REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 27, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the newest member of the Windows Mobile
™ software family: Formerly code-named “Media2Go,” Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Centers is the official name for Microsoft’s next-generation personal media software. Leading original design manufacturers (ODMs) Tatung Co. and AboCom Systems Inc., both Microsoft® Windows®
Embedded Gold Partners, will develop innovative designs to help manufacturers bring Portable Media Center devices to market.
With Portable Media Centers, Microsoft establishes a new category of mobile devices that allow people to take all their digital media content on their Windows XP computers, including digital videos, home movies, digital music, television shows, digital photos and even Photo Stories, with them to enjoy any time and any place. Device manufacturers such as Creative, iRiver International, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., SANYO Electric Co. Ltd. and ViewSonic Corp. have announced they are developing Portable Media Center devices.
“Just as Windows XP Media Center Edition set a whole new standard for enjoying entertainment on the PC, Portable Media Centers will do the same for portable devices,” said Scott Horn, director of marketing for the Embedded Devices Group at Microsoft. “Digital media technologies are radically changing how, when and where people experience and share their entertainment. Excellent partners like AboCom and Tatung will help us enhance consumers’ media experience by building products that make the digital media content they love easily available to them on a portable device.”
“AboCom aims to provide truly customer-oriented products. We are committed to collaborating with Microsoft to develop Portable Media Centers and to be on the forefront of this innovative new category,” said Eric O-Yang, chairman and CEO of AboCom Systems.
“OEMs look to us as a worldwide ODM leader to deliver cost-effective solutions and cutting-edge design approaches to the newest wave of consumer electronics devices,” said Wen-Yen K. Lin, executive vice president of Tatung. “We are committed to helping our customers bring to market Portable Media Centers that will give people access to their favorite videos, photos and music any time, anywhere.”
Powering the Next Wave of Digital Media Portability
Portable Media Center devices, expected to be available in the second half of 2004, will enable consumers to watch and listen to their digital media content wherever and whenever they want. The software will provide support for the leading Windows Media®
9 Series audio and video formats, as well as MP3. The high quality and smaller size of Windows Media Audio and Video files mean that consumers will be able to store lots of high-quality content on their Portable Media Center devices. Consumers will be able to conveniently sync Windows XP-based digital media content to the device to listen to thousands of hours of music on the go, watch digitally recorded television shows, home movies or digital videos, and store and view digital photo albums.
Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Centers is built on Windows CE .NET, the robust, real-time operating system designed to power the next generation of smart mobile and small-footprint devices.
About the Microsoft Windows Embedded Family
Microsoft is the worldwide leader in providing adaptable and scalable platforms for building the next generation of 32-bit, connected devices that enable rich applications and services. Microsoft Windows Embedded is a family of operating system software for use in embedded devices such as automated teller machines (ATMs), consumer electronics, gateways, industrial controllers, kiosks, mobile handheld devices, point-of-sale terminals, set-top boxes, voice over Internet protocol (voice over IP) phones and Windows-based thin clients. The Windows Embedded family of operating systems consists of Windows XP Embedded, which delivers the power of Windows XP Professional in componentized form for flexible development of reliable and advanced devices, and Windows CE .NET, an advanced, real-time operating system for small-footprint devices. Each of these operating system platforms includes powerful development tools for rapid development of customized devices. A core license with an estimated retail price of $3 (U.S) provides the rich capabilities of Windows CE .NET 4.2 for creating low-cost commercial and consumer devices. A free, noncommercial distribution license for Windows CE .NET 4.2 enables developers to share device images at no cost to foster innovation and collaboration. More information about the Windows Embedded family of operating systems can be found at http://msdn.microsoft.com/embedded/default.aspx .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows Mobile, Windows and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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