Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is 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 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 ...

as part of its

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, ...

family of products. Unlike

Windows Embedded Standard 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, ...

, which is based on

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical 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 sc ...

, Windows Embedded Compact uses a different

hybrid kernel A hybrid kernel is an operating system Kernel (computer science), kernel architecture that attempts to combine aspects and benefits of microkernel and monolithic kernel architectures used in computer operating systems. Overview The traditional ker ...

. Microsoft licenses it to

original equipment manufacturer An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

s (OEMs), who can modify and create their own user interfaces and experiences, with Windows Embedded Compact providing the technical foundation to do so. The current version of Windows Embedded Compact supports

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

and

ARM In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between the ...

processors with

board support package In embedded systems, a board support package (BSP) is the layer of software containing hardware-specific boot firmware and device drivers and other routines that allow a given embedded operating system, for example a real-time operating system (RT ...

(BSP) directly. The MIPS and SHx architectures had support prior to version 7.0. 7.0 still works on MIPSII architecture. Originally, Windows CE was designed for minimalistic and small computers. However CE had its own

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

whereas those such as

Windows XP Embedded Windows XP, which is the next version of Windows NT after Windows 2000 and the successor to the consumer-oriented Windows Me, has been released in several editions since its original release in 2001. Windows XP is available in many languages. In ...

are based on NT. Windows CE was a modular/componentized operating system that served as the foundation of several classes of devices such as

Handheld PC A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmt ...

Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...

, Auto PC,

Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants. Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...

Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 is the first release of the Windows Phone mobile client operating system, released worldwide on October 21, 2010, and in the United States on November 8, 2010. It runs on the Windows CE 6.0 kernel. It received multiple large upda ...

and more. Official mainstream support for the current and final version of Windows CE,

Windows Embedded Compact 2013 Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

ended on October 9, 2018, and extended support will end on October 10, 2023.

Features

Windows CE is optimized for devices that have minimal memory; a Windows CE kernel may run with one megabyte of

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

. Devices are often configured without

disk storage Disk storage (also sometimes called drive storage) is a general category of storage mechanisms where data is recorded by various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical changes to a surface layer of one or more rotating disks. A disk drive is ...

, and may be configured as a "closed" system that does not allow for end-user extension (for instance, it can be burned into

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...

). Windows CE conforms to the definition of a

real-time operating system A real-time operating system (RTOS) is an operating system (OS) for real-time applications that processes data and events that have critically defined time constraints. An RTOS is distinct from a time-sharing operating system, such as Unix, which m ...

, with a deterministic interrupt latency. From Version 3 and onward, the system supports 256 priority levels and uses

priority inheritance In real-time computing, priority inheritance is a method for eliminating unbounded priority inversion. Using this programming method, a process scheduling algorithm increases the priority of a process (A) to the maximum priority of any other proce ...

for dealing with

priority inversion In computer science, priority inversion is a scenario in scheduling in which a high priority task is indirectly superseded by a lower priority task effectively inverting the assigned priorities of the tasks. This violates the priority model that h ...

. The fundamental unit of execution is the thread. This helps to simplify the interface and improve execution time. The first version known during development under the

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

"Pegasus" featured a Windows-like

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

and a number of Microsoft's popular apps, all trimmed down for smaller storage, memory, and speed of the palmtops of the day. Since then, Windows CE has evolved into a component-based, embedded, real-time operating system. It is no longer targeted solely at hand-held computers. Many platforms have been based on the core Windows CE operating system, including Microsoft's

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 ...

Pocket PC 2000 Pocket PC 2000 (marketed as Pocket PC) was the first member of the Windows Mobile family of mobile operating systems that was released on April 19, 2000, and was based on Windows CE 3.0. It is the successor to the operating system aboard Palm-size ...

Pocket PC 2002 Pocket PC 2002, originally codenamed "Merlin", was a member of the Windows Mobile family of mobile operating systems, released on October 4, 2001. Like Pocket PC 2000, it was based on Windows CE 3.0. Although mainly targeted for ( QVGA) Pocket ...

Windows Mobile 2003 Windows Mobile 2003, originally codenamed "Ozone", was a member of the Windows Mobile family of mobile operating systems, released on June 23, 2003. It was the first Microsoft mobile OS to be called "Windows Mobile" and was based on Windows CE 4.2 ...

Windows Mobile 2003 SE Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants. Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...

Windows Mobile 5 Windows Mobile 5.0, originally codenamed "Magneto",De Herrera, Chris pocketpcfaq.com. Retrieved September 6, 2007. was released at Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Developers Conference 2005 in Las Vegas, May 9–12, 2005. Microsoft offered mains ...

Windows Mobile 6 Windows Mobile 6, formerly codenamed "Crossbow",De Herrera, Chris pocketpcfaq.com. Retrieved September 6, 2007. was the version of Windows Mobile released on February 12, 2007 at the 3GSM World Congress 2007. It comes in three different versions: ...

, Smartphone 2002, Smartphone 2003,

Portable Media Center Portable Media Center (PMC) is a portable media player (PMP) platform developed by Microsoft. Announced at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and released in early 2004, it was originally positioned as a competitor to Apple's iPod. All it ...

Zune Zune is a discontinued line of digital media products and services marketed by Microsoft from November 2006 until its discontinuation in June 2012. Zune consisted of a line of portable media players, digital media player software for Windows Per ...

and many industrial devices and embedded systems. Windows CE even powered select games for the

Sega Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...

and was the operating system of the

Gizmondo The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console developed by Tiger Telematics. It was released in the UK, Sweden and the U.S. starting in March 2005. Its first-party games were developed in studios in Helsingborg, Sweden, and Manchester, England. Giz ...

handheld. A distinctive feature of Windows CE compared to other Microsoft operating systems is that large parts of it are offered in source code form. First, source code was offered to several vendors, so they could adjust it to their hardware. Then products like Platform Builder (an integrated environment for Windows CE OS image creation and integration, or customized operating system designs based on CE) offered several components in source code form to the general public. However, a number of core components that do not need adaptation to specific hardware environments (other than the CPU family) are still distributed in binary only form. Windows CE 2.11 was the first embedded Windows release to support a console and a Windows CE version of .

History

Windows Embedded Compact was formerly known as Windows CE. According to Microsoft, "CE" is not an explicit acronym for anything, although it implies a number of notions that Windows developers had in mind, such as "compact", "connectable", "compatible", "companion" and "efficient". The name changed once in 2006, with the release of

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Windows Embedded CE 6.0 (codenamed "''Yamazaki''") is the sixth major release of the Microsoft Windows embedded operating system targeted to enterprise-specific tools such as industrial controllers and consumer electronics devices like digital ...

, and again in 2011, with the release of

Windows Embedded Compact 7 Windows Embedded Compact 7 (formerly known as Windows Embedded CE 7.0) is the seventh major release of the Windows Embedded CE operating system, released on March 1, 2011. Windows Embedded Compact 7 is a real-time OS, separate from the Windows NT ...

. Windows CE was originally announced by Microsoft at the

COMDEX COMDEX (an abbreviation of COMputer Dealers' EXhibition) was a computer expo trade show held in the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada, United States, each November from 1979 to 2003. It was one of the largest computer trade shows in the world, usually ...

expo in 1996 and was demonstrated on stage by

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

and John McGill. Microsoft had been testing Pegasus in early 1995 and released a strict reference platform to several hardware partners. The devices had to have the following minimum hardware specifications: * SH3, MIPS 3000 or MIPS 4000 CPU * Minimum of 4 MB of ROM * Minimum of 2 MB of RAM with a backup power source, such as a CR2032 coin cell battery * Powered by two AA batteries * A physical QWERTY keyboard including Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys * An LCD display of 480×240 pixels with four shades of gray and two bits per pixel with touchscreen that could be operated by either stylus or finger * An Infrared transceiver * Serial port * PC Card slot * Built in speaker Devices of the time mainly had 480×240 pixel displays with the exception of the Hewlett-Packard 'Palmtop PC' which had a 640×240 display. Each window took over the full display. Navigation was done by tapping or double tapping on an item. A contextual menu was also available by the user pressing the ALT key and tapping on the screen. Windows CE 1.0 did not include a cascading Start menu, although Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 did. Microsoft released the Windows CE 1.0 Power Toys that included a cascading menu icon that appeared in the system tray. Also bundled were several other utilities, most notable were a sound applet for the system tray, enabling the user to quickly mute or unmute their device or adjust the volume and a 'pocket' version of Paint. The release of Windows CE 2.0 was well received. Microsoft learned its lessons from consumer feedback of Windows CE 1.0 and made many improvements to the operating system. The Start menu was a cascading menu, identical to those found on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. Color screens were also supported and manufacturers raced to release the first color H/PC. The first to market however, was Hewlett Packard with the HP 620LX. Windows CE 2.0 also supported a broader range of CPU architectures. Programs could be also installed directly in the OS by double clicking on CAB files. Due to the nature of the ROMs that contained the operating system, users were not able to flash their devices with the newer operating system. Instead manufacturers released upgrade ROMs that users had to physically install in their devices, after removing the previous version. This would usually wipe the data on the device and present the user with the setup wizard upon first boot. In November 1999, it was reported that Microsoft was planning to rename Windows CE to Windows Powered. The name only appeared in brand in Handheld PC 2000 and a build of

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), releas ...

Advanced Server for

network-attached storage Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level (as opposed to block-level storage) computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. The term "NAS" can refer to both the tech ...

devices (which bears no relation to Windows CE). Various Windows CE 3.0 products announced at CES 2001 were marketed under a "Windows Powered" umbrella name.

Development tools

Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs including websites, web apps, web services and mobile apps. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platforms such a ...

2012, 2013, and 2015 support apps and

Platform Builder Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

development for Windows Embedded Compact 2013. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and earlier support projects for older releases of Windows CE/Windows Mobile, producing executable programs and platform images either as an emulator or attached by cable to an actual mobile device. A mobile device is not necessary to develop a CE program. 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 ...

supports a subset of the

.NET Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...

with projects in C#, and

Visual Basic .NET Visual Basic, originally called Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), is a multi-paradigm, object-oriented programming language, implemented on .NET, Mono, and the .NET Framework. Microsoft launched VB.NET in 2002 as the successor to its original Visua ...

, but not

Managed C++ Managed Extensions for C++ or Managed C++ is a now-deprecated set of language extensions for C++, including grammatical and syntactic extensions, keywords and attributes, to bring the C++ syntax and language to the .NET Framework. These extensions ...

. "Managed" apps employing the .NET Compact Framework also require devices with significantly larger memories (8 MB or more) while unmanaged apps can still run successfully on smaller devices. In Visual Studio 2010, the Windows Phone Developer Tools are used as an extension, allowing Windows Phone 7 apps to be designed and tested within Visual Studio.

Free Pascal and Lazarus

Free Pascal Free Pascal Compiler (FPC) is a compiler for the closely related programming-language dialects Pascal and Object Pascal. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License, witexception clausesthat allow static linking against it ...

introduced the Windows CE port in Version 2.2.0, targeting ARM and x86 architectures. Later, the Windows CE header files were translated for use with Lazarus, a

rapid application development Rapid application development (RAD), also called rapid application building (RAB), is both a general term for adaptive software development approaches, and the name for James Martin's method of rapid development. In general, RAD approaches to ...

(RAD) software package based on Free Pascal. Windows CE apps are designed and coded in the Lazarus

integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools a ...

(IDE) and compiled with an appropriate

cross compiler A cross compiler is a compiler capable of creating executable code for a platform other than the one on which the compiler is running. For example, a compiler that runs on a PC but generates code that runs on an Android smartphone is a cross ...

Platform Builder

This

programming tool A programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs, that can b ...

is used for building the platform ( BSP +

Kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and ot ...

s (shared source or custom made) and also the apps. This is a one stop environment to get the system up and running. One can also use Platform Builder to export an SDK (software development kit) for the target

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

(

SuperH SuperH (or SH) is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computing (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Hitachi and currently produced by Renesas. It is implemented by microcontrollers and microprocessors for embedded systems. At t ...

, x86, MIPS, ARM etc.) to be used with another associated tool set named below.

Others

The Embedded

Visual C++ Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) is a compiler for the C, C++ and C++/CX programming languages by Microsoft. MSVC is proprietary software; it was originally a standalone product but later became a part of Visual Studio and made available in both tria ...

(eVC) a

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

for development of embedded apps for Windows CE. It can be used standalone using the SDK exported from Platform Builder or using the Platform Builder's Platform Manager connectivity setup. CeGcc project provides GNU development tools, such as GNU C, GNU C++ and

binutils The GNU Binary Utilities, or , are a set of programming tools for creating and managing binary programs, object files, libraries, profile data, and assembly source code. Tools They were originally written by programmers at Cygnus Solutions. ...

that targeting Windows CE; 2 SDKs are available to choose from a standard Windows CE platform SDK based on

MinGW MinGW ("Minimalist GNU for Windows"), formerly mingw32, is a free and open source software development environment to create Microsoft Windows applications. MinGW includes a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), GNU Binutils for Windows ( ...

, and a

newlib Newlib is a C standard library implementation intended for use on embedded systems. It is a conglomeration of several library parts, all under free software licenses that make them easily usable on embedded products. It was created by Cygnus ...

-based SDK which may be easier for porting programs from POSIX systems.

CodeGear CodeGear is a wholly owned division of Embarcadero Technologies. CodeGear develops software development tools such as the Delphi Integrated development environment, the programming language Delphi, and the database server InterBase. Originally ...

Delphi Prism Oxygene (formerly known as Chrome) is a programming language developed by RemObjects Software for Microsoft's Common Language Infrastructure, the Java Platform and Cocoa. Oxygene is based on Delphi's Object Pascal, but also has influences from ...

runs in Visual Studio, also supports the .NET Compact Framework and thus can be used to develop

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

s. It employs the Oxygene compiler created by

RemObjects Software RemObjects Software is an American software company founded in 2002 by Alessandro Federici and Marc Hoffman. It develops and offers tools and libraries for software developers on a variety of development platforms, including Embarcadero Delphi, Mi ...

, which targets .NET, the .NET Compact Framework, and

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

. Its command-line compiler is available free of charge.

Basic4ppc Basic4ppc (pronounced "Basic for PPC") is a programming language for Pocket PC handheld computers running Windows Mobile operating system, by Anywhere Software. The language is based on a BASIC-like syntax, taking advantage of Microsoft's .N ...

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

similar to

Visual Basic Visual Basic is a name for a family of programming languages from Microsoft. It may refer to: * Visual Basic .NET (now simply referred to as "Visual Basic"), the current version of Visual Basic launched in 2002 which runs on .NET * Visual Basic (cl ...

, targets the

and supports Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices.

GLBasic GLBasic is a commercial BASIC programming language that can compile to various platforms including Microsoft Windows, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and some handheld devices. The language is designed to be simple and intuitive. Overview GLBasic star ...

a very easy to learn and use BASIC dialect that compiles for many platforms, including Windows CE and Windows Mobile. It can be extended by writing inline C/C++ code.

LabVIEW Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) is a system-design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. The graphical language is named "G"; not to be confused with G-co ...

a graphical programming language, supporting many platforms, including Windows CE.
MortScript
is the semi-standard, extremely lightweight, automation SDK popular with the GPS enthusiasts. Uses the scripts written in its own language, with the syntax being aside to

VBScript VBScript (''"Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition"'') is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It allows Microsoft Windows system administrators to generate powerful tools for managing computers w ...

JScript JScript is Microsoft's legacy dialect of the ECMAScript standard that is used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11 and older. JScript is implemented as an Active Scripting engine. This means that it can be "plugged in" to OLE Automation applicati ...

AutoHotkey AutoHotkey is a free and open-source custom scripting language for Microsoft Windows, initially aimed at providing easy keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys, fast macro-creation and software automation that allows users of most levels of computer skil ...

a port of the open source macro-creation and automation software utility available for Windows CE. It allows the construction of macros and simple

apps developed by systems analyst Jonathan Maxian Timkang.Autohotkey build for CE devices
/ref>

Relationship to Windows Mobile, Pocket PC, and SmartPhone

Often Windows CE,

, and

are used interchangeably, in part due to their common origin. This practice is not entirely accurate. Windows CE is a modular/componentized operating system that serves as the foundation of several classes of devices. Some of these modules provide subsets of other components' features (e.g. varying levels of windowing support; DCOM vs

COM Com or COM may refer to: Computing * COM (hardware interface), a serial port interface on IBM PC-compatible computers * COM file, or .com file, short for "command", a file extension for an executable file in MS-DOS * .com, an Internet top-level d ...

), others which are separate (

bitmap In computing, a bitmap is a mapping from some domain (for example, a range of integers) to bits. It is also called a bit array A bit array (also known as bitmask, bit map, bit set, bit string, or bit vector) is an array data structure that c ...

TrueType TrueType is an outline font standard developed by Apple in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript. It has become the most common format for fonts on the classic Mac OS, macOS, and Microsoft Windows operating sy ...

font support), and others which add additional features to another component. One can buy a kit (the Platform Builder) which contains all these components and the tools with which to develop a custom platform. Apps such as Excel Mobile (formerly Pocket Excel) are not part of this kit. The older Handheld PC version of Pocket Word and several other older apps are included as samples, however. Windows Mobile is best described as a subset of platforms based on a Windows CE underpinning. Currently, Pocket PC (now called Windows Mobile Classic), SmartPhone (Windows Mobile Standard), and Pocket PC Phone Edition (Windows Mobile Professional) are the three main platforms under the Windows Mobile umbrella. Each platform uses different components of Windows CE, plus supplemental features and apps suited for their respective devices. Pocket PC and Windows Mobile are Microsoft-defined custom platforms for general PDA use, consisting of a Microsoft-defined set of minimum profiles (Professional Edition, Premium Edition) of software and hardware that is supported. The rules for manufacturing a Pocket PC device are stricter than those for producing a custom Windows CE-based platform. The defining characteristics of the Pocket PC are the

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

as the primary

human interface device A human interface device or HID is a type of computer device usually used by humans that takes input from humans and gives output to humans. The term "HID" most commonly refers to the USB-HID specification. The term was coined by Mike Van Fl ...

and its extremely portable size. CE 3.0 is the basis for Pocket PC 2000 and Pocket PC 2002. A successor to CE 3.0 is CE.net. "PocketPC [is] a separate layer of code on top of the core Windows CE OS... Pocket PC is based on Windows CE, but it's a different offering." And licensees of Pocket PC are forbidden to modify the WinCE part. The

SmartPhone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

platform is a feature-rich OS and interface for cellular phone handsets. SmartPhone offers productivity features to business users, such as email, and multimedia abilities for consumers. The SmartPhone interface relies heavily on joystick navigation and PhonePad input. Devices running SmartPhone do not include a touchscreen interface. SmartPhone devices generally resemble other cellular handset form factors, whereas most Phone Edition devices use a PDA form factor with a larger display.

Releases

References

External links

Benchmarking Real-time Determinism in Microsoft Windows CE

A Brief History of Windows CE
by HPC:Factor with screenshots of the various versions *, Archived copy of website hosted by Handheld PC
Windows XP Embedded on MSDN

Mike Hall's Windows Embedded Blog
{{Real-time operating systems Windows CE ARM operating systems 1996 software