Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will unveil the Handheld PC 2000. Handheld PCs, last introduced toward the end of 1998, are basically lightweight versions of laptop computers with half the screen space but much longer battery times. The handhelds, dubbed Jupiter, were largely unsuccessful, but Microsoft pledges that the Handheld PC 2000 will succeed because they’ve got the marketing right this time. They've also got some new features that they hope will convince people to take a second look.

What is it?

The Handheld PC 2000 is Microsoft’s second attempt at capturing this market space. Handheld PCs are lightweight versions of laptops originally marketed to students and business professionals that didn’t need all the processing power of a laptop, but still desired something more than a pocket computer. These devices featured nearly full-sized keyboards and monitors, and even included built-in modems for internet access.

Unfortunately for Microsoft the Jupiter project didn’t fare as well as they had hoped. The dropping prices for laptops coupled with the rising increase in Palm computer’s popularity limited the appeal of the Handheld PC. With an average asking price of between $800 and $1000, they were also quite pricey for the college students to whom they were marketed.

The Handheld PC was successful in certain situations. It is believed that Microsoft will now focus their marketing strictly on those areas. NEC computers, Hewlett-Packard, and Sharp computers will manufacture the next generation of handhelds. The proposed marketing scheme is that the Handheld PC 2000 is perfect for the company that needs flexible network/internet connectivity without having to deal with the hassle of a full-sized laptop.

The Handheld PC 2000 is going to be shipped with ‘pocket’ versions of Word and Excel, along with a light version of Internet Explorer. One added feature of these new Handheld PCs will be the ability to connect to the user’s desktop computer via an internet connection. The asking price for the HPC2K is expected to fall in the same $800 - $1000 price range, and the first machines are expected to be released within the next few weeks.