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Microsoft's Next Target: the Car

By
iApplianceWeb
(12/10/01, 12:02:16 PM EDT)

Microsoft's new Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform adds another element to the burgeoning in-car computing industry. Microsoft Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 delivers enhancements in key areas such as hands-free and eyes-free communications, with improved speech recognition; more robust graphics capabilities, including faster map drawing; faster startup times; and reliable Internet access. Each improvement provides real-time flexibility and is designed to advance in-car safety, communications, and information.

Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 offers flexibility and reliability to companies developing in-car telematics solutions. Its open architecture allows developers to select the hardware platform, user interface, and overall graphical personality that best meet their needs. In addition, this new platform fosters timely, manageable, cost-effective client platforms for the embedded automotive industry.

New and improved features in Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 include the following:

New! Streamlined graphical user interface. Powerful, hardware-independent tools, functionality, and "skinnable" graphics enable designers to easily customize the appearance of their systems to different car lines.
New! Hands-free communication interface. Drivers and passengers can now speak more naturally and directly to devices using simple voice commands. The completely rebuilt speech engine supports the latest human-like speech interaction enabled by text-to-speech technology.
New! Platform foundation. A new platform configuration enables developers to create a compact solution for devices with limited storage capacity. They can start with a small base and, from there, build as much or as little as required by the automaker.
New! Power management. A fast and reliable power-management architecture eliminates the need for a backup battery, and ensures rapid startup and shutdown without data loss.
New! Customizable developer tools. Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 provides developers with flexible, scalable building blocks from which they can choose a variety of development systems -- such as ActiveX Controls and Visual Basic -- to create low-end to high-end applications based on car manufacturer requirements.
New! Microsoft Mobile Explorer. This full-featured, compact, and efficient version of the Internet Explorer browser provides motorists with valuable access to the wireless "information highway."
Improved! Graphics. High-performance features include faster graphics drawing and mapping API and DirectX support. Also included is GDI-Sub, a high-performance feature for the most demanding graphics applications, such as those for navigation.

Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 is the client component of the Microsoft Car .NET initiative, a new-generation infrastructure technology for the automobile.

Link:
Microsoft