Windows Mobile 6.5 vs Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 - what's the difference?

For me Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Embedded Handheld are just two names for the same.

MS often did re-brand products to make you think it is something different or better. Especially with the Windows Mobile Pocket PC series.

You need the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 DTK to develop fur such devices: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5389

Although the DTK is OK so far it does NOT reflect the changed Screen Layout, for example if you design a form using it, Visual Studio shows a standard form with a large caption (Windows Mobile apps do not have a caption bar) and a normal menu bar (WM 6.5.3 devices show a larger menu bar).

Further on MS dropped some API functionality (SHFullScreen) without any notice. That's life.

Microsoft has renamed the Windows Mobile Platform to Windows Embedded Handheld.

There where releases in the following order:

1. Pocket Pc 2000
   • Blue desktop theme as a default. Coloured windows logo inside the start button.
2. Pocket Pc 2002
   • Blue desktop theme as a default. Coloured windows logo inside the start button.
3. Pocket Pc 2003
   • Blue desktop theme as a default. Coloured windows logo inside the start button.
4. Pocket Pc 2003 SE
   • Blue desktop theme as a default. Coloured windows logo inside the start button.
5. Windows Mobile 5.0
   • Blue desktop theme as a default.
6. Windows Mobile 6.0
   • Green desktop theme as a default.
7. Windows Mobile 6.1
   • More optimized than 6.0.
8. Windows Mobile 6.5
   • Change: New dark blue desktop theme as a default.
9. Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3
   • Change: Like Windows Mobile 6.5 but with the Start-Button on the bottom
10. Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5
    • Change: Just renamed 6.5.3 back to Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 to add confusion.

From Windows Mobile 5.0 or later they come with a Windows CE 5 kernel and have the 32 MB of virtual RAM per process limit, so they didn't benefit form new Windows CE releases, which naming is as fucked up like the Windows Mobile naming.

On Windows CE you got:

1. Windows CE 5
2. Windows Embedded CE 6
3. Windows Embedded CE 6 R2
4. Windows Embedded CE 6 R3
5. Windows Embedded Compact 7
6. Windows Embedded 8
7. Windows Embedded 8 Industry
8. Windows Embedded Compact 2013

But wait, there is more. The Windows Mobile Platform died is no longer supplied with features/improvements, since the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework Team was moved to develop the Windows Phone Plattform. So these are the bastard childs and the spiritual continuation of Windows Mobile based on Windows Phone with some framework additions for datacapturing. Which include:

1. Windows Embedded Handheld 8 (also named Windows Embedded 8 Handheld)
   • Based on Windows Phone 8
2. Windows Embedded Handheld 8.1 (also named Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld)
   • Based on Windows Phone 8.1
3. Windows 10 IoT Mobile Enterprise
   • Based on Windows 10 Mobile, which is based on the Windows Phone platform. We got a new rename, yay.

Windows Embedded 6.5 is backward compatible with legacy Windows Mobile applications.

As per Microsoft:

Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5

Built on Windows Mobile 6.5 to power line-of-business applications in field mobility, transportation, retail and more.

Application compatibility with Windows Mobile 6.5, and a consistent SDK and set of APIs.

So I think you just should use Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK.