Another obvious cost advantage with Windows CE is its attractive licensing model. Its minimal memory requirements help keep costs down as well. The NCR 7448 terminal used in the NeighborhoodPOS solution also offers an optional battery backup that takes advantage of the Windows CE Suspend mode. If there's a brief power outage of a half hour or less, the battery protects the current transaction values. When power is restored, the screen pops up exactly where it was, in the middle of the transaction, without rebooting.
Retailers operate on very thin profit margins, and labor costs are a big part of their costs.
A lot of retailers don't want to make that effort. They're interested in adding new profitable functionality, like gift-card support, not chasing the operating system du jour. So when retailers make a technology decision, they don't just chase the technology for technology's sake. They look at it in terms of their business requirements. The scalability, flexibility, and low licensing costs with Windows CE help them meet those requirements very cost-effectively.