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.
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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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| .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 |
| XP Professional | WePOS | XP Embedded | Windows CE | |
| Management | ||||
| Setup |
Installation CD providing support for:
|
Installation CD providing support for:
|
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 |
| Key Features Comparison | ||||
| 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) |