14 DAY TRIAL // We all know Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, if not from using it, at least from what we've heard about it. And among the things that we've heard is the fact that the currently available versions of the operating system, namely WinMo 6.1 or previous versions, do not manage to provide all the latest features that a smartphone user would like to benefit from.
To be more precise, most of the critics of the platform reckon that it is rather old, and that the software giant should consider making some radical changes to the Windows Mobile OS, so that it proves more competitive than it is at the moment, while also being able to enhance the user experience to new levels.
The next step from Microsoft for the development of its mobile OS will come to users under the form of Windows Mobile 6.5. The new version, due for the second half of the ongoing year, is reported to come around with a few of the long expected features, such as touch optimizations, yet it is uncertain whether the upgraded WM will indeed be able to turn the odds in its favor, and outpace other feature full platforms like iPhone OS, Android OS, and WebOS.
Many have suggested that the Redmond company should approach the development of its mobile operating system in a different manner and, while up until now no major changes have been spotted with WinMo, it seems that the software giant has plans to leverage the platform to new heights, if not with the 6.5 version, with the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 for sure.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, announced a while ago that the company intended to release Windows Mobile 7 to the market sometime next year, yet no specific details on what the platform was expected to feature had been unveiled, which makes us wonder whether the software giant will indeed be able to make those changes to the mobile OS so that it could attract more users and offer them a wider range of features.
One thing that made it to most of the news during the last couple of days is a recent job posting from Microsoft, showing that the company seeks to hire a Principle Development Manager. From the job description, most of us are to understand that the Redmond-based company plans to turn the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 into a next-generation mobile platform, by designing it in a different manner than previous versions.
“Windows Mobile 7 will change the way you view your phone. We aren’t just building a me-too iPhone or RIM competitor; we’re changing the way customers use and experience their device. In the OS Platform team we are responsible for the OS, file systems, security, hardware platforms and drivers, networking & connectivity, location framework and updateability. In other words, we build the foundation upon which the rest of Windows Mobile is built.”
Basically, we should be able to see a new mobile OS being built up from zero. The new platform should come with components that were unavailable on previous versions, radically different from what we have seen from Microsoft until now, like updateability, which should turn into a different approach of patches and updates that would be available for mobile phone users, yet one similar to that related to the rest of the Windows products.
Windows Mobile fan-boys and enthusiasts need to wait a little longer before seeing the next-generation platform available on their devices, since that job posting mentioned above suggested that Windows Mobile 7 was still in its early stages of development, but we can only hope that it will be worth waiting for it.