Windows Embedded Automotive (formerly Microsoft Auto, Windows CE for Automotive, Windows Automotive, and Windows Mobile for Automotive) was an

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

subfamily of

Windows Embedded Windows IoT, formerly Windows Embedded, is a family of operating systems from Microsoft designed for use in embedded systems. Microsoft currently has three different subfamilies of operating systems for embedded devices targeting a wide market, ...

based on Windows CE for use on computer systems in

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

s. The operating system is developed by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

through the Microsoft Automotive Business Unit that formed in August 1995. The first automotive product built by Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit debuted on December 4, 1998 as the

AutoPC A carputer, or car-puter, is a computer with specializations to run in a car, such as compact size, low power requirement, and some customized components. The computing hardware is typically based on standard PCs or mobile devices. They normally ha ...

, and also includes Ford Sync,

Kia Uvo Kia Connect, formerly UVO eServices, is a subscription-free OEM infotainment and telematics service offered by Kia Motors America on select vehicles for the United States market. The system allows users to make hands-free calls on their smartpho ...

, and

Blue&Me Blue&Me is an integrated in-vehicle infotainment system used worldwide on many vehicles marketed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) from model years 2006–2017. With the exception of the Ford Ka, which is a lightly modified Fiat 500, the system ...

. Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit has built both the software platforms used for automotive devices as well as the devices themselves. The current focus is on the software platforms and includes two products, Microsoft Auto and Windows Automotive.

History

The Windows Embedded Automotive operating system was originally shipped with the

that was jointly developed by Microsoft and

Clarion Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...

. The system was released in December 1998, and referred to the operating system itself as "Auto PC". Microsoft's Auto PC platform was based on Windows CE 2.0, and had been announced in January of that year. On October 16, 2000, Microsoft officially announced the next version of the platform. This version of the operating system was renamed to "Windows CE for Automotive" and had new applications preinstalled like the Microsoft Mobile Explorer. On October 21, 2002, Microsoft announced that the platform would be renamed to "Windows Automotive". The version added support for development using the

.NET Compact Framework The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF) is a version of the .NET Framework that is designed to run on resource constrained mobile/embedded devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, factory controllers, set-top box ...

. Windows Automotive 4.2 reached

General Availability A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

on June 1, 2003 and Windows Automotive 5.0 reached GA on August 8, 2005. With the release of Ford Sync, Microsoft renamed the platform from "Windows Mobile for Automotive" to "Microsoft Auto". Microsoft again renamed the operating system as "Windows Embedded Automotive", and updated its version to 7 on October 19, 2010. This is the latest in MS Auto category, and is based on the Windows CE platform. Windows Embedded Automotive 7 reached GA on March 1, 2011. In December 2014, Ford announced that the company would be replacing Microsoft Auto with BlackBerry Limited's

QNX QNX ( or ) is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market. QNX was one of the first commercially successful microkernel operating systems. The product was originally developed in the early 19 ...

References

External links

Windows Embedded Automotive official website
{{Microsoft Windows CE