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Windows For Devices
your Windows® embedded community
As we've reported before, Microsoft's Windows Mobile SDKs are of use even to non-programmers, since they include emulation of both Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen) and Windows Mobile Standard (keyboard-only) devices, allowing the smartphone operating systems and software to be run on desktop computers. WindowsForDevices.com, for example, regularly uses the emulators to sample new software and obtain screen shots.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "On Friday, January 22nd Microsoft prematurely posted a version of an upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK to a public-facing Web page. While the SDK was not announced or promoted, it was discovered and generated questions from the community. The beta SDK has since been removed and will be reposted once final testing has been conducted. We apologize for any inconvenience."
Windows Mobile 6.5.3
Windows Mobile 6.5.3, code-named "Maldives," was reportedly released to manufacturers in December, and was spotted at this month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) running on Sony Ericcson's Xperia X2, Toshiba's TG01, and the Pharos Traveler. The upgrade includes a variety of finger-friendly adjustments and user-interface modifications, already confirmed by Microsoft in a document for developers that appears on its MSDN website. "Beginning with the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 release, touchable tiles replace soft keys," the company writes, adding that the upgrade will let developers create widgets using Visual Studio."
Eric Zenman of the Phone Scoop website reportedly obtained a Toshiba TG01 running Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and documented new operating system features on video (excerpted via the still above and embedded at the end of this story). New "bubble menus" at the bottom of the screen replace some of the functions that were previously placed at the top, making them easier to access with one hand, he writes. Meanwhile, it's said, a drop-down dock at the top of the screen enlarges status icons, making them easier to interact with.
On the blog Nick's .NET Travels, Microsoft MVP Nick Randolph reports having obtained the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 SDK while it was still downloadable. The software still requires Visual Studio 2008 for Windows Mobile development, with the exception of widgets, he writes.
As screenshots presented by Randolph show, the SDK's new emulator confirms the bubble menus and drop-down dock (above left) mentioned by Zenman. Meanwhile, tabbed menus have been replaced by a left-right scrolling system (above right), another move designed to support touch input.
What about Windows Mobile 7?
As has been widely reported, Microsoft is known to be working on an even more significant upgrade to Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile 7. While the company has never publicly cited a release date for Windows Mobile 7, to the best of our knowledge, it has long been guilty of hyping the upgrade to insiders at private events, such as its own Mobius conference. In the interim, many supposed Windows Mobile 7 features, such as finger-friendliness and an online applications storage, have already made it into 6.x, raising questions about just what version 7 will include.
An August 2009 report by DigiTimes' Daniel Shen and Steve Shen claimed Microsoft would provide an "upgrade version [of Windows Mobile] with a touch interface in February 2010," and release Windows Mobile 7 in the fourth quarter of 2010. A later report from the same authors claimed "Microsoft may ... delay the launch of Windows Mobile 7 to 2011."
Reports of a delay have also made waves elsewhere on the blogosphere. For example, Theo Valich wrote on the Bright Side of News website: "After speaking with multiple sources, we're now certain that we won't be seeing Windows Mobile 7 before World Mobile [sic] Congress in Barcelona in February 2011. We spoke with representatives from Microsoft, Lenovo, Qualcomm, TI, Nokia, Nvidia, HTC and many more and they all had just one message -- Windows Mobile 7 is delayed until 2011, and the focus is shifting to Google Android and even Chrome OS as a way to battle the competitors during 2010."
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced a Feb. 14 Mobile World Congress (MWC) news conference related to Windows Mobile, according to Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Nick Eaton. "It's expected that Microsoft will show off Windows Mobile 7," he adds.
Our guess? Microsoft will publicly show off Windows Mobile 6.5.3 -- probably renamed Windows Mobile 6.6 -- on multiple phones, but Windows Mobile 7 will be demonstrated only behind closed doors. Watch this space!
Background
Microsoft's Windows Mobile emulators simulate either Windows Mobile Professional or Windows Mobile Standard in a variety of resolutions. The Windows Mobile Professional emulator may be operated via a host computer's pointing device, while the Windows Mobile Standard emulator simulates non-touchscreen devices and must be operated via an emulated keyboard.
Windows Mobile 6.5 emulators required Windows XP or Windows Vista, and -- though Microsoft doesn't spell this out for newbies -- apparently need a network driver bundled with the company's Virtual PC 2007 virtualization software, also downloadable for free. Once Virtual PC 2007 and the Device Emulator software have been installed, the desired image can simply be selected from the host computer's Smart menu. At that point, it's necessary to open a configuration menu and bind the emulated network adapter to the physical hardware on the host PC.
As in previous editions of the Windows Mobile device emulators, a shared directory on the host PC can be designed to act as the virtual device's "storage card." This makes it easy to download and install third-party applications for testing.
To see the Softpedia and The:Unwired items on the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 SDK and emulators, go here and here, respectively.
For a review of the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 SDK by Nick's .NET Travels, go here.
To see the latest DigiTimes story on Windows Mobile by authors Daniel Shen and Steve Shen, see here.
For Eric Zenman's Phone Scoop story on Windows Mobile 6.5.3, including video and a variety of still images, see here.
To see the Bright Side of News story mentioned above, see here.
To see Nick Eaton's Seattle Post-Intelligencer item about the upcoming Windows Mobile news conference, go here.
For more information about the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, see the show website, here.
