscape support is slated for release in the June/July timeframe
• It appears that there will be a Windows Mobile 2003 update released in the June/July timeframe (or Windows Mobile 2004 according to this Microsoft roadmap which may not be up to date)
• Consider that HP would likely wait for this update to be released to include it in this iPAQ (why sell yesterdays news?)
• Rumours have recently pointed that there has been a minor delay in the release of this iPAQ - pushing its release to the summer timeframe
• Lastly, April 1st is April Fool's day"

A Windows Mobile 2003 update with landscape mode and full Bluetooth stack?

I have some reasons to think Marc could well be correct. First, the entrance of two major players to the Pocket PC Phone market would seem to change the landscape sufficiently to convince Microsoft that it would be best to fix flaws in Windows Mobile 2003 before releasing a new OS.

Secondly, the XDA II / i-mate Pocket PC Phone has proven to be immensely popular - so much so that HTC recently had to divert manufacturing back to making more of the devices (meaning that accessory availability will suffer somewhat, but good news for those who've had trouble getting the device itself). Many of these people who have rushed to purchase the XDA II are suddenly discovering just how poorly implemented the Bluetooth stack is, which is truly a shame given that this for many was the "killer feature" that decided their purchase.

Given that O2 Asia - among others - has, in the past, proven unwilling to provide OS version upgrades for their customers, it's unlikely that Windows Mobile 2004 will be the best path at this time for Microsoft to follow. The Motorola MPx and hp iPAQ 6300 would likely be Microsoft's only chance to push out a Phone Edition version of Windows Mobile 2004, and given that both hp and Motorola could have much to lose from a rushed (or delayed) release of Windows Mobile 2004, I believe Microsoft will opt instead to fix the flaws of Windows Mobile 2003, and add new functionality in time for the release of two devices which - let's face it - will make the Pocket PC Phone a serious contender in a market where it's so far been comparitively quite weak.

I have it on good authority that Microsoft are planning to do just that - at least, Bluetooth wise. A major update is apparently scheduled for around April 2004 which will, at the very least, beef Bluetooth up considerably. The word is that it fixes "all" the current Bluetooth issues. To do that, I'm pretty certain that additional profiles and functionality will be added. I also wouldn't be too surprised if this is the update referred to by Marc, that will include dynamic Landscape mode.

So is Windows Mobile 2004 going to eventuate? Perhaps - I can't say that one for sure. But I wouldn't be looking for Windows Mobile 2004 in the upcoming Phone Edition devices. Rather, look for a new, improved version of Windows Mobile 2003, and perhaps an update to 2004 at a later date (although the Phone Edition market has a pretty bad track record for this).

Whether this speculation is correct or not, XDA II and i-mate Pocket PC Phone owners do at least have something to look forward  to - a fully operational Bluetooth stack which will (hopefully) support all the main usages that have thus far been attempted.  We'll discuss this more as further detail becomes available - and it might be the subject of a forthcoming giveaway - so stay tuned!