14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft has finally decided to announce the launch date for the latest flavor of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5. Starting October 6, mobile phone users around the world will be able to enjoy all the goodies that the new OS version is set to deliver to them, along with a series on new devices that will get launched with the platform on them right from the start, and which will come under the name of Windows Phones.
“A Windows phone gives people a single phone that works for their whole life, keeping them connected to the people and information they care most about by harnessing the power of the PC, phone and Web,” said Todd Peters, corporate vice president of the Mobile Communications Marketing Group at Microsoft.
The novelties Microsoft has included within the upcoming platform iteration have been talked about already, and most of you should already know that, when compared to the existing Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, the next one should bring a lot of features meant to make using the devices easier. In addition to the user friendliness, a wide range of UI changes will also be present there, paving the way for the release of the company's next-generation Windows Mobile 7, which should land on the market sometime next year.
Along with the market launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, users will also have the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of new services the Redmond company prepared for them, including the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a software portal similar to the Apple App Store and with other similar services. In addition, the platform also sports the latest Internet Explorer Mobile browser and the My Phone free service from Microsoft (to back up and sync photos, music, contacts and text messages).
One other thing that should be mentioned is that a series of Microsoft partners already announced plans to update they portfolios with new handsets running under Windows Mobile 6.5, or to upgrade existing devices to the new flavor of the OS. When it comes to North America, said partners would include manufacturers like HP, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung and Toshiba, as well as carriers like AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS and Verizon Wireless.
The same move will be made in other parts of the world as well. In Europe, the change will come to operators like Orange, Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc, and phone makers like Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba, while in Latin America TIM Brazil is the carrier to adopt the new OS, as well as manufacturers like HTC, LG Electronics and Samsung. In Asia, the list of carriers includes NTT DOCOMO, SOFTBANK Mobile Corp., SK Telecom, Telstra and WILLCOM, while the phone makers are Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba.