Are there any Windows CE (Windows Mobile) drivers?

experimentator · Post by **experimentator** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:18 am

Hi All,

I'm looking to buy a SpaceNavigator for use in my car entertainment system. The system is built on a WinCE-based device. Is there a driver for Win CE available? Maybe some 3rd-party solutions are there?

I would appreciate any ideas on how to use this great device with WinCE.

Thank you!

Post by **jwick** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:44 pm

There have been several people who have tried using 3Dx devices in their cars. Search this forum for mp3car.

experimentator · Post by **experimentator** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:02 pm

Thanks for the info!

Searching for "mp3car" brought me two threads. Both of them were interesting, but didn't give the answer... Searching at mp3car.com gets me a lot of info ... related to Windows XP. I get the impression that all the development is done for "big" systems based on WinXP/Vista.

Well, I'm still curious about WinCE support. I'll keep searching and will post here, if I find something.

Thanks!

Post by **jwick** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:07 pm

You might have the best luck trying to use one of the Microsoft APIs (HID, DirectInput, Raw Input) on Win CE.

experimentator · Post by **experimentator** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 3:37 pm

jwick wrote:You might have the best luck trying to use one of the Microsoft APIs (HID, DirectInput, Raw Input) on Win CE.

In order to use something, one needs to know how to do that!

I'll do some research and will give it a try!
Thank you!

DCrosby · Post by **DCrosby** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:19 pm

He's talking about finding out who's coding your Front end in CE, and seeing if they can use the API to interface to the Navigator, and see if they can hook the values up... or some sort of standalone WinCE app that reads input from Navigator to control the windows sound mixer.... etc... which would be a standalone thing... Either way you're looking at learning C, C++, C# or Java I would imagine...

Post by **jwick** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:33 pm

What exactly do you have in your car? (I feel so behind the times, just to use my car to drive places <G>)

If it has USB connectors, there should be some reason for them to be there, they aren't free. That doesn't mean that they have exposed them in a general way. They may be supported only for a specific USB device.

experimentator · Post by **experimentator** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:04 am

jwick wrote:What exactly do you have in your car? (I feel so behind the times, just to use my car to drive places <G>)

I have a Pioneer F900BT, which is actually a WinCE-based computer in a 2-DIN form-factor. It has a 16:9 LCD monitor built-in and is able to play most of the modern video file formats, it also has a GPS and much much more. Well, it's quite funny, anyway.

The device has a standard USB port (with USB-host supported) and other people successfully connected a USB hub, a keyboard and a mouse already.
Well, it all takes some space and is not too convenient to use while driving.

That's why SpaceNavigator seem to be a great device for the purpose of navigation inside the device.