''Smartphone & Pocket PC'' was published every two months by Thaddeus Computing and covered Windows Mobile devices, software, and accessories. It included news, tips, articles, reviews, how-tos, and an enterprise section. Its headquarters was in
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line.
The city is typical o ...
.
History
The publishing company Thaddeus Computing, formerly called Personalized Software, was founded in 1985. The company's initial publication, ''The Portable Paper'', was a newsletter covering the
HP Portable
The Hewlett-Packard HP 110 (aka HP Portable and HP 45710A) is an MS-DOS compatible portable computer released in 1984. It uses a Harris 80C86 running at 5.33 MHz with of RAM. It has an 80 character by 16 line monochrome () liq ...
(aka
HP 110
The Hewlett-Packard HP 110 (aka HP Portable and HP 45710A) is an MS-DOS compatible portable computer released in 1984. It uses a Harris 80C86 running at 5.33 MHz with of RAM. It has an 80 character by 16 line monochrome () liq ...
) and
HP Portable Plus
The Hewlett-Packard HP 110 (aka HP Portable and HP 45710A) is an MS-DOS compatible portable computer released in 1984. It uses a Harris 80C86 running at 5.33 MHz with of RAM. It has an 80 character by 16 line monochrome () liq ...
(aka
HP 110 Plus
The Hewlett-Packard HP 110 (aka HP Portable and HP 45710A) is an MS-DOS compatible portable computer released in 1984. It uses a Harris 80C86 running at 5.33 MHz with of RAM. It has an 80 character by 16 line monochrome () liq ...
). When that line of computers was discontinued in 1991, Thaddeus Computing launched a newsletter related to
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
's series of
Palmtop PC
A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmto ...
s including the
HP 95LX
The HP 95LX Palmtop PC (F1000A, F1010A), also known as ''project Jaguar'', was Hewlett Packard's first MS-DOS-based pocket computer, or personal digital assistant, introduced in April 1991 in collaboration with Lotus Development Corporation. ...
,
HP 100LX
The HP 200LX Palmtop PC (F1060A, F1061A, F1216A), also known as project ''Felix'', is a personal digital assistant introduced by Hewlett-Packard in August 1994. It was often called a Palmtop PC, and it was notable that it was, with some mi ...
,
HP 200LX
The HP 200LX Palmtop PC (F1060A, F1061A, F1216A), also known as project ''Felix'', is a personal digital assistant introduced by Hewlett-Packard in August 1994. It was often called a Palmtop PC, and it was notable that it was, with some m ...
etc. called ''The HP Palmtop Paper''. It was discontinued in 1999 following the demise of the HP Palmtops.
As the market moved towards PDAs, in 1997 Thaddeus Computing launched ''Handheld PC Magazine'', the company's first glossy magazine. It covered the
Handheld PC
A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmt ...
devices based on
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's new
Windows CE
Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products.
Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...
software. In 2000, with Microsoft's launch of the
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...
hardware specification and software suite, the name was changed to ''Pocket PC''. As Microsoft phased out the use of the Pocket PC nomenclature in lieu of
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants.
Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...
in 2007, the name of the magazine was changed to ''Smartphone & Pocket PC'' magazine.
As editorial coverage of technology shifts away from print publications and to the Internet, ''Smartphone & Pocket PC'' expanded its online offerings, which included complete archives of past issues, a product encyclopedia, and expert blogs.
Pocket PC Magazine - Handheld and Pocket PCs
The magazine ceased publication in 2008.
Thaddeus Computing also published ''iPhone Life''.
Contributors
Most of the writers for the magazine and the web site were enthusiasts in various professions rather than staff writers.
References
Bimonthly magazines published in the United States
Defunct computer magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1997
Magazines disestablished in 2008
Magazines published in Iowa
Windows Mobile
1997 establishments in Iowa
2008 disestablishments in Iowa
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