Microsoft dives into VoIP with CE .Net 4.2

Windows CE .Net is poised to put VoIP (voice over IP) capability in handhelds, Windows-powered Smartphones, and other devices with a set of enhancements for Version 4.2 to be outlined Wednesday at the Voice on the Net conference in San Jose, Calif.

Todd Warren, general manager of Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group, will outline features of the forthcoming version that are designed for making VoIP-capable hardware. They could find their way into a variety of devices, including Windows CE-based desktop IP  phones and mobile devices that can be used for calls over a wireless LAN, said Scott Horn, director of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group, in a Monday interview.

Windows CE .Net is a set of components that vendors can use out of the box or customize to create embedded software for devices. Microsoft also uses it as the basis for its Pocket PC and Windows-powered Smartphone platforms. Third parties have developed software that lets some Windows CE-based devices be used for VoIP, but CE itself has not included VoIP support, Horn said.

Including VoIP features in Windows CE .Net should make it easier for vendors to integrate IP voice capability in new devices, making possible new kinds of devices and even new interfaces to well-known applications such as databases, according to some analysts.

In CE 4.2, formerly code-named McKendric, Microsoft will provide a sample Telephony User Interface for features such as custom dialpads and a VoIP Application Interface Layer with support for SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), an industry standard for IP-based voice systems. It will also include Enterprise Infrastructure Integration services, consisting of technology for integrating computer telephony software with enterprise applications. That will include support for the .Net Compact Framework run-time environment, Active Directory and encryption technologies including IPSec (IP Security), Horn said.

Also Wednesday, Warren will announce that several OEMs and ODMs (original device manufacturers) are developing VoIP devices using Windows CE .Net. Major vendors include Casio Computer, Hitachi, Samsung Electronics, and Symbol Technologies. Symbol is developing a device for use in warehouses that combines barcode scanning features with "walkie-talkie" capability over a wireless LAN, he said.

In addition, component makers are optimizing CPUs and reference boards for VoIP devices that will run the new operating system. They include Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, ARM, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments.

Although Windows CE .Net 4.2 will ship with SIP support, vendors that want a VoIP device to work with another protocol can build it in, Horn said. That could include the H.323 standard or other protocols used in a proprietary IP PBX.

Windows CE 4.2 is in beta testing now and due for release in the first half of this year. Also in beta is Greenwich, Microsoft software for real-time communications. Combined with Greenwich and Windows Server 2003, CE 4.2 could be used to build a variety of applications for VoIP, instant messaging and presence-based activities that use knowledge of a user's real-time availability.