Microsoft launches Windows Automotive 5.0

World’s largest software company Microsoft has launched its latest application for automobiles to get a share of the auto software market. The announcement was made at a company-sponsored conference in Japan where Microsoft announced that they have finally finished working on the next version of Windows Automotive. It is based on the company’s popular operating system for small screen devices Windows CE 5.0 which they released earlier this may.

The company said that the goal they set for themselves for this application was to make the software easier for automotive gear makers to design easy-to-use interfaces. The software comes with support for expanded virtual memory, which can help the automakers to add additional features like speech recognition and improved 3D graphics.

The company however did not list any automobile maker, which has contacted them to use this newly unveiled application. A representative from the company just speculated that the application should make an appearance in the market later this fall. However, market experts say that any automaker would at least take a year to develop products surrounding this operating system specially developed with automobiles in mind.

Microsoft first released an application aimed at the auto sector way back in 1998 but has failed to make any significant entry into this market. In fact, 2 years ago Microsoft chairperson Bill Gates told a media gathering that they expected 30% of the cars launched in 3 years time would be using their Operating System. With just one year remaining to achieve that goal, it looks like another prediction of Gates has somewhat gone wrong.

The company however does have their contributions working in cars like the 2005 Acura RL and TL, 2004 Mercedes S-Class, BMW’s 7 Series, Fiat’s Lancia Thesis, and the 2003 and 2004 Honda Accord. However, it would require something special to achieve that goal of worldwide dominance in this particular field.