| Windows Mobile 7 "delayed" |
Sep. 23, 2008
 Microsoft has reportedly delayed the release of Windows Mobile 7 until the second half of 2009. The company has informed cell phone makers and partners that the operating system update, originally expected during the first quarter, won't be ready, according to a report.
(Click here for a larger view of a Windows Mobile 7 mockup)
Citing anonymous sources, CNet reporter Ina Fried writes that Microsoft recently met with seventeen of the company's largest partners in the cell phone and carrier markets, informing them of the Windows Mobile 7 release schedule. Confirming the meeting but not the "delay," Microsoft Group Product Manager Scott Rockfeld is reported as saying, "They all expressed their excitement of what we are doing in the short term and the long term."
Whatever it might have told carriers and cell phone manufacturers privately, Microsoft has never publicly cited a release date for Windows Mobile 7. Instead, an interim update to Windows Mobile 6.1 -- announced in April, and apparently still on track for release by the end of this year -- will allow its bundled Internet Explorer browser to view web pages full-screen, without menu bars and other "chrome." The update will also provide Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight support, as well as compatibility with H.264 video, according to the company.
Hype and leaks
Under heavy fire from Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, however, Microsoft is reportedly "guilty" of hyping Windows Mobile 7 features to insiders at private events, such as its own Mobius conference. It has also depicted potential user interface changes in various videos. The screen at the top of this story, for example, was captured from a video created to promote the company's Live Search search engine.
In addition, the software giant is running a job posting recruiting senior product manager candidates for an online applications store, similar to that already offered by Apple for its iPhone. Until it was revised, the posting on site Computerjobs.com mentioned both Windows Mobile 7 and the online store "Skymarket" by name.
Rumored new features for Windows Mobile 7 have included the following:- Enhanced input methodologies, including fingers, speech, and use of a camera to sense motion
- A centralized store for OTA (over-the-air) download of applications
- Possible integration with Microsoft's Zune music marketplace
- Addition of the "sliding panels" interface -- already featured on Windows Mobile Standard devices -- to Windows Mobile Professional touchscreen devices
Microsoft's Rockfeld, who regularly appears promoting Windows Mobile, is quoted by CNet as saying, "Customers don't have to sit back and wait. There's tons of stuff coming from us and our partners."
Sony's Xperia has a 800 x 480 display and finger-operable custom interface
In their attempts to give Windows Mobile devices some of the "wow factor" associated with the iPhone, a number of manufacturers have already created their own custom UI (user interface) enhancements. The most well-known is HTC, many of whose Windows Mobile phones have included the company's TouchFLO UI. Other examples include Sony Ericsson, with its Xperia X1 (above), Samsung, with its Omnia, and Toshiba, with its Portege G810.
Microsoft has also created updated Windows Mobile UIs itself for specific carriers. Examples include T-Mobile's Shadow and Vodafone's Treo 500v.
Microsoft's business model, allowing carriers and manufacturers to control the UI of devices themselves, may be more attractive than the one offered by Apple's iPhone or Google's Android, Rockfeld reportedly suggested to CNet. "They don't want to sit there and just become a dumb pipe," he is reported as saying. "We're happy sharing the limelight."
Further information
To read Ina Fried's article about the "delay" to Windows Mobile 7, see the CNet website, here. To read the ComputerJobs.com posting mentioned above, see here.
To read about today's announcement by T-Mobile and HTC of the first Android-based phone, see the coverage on our sister site LinuxDevices.com, here.
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