Thaddeus Computing, formerly called Personalized Software, was founded in 1985. The company’s initial publication, The Portable Paper, was a newsletter covering the HP Portable Plus. When that line of computers was discontinued in 1991, Thaddeus Computing launched a newsletter related to the HP Palmtop called The HP Palmtop Paper. It was discontinued in 1999 following the demise of the HP Palmtop.

As the market moved toward PDAs, in 1997 Thaddeus Computing launched Handheld PC Magazine, the company’s first glossy magazine. It covered the Handheld PC devices based on Microsoft’s new Windows CE software. In 2000, with Microsoft’s launch of the Pocket PC hardware specification and software suite, the name was changed to Pocket PC. As Microsoft phased out the use of the Pocket PC nomenclature in lieu of Windows Mobile in 2007, the name of the magazine was changed to Smartphone & Pocket PC