Windows® POSReady vs. XP Professional

We know 3 key differences between Windows® XP Professional and Windows® Embedded POSReady (Point of Service / WePOS):


Licensing differences – Windows® XP Professional is licensed to support general purpose PC applications that can include Office Automation software such as Microsoft Office. Windows® Embedded for Point of Service is an embedded operating system that is licensed for use on dedicated devices that provide only POS functionality. No activation is needed for POSReady and WePOS.

Distribution differences - Windows® Embedded POSReady is only available either preinstalled on POS devices from Microsoft OEM partners or as an upgrade on existing POS devices. Windows® XP Professional is available preinstalled on PCs or POS devices, as an upgrade to existing systems, through Microsoft Volume Licensing programs, or direct to the end user by means of retail sales channels.

Functionality differences – While much of the functionality of Windows® Embedded for Point of Service is the same as with Windows® XP Professional, hardware requirements for Windows® Embedded for Point of Service are lower than for Windows® XP Professional. Additionally, Windows® Embedded for Point of Service provides multilingual user interface (MUI) language support for 33 core languages as part of setup, compared to the full language pack support provided by Windows® XP Professional.

Product Comparison Matrix

 

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

Overview

Operating system aimed at the desktop user and deployed in retail when a single OS platform is required for the office and the store

Retail-optimized operating system for POS devices that is secure and easy to manage, and offers retail device Plug and Play functionality

Embedded operating system aimed at upgrading installed POS devices and offering full configurability and advanced security and management features

Embedded operating system platform for smaller footprint or mobile POS systems

Device Examples

PC-POS system that also provides general purpose PC functionality (i.e., running Microsoft Office)

Point of sale terminal, information kiosk, self-checkout

Closed POS terminals that runns out of Flash-Disc-Drive.

Small-footprint price checker, signature capture device, mobile inventory device

Hardware

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

RAM

Minimum 128 MB, 256 MB recommended

Minimum 64 MB, 128 MB recommended

Depends on configuration; typical is minimum 64 MB, 128 MB recommended

Depends on configuration: typical is minimum 8 MB, 32 MB recommended

Processor

Pentium III 400 MHz or better recommended

Pentium II 233 MHz or better recommended

Pentium II 233 MHz or better recommended

x86, MIPS32, ARM, SH4 processors supported

Local Storage (Hard Drive)

Supports hard drive, RAM drive - third party

Supports RAM Drive, wear-leveling Flash disk, and hard drive; Minimum 280 MB

Supports RAM Drive, Flash disk, hard drive; size depends on configuration, can be as small as 20 MB

Supports Flash disk, RAM drive, and hard drive; size depends on configuration, can be as small as 300 KB

POS Peripheral Support

Unified POS: OPOS or JavaPOS

Unified POS: POS for .NET, OPOS, or JavaPOS

Unified POS: OPOS or JavaPOS

Few native, minimal OPOS

Peripheral support verification by Veritest

Yes, with POS for .NET 1.1 add-in

Yes

No

No

Plug and Play retail peripheral support

Yes, for PC peripherals; no retail peripherals

Yes, for PC peripherals and POS for .NET retail peripherals

Yes, for PC peripherals; no retail peripherals

Limited

Application Model Support

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

.NET

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes (.NET Compact Framework only)

Win32 API

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes (limited subset of Win32 APIs supported)

Java

Third party JVM required

Third party JVM required

Third party JVM required

Third party JVM required

C/C++

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Visual Basic

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Application support verification by Veritest

No

Yes

No

No

Broadcast loading of terminals - Remote Boot

Requires third party tools

Yes

Yes

No

Management

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

Setup

Installation CD providing support for:

  • Remote Installation Services (RIS)
  • CD install
  • Network install from floppy
  • Remote boot
  • Plug and Play device installation
  • Networking configuration
  • Unattended installation

 

Installation CD providing support for:

  • Remote Installation Services (RIS)
  • CD install
  • Network install from floppy
  • Remote boot
  • Plug and Play device installation
  • Networking configuration
  • Unattended installation

 

Windows® Embedded Studio – Target Designer Toolkit

Windows® CE Platform Builder Toolkit

General systems management approach

Systems Management Server (SMS) or third party solutions

Systems Management Server (SMS), Device Update Agent (DUA) or third party solutions

Systems Management Server (SMS), Device Update Agent (DUA) or third party solutions

Systems Management Server (SMS) or third party solutions

Device Servicing

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Patch Management / Software Maintenance Utilities

Windows Update, Software Update Services (SUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and third party solutions

Windows Update, Software Update Services (SUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), Device Update Agent (DUA) and third party solutions

Software Update Services (SUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), Device Update Agent (DUA) and third party solutions

Systems Management Server (SMS)

Diagnostic Tools

Yes - Watson Technologies

Yes - Watson Technologies

Yes - Watson Technologies

Yes

Lizenzierung

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

Activation

Yes

No

No

No

License Rights

General purpose computing device tasks, including POS functionality

Licensed for POS- specific functionality

Single-purpose computing device such as POS

Single-purpose computing device such as POS

Product Support Delivery

Delivered by POS system provider (OEM) or Microsoft

Delivered by POS system provider (OEM)

Delivered by POS system provider (OEM)

Delivered by POS system provider (OEM)

Key Features Comparison

XP Professional

WePOS

XP Embedded

Windows® CE

Windows® Media Player

Yes

Optional component

Available component

Available component

Direct X

Yes

Optional component

Available component

No; DirectDraw for Microsoft Windows® CE supported

Internet Information Services (IIS)

Yes

Optional component

Available component

No

PnP support for retail peripherals

Yes, with POS for .NET 1.1 add-in

Yes

No

No

Language Support

Full Windows® XP localized language packs available

Multilingual User Interface (MUI) support for OS menu items and applications for 33 languages: Arabic, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.

XP Pro MUI pack support as available component for 25 languages

Available component

Retail Device Enumeration and Instantiation

Yes, with POS for .NET 1.1 add-in

Yes

No

No

Help and Support Files for OS

Yes

No

Available component

Available component

Driver Support for Hardware Devices (Shipped with Win XPSP2)

Yes

Optional component

Available component

Available component

Full Code Page and Input Device Support

Yes

Optional component

Available component

Available component

Support to Manage Computer Locally

Yes

Optional component

Available component

Available component

Management Client Support

Yes

Optional component

Available component

Available component

Internet Explorer

Yes

Yes

Available component

Available component (limited)