Get Visual Studio, get Pocket PC free

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 20 Mar 2003 at 13:40

Twenty-five thousand PocketPCs are up for grabs with the forthcoming of Visual Studio.Net 2003, Microsoft's development environment.

Visual Studio.Net 2003 will include a 'compact' version of the .Net framework for Web services, to better extend its reach to mobile devices.

To help encourage developers to get to grips with the .Net Compact Framework, Microsoft is including a Pocket PC device with the first 25,000 people to register an interest.

The offer is only available to people who buy English editions of the following 'full package' products: Visual Studio .Net 2003 (Professional, Developer and Architect) and MSDN (Professional, Enterprise and Universal). Registrations will open 24 April, the launch date of Visual Studio.Net 2003.

The Pocket PC is a ViewSonic, which will have the .Net Compact Framework in ROM.

As well as support for XML and Web services, the .Net Compact Framework supports the use of components written in multiple programming languages and features a visual drag-and-drop forms designer, a set of UI controls, and remote debugging support. The new .Net Framework will be available for Pocket PC 2000 and above, and Windows CE .Net 4.1 and above.

We reported earlier this month - Virtual PocketPC to appear in Visual Studio.Net 2003 - that Connectix technology would be used to provide the Pocket PC emulator within the next Visual Studio.

Microsoft is keen to get developers on board for their version of mobile device software and away from the Symbian and PalmSource competition. 'Major computing trends have always been driven by software developers, and the same will be true for mobile computing,' said Bill Gates, speaking at a Microsoft Mobility Developer Conference. 'Just as Visual Basic sparked a wave of innovation in business applications and made the PC an essential business tool, Visual Studio .Net 2003 and the .Net Compact Framework will unlock the potential of Web services and rich data on smart devices. This will enable developers to drive a new era of innovation in the mobile marketplace, transforming smart devices into "must-have" productivity tools.'

You can find details of the programme at msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/getpocketpc/. The offer is open to UK developers, despite the site stating United States and Canada only. To put the value of the device into context, the ViewSonic Pocket PC has an RRP of $299 (£190) inthe States, but existing versions of Enterprise Visual Studio.Net 2002 retail around the £1,250 mark.

It is not uncommon to bundle target devices with development environments. We reported recently on the optimisation of the CodeWarror programming system for the Nokia Series 60 platform - Metrowerks supports developers targeting Nokia Series 60. For your money you also get a version of Nokia's newest Series 60 mobile, the 3650 tri-band phone. The kit is sold exclusively online for $1,150.