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Automotive Industry

Microsoft Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform - Supplier Profile - Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Automotive Industries, Jan, 2002 by John Shea

For all the dreamy talk of explosive growth, the $5-billion-by-2005 telematics market remains chained to the launch pad. Awful speech-recognition technology, pokey start-up times and high price tags are just three of many reasons why.

Enter Microsoft. The OS giant based in Redmond, Wash., promises more clarity, speed and affordability with its new Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform. For consumers, 3.5 will provide more natural and human-like speech interaction, more robust graphics (including sharper, more detailed and speedier mapping), more reliable Internet access, and faster start-up times (virtually simultaneous now, compared to the previous five to 15 seconds of lag time).

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For OEMs, the system's main selling point is its open architecture. Developers will be able to choose their own hardware platform, user interface and graphical personality (through "skinnable" graphics -- easily changed, altered, discarded) to best meet their needs. Better yet, the system offers "scalability," or a building block approach where developers can create both low-end and high-end systems more easily and more cost effectively. For the young technophile consumer whose first car must be a Ford Focus or a Chevrolet Cavalier, this is good news.

The 3.5 platform is the fourth version of Windows CE Microsoft has produced since entering the auto business five years ago. "A lot of learning went into this program," says Gonzalo Bustillos, director of business development for Microsoft's automotive division. "We learned you can't just shrink-wrap a product and throw it over the fence. You have to work very closely with your partners, and we have."

Products featuring the 3.5 version will first appear in the Japanese after market next spring. Microsoft officials say the North American debut of 3.5 won't happen until 2003 at the earliest.

Automotive Industry

Microsoft Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform - Supplier Profile - Windows CE for Automotive 3.5 software platform - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Automotive Industries, Jan, 2002 by John Shea

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