Developers install operating systems made with Windows CE on various electronics, such as sewing machines and cable boxes, while smart phones and mobile devices use systems based on Windows Mobile. Microsoft licenses Windows Mobile, and various distributors license Windows CE products.
Development
Windows CE developers choose from roughly 700 component pieces, which together create software programs and operating systems for use in a variety of electronics. Windows Mobile developers choose components meant for one kind of device and couple them with device-specific technologies, a shell program and applications to create operating systems.
Compatibility
Windows Mobile operating systems can function on most smart phones and mobile devices. Windows CE operating systems do not have such flexibility. They work only on the hardware they were designed for, and cannot function properly when used with a different electronic device.
Functionality
Windows Mobile can only run up to 32 processes at a time, each using a 32MB virtual address space, which maps data to its physical address. Windows CE can run as many as 32,768 processes at once with 2GB of virtual address space available for each process.
Tags: Windows Mobile, operating systems, address space, developers choose, mobile devices