FCC ZuneHD teardown exposes Windows CE roots
The ZuneHD has just passed through the FCC, making a pile of official but rather poor quality pictures available.
One particularly interesting picture shows the device’s underlying OS, almost certainly Windows CE, but rumoured to be the latest 7 version of the OS.
The screenshot shows the classic Windows CE user interface, right up to the task bar and task menu, and promises significant hackability for the device, including running other Windows CE applications such as many common GPS applications.
See many more pictures at Engadget here.
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At least we know we can get apps working on it. Microsoft would be foolish to not capitalize on it. Which is why im not worried about it. Official apps might come at the simultaneous laugh of WM7.
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rad Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Well, just the fact that it's based on CE doesn't guarantee anything– the current Zune OS is based on CE as well…
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Joel Johnson Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I was about to post the same thing. I am inclined to think that the Software on the Zune at the time of the FCC testing was to allow the testing personel to easily invoke certain functionality to make the testing easier. Windows Embedded CE being a modular operating system can have components added or removed. In all likelyhood the Windows Embedded CE UI Shell will be absent, and the shell is a dependency for lots of Windows Mobile programs, meaning they wouldn't work if some one attempted to port them to the zune.
As for programming, they will probably take the same approach they did with the current Zunes. They will probably create a .Net based sandbox in which one can program while not exposing the entire system to being hacked.
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wmpoweruser Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Actually since the device remains ARM based, there is actually quite a thriving community around hacking PND's to be general purpose computers. As long as the base drivers are there, the other layers can easily be added in.
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rad Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Well, many PNDs actually include a full version of CE, including its UI shell, and then run their nav app on top of it. I think the point here is that the first- and second-gen Zunes also run on a customized version of WinCE (5), yet I'm not aware of any significant hacking community (beyond people modifying the desktop Zune client to allow for USB drive access), so why would the fact that Zune HD is also based on CE be a sign of greater hackability than the current models?
wmpoweruser Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
When it comes to hacking a device, its always just a question of will, not ability. Why would anyone want to hack a Zune?
rad Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
For the same reasons you'd hack an iPod? (but with Wifi added, which iPods at the time lacked)
nice finding,
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