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Microsoft and its mobile phone partners today launched Windows Mobile 6.5 phones under the new brand, Windows phones:
Microsoft today unveiled a new generation of phones from leading manufacturers and mobile operators that offer an intuitive user interface, powerful Web browsing, and access to an online library of downloadable services and applications. Windows phones — a new brand for phones running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system — are now available in retail stores worldwide in a broad range of styles and prices.
The new phones were shown at press events in New York, hosted by Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, and in Paris, where Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer showed off the new Windows phones. They also announced the availability of two key services platforms for the new phones: My Phone and Windows Marketplace for Mobile. My Phone is a free service that helps people back up and manage photos, applications and other content from their phone or PC, as well as restore information in the event of a lost phone. Windows Marketplace for Mobile is an online library of business and leisure mobile applications — as well as games — that customers can buy and download directly to their phones.
The partners announcing Windows phones are listed here as well as a laundry list of what is new in Windows Mobile 6.5, but not unexpectedly it is an incremental release with a new user interface crafted on top of the same old Windows Mobile 6.1 which has lead to some predictable complaints:
Judging from the first wave of 6.5 handsets, the change OS will barely be noticeable to most folks. Alternative interfaces like TouchFLO and TouchWiz will remain, and won’t outwardly change, nor will included apps—they’re all compatible. Customers will buy Windows Mobile phones based on the quality of their 3rd party interfaces; carriers will continue to carry them because certain people, chained by their employers or a specific piece of software, will need them; and app makers will be slow to take to the Marketplace, since hey, how much longer do these Windows CE 5-based OSes even have left? It’ll be a sad, long slog until April (or god forbid, December) when Windows Mobile 7, whatever it is, finally hits phones.
To net it out, Windows Mobile 6.5, the first incarnation of Windows phone, is merely a placeholder until Windows Mobile 7 can be delivered as Steve Ballmer has publicly admitted. Meanwhile, longtime Microsoft partner Verizon has announced a "strategic partnership" with Google and a plan to launch some Android-based phones.
Of late there has been a litany of bad news for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile smart phone operating system:
"Let me just say it was a tough year on succeeding in phones. Mostly our own issues, frankly. Mostly our own issues. And really driving our execution the right way at the right speed. We’ve readjusted some of our plans. Robbie Bach is going to talk some about that."
and Bach said:
“To date, we haven’t done as good a job as I would like building relationships and getting the right integration with our hardware partners,” Bach said. “You’re going to see dramatic improvement in integration.”
So what’s to be done? Robbie Bach (same link as above) says, "You’ll see our execution rhythm pick up and the quality of our execution improve." There is always room for a turnaround, but it won’t happen soon apparently. In the meantime, mobile is yet another of Steve Ballmer’s big bets that is sucking cash and not paying off.
Motorola’s earnings conference call today was mostly about dismal financial results, but CEO Sanjay Jha let slip some Windows Mobile 7 information in discussing their future mobile phone handset efforts:
"As you know, Windows 6 series is available in 2009 and as compared to Android, we believe in 2009 Android is more competitive; more of our effort and focus in 2009 is going to Android, but in 2010 when Windows 7 will become available, we will then participate in a more focused way in Windows Mobile 7 in 2010."
That’s in line with previous Windows Mobile 7 rumors, but Motorola skipping the apparently imminent Windows Mobile 6.5 for a newfound interest in Android isn’t good news for Microsoft.
When Steve Ballmer takes a road trip, everybody listens since the wild and wacky guy always seems to spill the beans on something. And so it was last week in Australia when Ballmer revealed that there will actually be a hitherto only rumored 6.5 release of Windows Mobile. Sacha Refshauge at Neowin has the details:
While visiting Australia for Liberation Day, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke of the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for next year in his roadmap.
In talking about Windows Mobile 6.5, Steve Ballmer did not go in to specifics but did hint at an improvement in the interface and flow of the software. It is believed, however, that this will be the first release to contain the reported Zune software integration instead of the much delayed Windows Mobile 7 release.
Though there was no specific date given for Windows Mobile 7, it was believed to be scheduled for as late as the third quarter of 2010, two years away.
Which is a considerable slip from the previously rumored delayed date of 2H09. A source tells Neowin that Windows Mobile 6.5 could possibly ship in 1Q09.
