Part of a Major European Migration Towards Windows CE as an
Operating System for Intelligent Digital Devices
PARIS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced today
that 18 leading European systems integrators and distributors have signed on
to license and support the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, indicating a
growing momentum in Europe for this newest member of the Windows platform.
"Microsoft's strategy is to build the embedded business systems industry in
Europe by providing customers with access to such partners," said Michel
Lacombe, President of Microsoft Europe, Africa, and Middle East.
Adding to this increasing interest in Windows CE for business systems, a
growing number of European companies are becoming strategic partners with
Microsoft to develop products powered by Windows CE. Moreover, in just one
year, more than 100 applications have been developed for the Windows CE
operating system, demonstrating its utility for developers and consumers
alike.
"In less than a year, European distributors, systems integrators,
strategic partners and semiconductor companies have quickly embraced
the advantages of Windows CE and begun supporting the platform," Lacombe
added. "With the expanded technical and marketing efforts in Europe for the
Windows CE platform, Microsoft expects the deployment of Windows CE-based
devices and applications to accelerate even more. We are excited by the
enthusiasm and support that developers are showing for Windows CE, and we
intend to enable those developers to create new and exciting products in
vertical markets, home entertainment and elsewhere."
The European systems integrators and distributors that are already taking
advantage of this scalable operating system include: Algorithmics, Ltd., NMI
Electronics Ltd., and Eurodis Bytech Ltd. of the UK; Consorizo Padova Ricerche
in Italy; Technology Rescue, ERIM, TECSI, Philog, and Telelec Airtonic in
France; FS Forth-Systeme GmbH, MAZeT GmbH, Dr. Rudolf Keil GmbH, LiPPERT
Automationstechnik GmbH, LP Elektronik GmbH, Micromedia AG, SEI Jermyn GmbH,
and SOFTEC GmbH in Germany; as well as T2 Data AB in Sweden.
For more information on these newly formed partnerships please see
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/embedded/partners/.
Windows CE, the result of four years research and development, was built
from the ground up as an operating system using the Windows 32-bit API
technology to power the new era of interconnected computing devices. Windows
CE was launched in October 1997 and has been embraced by European
manufacturers and developers including Phillips, Siemens and Ericsson as well
as by many smaller companies.
In addition to English, Windows CE-based devices have been localized for
French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish speaking countries.
Devices are also tailored for the Nordic region of Europe and add-on kits are
available for Eastern European languages from companies such as ArtSoft,
Paragon, and SunnySoft.
Strategic Partners Create Solutions Based on Windows CE
Large European corporations are also partnering with Microsoft to create
embedded solutions based on Windows CE. For example, Siemens AG and Microsoft
are working together to implement a broad spectrum of embedded devices for
various industrial, communications, consumer and information technology
application products based on the Windows CE operating system. The
relationship will extend the combination of Microsoft's advanced technology in
operating systems and applications with Siemens' long-standing experience in
industrial, communications and IT systems.
Microsoft technology has served as the basis for many current Siemens
products and solutions, and Siemens' selection of the Windows NT(R) operating
system and Windows CE for embedded devices adds a new dimension to the
strategic relationship between the companies. Both companies will work
closely to develop applications for devices using Windows CE. For more
information see http://www.siemens.de.
Tele-Communications Inc. has licensed a version of the Microsoft Windows
CE operating system for a minimum of 5 million digital set-top boxes. This
agreement gives TCI an operating system that enables high-quality video and
sound, as well as new interactive video services. Windows CE was developed
for the television environment, with integrated support for Internet content
and technology from WebTV Networks Inc. Microsoft and TCI expect that Windows
CE will be available for the advanced digital set-top devices that TCI will
begin to deploy in late 1998 or early 1999. For more information see
http://www.tci.com.
VenturCom Inc.'s Component Integrator technology has been incorporated
into the next major release of the Microsoft Windows CE Embedded Toolkit for
the Visual C++(R) development system. This technology will enable embedded
systems developers to use the Embedded Toolkit to visually assemble custom
devices based on Windows CE software components, and incorporate new software
components such as device drivers, system services such as Web servers, and
run-time environments in their embedded devices. For more information see
http://www.vci.com.
Sony and Microsoft are collaborating on a series of PC and audio/video
products that fuse the PC and A/V industries together. The two companies are
working on various projects, including digital television and home computer
networks, which embrace the notion of computer and consumer-electronics
products pursuing the same development path. Sony has agreed to use
Microsoft's Windows CE operating system in future products, and Microsoft has
licensed Sony's Home Networking Module, which it will use with Windows CE.
For more information see http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/.
Microsoft is also working with PSA Peugeot Citroen to enhance options in
the automobile industry. PSA Peugeot Citroen is exploring offering the Auto
PC, powered by Windows CE, as a feature for its new vehicles in the near
future. The Auto PC is a complete information and entertainment system for
the automobile. A speech interface makes operating this powerful in-dash
device easy. Simple voice commands let one organize phone numbers and
addresses, autodial cellular phones, prompt Auto PC for driving directions,
and control the high-end digital audio system. For more information see
http://www.peugeot.com.
Microtronica, serves the Swedish PC-integrators, resellers and industrial
OEMs with the market's strongest franchised offering of PC-components,
including industry leaders like Microsoft. Visit
http://www.microtronicase.com for more information.
"Microtronica Nordic is very committed to working with Microsoft to
provide customers with great solutions for building a new generation of
intelligent, digital devices," said Odd-Erik Skippervold, Nordic Group
President for Microtronica. "We believe that a new industry will develop
around the Windows CE platform and we intend to be a leader in that industry
by making an early and significant investment."
Semiconductor Companies are also Interested in Windows CE
A number of top-tier semiconductor companies have shown interest in
Windows CE as this platform supports a number of different chips. Motorola
and Microsoft are working together to port the Windows CE operating system to
the MPC8xx family of PowerPC processors. With the combination of the PowerPC
core processor and a highly specialized 32-bit communications processing
module (CPM) dedicated to communications, these processors are perfect for all
kinds of embedded applications, ranging from handheld PCs to digital cameras
to Internet access devices.
The combination of AMD's IlanSC400 microcontroller and the Windows CE
operating system, offers an attractive alternative to system designers who are
looking to enable smaller, more powerful dedicated systems.
Intel Corp. and Microsoft are working together to develop platforms based
on Intel architecture processors and AutoPC platform, powered by Windows CE,
to enhance and accelerate the implementation of computing technology for the
automobile market.
NEC Corp. is the manufacturer of the VR4101 MIPS PISC microprocessor, one
of Microsoft's key reference platform in the development of Windows CE. The
VR4101 CPU will be the heart of many Windows CE-based Handheld PCs, as it
provides OEMs a high performance, low-power consumption solution.
Philips Semiconductors TwoChipPIC, the PR31500 and UCB1100, with built-in
communication offers a complete integrated "system-on-silicon" solution for
Handheld PCs (H/PCs). The off-the-shelf chipset provides an efficient method
for navigating through Windows CE and applications. Philips Semiconductors
supplies the hardware abstraction layer, device drivers and a complete
reference design for the Windows CE implementation on the TwoChipPIC. For
more information see http://www.semiconductors.philips.com.
Advanced RISC Machines, ARM(R), is pleased to offer processor solutions
for the Windows CE operating system. ARM is well positioned to offer
developers fast, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals and
"system-chip" solutions for embedded control, consumer multimedia, DSP and
portable applications. For more information, visit http://www.arm.com.
Digital is expanding its product family beyond the highest performance
32-bit RISC StrongARM SA-110 product, into a highly integrated communications
processor for Windows CE. For more information please visit
http://www.digital com/info/semiconductor.
Hitachi's SH-3 is the 32-bit RISC "Cool Engine" of choice for the majority
of Windows CE-based Handheld PCs. Superior code density and the best price:
performance, power: performance, and integration make the SH the optimal
processor for emerging Windows CE markets. For more information see
http://www.halsp.hitachi.com/news/sh3-ce.htm.
IBM's PowerPC family of embedded controllers are supported by the
Microsoft Windows CE operating system. This enables companies developing
products such as digital set-top boxes to offer consumers a broader range of
entertainment and communications products. IBM's PowerPC 403GC and 403GCX
embedded processors are ideally suited for Windows CE development. Visit
http://www.chips.ibm.com/news/ppcwince.html for more information.
MIPS Group and its semiconductor partners design and build high-
performance RISC microprocessors that are at the heart of award-winning
Windows CE products, such as Philips Velo(TM), NEC MobilePro HPC(TM), and
Navitel TouchPhone(TM). More information regarding these partnerships may be
found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/embedded/partners/.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products
and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of
making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full
power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT and MS-DOS are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
SOURCE Microsoft Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.microsoft.com
CONTACT:
Greg Levin, Microsoft EMEA Windows CE Product
Manager, 33-1-46-35-10-57, or greglev@microsoft.com; or Fred
Pieretti of Fleishman-Hillard Paris, 33-1-44-54-61-50, or
pierettf@fleishman.com, for Microsoft
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