Windows Embedded Compact

Windows Embedded Compact (formerly Windows CE, where CE stands for Compact Edition or Consumer Electronics) is a real-time embedded operating system by Microsoft. Part of the Windows Embedded platform, Windows CE is designed for use with handheld computers or systems with limited memory and resources.

The system kernel and libraries were used in Windows Mobile and its successor Windows Phone, which were designed for smartphones and pocket PCs, as well as a runtime library for the Sega Dreamcast video game console. The Windows CE architecture was dropped with the release of Windows Phone 8, opting to use the NT kernel as part of the MinWin architecture.

History
Early versions of Windows CE were inspired by the Microsoft WinPad operating system, a scrapped mobile platform for handheld PCs based on the 16-bit Windows family. Versions of WinPad can be found in various Windows 3.1 SDKs. It is also included in early development builds of Windows 95 up till build 275.