This Pocket PC Magazine article offers a really great breakdown of features, pros and cons, among other things involving Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone. While it may have left out some small pieces, they still did a nice job covering the basics.

Figuring out which mobile device to use is a pain, but having a number of them listed like this is helpful to most of us. Then again, I suppose that most of the readers here are likely already familiar with a number of the devices anyway. Still, you ought to read it over. You might just find something that you are not even aware of. ;o)

This Buyer’s Guide describes Windows Mobile devices currently available in the U.S. These small, full-featured computing devices and personal organizers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with a variety of features.

“Windows Mobile” is the brand name Microsoft uses for the operating system and software it developed for handheld devices. (Windows Mobile sits on top of the Windows CE core embedded operating system.) Most of the devices described in this magazine come with a version of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system (OS) and a suite of Windows Mobile productivity and multimedia applications built-in and ready to use. The Windows Mobile OS and applications are “embedded” programs, which means that Microsoft licenses them to the companies that manufacture the handhelds (known as “original equipment manufacturers” or “OEMs”), and they build them into the devices and the 2003 second Edition devices will be available soon. With the exception of system-wide upgrades offered by some OEMs, the Windows Mobile software cannot be installed or deleted by the user of the handheld.

In most cases, when a company, such as Dell, Toshiba, or Hewlett-Packard markets a Windows Mobile device, they include “bonus” software with the handheld, in addition to the OS and applications provided by Microsoft.