Microsoft previews Windows CE 5.0

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. said it has made it easier for developers of mobile handheld computers, IP telephones, industrial controllers and consumer electronics devices to build new products with the latest version of its embedded operating system, Windows CE 5.0, due for release this summer.
Microsoft said today that it will make a technology preview kit for Windows CE 5.0 available this Thursday on its Windows Embedded Web site.
The newest release of the Microsoft embedded operating system includes more than 50 drivers optimized for a variety of embedded chip sets, including the ARM processor from ARM Holdings PLC, MIPS processors from MIPS Technologies Inc., the SuperH processor from Hitachi Ltd., and Intel Corp.'s x86 family of chips.
Microsoft said this will allow manufacturers to use drivers right out of the box, rather than having to customize them for a particular hardware environment.
The new release of Windows CE also provides built-in support for an emerging hot product category, dual-mode mobile phones, which can make high-speed data connections on both cellular and wireless LAN networks. The new software also includes increased support for voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony. Microsoft is expected to provide more details on this support at the Voice on the Net trade show in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday.
John Starkweather, a Microsoft senior product manager, said the improvements added to Windows CE 5.0 bring the operating system, used as the basic building block for such products as the company's Pocket PC mobile computer hardware, "closer to desktop parity." At the request of developers and handheld makers, Starkweather said, Microsoft has added to Windows CE 5.0 built-in error-reporting like that found in the company's desktop software. Microsoft has also added a wide range of security features to the new operating system, with these features turned on by default.
Rich Sherman, director of marketing for mobile computing at Intermec Technologies Corp. in Everett, Wash., said Windows CE 5.0 should provide his company, which builds rugged handheld computers, with a lot of flexibility in developing next-generation products. But Intermec won't incorporate the advances in Windows CE 5.0 into its products until late this year, he said.
Sherman said additional support for VoIP in Windows CE 5.0 will help the company meet customer demand for IP telephony products.
Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group in San Jose, said improvements in the communications software in Windows CE 5.0 will help manufacturers develop devices that can roam easily from cellular to wireless LAN networks without losing the call. He added that built-in error-reporting should goa long way toward making devices built on Windows CE 5.0 "better corporate citizens" and will help IT departments better manage devices that run it.