Visual Studio 2008
VS2008 allows you to develop native code or managed code for the .NET Compact Framework 3.5.
Please note that not all versions support "Smart Device" development which is required for Windows CE. Normally you need the Professional version or higher.
Windows CE 5 and CE 6, and Windows Embedded Compact 7 are supported.
Supported Architecture is ARMv4.
If you installed the Platform Builder plugin, you can also compile code specially optimized for the ARMv6 and ARMv7 architectures.
Support exists for the VFP Floating Point architecture.
Microsoft offers a free 90 days trial version of VS2008
English: http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/1/d/81d3f35e-fa03-485b-953b-ff952e402520/VS2008ProEdition90dayTrialENUX1435622.iso
German: http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/4/a/c4a75cc0-4f7d-46ed-8ff2-1e4cd9d0f94a/VS2008ProEdition90DayTrialDEUX1435986.iso
When you switch from the trial version to a licensed version please be aware that you have to reinstall the SDKs.
To buy VS2008 read How To Purchase Visual Studio
Please make sure that you always install the latest Microsoft updates: