At the spring 2004 edition of the VON (Voice on the Net) Conference, Microsoft announced upcoming VoIP features for Windows CE 5.0 (previously code-named "Macallan").  A whole plethora of IP-enabled devices/endpoints relying on the Windows CE environment have been showcased in other recent events, including IP phones, softphones and PDAs form various manufacturers including Hitachi, Inter-Tel, LGE, NEC, and Samsung, among others. 

Microsoft’s key advantages are the built-in browser and application support and the strong support network, factors which can shorten the lead time for development, since Windows CE provides a lot of technologies that a vendor would normally have to develop in-house. 

The question is whether all IP endpoints will eventually run on Windows CE.  Given the licensing costs, extra hardware requirements and other considerations, this objective will be difficult to be reached.  However, that said, there could be some niche vertical market opportunities where WinCE IP devices can take off, including in the hospitality industry (in hotel rooms) or kiosk applications (in airport lounges).  In other words, these devices can achieve success in locations where a PC desktop is not readily available.

Inter-Tel's touch screen IP phone model, the 8690, is one of several IP phones running on Windows CE