It’s an exciting week in New York for our Windows Embedded team, who are on hand at the National Retail Federation Convention & EXPO to announce a brand-new product release preview. Windows Embedded senior product manager David Wurster has details.

In October 2012, we announced our road map for the Windows Embedded 8 family of products by sharing availability dates for Windows Embedded 8 Standard and Windows Embedded 8 Pro, and introducing you to Windows Embedded 8 Industry.

Windows Embedded 8 Standard is a modular version of Windows 8 with additional technologies to enable industry device scenarios. A Windows Embedded 8 Standard Release Preview is now available.
Windows Embedded 8 Pro is the full version of Windows 8 that we'll be bringing through the Embedded channel.
Windows Embedded 8 Industry is a fixed configuration solution featuring additional technologies to enable industry device scenarios. Windows Embedded 8 Industry is the new name for our Windows Embedded POSReady product. The reason for the change is that we see the capabilities of this operating system fitting into a much larger number of device categories than just point-of-service.

All Windows Embedded 8 products will be available in the first half of 2013 and will enable our OEM partners to create differentiated devises that will utilize the rich, immersive and multi-touch customer experience to delight users and help them extend the intelligence of their information technology systems.

Today, we are excited to announce that the Windows Embedded 8 Industry Release Preview is publically available. While you can learn more on our website, we compiled a quick list of the new capabilities you should know about:

It is a fixed platform that enables Microsoft partners to expand the ecosystem of application developers to deliver rich targeted device experiences for industries such as retail, manufacturing and healthcare;
It offers the ability to deliver immersive user experiences through Multi-Touch, Gesture Input, and Windows 8 applications;
Advanced Lockdown features allow device makers to provide a consistent and predictable user experience;
Plug and play capabilities allow manufacturers easier implementation of retail peripherals with desktop applications;
Connectivity to premises and cloud-based IT assets allows enterprises to access business-critical information at the point of impact;
Streamlined development experience allows users to easily build an operating system and spend more time doing what manufacturers do best: hardware and apps.

At Microsoft, we are very excited for Windows Embedded 8 to release and for our partners to deliver the next wave of industry devices on Windows 8 technologies. We encourage you to try the Windows Embedded 8 Industry Release Preview as well as the Windows Embedded 8 Standard Release Preview to see how these products can help you deliver the experiences your customers need.