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 Pocket PC Hardware
True Pocket PC devices are almost gone
In the last year or two there is less and less true Pocket PC devices. At this time only HP is producing true Pocket PC consumer devices and there are no devices with RS232 interface. This means, that you can not connect iPAQ with your instrument.
There are more and more PDA phone devices and navigation devices. They both run Windows CE, bit do not have serial port. Some devices (all navigation devices) have built in GPS and most PDA phones have Bluetooth. This should be enough for basic navigation, but for advanced features you will still need serial connection to receive extended NMEA sentences generated by glider instruments. PDA phones also have smaller display.
Buyer's guide
1. Operating system
The latest version of Windows CE operating system for handheld devices is Windows Mobile 5.0, but also older operating system will be good enough (anything newer than Pocket PC 2002 will also be OK). 
2. Display type
Display is the most important part of the Pocket PC device. You should pick device with color display, which has also good visibility under direct sunlight.
3. Display resolution
Now you can buy devices with QVGA (320 x 240) or VGA (640 x 480). High resolution would result in better picture, but will also consume more processor time.
4. Microprocessor

Buy device with ARM microprocessor (or ARM compatible processor). Avoid devices with SH3 or MIPS processors.

5. Expansion slot
New programs will also need more disk space to store maps. Because of that a memory expansion slot is a big plus.
6. Connection interface
RS232 communication port is a must. Anything extra is a bonus.
7. Integrated GPS
Several Pocket PC devices are available with integrated GPS receiver.
Common misconceptions
USB only port is not a problem, because I can use USB to serial converter like on my laptop.
Yes it is a problem. You can use this adapter only on USB host devices, which is your PC or laptop. Pocket PC is a client USB device and on client device this adapter will not work.
If there is no serial port, than I will use Bluetooth GPS.
This will work, but you should also think about the power consumption. It is better to go with the wired option and preserve the battery (and avoid any interference between the cockpit instrumentation and Bluetooth signal).
I have a fast VGA Pocket PC and now all my software will run faster.
Wrong! VGA device has 4 times more pixels than QVGA device. This means that it will also take 4 times more time to prepare a bitmap image of the map. On the other hand the processor frequency increased only 1.5 to 3 times (from 200 MHz to 300 MHz or 600 MHz on faster devices). Because of that some programs might run faster on old QVGA devices.
If memory will be a problem, than I will simply buy bigger memory card.
Yes you can, but this is only for storage memory. Sometimes program needs extra (internal RAM) memory in which the bitmap map is generated. For this external memory or internal Flash can not be used.
Recommended Pocket PC devices
In the table there are several devices that are worth looking at. I have not checked all devices and because of that make sure that the screen visibility is also great under direct sunlight. 
When buying new device you should also buy extra serial cable, because communication cradle is usually too big and too clumsy to carry around. 
 
All Pocket PC devices are listed on Microsoft Pocket PC page. Some of them are shown in the following table.
Device MHz Display RAM OS version EXPANSION IO
  HP invent
HP iPAQ hx2490 520 QVGA 64M  Mobile 5.0  CFII, SD/MMC RS232?, USB, BT, WiFi
HP iPAQ hx2790 624 QVGA 64M  Mobile 5.0  CFII, SD/MMC RS232, USB, BT, WiFi
HP iPAQ 111 624 QVGA 64M  Mobile 6.0  SD/MMC USB, BT, WiFi
HP iPAQ 211 624 VGA 128M  Mobile 6.0  CFII, SD/MMC USB, BT, WiFi
  HTC
  E-TEN
  Mio
QVGA display resolution 320 x 240
VGA display resolution 640 x 480
CFI Compact flash I expansion port
CFII Compact flash II expansion port
MMC Multimedia card expansion port (SD - secure digital)
Here is the link to the web page with old Pocket PC models.

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