Microsoft will today release to manufacturing Windows CE 5.0, the latest version of its platform for mobile and embedded devices. The new release offers better security and closer integration with enterprise infrastructure, Microsoft said, and improves driver support for many common hardware components.

Windows CE 5.0, earlier codenamed Macallan, will appear in new devices such as thin clients, handheld terminals and network appliances in the next few months. It will offer improved support for voice over IP (VoIP), enabling it to be used in new devices that integrate data and telephony functions. Future versions of Microsoft's Windows Mobile for PDAs and smartphones will also be based on the new code.

Key improvements are increased driver support, enhanced developer tools and easier integration through features such as Active Directory, according to Microsoft's group manager for mobile and embedded devices, Karen Carter.

"Integration between devices and PCs and servers is critical, so this is one area we've addressed (in CE 5.0]," she commented.

Microsoft's hardware partners guided development of Windows CE 5.0, Carter said, resulting in drivers for at least 60 device components shipping with the code. A lack of drivers was a problem with earlier versions of Windows CE, as it can be difficult to upgrade code in embedded applications after manufacturing.

All software components within Windows CE 5.0 have been set to high security settings by default, and a new error reporting service has been introduced.

This can send reports back to Microsoft from devices in the field, according to Carter, allowing any problems to be fixed before they affect firms' productivity.

Developers will also benefit from better tools, such as the Windows CE graphical integrated development environment that lets programmers do command-line work and use graphical tools in the same environment. More of the source code for Windows CE is also being made available to developers, who can now ship commercial derivative products without having to license their changes back to Microsoft, Carter said.

Wyse Technology, a leading vendor of thin-client terminals, has said that it plans to ship devices based on the new code later this year.

Improvements such as pop-up blocking in Internet Explorer enable terminals better suited for web applications, according to Stephen Yeo, European marketing director for Wyse. Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for linking to application servers is also faster and more reliable in the new release, he said.

Updated versions of Microsoft's own Windows Mobile for Smartphone and Pocket PC platforms based on the Windows CE 5.0 core code are expected to appear next year, according to Carter.