SAN JOSE, California, April 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company announces strategy for product renaming, outlines plan for new solutions in key device categories and unveils first developer certification.

Today at Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley 2008 in San Jose, Microsoft Corp laid out the next phase in its strategy for the Windows Embedded Business, providing a strategic road map outlining the renaming of its family of products and plans for new solutions in key device categories. The new key device category solutions will be offered under the Windows Embedded Ready name and will ship as preconfigured toolkits providing device-makers with in-demand market-specific features that allow them to build and ship next-generation smart, connected, service-oriented devices in an accelerated fashion.

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"With today's strategic road map announcement, our aim is to present the evolving Windows Embedded product family in an intuitive fashion, making it easier for our customers to choose the right platforms and tools for their needs," said Kevin Dallas, general manager of the Windows Embedded Business at Microsoft. "Windows Embedded solutions for key device categories will energise our partner ecosystem by enabling new business scenarios and help lay the foundation for partners to successfully fulfil our vision of a new generation of smart, connected, service-oriented devices."

The first product release under the new naming strategy will be Windows Embedded Standard, the next generation of Windows XP Embedded, and will be launched simultaneously at Tech-Ed North America and through a global webcast event on 3 June. All presently available Windows Embedded products will be marketed under their current names until their next scheduled product release and will remain available for purchase in line with the standard Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy. The Windows Embedded Ready product line for key device categories will include the next generation of Windows Embedded for Point of Service, Windows Embedded POSReady. The Windows Embedded Business plans to further detail its strategy for the Windows Embedded Ready products later this calendar year.

The Windows Embedded family of products includes the following: -- Windows Embedded Standard. The next generation of Windows XP Embedded. The next product release is currently forecast for 2008. -- Windows Embedded Compact. The next generation of Windows Embedded CE. The next product release is currently forecast for 2009. -- Windows Embedded Enterprise. A fully application-compatible embedded operating system that over time will gain a broader set of embedded enabling features. Today this product group is composed of Windows Vista and Windows XP for Embedded Systems and is licensed exclusively for embedded device development. -- Windows Embedded POSReady. The next generation of Windows Embedded for Point of Service. The next product release is currently forecast for 2009.

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Developer Certification and Free Training

Furthering its commitment to growing and empowering the developer community, Microsoft also announced the establishment of Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Certification, the first certification included in the Microsoft Certification Program for the Windows Embedded product family. A key element of the Windows Embedded business strategy, the certification will provide a common reference point on the skills and technical expertise that Microsoft recommends for all Windows Embedded CE 6.0 developers.

Customers developing projects on Windows Embedded CE will now be able to identify partners and distributors based on Windows Embedded technical knowledge. In addition, companies building devices on the Windows Embedded platform and wanting to hire Windows Embedded CE developers will now be able to better differentiate between candidates. In support of the certification, Microsoft is offering a free exam preparation kit for Windows Embedded CE developers. The kit can be downloaded or viewed online and is localised in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, German and French.

The certification exam will be available on 5 May 2008; the official name of the exam is Exam 70-571: TS: Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Application Development. It costs $125 (US) and is administered by Prometric testing centres worldwide. Local testing centres can be found at http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp. The free preparation guide will be available on the MSDN Embedded Developer Center at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-571.mspx.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

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Rebecca Beyer of Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8463, rbeyer@webershandwick.com, for Microsoft Corp ; NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. ; Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO, AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org, PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com