14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft is reportedly getting ready to unveil to the world its next-generation Windows Mobile 7 operating system at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, and the latest reports around the web suggest that this has been already nailed down. Moreover, it seems that the company is planning the finalization of the WM 7 code by summer, so that the first devices to be powered by it will land this year.
“Microsoft's long and winding road toward regaining lost ground in the cell phone business will reach an important milestone in Barcelona next month. At the annual Mobile World Congress event, Microsoft will at long last show off Windows Mobile 7--its oft-delayed major revamp of the decade-old Windows CE code base that has been at the core of its mobile operating system since the days of challenging the Palm Pilot,” is what a recent post on Cnet reads.
According to the news site, Microsoft intends to make no further delays when it comes to the launch of the new platform, and the code for Windows Mobile 7 should be ready by summer. Not to mention that the company already announced that it would offer developers the possibility to learn how to build apps for the platform at the MIX10 trade show in March, something that we already reported on. In other words, although Microsoft is mum on the matter, the next major flavor of its mobile client is only a few weeks away from becoming official.
Although a wide range of rumors on the launch and features of Windows Mobile 7 emerged into the wild lately, there are still no exact details on when or what exactly to expect from the OS. Late 2010 is the expected release time frame, while the capabilities of the platform should range from touch and non-touch gestures support to new users interfaces and integration with Zune and Xbox Live services.
The latest reports in this area brought to light info on so-called “Zune phones,” which emerged via istartedsomething. The Zune phone name appears in some driver updates Microsoft has recently delivered into the wild when updating its Zune service, and they suggest that there will be a close relation between phones and Zune. Having an actual Zune mobile phone is unlikely, but a Zune service for phones, that's something else. And it seems that it should arrive prior to WM 7, bounding together two of Microsoft's products: Zune and the Windows Mobile client.