Did you know? "Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems" available until 2016

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Are you building devices based on Windows XP, and has the end of availability of Windows XP in the royalty channel this year, and in the system builder channel after Jan 31st, 2009, caught you unprepared? Then fear not, because there is a solution - and it's called Windows Embedded Enterprise.

Windows Embedded Enterprise is actually an umbrella name for

  • Windows Vista Ultimate for Embedded Systems
  • Windows Vista Business for Embedded Systems
  • Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems

These are the standard desktop versions of Windows (from a technical point of view), but sold under a different license to OEMs that build embedded devices. The good news now is that Windows XP Professional mentioned above is available under this license until December 2016 ! The caveat: you can't use this to build general-purpose desktop or mobile systems (like PCs and laptops), since it's designed specifically for embedded systems.

Of course, note that in most cases there is a much better solution for embedded device makers wanting to offer Windows compatibility with their systems - and that is Windows Embedded Standard, the componentized embedded OS and successor to Windows XP Embedded, which also continues to be available from our distributors.

So, you see there's really a plethora of choices here - if you are unsure which product is the right one for your project, talk to us or to one of our Windows Embedded partners. And then build some cool devices! :-)