Introduction

Windows Embedded CE is a 32-bit, native, hard, real-time, small-footprint operating system developed by Microsoft to address the needs of handheld, mobile, and embedded devices. With support for multiple processor architectures, Windows Embedded CE can be adapted to a variety of devices like Smartphones, PocketPCs, set-top boxes, thin-client terminals, digital cameras, DVRs, VoIP, point-of-sale, point-of-information, network routers, wireless projectors, industrial automation, home and building automation, robotics, data acquisition, and human–machine interfaces.

In today's fast-paced, unforgiving technology market, rapid application development, fast time-to-market, manageable development risks, and cost are key factors contributing to the success of any product development project. With its low-cost licenses, along with the developer-friendly Visual Studio environment and large pool of professional Visual Studio developers, Windows Embedded CE is an attractive operating system for developing a new generation of intelligent, multimedia, connected, and service-oriented embedded devices.

Views differ on likely market size and opportunities for Windows Embedded CE technology. While some CE-enabled products have strong visibility, such as the Windows Mobile Smartphone, Pocket PC, GPS navigation device, Zune media player, and Windows CE Thin Client terminal, many other devices are not visible to end-users, even though they may be using the devices daily. These devices are ...

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