Windows Phone 7 based on a hybrid Windows CE 6 / Compact 7 kernel?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 4th 2010 5:12PM
posted May 4th 2010 5:12PM
[Thanks, Jeff]
That may very well be the case, but Microsoft's official response on the matter is a little less clear. Basically, they're saying that Windows Phone 7 was built on the latest release of CE 6 (R3, in case you're curious), but that they took it further and "incorporated innovative features and functionality on top of the platform." If we had to guess, what they're trying to say is that the Windows Phone 7 project was started when the Compact 7 kernel was still nothing more than a twinkle in Steve Ballmer's eye, so they took the latest code and started mucking with it to meet their needs. It's entirely possible that the Compact 7 team took that code back and kept working on it to create what would ultimately become what we know as the Compact 7 kernel, but that's not something the company is commenting on. At least, not directly. Anyhow, here's the official verbiage:
Oh, and just a note: based on that statement, you might be wondering how we deduced that they're saying they started with a CE 6 core. Basically, Microsoft is in the midst of changing naming conventions in its Windows Embedded range; the current release of CE is 6 R3, but the full name of the next version is Windows Embedded Compact 7. The company states that "Windows Phone 7 was built on the Windows Embedded CE kernel at its core," so yeah, there you have it.Windows Phone 7 is based on the Windows Embedded CE kernel – the next generation of the Windows Embedded CE platform will be Windows Embedded Compact 7 when released, and the current version is Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3. Although Windows Phone 7 was built on the Windows Embedded CE kernel at its core, the Windows Phone team has incorporated innovative features and functionality on top of the platform to develop an OS specifically designed to meet the needs of mobile phone manufacturers.
Windows Embedded 7 has been in CTP for ages and went gold/RTM a few days ago - it's far from "unavailable."
@bri3d However, CE7 is murkier as there were rumors that CE7 would finally be merging kernels with "Embedded." Based on recent MS blogs that isn't going to happen, so maybe we will see CE7 sold (or at least previewed) as a discrete product sometime soon.
@bri3d Including Compact? I know Standard has been out there for some time, but I'm not seeing Compact as being available to the general public.
@Chris Ziegler Yeah, looks like CE7 isn't out yet - I'd read the rumors that CE7 and Standard were going to get folded together but it looks like those aren't true (which makes sense, since CE's kernel is completely different and the rumors that they were going to somehow tack real-time and a bunch of board/arch support onto the standard Windows kernel seemed silly). So my initial commentary was pretty much wrong - d'oh :)
Engadget please send your ninja spies to find out if HTC is making a WP7 phone. The wait and uncertainty are killing me!
@shishi Misappropriating prototype devices is Gizmodo's territory.
=P
@David Bailey
LOL I'd be happy if they just got some info, no need for the actual proto. Engadget, please don't get in trouble (or don't get caught)! :D
release the damned thing already.
i want it
I Want IT now ...
That too on the DELL lightning ,,,,,
@takerhbk
Dell Lighting looks great but the camera is a little lackluster and Dell has yet to prove the quality of their phone hardware. My dream device would be an HTC with slider keyboard, 8mpx cam, xenon flash, etc.
@shishi
for me the camera is ok .
im more concerned abt the 8gb storage ..
i mean iphones got much more than that ..
the 4th gen may have 80gb ...
8gb is nothing ..
@takerhbk
Good point, 8GB is not enough for power users, especially if the phone will be able to record 720p video (which eats memory real fast). And the fact that (I think) WP7 doesn't support removable storage... (I hope they don't force the Cloud thing on us)
Just give me a release date. I would also like to see what HTC is cooking up. I nearly purchased the Incredible this weekend, but held off because I know that this is phone os for me.
Cmon underdog, we're rooting for you here.
@mandarin
You see the sh*t they pulled with HTC, charging Android Handset makers? They're trying to force people to use WM the way they forced people to adopt Windows.
It's impossible to root for MS as an underdog, they're rotten to the core.
@Wesscoast
HTC is their partner and didn't they work out an arrangement? How is that "rotten to the core"? It makes absolutely no sense. Or are you saying that it's ok for *the other company* to get their shares from royalties and what-not, but MS shouldn't?
I made my gf purchase the HTC Incredible (she needed a new Verizon phone anyway) and almost went for it myself (the Incredible is the best Android phone on the market period). But after spending some time with it the "incredibleness" waned a bit and I thought, you know, these iPhone and Android phones sure are zippy and fast, but I'm tired of this mess of icon grid circa 2000 (and they keep cramming functions into more icons and balloons that is cluttering the whole thing), I need something unique, elegant and "futuristic", which is what WP7 feels like -- chrome-less, aesthetically simple and pleasing, exploratory, the clean text interface is like looking at paper books or documents, and with functions integrated into hubs, where you tap text or areas (naturally) rather than icons.
DRM. Did I see DRM on the list?
The Windows Phone 7 is tethered to the handset using DRM.
This isn't the news I was hoping for. I want Windows 7 Embedded (a modular version of Windows 7), but this version doesn't support ARM yet.
Having said that, I think Engadget should have at least made a short list of the features coming to CE6/7.
After all, even in Engadget's own "Mobile OS Shootout" Windows Mobile scored high marks...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
So, here are some of the improvements I know about...
- CE5 supports 32 processes, CE6 supports 32,768.
- CE5 supports 32MB per process, CE6 supports 2,000MB per process.
- CE6 has a completely new Cellcore (cellular network stack).
- CE6 supports User and Kernel mode drivers, not just Kernel mode drivers like CE5.
- CE6 comes with a HD-DVD codec and DVD (MPEG-2) codec's.
- CE6 supports multiple USB devices in Host or client mode.
- CE6 integrates with Windows Media Center like CE5 should have.
My point is just that CE6 is a huge step in the right direction, and that Engadget is full of Penguin Lovers and Fruit Cakes.
@8r13n
Yeahp...the huge thing here with CE6 is the change in how memory and virtual memory are handled. CE6 blows 5 away..which is why it's very disappointing to see MS still using 5 in WinMo.
so MS went from Windows CE6.0 to Windows EC 7.0? It's backward, damn it. No wonder the removal of Copy & Paste & maybe MultiTasking?
Hahaha... what? You guys didn't know this??
You actually thought MS made a new OS from scratch?
This has been discussed many times. Its CE6 with a groovy skin.
*sigh
StupidUglyPhone7... who cares
That article pic is blowing my mind right now...can't wait for WP7
This MSDN article disagrees with this article.
http://blogs.msdn.com/obloch/archive/2010/05/03/windows-ce-is-not-dead.aspx
This isn't surprising, MS had pitched WP7 as being a complete, ground-up rewrite.
Windows phone 7 series CE core 6 R3 Windows Embedded Compact 7. Make sense? I'm getting dizzy.
apple will lose shares in the mobile world to microsoft... it already has to android and android isnt even at its peak yet.... history often repeats itself... look at mac now and windows now lol? 90 something % of all cpus use what operating system? its the letter after linux lol... apples fascist dictator is throwing gas into the chamber of the guy who stole the new iphone prototype lol
@HighestRanked2 Which is why OSX apps run on the iphone... wait...