Microsoft's Windows CE has appeared in all sorts of things -- sewing machines, petrol pumps, games consoles -- though the best known versions are packaged for PDAs, Windows Mobile smart phones, cars and point-of-sale terminals. (You can pick your CE modules a la carte, but a package is like a set meal.) Now there's a new CE Embedded version called NavReady, for PNV (Portable Navigation Device) manufacturers.
The main extra features are:
• Live Search • Bluetooth profiles for Hands Free, Pairing Service, Phone Book Access, Advanced Audio Distribution, Audio and Video Remote Control etc • MSN Direct, for information such as traffic alerts and fuel prices. • Windows SideShow, which enables a device to act as a secondary display screen for Windows Vista-based PCs
It doesn't seem Microsoft has signed up many manufacturers at this point: the only one quoted is Mio. However, Microsoft would have had to develop CE modules anyway because of GPS technologies appearing in mobile phones.