Bee Mobile iPack and Bee Mobile iPack CF39 were packages of GUI components and controls designed to give a sleek and modern look to applications running on these operation systems:
- Windows Mobile
- Windows CE
- Windows Embedded Compact 7
- Windows Embedded Compact 2013
Their look and feel was inspired by Apple’s iOS.
Brief history table
| Product Name | Release Year | Target Framework | Supported OSes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bee Mobile iPack | 2008 | .NET Framework v. 2.0, 3.5 |
|
| Bee Mobile iPack CF39 | 2013 | .NET Framework v. 3.9 | Windows Embedded Compact 2013 |
Bee Mobile iPack CF39 targeted .NET Compact Framework v. 3.9 and was released in 2013. .NET Compact Framework v. 3.9 (as a software platform) would only run on Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact 2013 OS.
Discontinuation by Microsoft
Windows Embedded Compact 2013 OS was finally discontinued by Microsoft on Oct 10, 2023 per their official statement.
.NET Framework versions
For an overview of Microsoft .NET Framework versions and dependencies,
see Microsoft’s official documentation.
What are your options?
Because Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and Windows Embedded Compact are no longer modern target platforms,
existing iPack applications usually need to move toward a new runtime, operating system, and hardware platform.
Bee Mobile provides two possible directions depending on how much of the original application you want to preserve
and how much modernization you are ready to do.
Migration path
iPack to iDesk
Preserve much of your managed .NET Compact Framework code by moving to
.NET Framework 4.8, iDesk assemblies, Embedded Linux, and Mono Runtime.
- Best for applications with significant managed code
- Closer to the original iPack-based application model
- Suitable for Embedded Linux devices
- Native code must be ported or wrapped separately
Modernization path
iPack to aPack / Avalonia
Move toward a modern application architecture based on Microsoft .NET,
Avalonia UI, Embedded Linux, and selected Bee Mobile aPack components.
- Best for deeper modernization projects
- Suitable when the UI can be redesigned and rebuilt
- Allows reuse of selected C# application logic
- Creates a cleaner long-term platform for future development