In a keynote at this week's Mobile World Congress, CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled an interim upgrade to Microsoft's mobile phone stack. To ship during the latter half of the year, Windows Mobile 6.5 brings support for two online services, including an app store and a data sync/backup service.
In the announcement, Microsoft emphasized that the new 6.5 stack uses the same tools, and has the same API (application programming interface), facilitating forward compatibility. Additionally, the tools used to develop apps for Windows Mobile 6.5 are the same as those used to write PC apps, Microsoft said, citing Visual Studio, .Net, and SQL.
Microsoft's two new services, unsurprisingly, include:
- "My Phone," a Web-based sync service for text messages, photos, video, and contacts
- Password-protected web interface
- Facilitates upgrading phones without data loss
- "Automatic" syncing and backup
- Currently available in a limited invitation-only beta
- Windows Marketplace for Mobile
- Search, browse, and buy apps and widgets, from a PC (Windows Live ID required)
- Direct-to-phone installations
- Applications qualified by "simple" security and compatibility check from Microsoft
Additional touted new features in Windows Mobile 6.5 include:
- New home screen "dashboard" showing new e-mails, texts, missed calls, and calendar appointments
- More finger-friendly touch-screen interface
- Updated Internet Explorer Mobile browser
First Windows Mobile 6.5 phones
Participating in the launch were Microsoft phone partners HTC and LG. Both pre-announced specific phone models slated to ship with the 6.5 upgrade in the second half of the year:
- LG said its LG-GM7300 -- available first on Windows Mobile 6.1 -- will gain a 6.5 option
- HTC flagged its Touch Diamond 2 and Touch Pro 2 as its first Windows Mobile 6.5 models
Slated for WM 6.5, in version "2" releases next year
(HTC Diamond Touch, Touch Pro. Click either for details)
Additional news may be about available on Microsoft's MWC partner list [.doc format], the company said.
Other announcements
Besides the big news related to Windows Mobile 6.5 and its associated services, Microsoft announced several other items. It touted a voice search technology called Recite, for Windows Mobile 6.0 or better. Currently available as a free preview, here, the technology lets users search for spoken notes and reminders using just their voice, Microsoft said.
Additionally, Microsoft announced a long list of new mobile advertising partners, including:
- Mobistar (Orange Group) and BASE, the second and the third largest mobile operators in Belgium respectively
- Mobile travel site WAYN
- eFinancialNews and Private Equity News, part of Dow Jones
- Le Parisien.fr, the mobile site of Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France, described as the "first" daily newspaper in France
- La Vanguardia, a Spanish daily newspaper
- Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo
- Le Post.fr, an interactive French mobile site
Microsoft said it offers advertising services in a dozen countries, delivering mobile ads on both Microsoft and partner properties.
Finally, Microsoft partners also announced mobile broadband connectivity for Windows 7, Microsoft's netbook-friendly OS, currently beta-testing. Such partners reportedly included Acer, Asus, Birdstep Technology, Dell, Ericsson, HP, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Huawei Communications Technologies, Option, Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless, Smith Micro, T-Mobile International, and ZTE.
In a statement, Ballmer commented, "Windows phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC, and the phone.”