Windows Phone Thoughts: VGA Resolution - What it Means For Your Hardware

I've seen this question pop up several times, so I think it's important to tackle this in a front-page post. While we're all drooling over the VGA resolution screen shots and how great it looks, in order to take advantage of this your Pocket PC will need to have a VGA-compatible LCD screen, and as of right now the only shipping device that has one is the Toshiba e805. LCD screens aren't like CRT screens in that they can go to any resolution - LCD screens have a fixed resolution, and while they can go lower than their natural resolution, they can't go higher. For this reason, all of us with QVGA (320 x 240) screens will require new hardware in order to get that gorgeous VGA resolution.

I know that may frustrate some of you, but remember that this is a hardware change, not a software one, so it's similar to having a different engine in your car - not something that can easily be changed. And although the VGA resolution looks amazing, your Pocket PC is just as useful today as it was yesterday, so don't go throwing it out the window just yet. ;-)