Microsoft Unveils 'Windows Embedded Handheld' Efforts

Ballmer's comments stopped short of calling the ES400 a Windows Embedded Handheld-branded device, but that was the implication. The ES400 for GSM and CDMA networks will be available through the Motorola sales teams and from Sprint. It will have features for remote workers such as a touch screen, bar-code reader, full-shift battery power, Wi-Fi with push-to-talk VoIP capability, a fingerprint reader, GPS location, a camera and a three-year lifecycle, among others.

Microsoft is planning a second wave of Windows Embedded Handheld-branded phones that will be based on Windows 7, specifically Windows Embedded Compact 7. Original equipment manufacturers can select the Windows features they need for devices using this componentized OS. Those devices are expected to appear in the second half of calendar year 2011, according to Microsoft's announcement.

Ballmer suggested that enterprises could be assured that Microsoft would protect line-of-business applications within the lifecycle of Windows Embedded Handheld products.

We're also going to provide a clear path for enterprises to migrate line-of-business applications to our new application platform, based on Microsoft Silverlight and Visual Studio 2010, Ballmer said in the video. These releases will provide proven management and security functionality, while giving customers confidence that investments in the handheld enterprise devices and line-of-business applications will be protected by an extended support lifecycle.