Microsoft Preps New Version of Windows CE

While Microsoft Corp. has been beset by delays in its new operating system for personal computers, developers quietly have been working on a new version of another Windows, this one found in everything from sewing machines to sophisticated cell phones.

A beta version of the revamped Windows CE is due to be introduced to software developers at a conference Tuesday in Las Vegas. The update also will provide the basis for Windows Mobile, which is built for sophisticated cell phones but which even the company concedes can be clunky.

Users can expect to see products based on both systems in 2007, Microsoft says.

Microsoft is trying to conquer the growing market for high-end cell phones while keeping alive opportunities for Windows CE, a decade-old technology that the company has long pushed for small electronic devices. CE is used in such disparate devices as gas station pumps and TV recorders.

Analysts say the market has a lot of potential, although Microsoft has hard work ahead.

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