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Windows CE .Net is poised to add voice-over-IP (VOIP) functions to handhelds, Windows-powered Smartphones, and other devices through enhancements to Version 4.2 being unveiled at the Voice on the Net conference this week in San Jose, California.

The new functions could find their way into a range 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 Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group.

Several major vendors--including Casio, Hitachi, Samsung, and Symbol Technologies--are already developing VOIP devices using Windows CE .Net, according to Todd Warren, general manager of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group. Symbol Technologies is developing a device for use in warehouses that combines barcode scanning with a "walkie-talkie" capability over a wireless LAN, he said.

Meanwhile, component makers--including Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, ARM, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments--are optimizing CPUs and reference boards for VOIP devices that will run the new operating system.

Expanding Platforms

Windows CE .Net consists of a set of components that vendors can use out of the box or can customize to create embedded software for devices. Microsoft also bases its Pocket PC and Windows-powered Smartphone platforms on Windows CE. Partner vendors have developed software that allows some Windows CE-based devices to be used for VOIP, but CE itself has not included VOIP support, Horn said.

Building VOIP into Windows CE .Net should help vendors integrate IP voice capability into new devices more easily, supporting 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 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, Horn said.

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.

Windows CE 4.2 is in beta testing now and is 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 various applications for VOIP, instant messaging, and presence-based activities that use knowledge of a user's real-time availability.

Big Boost Expected

Integrating voice with data applications will be the biggest advantage of Microsoft's move with Windows CE .Net 4.2, said Vijay Bhagavath, an analyst at Forrester Research. Users will be able to receive and manage their voice mail and e-mail in the same place; but the possibilities go beyond that, Bhagavath said. Enterprise employees may be able to talk to an application on a server, creating a relatively simple user interface for complex applications such as Oracle databases that now require extensive user training.

Voice calls may also be combined with data from applications, he said. For example, when a salesperson gets a call from a customer, the customer's profile from a customer relationship management system could come up on the phone's display automatically.

Bhagavath expects the new capabilities to start becoming possible in 2005. Voice will be integrated with personal productivity, collaboration, sales, inventory, shop-floor automation, and other applications, he says.

By enabling mobile device makers to add IP voice more easily, Microsoft may help transform communication inside companies, said Alex Slawsby, an analyst at IDC.

"VOIP is the next generation of corporate voice communications," Slawsby said. For example, being able to bring a Smartphone device onto the data LAN at the office will allow an employee to stay mobile while bypassing the mobile operator's airtime charges. In addition, he said, a converged data and voice device with an 802.11 wireless LAN interface could be used for videoconferencing.

Battery life is the key hurdle to clear in making wireless LAN communication with a handheld feasible, Slawsby said.

"You might have to wear a battery pack for the next X number of years to really accomplish this with a concept of [battery life] performance that's acceptable to the user," Slawsby said.

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