Mobile news

Well hey -- it looks like Windows Mobile 6.5 will arrive a little earlier than expected. A post on the WinMo team blog says that the update to Redmond's smartphone platform will officially launch on May 11, the first day of the Tech Ed conference. We're figuring that could mean we'll see the gold build demoed for the very first time, seeing how the version showed off at the glamorous MWC launch was described as an "alpha" cut. Of course, after that it's all up to the carriers and handset manufacturers as to when we'll actually see the OS loaded onto devices, but we're sure the hacking community will find a way to satiate the impatient until then -- or until Windows Mobile 7 comes out.

[Via Electronista]

Our initial reaction to the all-too-brief shots of mobile devices in this slick, high-gloss marketing video provided by Microsoft was that the company had thrown together some totally meaningless mockups to help get their point across about bridging the communication gap across diverse platforms and technologies. A closer look, though, revealed something interesting (low-key Rickroll notwithstanding): the captures show off a UI layout suspiciously similar to some of the supposedly leaked screenshots of WinMo 7 we saw a couple weeks back. Is this all indicative of Redmond's direction for its next-gen mobile platform, a fluke, or somewhere in between? We'll probably be waiting a few months -- maybe as much as a year or so -- to find out, so we've got plenty of time to speculate.

[Thanks, Gabriel]

Gallery: Microsoft Software-plus-Services marketing vid teases Windows Mobile 7?

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Windows Live may seem like a failure in the eyes of many a TechCrunch reader, but there are a number of services that continue to thrive within the scope of a vast, mainstream audience. Hence it’s worth noting that Microsoft has released a new application for Windows Mobile devices that encompasses a slew of Live services used by dozens of millions of people every day.

The new version (v10.06.0046.0800) of the Windows Live For Windows Mobile client, which is evidently free of charge, includes mobile versions of Windows Live Hotmail (works with both both pull and push sync), Windows Live Messenger (finally!), Windows Live Contacts, Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft Live Search and enhanced photo upload capabilities. The app comes in a Pro version for touch-enabled devices and a Standard version for non-touch phones, and is available in 25 languages.

The mobile web version is also still available, and features a new beta version of Windows Live Hotmail which offers a number of welcome additions like the ability to see full HTML pages within e-mail messages and a new email search feature, next to a revamped UI and navigation enhancements for touch-screen devices.

(Hat tip to Microsoftie Coolz0r on Twitter)

by Robin Wauters on April 2, 2009

Not that you particularly care, but WMPowerUser is reporting that Zune functionality is coming to Windows Mobile 7 and will allow operators to charge phone users for music purchased in the Zune store, thereby opening the Zune experience up to a millions upon millions of unwitting customers.



No further information is available, but I’m sure someone out there is interested in this, so there you have it.

by
John Biggs
on
March 26, 2009