REDMOND, Wash.-In an announcement that could have major implications for the wireless device market, Microsoft Corp. announced a new program to give device makers access to the company’s closely guarded Windows CE source code. The action follows calls for such a move from those in the industry, as well as increasing competition from other open-source platforms.
Under Microsoft’s Windows CE Shared Source Premium Licensing Program (CEP), original equipment manufacturers, silicon vendors and systems integrators will gain full access to the Windows CE source code. However, the program does not apply to Microsoft’s Pocket PC and Smartphone operating systems. The source code for those platforms is closed. Microsoft’s device licensees, which include Arm Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Samsung Electronics, will be able to modify the Windows CE code and commercially distribute those modifications in their devices.
The new licensing program is part of Microsoft’s previously established Shared Source Initiative, which gives select institutions such as universities and governments access to the company’s desktop computer source code. However, such a move is notable since Microsoft licensees now have access to the source code and can modify it for commercial use.
Microsoft’s move comes as it works to gain traction in the wireless device industry, an industry that has embraced a wide variety of software platforms. Indeed, No. 2 handset maker Motorola Inc. recently announced plans to use the open-source Linux operating system in a wide range of its phones.
Interestingly, former Microsoft licensee Sendo said it decided to switch from Microsoft’s software to that of rival Nokia Corp. because Nokia would make its source code available. Sendo plans to release a device using Nokia’s Series 60 operating system sometime later this year.
