Microsoft Ships CE.Net Update For New Generation Of Mobile, Smart Devices

Microsoft

Windows CE.Net 4.1, which was formerly code-named Jamison, is an operating system footprint that offers improved performance for Web browsing, thin clients and multimedia code, as well as support for new technologies such as IPv6, the .Net Compact Framework beta one and Microsoft's latest speech API, SAPI 5.0, said Todd Warren, general manager of Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group (EAPG).

Support for IPv6 is particularly important in the embedded space because it increases the address space needed by newer devices connected to the Internet, including handheld devices, PDAs and 3G cellular and 802.11 wireless devices. One major challenge facing the IPv4 protocol used today is that TCP/IP address space on the Internet is running out. While moving to IPv6 will provide more address space for these devices, CE.Net v4.1 is compatible with IPv4.

The update also features file viewers for Microsoft Office applications, images and Adobe Acrobat so that partners can build devices that feature seamless integration with desktop environments, Warren said. The integration of the .Net Compact Framework, the mobile equivalent of the .Net Framework, will also allow OEMs to build better mobile devices.

Microsoft says the performance of Internet Explorer improves 15 percent on the new footprint, while thin-client and media playback speeds improve 20 percent.

Hitachi, NEC Infrontia, Samsung Information Systems America and ViewSonic are all developing mobile devices, smart displays and PDAs based on CE.Net, the latest rev of Microsoft's realtime embedded operating system.

Samsung, for example, Monday unveiled a new line of embedded processors designed to support the latest Windows CE.Net release that will make it possible for OEMs to build next-generation portable wireless devices. The pairing of Samsung's ARM processors and CE.Net 4.1 software will, for example, allow users to run Microsoft applications formerly reserved for PC and laptop use on wireless devices ranging from standard PDAs to the forthcoming line of smartphones, Samsung said.

Viewsonic is using the CE.Net footprint to develop next-generation Windows smart display devices based on the Microsoft technologies that were formerly code-named Mira, Warren said.

Windows CE.Net also incorporates an updated toolset that gives developers better access to CE source code and improved emulation capabilities, including the ability to test and troubleshoot software applications without prototyped devices, Warren added.

The update, which will improve the kinds of embedded devices manufacturers can build, is being released just six months after Microsoft shipped Windows CE.Net. Thus far, OEMs have shipped between 10 and 15 devices based on the version 1.0 code, but others are expected to follow suit with the wave of improvements in this Jamison update, said Warren.