Am I Using a Windows Mobile Smartphone? - Smartphone Edition Help Center

Home > Help Center > General > WM Smartphone?

Is My Phone a Windows Mobile Smartphone or PDA Phone?


		It used to be so clear. There were Pocket PCs, or Windows Mobile PDAs with touchscreens. Pocket PC Phones were nearly identical to Pocket PCs, but with added phone hardware. And last, there were Smartphones, non-touchscreen Windows Mobile phones with limited PIM functionality. Pocket PCs, Pocket PC Phones and Smartphones lived together in harmony. That is, until Microsoft decided to confuse the hell out of everyone by altering their naming system. With this release of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system in mid-2007, Microsoft changed the naming scheme of Windows Mobile powered devices. In this article, we'll attempt to sort out the naming maze so that you can find what you need for the type of device you have. If, after reading this article, you have any questions, you may ask us via e-mail.

With Windows Mobile 6, the three types of devices still exist, but what we're supposed to call them has changed. The term "Pocket PC" has been dropped entirely from the Microsoft vocabulary, with a focus on the term "Windows Mobile." The Windows Mobile OS comes in three different flavors, one for each of the device types. Windows Mobile 6 Classic Regular ol' Windows Mobile 6 for touchscreen PDAs is called Windows Mobile 6 Classic. Devices running Windows Mobile 6 Classic are now supposed to be called Windows Mobile PDAs (what we used to call a Pocket PC). Windows Mobile 6 Professional What we used to call Pocket PC Phones, touchscreen devices with added phone capabilities, are now called Windows Mobile Professional Smartphones. Yes, we know "Smartphone" used to mean non-touchscreen device in Microsoft-speak, but now it can mean both. Confused yet? Windows Mobile 6 Professional is almost idenditcal to WM6 Classic, except for the phone functionality, so WM6 Professional and WM6 Classic devices each use the same software, Windows Mobile touchscreen software. Windows Mobile 6 Standard Windows Mobile for Smartphones is now Windows Mobile 6 Standard, and devices running WM6 Standard are called Windows Mobile 6 Standard Smartphones. These are non-touchscreen devices with an OS similar to WM6 Professional and Classic, but with major differences. Devices running WM6 Standard WILL NOT run software designed for the WM6 Professional and Classic touchscreen devices. When purchasing a Windows Mobile device, it's important to understand the difference between a Windows Mobile Smartphone and a Windows Mobile Pocket PC, or PDA, Phone. Many users commonly consider any mobile phone with e-mail or Internet access to be a smartphone, and while there's a certain validity to this use of the word, when discussing Windows Mobile devices, smartphones are specific devices with defined feature sets. A Windows Mobile Smartphone is a device that runs the Windows Mobile for Smartphones operating system. This OS is a simpler version of Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, the the Windows Mobile OS found on Pocket PCs and Pocket PC Phones.


Knowing What's What If you're unsure whether your phone is a Windows Mobile Smartphone or Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone, look at the home, or Today, screen. This will quickly indicate whether the device you're looking at is a Pocket PC / Pocket PC Phone or a Windows Mobile Smartphone: Another useful way to determine what type of device you own is by touching the screen. If your device has a touchscreen, it's a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone, and you can find software for your device here. If it doesn't have a touchscreen, it's a Windows Mobile Smartphone, and you can find software for your device here. If you would like more information on the differences between Pocket PC Phones (also called Windows Mobile PDA Phones) and Windows Mobile Smartphones, take a look at this article in our Help Center. If you still have questions, e-mail us.

Was this article helpful? Let us know

Still have questions? E-mail us