Tue, Sep 1, 2009 14:05 EDT

Windows Phones to Join the Smartphone Fray on Oct. 6

Facing extremely stiff competition, Microsoft will release phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 to retail stores in early October.

Topic: Infrastructure

Current Rating: Comments: 3

Microsoft's fight to stay in the smartphone game will begin on Oct. 6 when the first so-called "Windows phones" will be made available at retail stores worldwide.

The new phones will run Windows Mobile 6.5 and will be available through carriers AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. A few of the confirmed hardware makers that will be running Windows Mobile 6.5 are HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony Ericsson.

Microsoft promo for Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows phones.

Although Microsoft is promoting Windows Mobile 6.5 as an important turning point in its mobile strategy with a redesigned user interface, improved mobile Web browsing with Internet Explorer and a new applications store, 6.5 is largely viewed as a stepping stone to what Microsoft has called its fully-formed mobile OS, Windows Mobile 7, which is not due until the fourth quarter of 2010.

Microsoft has also been criticized for taking too long to develop Windows Mobile 6.5 while it has fallen far behind competitors such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm Pre. In both the consumer and enterprises spaces, Windows Mobile will be like the new kid in school come Oct. 6.

Yet despite being perceived as an interim OS, Windows Mobile 6.5's arrival could provide momentum for Microsoft. It will capitalize on the powerful marketing might of the Windows brand in the same month that highly-anticipated client OS Windows 7 is shipping (Oct. 22).

WinMo 6.5 also includes two new services: Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a store for mobile apps, and Microsoft My Phone, a service that backs up contacts, calendars, text messages and photos to a PC. The free My Phone service also includes a "Find My Phone" feature that helps users locate a phone that has been lost or stolen. The iPhone has a similar paid service.

A lot will be riding on the Windows Mobile app store, as it will inevitably be compared to the iPhone's enormous iTunes App Store and the BlackBerry App World Store. Because Windows Mobile has been around for years, there are thousands of compatible apps floating round the Web, but they are hard to find and have not been consolidated in one place. Marketplace has been designed to be home base for all these disparate apps.

Click here to read about what Windows Mobile means for mobile app developers.

Microsoft has not commented on how many apps have been approved, though in a CNET article, Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile group, said that Netflix, Facebook and a variety of gaming apps will be in Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

But not matter how you slice it, Windows Mobile 6.5 faces an uphill climb. Not only is it late to a crowded market, but it's being viewed as a stand in for a newer version (WinMo 7) that doesn't arrive for another year. The climb begins Oct. 6.

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All Comments Comments

Thu, Sep 3, 2009 8:38 EDT

Glad to see it finally

Posted by: AncientGeek
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It is getting harder to see the value of Window Mobile phones and even harder to sell them to our users. The iPhone is getting friendlier for enterprise use (as is the Mac) and the Blackberry continues to be the workhorse platform that just works (when there isn't a major meltdown).

If MS could get a really solid contender for Blackberry, we could perhaps wean ourselves off the BES added complexity and cost which would be very welcome in my shop.

I love my HTC Touch Pro, but I have to reboot it from time to time and it is slow. I find myself using my iPod Touch with my Sprint MiFi device for email because I like it better. It just works.

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Thu, Sep 3, 2009 11:13 EDT

too little too late

Posted by: Anonymous
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I had a WinMo phone for almost 3 years before switching to the iPhone. Difference is night and day. A new user interface (hexagons?) and store won't cut it.

How did Microsoft get so far behind after having a five-year head start?

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Tue, Sep 8, 2009 11:20 EDT

Apple has their roadmap right

Posted by: Anonymous
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And Apple displays a level of integration between their iPhone OS and OSX desktop operating systems that clearly sets them as the model to emulate. At the same time, Microsoft's desktop OS team and their Windows Mobile group do not seem to work together to ensure that the desktop environment and phone are melded together into a seamless user experience. MS's idea of phone-to-PC integration is ActiveSync for syncing files between phone and PC, as well as replicating the "Start" button from the PC to the phone (which isn't the right way to launch apps on a phone anyway because of the limited screen real estate..

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