14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 7, this is something that most of you should already know. However, while the platform is expected to come to the market with a great deal of novelties, being capable of putting the software giant back into the game, it seems that we'll have to wait a little more before we can actually see it pre-loaded on handsets.
Recently, in a Q&A session at the “Connect!” technology summit in London, Microsoft UK head of mobility Phil Moore reportedly stated that the operating system would only become available at the end of the next year, “It has been put back until late next year but it is definitely coming. You’re going to see a lot more on Windows Mobile 7. Giving the enterprise users and consumers what they want will be part of Windows Mobile 7. You’ll get flexibility on a much easier touch UI.”
Originally, Microsoft's roadmap showed that Windows Mobile 7 was set to be delivered to OEMs in November 2009, while the first mobile phones that would run under it were expected to reach the market around April next year. However, other reports showed that the OS had been pushed back to the third quarter of 2010, while Moore's recent sayings suggest that it has been delayed even further, and that the fourth quarter of the next year should be the expected launch time frame.
The next iteration of Microsoft's mobile client is something that not only enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for. The company promised that it would change dramatically the user experience with the upcoming Windows Mobile 7, and some of you might have already learned about the novelties it should come around with. However, it seems that the software giant is taking too much time with the platform, and that might hurt its position on the market.
Microsoft's mobile OS has already been left behind by other available solutions, and Moore himself acknowledged the issue. “We’re still playing catch-up. When Apple came on to the scene a couple of years ago, it threw away the rulebook and reinvented it. We unfortunately don’t have that luxury. It’s true, Apple caught us all napping. It launched something that was very iconic, new and unseen with a very good user interface.”