14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based Microsoft is set to kick off the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in mid-November, with a focus on a variety of products, except for Windows Mobile. In other words, this means that the software giant won't have anything important to discuss at the conference regarding the future of its mobile client, although it has been expected to do so.
It's a common fact that Microsoft will launch the next iteration of the platform, Windows Mobile 6.5, on October 6, and we already know that a future version, WM7, is already under development in its labs. A series of leaked Windows Mobile 6.5 builds that emerged into the wild recently showed us what the company has in mind with an upcoming flavor of the OS, which should turn to be either Windows Mobile 6.5.1 or Windows Mobile 7.
However, Microsoft keeps the silence on what will come in Windows Mobile's roadmap, and only unveiled that WM7 was set to come to the market next year. As reported before, the next-generation iteration was expected to reach OEMs this year, with the first devices being launched in April 2010, yet it seems that it has been pushed back a little, and that it will surface on the market only in Q3 2010. The delay made us assume that Microsoft wouldn't release Windows Mobile 7 to OEMs in 2009, and that a possible WM7 beta wouldn't come to PDC, a state of facts that has been confirmed by a Microsoft spokeswoman who emailed Mary Jo Foley the following
“As I’m sure you know, Microsoft and its partners are squarely focused on introducing the Windows phone brand through the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 in October [October 6], which includes working closely with ISVs and developers to add even greater value to the Windows Mobile platform and new business opportunities for its mobile channel ecosystem. To properly set your expectations, wanted to let you know that Microsoft is not planning any sessions for PDC that look past the Windows Mobile OS in market at that time.”
Windows Mobile 7 is expected to raise the user experience on new heights, we learned a few times before, and should also prove that Microsoft is capable of turning the old mobile operating system into a newer and more competitive one. Some of the improvements it plans should come to WM 6.5 too, at least in the visual area, yet the aforementioned leaked builds show that something bigger will come with future releases. As some hardware requirements for devices running under Windows Mobile 7 will also be in place, we can only hope that our expectations are met.