As of 2019, the vast majority of rugged mobile computers in use today run the Windows Embedded Handheld operating system. This operating system has been the standard choice among hardware manufacturers and software systems such as PanatrackerGP for use in the enterprise. With millions of these devices in use across the world, Microsoft has extended support for the most popular and recent version of the Windows Embedded family known as WEHH 6.5 (Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5). According to Microsoft, WEHH will reach their end of support in January 2020.
Panatrack will continue to support our application on this operating system well beyond Microsoft’s extended support. Experience has demonstrated that the useful life of these units extends well past their stated end-of-life. With several hundred of our customers currently using these WEH units, it’s clear that these popular mobile computers will stay in widespread use for many years to come. Panatrack is committed to supporting their existing solution on these devices for the next several years, helping to assure that you can continue to use your existing devices for the remainder of their normal life expectancy.
Panatrack has been planning for the discontinuation of the Windows Embedded Handheld operating system for several years and has been porting their application to run on the Android platform. Some of the PanatrackerGP modules are already available, and more are coming. Panatrack expects to have all standard modules available in the Android platform by the end of the third quarter of 2019. Panatrack has designed this transition in a manner that will allow you to run both your older Windows Embedded Handheld and new Android devices together in your environment at the same time. This will allow you to replace aging devices with newer devices as they become available.
Currently, we believe that these Android devices are well suited for our typical customer: the Zebra MC9300, Zebra MC3300, and the Zebra TC20. Note that compatible devices must support Google Mobile Services (GMS), which is standard on most consumer and industrial Android devices.
We will continue to add additional Panatrack-compatible device options on our website.
If you are current on your Panatrack annual maintenance, the PanatrackerGP Android software updates will be made available to you at no additional charge. Panatrack services may be required to manage the installation, configuration, and training for this transition. Our goal is to allow you to easily move to the Android platform when it makes sense for you. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to discuss planning for this transition.