Hardware makers dial-in to Microsoft software
- — 26 June, 2002 07:12
Microsoft's Windows operating system is popping up in some of the darndest places.
Best known for its use on PCs and servers, Microsoft's flagship Windows software has been finding its way into everything from handheld computers to Internet-ready mobile phones to single-purpose computing devices such as slot machines and point of sale devices.
On Tuesday, the Redmond, Washington, company announced a trio of new customers that have agreed to use a version of the Windows XP operating system to run point of sale retail computers.
While taking part in a retail convention in Chicago, the company said that Target Corp. has decided to use Windows software to run approximately 43,000 registers at more than 1,300 Target and Mervyn's stores around the U.S. Cruise line operator Royal Caribbean International also announced its intention to install the operating system on Web kiosks to be used on its cruise ships. And a maker of hardware for processing coupons and retail discount programs, Catalina Marketing Corp., decided to use the software for hardware installed at supermarkets and pharmacies around the world, Microsoft said.
Such special purpose operating systems, known as embedded operating systems, are becoming growing markets for Microsoft. But they are ones that Microsoft is fighting to break into, according to Kevin Burden, program manager of IDC's smart handheld devices research division. Traditionally, hardware makers have used custom-built software to power special-purpose computing devices, as well as off-the-shelf software from more entrenched system vendors such as Wind River Systems Inc.
Microsoft is also seeing competition from vendors building embedded systems using the open source Linux operating system. Mike Prince, vice president chief information officer for clothing company Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., based in Burlington, New Jersey, said his company has chosen Linux to run all of its desktop PCs at its retail stores. Prince said the company "is in the throws of running Linux on all its point of sale devices."
"We're committed to it and it works really well," he said. "We have enough (Linux systems) installed to know that's the direction we will continue with."
Prince cited benefits to Linux such as security and developer support. The company has endured lower up front costs in purchasing the systems and is paying less for ongoing support, he said. "Our experience is that it is indeed less expensive to support."
Microsoft claims to be outpacing Linux vendors with Windows in the embedded systems market. The company said Windows offers better tools for developers and are easier to maintain compared to competing Linux software.
"More companies are looking to evaluate Linux and when they do that's where we typically win," said Peter Houston, senior director with Microsoft's Windows division.
Eric Williams, the chief technology officer at Catalina Marketing, in St. Petersburg, Florida, has historically used DOS and IBM Corp.'s OS/2 systems to run its in-store hardware devices. With an upgrade on the horizon, the company looked into purchasing Linux systems before ultimately choosing Windows XP to power its hardware devices.
"Almost six years later, we're saying OS/2 has gone the way of the wind and we need to go to something else. Windows XP Embedded really went to the top of the heap," Williams said, citing benefits such as the ability to customize the operating system.
In addition to Windows XP Embedded, Microsoft has developed other versions of its operating system that hardware makers use to build non-PC devices. Windows CE, for instance, has been tuned to run on a variety of devices including handheld computers and Web-enabled mobile phones.
At the TECHXNY trade show in New York Tuesday, Microsoft Vice President Jeff Raikes, delivered a keynote address in which he outlined the industry momentum behind its new operating system for handheld devices that incorporate phone features, called Pocket PC Phone Edition.
Pocket PC Phone Edition is based on a special-purpose version of the Windows CE operating system. It is designed to power handheld devices, such as Hewlett-Packard Co.'s iPaq, and also provides mobile-phone features with the use of additional hardware and software for dialing into wireless networks. A variant of that operating environment, called Smartphone 2002, is designed to offer PDA (personal digital assistant) functions on mobile phones.
In the market for Web-enabled mobile phones and PDA-phone combination devices, Microsoft is competing against vendors that are moving quickly to market with their own products. Devices based on the Palm OS have already been released that can be used to store calendar information, surf the Web and make phone calls. Handspring Inc. unveiled its Treo PDA-phone combination last year. Research in Motion Ltd. has also added phone features to its BlackBerry pager.
"Microsoft is not doing as well as you would expect," Burden said, noting the company's slow entry into the handheld space. "There has almost been a stall with Pocket PC in terms of its market growth."
By the end of the year, PDAs based on Windows CE will account for somewhere between 21 percent and 24 percent of the total shipped worldwide, according to IDC. That compares to about 51 percent that run the Palm OS.
"You'd expect that Microsoft would be making some more significant movement. That hasn't happened yet," Burden said.
But partners are lining up behind Microsoft to bring new products and services to market later this year that could set Microsoft's momentum into motion. So far, three hardware makers have agreed to manufacture devices with Pocket PC Phone Edition installed. They include Hewlett-Packard Co., Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. and China's TCL Mobile Communication Co. Ltd.
In addition to those three hardware makers, more partners have also agreed to manufacture Smartphone 2002 devices. They are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sendo PLC, Compal Electronics Inc. and Legend Holdings Ltd.
Service providers have also backed Microsoft's plans to put those PDAs and phones to use. British Telecommunications PLC's wireless division, mmO2 Plc., has agreed to offer services and hardware for phones based on the Smartphone 2002 operating system to customers in Germany and the U.K. Voicestream Wireless Corp. followed suit, and Cingular Wireless LLC announced earlier this year its intentions to bring to market services and a device based on the Smartphone 2002.
Additionally, eight mobile phone operators have announced that it will offer wireless service for devices running the Pocket PC Phone Edition. They include Orange SA, the French mobile phone group owned by France Télécom SA, Vodafone Group PLC, T-Mobile International AG in Germany and Telefónica SA in Spain.
