Steve Ballmer Says Windows Mobile 7 Will Come Next Year

Microsoft held yesterday a call conference in which Steve Ballmer talked, among other things, about the company's future plans regarding Windows Mobile. According to the Redmond giant's CEO, we'll be able to see the next version of the operating system, namely Windows Mobile 7, launched to the market as soon as next year.

As many of you might already know, the software company unveiled at the Mobile World Congress last week in Barcelona the latest version of the platform, Windows Mobile 6.5, which should come integrated into future devices in the second half of the ongoing year.

In addition to confirming that WM 7 will become available in 2010, Ballmer also stated that smartphones were continuously gaining more ground in the mobile phone market, and that this state of facts should allow Windows Mobile to continue to grow although the global economy saw a downturn. The platform has been suited for low-cost smartphones with many different form factors, which could prove a beneficial feature as well.

Microsoft's CEO also stated that the company had increased its expenses in the Windows Mobile segment during the past few years. The area comes close to 4% of Microsoft’s operating expenditure with $900 million per year and 2000 employees. The platform is still considered a “somewhat unprofitable” Microsoft business, while being placed third on the market after Symbian and RIM.

Another thing that Ballmer re-affirmed was the fact that the company did not plan to come to the market with a phone of its own. Microsoft remains committed to the licensing model we are all accustomed with. On the other hand, the company will work on extending revenue-generating opportunities to services.

According to Ballmer, Windows and Windows Mobile can be seen as the two faces of the same project, and they will share even more technologies in the future, talking about features like browser, presentation surface and even kernel.