| Microsoft unveils discounted Windows CE development bundles |
Apr. 16, 2008
 Microsoft has provided further details about the hardware for its "Spark Your Imagination" student/hobbyist program. Devices from Advantech, Icop, Special Computing, Via, and Keith and Koep GmBH will be bundled with Windows CE 6.0 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional for as little as $220, says Microsoft.
Announced yesterday at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in San Jose, the Spark Your Imagination initiative is designed to promote Windows CE to hobbyists and academics, who might otherwise have been tempted to use Linux for their projects. Selected hardware will be bundled with Windows CE 6.0, to run on the device, and Visual Studio 2005 Professional, to run on a desktop development system. Although an exact cost savings is hard to compute, just one component of the bundle, Visual Studio 2005, has previously been sold to academic users for about $150 all on its own.
Advantech
Advantech's Spark bundle combines its SOM-4455 ETX-format COM (computer-on-module) with its SOM-DB4400 development board. The SOM-4455 has an x86-compatible AMD Geode LX800 CPU, clocked at 500MHz, plus a single SODIMM slot for RAM, Ethernet, CRT or LCD video support, and a CompactFlash slot. The SOM-DB4400 is a baseboard with an ATX form factor, three ISA expansion slots, and four PCI slots.
 
Advantech's SOM-4455 and SOM-DB4400
(not to scale)
The bundle includes the boards (pictured above), and adds both 128MB of SODIMM RAM and a 128MB CompactFlash card on which Windows CE 6.0 has been preinstalled. It also comes with Microsoft's Platform Builder 6.0 software, an Advantech Windows CE utility CD, and a license sticker to make the resulting device legit.
Icop
Ebox-4300
(Click to enlarge) | |
Icop offers two different Spark bundles, each based on one of the company's mini PCs. The eBox-2300SX comes with Icop's own 300MHz Vortex86SX system-on-chip (SoC), and the visually similar eBox-4300 uses a 500MHz Via Eden ULV processor. The hardware is familiar, since the eBox-4300 was already chosen by Microsoft as the official hardware for its Imagine Cup 2008 student competition, which in years prior used the 200MHz eBox 2300. (For more information on the Imagine Cup or the eBox-4300, see our earlier coverage, here.)
In the bundles, the eBox-2300SX or eBox 4300 are equipped with 256MB of bootable, IDE-based flash storage. Also provided are Visual Studio 2005, Platform Builder, a step-by-step guide for how to create a Windows CE 6.0 image, and a crossover cable to link the eBox with a development PC.
Keith and Koep
Meanwhile, the German company Keith and Koep offers a bundle combining the company's Trizeps IV CPU module with the uConXS carrier board. The 2.6 x 1.5 x 0.2-inch Trizeps comes with a 312MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, and uses an SO-DIMM connector to mate with the uConXS.
 
Keith and Koep's Trizeps IV and uConXS
(not to scale)
This combination of products measures 4.8 x 3.6 x 1.1 inches, providing a touchpanel interface, VGA output, audio I/O, serial and USB ports, Ethernet, and an SD slot. Again, it also includes Windows CE 6.0 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional.
Special Computing
Gumstix Verdex XL6
(Click for further information) | |
Special Computing teams the same software with the intriguing little Gumstix Verdex XL6 SBC. The 3.2 x 0.8 x 3.2-inch Verdex comes with a 600MHz PXA270 CPU, 128MB of RAM, and 64MB of flash.
Also offered by Special Computing are two options. First, a breakout board plugs into the Verdex and provides USB and serial porta, along with I2C and SPI buses. Second, an LCD picture frame kit connects to the two previous devices, adding a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, a 10/100 Ethernet port, and a Micro SD slot.
Via
Via's Artigo
(Click for further information) | |
Finally, Via proffers its Artigo, a 5.9 x 4.3 x 1.8-inch mini PC that uses a 1GHz Via C7 processor and has room for a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. The Artigo (right) will be familiar to ESC visitors already, since an unspecified number of the systems are being given away to those attending the show's "Build your own embedded PC" track. Via did not specify details of its Spark bundle, but this will presumably include Visual Studio 2005, plus a flash-based installation of Windows CE 6.0.
Further information
For more information about Microsoft's Spark Your Imagination program and the hardware mentioned above, visit the Microsoft website, here.
Keith and Koep's Spark bundle costs 126 Euros (approximately $200). Special Computing's kit is $220, while the breakout board and LCD picture frame cost $99 and $119 extra, respectively. Pricing for the other bundles was not released.
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