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We have developed a WPF application (VS 2010 C#, .NET 4.0, MVVM, CaliburnMicro, Agatha) that mostly deals with selling tickets for different transportation types.

Now i need to start developing an application for a handheld device that will be used alongside this WPF application (buying tickets on bus/train, printing, searching etc). Handheld device has an integrated printer + touch display.

The application will have it's own local database (probably SQLite) on the handheld device, but will also need to communicate with the main database (PostgreSQL) using the WPF application's host (WCF service).

Our client has initially picked out a device with Windows Mobile 6.5 / Windows CE 5.0.

I have no experience with handheld devices/developing for them. Now, i’ve been digging around and understand that

  • WPF/Silverlight type development is supported only for Windows Mobile 7.0 + and Windows CE starting from 6.0 (with latest version).
  • If we are to develop for older OS, we cannot use VS2010 with all the latest tools etc, since .net compact framework is not supported there anymore.
  • Developing for older OS can be more time consuming and problematic, CE 5.0 support has already been dropped.

My questions:

  1. If we manage to find a device that supports Mobile 7.0+ / CE 6.0+, what tools, frameworks would be best suited for our development? Or could someone suggest some up-to-date books?
  2. If we need to use Mobile 6.5 / CE 5.0, what are our best options for development?
    • I understand we need to downgrade to VS2008, but which frameworks/tools are best suited for UI / communication with the WCF service?
    • Can someone with experience on this subject foresee any problems communicating with the WCF service?
    • How much more time consuming (ballpark figure) or complicated it would be to develop for these older operating systems? i.e. i would like to know how hard we should push our client for switching to a device with a newer OS (since it’s quite problematic to find a suitably built/priced device with newer OS).

Thanks in advance.

Mario L
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It seems like the Pocket version of Internet Explorer is going to be what you'd want to develop for. I'm not sure how it supports Silverlight and other newer technologies, though. One of the answers in >>THIS QUESTION<< shows how to do some HTML stuff, if that helps.

Windows CE and Windows Mobile (WM) require different SDK downloads. I only use WM here, and I'm not sure what you'd gain by going one route verses another. I was given WM, so I develop for WM.

Are you looking to decide which way to go (CE verses WM)?

The bigger problem is that most newer devices running Microsoft operating systems are all phones. It seems that if you want an industrial style device, you are either stuck with old Windows devices or turn to something running a newer Android platform.

As far as WM platforms, the newer they are, the more features you have access to (like turning on the radio, getting battery status, etc.). WM 6 and up has these features. WM 5 and down does not. Older than WM 5 is referred to as PocketPC.

Community
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  • CE vs WM - i have no preference, i only used CE/WM in my post, because most handhelds had both operating systems listed on their specifications. But as far as i understand, i should prefer WM, since that's almost always more up-to-date than accompanying CE. For example most handhelds we've checked had WM 6.5/CE 5.0 - WM is much newer here than CE if i understand it correctly. – Mario L Jul 02 '12 at 09:47