BSQUARE and AMPRO Announce Windows CE Strategic Partnership
BSQUARE and AMPRO Announce Windows CE Strategic Partnership
BSQUARE Support for Ampro's PC/104 and EBX single board computers will Enable Rapid Windows CE based Embedded System Development
Bellevue, Wa., December 4, 1998. Ampro Computers, Incorporated and BSQUARE Corporation have formed a partnership under which BSQUARE technology will now be delivered on multiple Ampro single board computer products to enable a fast bring-up of Windows CE in embedded-PC based systems.
BSQUARE Corporation will develop CE Xpress Binary kits for Ampro's popular PC/104 and EBX form-factor single board computers and expansion modules. Ampro will bundle BSQUARE's CE Xpress Binary Kits to provide customers with a complete toolkit to quickly and easily embed Microsoft Windows CE 2.1 on target hardware. BSQUARE Corporation, as part of the strategic nature of this agreement, has also agreed to license its CE EmbeddedDesktop, a GUI builder for Windows CE, to Ampro for sale to Ampro customers, assuring the fastest time to market through one stop shopping. The first Ampro products that include the BSQUARE CE Xpress Binary Kits are expected to ship in early 1999 and will be delivered to customers running an example desktop generated by BSQUARE's EmbeddedDesktop product.
"We are extremely pleased to be providing Ampro, an acknowledged embedded-PC single board computer leader, with support from our CE Xpress Binary Kit products," said Joe Notarangelo, vice president and general manager of BSQUARE's Embedded Systems Group. "BSQUARE software bundled with Ampro products make a powerful development solution that embedded systems designers are craving today: dramatically faster time-to-market."
"Right now, we're seeing an explosion of interest in Windows CE among our embedded market customers," said Rick Lehrbaum, founder and executive vice president of strategic development of Ampro, "so we decided to come up with the very best solution in terms of both development tools and target hardware device driver support." "We explored the Windows CE support currently available and determined that BSQUARE's solution is the best, by far, in two ways: it offers the most comprehensive device driver support; and, even more importantly, it provides the most architecturally sound approach to using CE in embedded-PC based systems."
Ampro will offer BSQUARE support for Windows CE on the following EBX and PC/104-Plus form-factor single board computers:
- LittleBoard/P5x
- LittleBoard/P5e
- LittleBoard/486i
- CoreModule/P5i
- CoreModule/4DXe
In addition, BSQUARE will also develop support for selected Ampro PC/104 and PC/104-Plus peripheral expansion modules for use in embedded systems based on the above single board computers. These will support PCI and ISA based LCD and CRT display controllers, 10Base-T and 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN interfaces, serial/parallel expansion ports, and other expansion functions.
About Ampro Products
The Ampro LittleBoard single board computers are EBX form-factor (5.75 x 8-inch) PC/104-expandable single boards, available with Pentium* and 486 CPUs, and include onboard disk controllers, LCD/CRT display controllers, Ethernet, serial/parallel ports, and a built-in Flash disk. Ampro's CoreModule single board computers are PC/104 form-factor (3.6 x 3.8-inch) modules, available with 386, 486, and Pentium CPUs, and include built-in disk controllers, serial/parallel ports, and Flash disk. The MiniModule products are PC/104 form-factor peripheral interface modules for use with Ampro's CoreModule and LittleBoard CPUs.
About BSQUARE Products
BSQUARE's CE Xpress Kits reduce the effort to port Windows CE from months to minutes and enable the user to immediately begin applications, driver, or system development. BSQUARE's CE Xpress Binary Kits will deliver an evaluation, application development, and PCI/ISA expansion bus development infrastructure on Ampro products. Embedded developers can run application benchmarks on the target platform, complete system tradeoffs, and develop PCI/ISA-based hardware and software expansion.
BSQUARE CE EmbeddedDesktop provides a full-featured default desktop which can be configured and customized by the designer. A general-purpose desktop interface such as the standard Microsoft H/PC shell does not provide the level of control needed for unique, mission-focused systems. Only CE EmbeddedDesktop is fully configurable, allow exact control over how the desktop looks and behaves. It includes password controls, cascading submenus, file system management, and more.
About BSQUARE
As a Microsoft-sanctioned Windows CE Systems Integrator and distributor, BSQUARE's Embedded Systems Group offers a single source solution for embedded systems designers looking to incorporate Windows CE into their target devices. BSQUARE delivers all the necessary components for a successful implementation of Windows CE: licenses for Windows CE, CE Xpress Adaptation Kits, CE Xpress Binary Kits, BSQUARE CE EmbeddedDesktop, Embedded Toolkits for Visual C++ 5.0, Project Engineering Services, and technical support. BSQUARE offers more experience with Windows CE than any other systems integrator, and leverages this knowledge and years of direct experience to deliver cutting-edge technology and speed the customer's time-to-market. BSQUARE was founded in 1994 and is the market leader in providing complete Windows CE-based solutions.
About Ampro
Now in its 16th year, Ampro Computers, Inc., is the foremost manufacturer of PC-compatible computer modules tailored to a wide range embedded applications. The company originated the PC/104 and PC/104-Plus standards, and co-authored (with Motorola) the new EBX -performance non-backplane single board computer standard (based on Ampro's popular LittleBoard form-factor). Ampro's extensive line of PC/104 form-factor CoreModule CPUs and MiniModule expansion products, and EBX form-factor LittleBoard single board computers enable OEMs to integrate PC-compatible architectures into their products while minimizing system size, time-to-revenue, and development costs and risks. Ampro's embedded computer modules are optimized for fixed, portable, and mobile environments and support extended temperatures, shock/vibration, and CE mark compliance. Application markets include industrial, avionics, transportation, medical, telecommunications, and military.
More Information
For further information on Ampro products, please visit the Web site at www.ampro.com or call 1-800-966-5200. For further information on the products and services by BSQUARE, please visit the Web site at www.bsquare.com or call 1-888-820-4500.
BSQUARE and CE Xpress are either registered trademarks or trademarks of BSQUARE Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
Ampro Computers, Inc.
Victoria Kostka
Tel: 1-408-360-4324
Email: vkostka@ampro.com
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