This book may be four times as big as your Hewlett-Packard Jornada or other Pocket PC, but it's worth reading if you're a new user of the little computers. Pocket PC Handbook is an everyday user's guide to the HP Jornada, Compaq iPAQ, and Casio Cassiopeia lines (among others) of handheld computers and the software that runs on them. The HP devices seem to get more explicit attention in these pages than the others, but the competitors' common operating system makes the book equally useful for owners of all. Author Dan Hanttula knows how to reveal the features and shortcomings of software without being dry, and he emphasizes practical tricks and shortcuts wherever possible.

The book breaks its subject down into logical units (pieces of software like Pocket Office and Pocket Streets) and then subdivides those units by task (using Paste Special in Pocket Excel, editing and removing Pushpins in Pocket Streets). It includes sequential instructions in many cases, but rarely as numbered steps--rather, it is written in paragraph form, addressing variations and potential errors as they become relevant. A chapter called "Advanced Personalization for Your Faithful Companion" reveals all sorts of excellent details, and a section on "Ten things every user should change in the Control Panel" will have most readers' Pocket PCs powered up immediately. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Pocket PC line of handheld computers, including models in the HP Jornada, Compaq iPAQ, and Casio Cassiopeia lines. This is documentation for ordinary users of these personal organizers who haven't explored all of the capabilities of Pocket Office, Pocket Streets, and the Pocket PC time-management tools, multimedia utilities, and games