What's Microsoft's strategy on Windows CE development?
- by Heinzi
Lots of specialized mobile devices use Windows CE or Windows Mobile.
I'm not talking about smart phones here -- I know that Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's current technology of choice here. I'm talking about barcode readers, embedded devices, industry PDAs with specialized hardware, etc... the kind of devices (Example 1, Example 2) where Windows Phone Silverlight development is not an option (no P/Invoke to access the hardware, etc.).
Since direct Compact Framework support has been dropped in Visual Studio 2010, the only option to develop for these device currently is to use outdated development tools (VS 2008), which already start to cause trouble on modern machines (e.g. there's no supported way to make the Windows Mobile Device Emulator's network stack work on Windows 7).
Thus, my question is: What are Microsoft's plans regarding these mobile devices? Will they allow native applications on Windows Phone, such that, for example, barcode reader drivers can be developed that can be accessed in Silverlight applications? Will they re-add "native" Compact Framework support to Visual Studio and just haven't found the time yet? Or will they leave this niche market?
