Cellphone buyers and owners should expect to see another major update to Windows Mobile 6 before a complete overhaul, Microsoft's CEO has confirmed. Steve Ballmer disclosed the information recently during the 2008 investor briefing for Australian carrier Telstra, which supports a variety of Windows Mobile phones. "With releases we'll make this year," he began, "releases we'll make with 6.5 next year, Windows Mobile 7, I think we have a pretty interesting roadmap." Prior to this, Windows Mobile 6.5 had not been announced by Microsoft.

It is however said to have been mentioned casually by Motorola's CEO in an unrelated conference call. Exact features are unknown, but the Motorola executive did imply that the software could offer features competitive with the iPhone, which has made deep inroads into the smartphone industry. The current version of Windows Mobile, 6.1, is considered by many to be unfriendly to touchscreen technology and is increasingly being paired with overlay interfaces such as HTC's TouchFLO or Sony Ericsson's "panels" on the XPERIA X1.

Details of Windows Mobile 7 also remain obscure, but are expected to parallel Windows 7 for desktops.