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 are used in Windows Mobile and its successor Windows Phone, which are used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, as well as a runtime library for the Sega Dreamcast. Windows Phone 8 abandoned the Windows CE architecture, opting to use the NT kernel as part of the MinWin architecture.
History[edit | edit source]
Early versions of Windows CE were inspired by Microsoft WinPad (1994), a scrapped mobile platform for handheld PCs, based on Windows for DOS. Versions of WinPad can still be found in early betas of Windows 95, as well as part of SDKs for Windows 3.1.
Timeline[edit | edit source]
| Name | Version | Codename | Release date | Support end date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows CE 1.0 | 1.0 | Pegasus, Alder | 1996-11-16 | 2001-12-31 | First release of Windows CE; released for H/PC (Handheld PC) devices only |
| Windows CE 2.0 | 2.0 | Jupiter, Birch | 1997-09-29 | 2005-09-30 | Added support for many device architectures and standard APIs |
| Windows CE 3.0 | 3.0 | Cedar, Galileo | 2000-06-15 | 2007-10-09 | |
| Windows CE 4.x | 4.x | Talisker (4.0), Jameson (4.1), McKendric (4.2) | 2002-01-07 | 2013-07-09 | |
| Windows CE 5.0 | 5.0 | Macallan | 2004-07-09 | 2014-10-14 | |
| Windows CE 6.0 | 6.0 | Yamazaki | 2006-11-01 | 2018-06-10 | Last version to be called "Windows CE" |
| Windows Embedded Compact 7 | 7.0 | Chelan | 2011-03-01 | 2021-04-13 | |
| Windows Embedded Compact 2013 | 8.0 | N/A | 2013-06-03 | 2023-10-10 |