Compaq Launches New PC Companion in Europe at 'Windows CE Strategy Day'
as Dozens of European Manufacturers Show Latest Products
PARIS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Signaling wide backing for Microsoft's
Windows(R) CE platform, more than two dozen European and international
high-tech companies joined Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in a "Windows CE Strategy
Day" to highlight the growing number of diverse PC companion and vertical
market products that are increasingly available in Europe. To underscore this
growing product availability in Europe, Compaq Computer Corp. today launched
its Windows CE-based C-Series Handheld PC at the well-attended event.
"Windows CE is an integral part of our overall strategy to expand the
Windows platform and to help our partners in Europe and worldwide build
exciting new products for this growing market segment," said Bob Herbold,
Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, who spoke at Windows CE Strategy Day.
"Whether it's PC companions that extend the mobility of busy professionals or
embedded systems for the vertical market to create intelligent digital
devices, Windows CE clearly provides developers and manufacturers with the
right platform to innovate and create."
Michel Lacombe, president of Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa,
said that interest in developing applications and solutions based on Windows
CE is growing strong in Europe. Due to this increasing demand and interest in
the platform in Europe, Lacombe said Microsoft would be aggressively adding
new sales and marketing staff to help build and grow the industry. Microsoft
will also be undertaking a wide range of activities, including the first
European software developers conference for Windows CE (May 18, London),
Channel VAR and Integrator training as well as the planned training of more
than 10,000 retailers across Europe.
"Microsoft considers Europe a strategic market for its Windows CE software
platform and we want to do everything we can to encourage the development and
marketing of products based on Windows CE," Lacombe said at Windows Strategy
Day. "We see a bright future for Windows CE in Europe and so do partners such
as Compaq, which just today launched in Europe its line of PC companion
products for business."
Andreas Barth, Compaq's senior vice president and general manager, EMEA,
joined Microsoft executives at Windows Strategy Day to launch the Compaq
C-Series Handheld PC in Europe. Barth said that C-Series Handheld PC "is an
integral part of our overall strategy to deliver total computing solutions
across the entire enterprise -- from small- to medium-businesses to large
corporate customers. Regardless of where the user is -- across the hall or
across the world -- our focus remains on providing easy access to information.
"We are currently working on multiple form factors and solutions for a
whole range of target markets -- technologies that will revolutionize the way
people communicate," Barth added. "We are excited about the opportunities Win
CE presents and see tremendous synergy between Compaq and Microsoft in the
delivery of innovative technology to the professional user."
Windows CE, the result of four years of 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 2.0 was launched in October 1997 and has been embraced by European
developers and manufacturers of all sizes.
In addition to Compaq, the high-tech companies showing Windows CE-related
products at the event today include: AB Soft, Advanced Systems Ltd., AMD,
ARM, Casio, Citroen (S.A. Automobiles), Cyrix Products, Epson Europe
Electronics GmbH, Ericsson, ERIM, Everex Systems Inc., EZOS, Hewlett-Packard,
Hitachi, Microprocess-Venturcom, Microtec, Motorola, NEC Electronics, NETSIZE,
Paragone, Philips, Philog, Siemens, Technology Rescure (Bsquare), TECSI, and
TEKELEC Europe.
Microsoft also announced today that it would enhance the performance of
the operating system through the planned addition of hard real-time
capabilities that will give developers the ability to create embedded
solutions using Windows CE for demanding, real-time and mission-critical
applications.
Harel Kodesh, general manager, consumer appliances group at Microsoft,
said that by the middle of next year, Microsoft hoped to add specific new
features to Windows CE, including support for nested interrupts, better thread
response, additional task priorities and semaphores. These features will
allow for immediate response to external events and interrupts.
"Our goal is to create faster response times that will allow greater
numbers of embedded developers to take advantage of the powerful functionality
and features of Windows CE as they begin to build the next generation of
intelligent information devices," Kodesh said at Windows Strategy Day. "These
enhancements will open up more areas for embedded applications such as
robotics, test and measurement devices, and programmable logic controllers."
Windows CE is currently licensed to run on a wide range of embedded
systems, including point-of-sale terminals, industrial control devices,
network testing tools, car navigation systems, and telecommunication switches.
Organized by Microsoft in association with its partners, Windows Strategy
Day brought together several hundred OEMs, solution providers, system
integrators, developers and members of the media in a trade show about the
Windows platform in Europe, focusing in particular on the growing role of
Windows CE as the operating system for PC companions and for embedded devices
in the vertical market and entertainment. The event was held at the
International Automobile Center in the Parisian suburb of Pantin.
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 everyday.
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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