14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based Microsoft was present last evening on the floor at the International 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the company's CEO Steve Ballmer delivered a keynote, and where some details on the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 were also unveiled. While nothing specific came to light, Microsoft did say a few words on the platform, announced that the HTC HD2 would come to the US market exclusively via T-Mobile USA, and also added that more details on the future of the operating system were to be unveiled the next month.
However, one of the company's partners that is also present at CES 2010, namely handset vendor LG Electronics, mentioned that the Windows Mobile 7 iteration was set to arrive on mobile phones during the ongoing year, according to Engadget. Officially, Microsoft states the following when it comes to the future platform version: “Our focus is on Windows phones and experiences in market today, and we’re not discussing future versions. In general, we’re always looking for ways to build on our strengths across the company to deliver great new mobile experiences to customers.” Even if nothing is discussed officially, some of you might already know that a series of details on WM7 has leaked into the wild via various sources, making room for a great deal of rumors on the matter.
Hopefully, some of the hottest rumors on the platform will pan out in the near future. One example in this direction is the HTC HD2, which was said quite a few times before to be on its way to receive the Windows Mobile 7 update from Microsoft and HTC. On this matter, Microsoft says the following: “We’re excited about phones and experiences bringing our ‘three screens’ vision to life today. Look for more information about new ways we’ll deliver on our vision in the upcoming months.” HTC was already reported to have confirmed-unconfirmed the move via Twitter; yet, considering the hardware capabilities of the device, one might expect for it to be upgraded to WM7 in the end.
Considering that a more detailed announcement should come next month, there are great chances that Microsoft plans to unveil the Windows Mobile 7 OS during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. However, since another flavor of the platform has recently made an appearance on the company's website, namely Windows Mobile 6.5.3, we should take into consideration as well the possibility that the MWC announcement is related to it. There are still a lot of unknown facts in this equation, one should agree, yet, it seems that previous reports/rumors on Microsoft’s mobile client are starting to line up.
Overall, when it comes to Windows Mobile, Microsoft says the following: “Over the past year we have made significant progress with our Mobile Communication Business. We brought in a new leadership team, established a new Windows phones brand, launched Windows Marketplace for Mobile and My phone, and worked hard with partners to ship dozens of new Windows phones starting in October 2009. Together with our partners, we continue to deliver a drum beat of exciting new phones and updated software to keep pace with evolving consumer demands, such as with the highly-anticipated HTC HD2. Mobile devices represent a huge market opportunity that continues to grow faster than the market, yet is also still nascent. We have an incredible team that is advancing the state of the art in mobility, we’re confident in the path we’re on, and we’re super excited for the future.”