Windows CE to outstrip PC sales

In five years` time, more Windows CE handheld devices will be shipping than Windows PCs. So predicts PC and PDA market researcher eTForecasts, reports The Register.

While 2002 saw 126 million PC shipments worldwide and nine million WinCE device shipments, come 2008, 190 million to 200 million PCs will ship compared with 200 million to 220 million WinCE devices.

Driving this are the following surprising growth rate predictions, according to the researcher: while PC shipments will rise to double-figure growth in 2005, WinCE shipments "will see a massive 250% increase in shipments between 2004 and 2006".

As fears of the deadly SARS virus keep Asia`s cellphone-armed road warriors at home, mobile carriers are reporting a slowdown in profitable roaming traffic, reports Reuters.

Many employers have banned non-essential travel in the region because of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), making hotels, retailers and airlines the main corporate casualties of the SARS scare.

But the flu-like virus is now infecting a source of revenue for mobile carriers: charges for using a mobile phone outside its normal service area. These roaming charges are more profitable than local charges and apply to both incoming as well as outgoing calls.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced the approval of a new standard that allows content providers to roll-out value-added interactive TV (iTV) services to any network, without modification.

iTV allows viewers of a football match, for example, to display data on a player while a match is in progress. Previously, proprietary or country-specific standards forced content providers to develop different product versions for each market.

The standard means that content providers can develop interactive material for programmes that can then be distributed worldwide without extra labour or cost. It means the content will stay true to the author`s design in all markets - a key concern for advertisers. Content providers will also find that it removes barriers to entry and reduces risk, while helping to advance the functionality of iTV services.

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