Microsoft Reaffirms Future Development of Windows Mobile 6.5

Redmond-based software company Microsoft announced more than two weeks ago the launch of a new mobile operating system, the Windows Phone 7 OS, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it seems that it will indeed remain committed to the older Windows Mobile 6.5 platform too. It appears that more handsets powered by this mobile client are set to land on the market in the near future, at least this is what Oded Ran, head of consumer marketing, Windows Phone UK, said recently.

“We expect to introduce new phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 to the Windows Phone family in the coming months,” Oded Ran stated in a recent interview with Pocket-Lint. However, Microsoft seems not to be planning to deliver upgrades to Windows Phone 7 Series for existing devices powered by Windows Mobile 6.5. “For Windows Phone 7 Series we are enforcing a strict set of hardware requirements […] we cannot confirm that Windows Mobile 6.5 phones that satisfy those requirements will be upgradeable,” Ran stated.

Some of the previous reports on the matter suggested that HTC HD2, one of the most popular Windows Mobile 6.5-based mobile phones at the moment, might receive an upgrade to the newer operating system, but a Microsoft official already denied such plans. In the end, there are apparently little chances that any Windows Mobile 6.5-based device will receive an upgrade to the Windows Phone 7 OS and, the same as before, Microsoft is saying that the hardware requirements it put in place for the new devices would be the main barrier.

But it will focus on the development of the older platform, so that users won't feel left outside “We are proud of the Windows Phone experience we introduced with Windows Mobile 6.5 and we will continue to partner closely with mobile networks and phone manufacturers to support and invest in the platform,” Oded Ran also stated. “Windows Mobile 6.5 represents a significant part of the portfolio family that is Windows Phones. With over 50 phones available around the world today, it offers customers the freedom to choose from among the widest selection of device form factors and price points.”