Win Mobile 7 now delayed to 2010?
updated 12:00 pm EDT, Mon September 29, 2008
Win Mobile 7 Delay Again
Microsoft's already reported Windows Mobile 7 delay will be longer than anticipated in practice, according to a tip obtained by VentureBeat. While not immediately pointing to a further delay past late 2009 in completing the mobile OS itself, the reputed source suggests that both carriers and manufacturers will need "months" to refine and produce their own versions. This would push any release until at least 2010 and leave a three-year window between Windows Mobile 6 and its sequel.
In the meantime, Microsoft is reportedly planning to roll its previously planned Internet Explorer Mobile update into a more significant interim upgrade known as Windows Mobile 6.2; the refresh will bring the web rendering engine from Internet Explorer 6 on the desktop to the mobile realm and will finally support full HTML on a Windows Mobile device. It should also support Flash and JavaScript as well as let users "fake" desktop browsing for sites that would otherwise detect Windows Mobile and use a stripped-down version of the page. The bridge release should appear before the end of 2008, according to the report.
Microsoft Windows Mobile project head Scott Rockfeld hasn't either confirmed or denied the report and instead says only that the company is "not publicly sharing" its timetable for version 7.
Any extended delay would nonetheless compound difficulties in the market, where Microsoft already fell short of targets in Windows Mobile sales and the company has faced increasing pressure from phones with more advanced touchscreen phones, such as the iPhone, as well as more user- and home-friendly conventional smartphones from Nokia and RIM.
They need time....
09/29, 12:18pm (1 reply) reply
Microsoft needs an extra year and a half so that their programmers can try to copy as much from the iPhone as possible.
visualray
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Joined: Sep 2008
Interesting...
09/29, 01:09pm reply
Considering the current shares in the mobile space, can Microsoft really afford to delay their mobile OS? Unlike in the desktop space where they hold a vast majority of the market, in the mobile space they are just another slice and losing more and more of their share as time goes on. Once Android based devices are available, I can only see Microsoft's share shrinking even faster.
mjtomlin
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Joined: Oct 1999
żż WHY O' WHY ??
09/29, 01:17pm reply
Are we hearing anything about Windows Mobile 7 OS for portable devices on a Macintosh centered News Website?
Is Microsoft planning on releasing a version for the iPhone or an iPod?
UberFu
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Joined: Oct 2002
ha
09/29, 01:20pm reply
double ha.
appleuzr
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Joined: Aug 2006
please stop
09/29, 01:38pm reply
with the comments bitching about news stories about Microsoft. This is not the "Only Mac News, All the Time" site.
Microsoft indirectly competes with Apple in the mobile phone market, or have you not heard? Therefore news about a delay in WinMobile 7 is relevant.
climacs
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Joined: Sep 2001
I tried one
09/29, 02:14pm reply
Since I don't have AT&T and I wanted a new phone, I gave an HTC touch a try. At first glance, it's similar to the iPhone. The option to use a stylus seemed nice, and the smaller size was a bonus.
Well, after using the damn thing for a week, I gave up on it. Web browsing? Yeah right. Making phone calls? Maybe, but getting at your contacts was a total pain. Sometimes I was able to check my email, but often I had to restart the thing to establish a data connection. Then when I did that, Bluetooth would default back to off.
The interface was always cluttered with stuff I didn't need. Nothing simple and sleek like the iPhone. CallerID? Yeah, that got cut off half the time so I couldn't see who was calling.
Overall, the thing was just slightly better than useless. I went back to my KRZR phone and will wait for something better.
bjojade
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Joined: Jun 2007