Windows CE

Microsoft Windows CE (now officially known as Windows Embedded Compact and previously also known as Windows Embedded CE, and sometimes abbreviated WinCE) is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows. It is not to be confused with Windows Embedded Standard which is an NT-based componentized version of desktop Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft licenses Windows CE to OEMs and device makers. The OEMs and device makers can modify and create their own user interfaces and experiences, with Windows CE providing the technical foundation to do so.

The current version of Windows Embedded Compact supports Intel x86 and compatibles, MIPS, and ARM processors.

Versions

1.0 Released November 18, 1996. Codename "Alder".

Devices named "handheld PC" (HPC).

2.0 Released September 29, 1997. Codename "Birch".

Devices named "Palm-sized PC".
Real-time deterministic task scheduling.
Architectures: ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, StrongARM, SuperH and x86.
32-bit color screens.
SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0.

3.0 Released June 15, 2000. Codename "Cedar".

Major recode that made CE hard real time down to the microsecond level.
Base for the Pocket PC 2000, Handheld PC 2000, Pocket PC 2002 and Smartphone 2002.
Priority levels was increased from 8 to 256.
Object store was increased from 65,536 to 4.19 million allowed objects.
Restricted access to critical APIs or restricting write access to parts of the registry.

4.x Released January 7, 2002.Codename "Talisker/Jameson/McKendric".

Driver structure changed greatly, new features added.

Base for "Pocket PC 2003".
Bluetooth support.
TLS (SSL 3.1), IPsec L2TP VPN, or Kerberos.

5.x
Windows CE 5.0
Released in August 2004. Adds many new features. Codename "Macallan".

Automatic report of bugs to the manufacturer.
Direct3D Mobile, a COM-based version of Windows XP's DirectX multimedia API.
DirectDraw for 2D graphics and DirectShow for camera and video digitisation support.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) support.

6.0 Released in September 2006. Codename "Yamazaki".

Process address space is increased from 32 MB to 2 GB.
Number of processes has been increased from 32 to 32,768.
User mode and kernel mode device drivers are possible.
512 MB physically managed memory
Device.exe, filesys.exe, GWES.exe has been moved to Kernel mode.
Cellcore
SetKMode and set process permissions not possible.
System call performance improved.

7.0 Released in March 2011.

Multi-core CPU support (SMP)
Wi-Fi Positioning System
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)
DRM technology
Media Transfer Protocol
Windows Phone 7 IE with Flash 10.1 support
NDIS 6.1 support
UX C++ XAML API using technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces
Advanced touch and gesture input
Kernel support for 3 GB physical RAM and supports ARMv7 assembly

source..wikipedia