MS Windows Phone Branding

Microsoft will drop its Windows Mobile public branding when it introduces Windows Mobile 6.5 this month, if claims from market insiders speaking to Digitimes are accurate. Instead, the software company will simply pitch the phones as "Windows" devices and omit their version number. Why Microsoft is making the move is unknown, though Microsoft has recently been promoting a holistic Windows ecosystem where the experience is independent of any one device or platform.

Additionally, the 6.5 update will leave Microsoft using the same major Windows Mobile revision for roughly three years and may encourage the company to de-emphasize the version number until it can release a major version number and bring the software more in line with its desktop counterpart, Windows 7.

The leak also supports the belief that Microsoft is accelerating the Windows Mobile 7 release and plans a hardware launch of devices for April 2010, roughly five months ahead of the company's usual late summer schedule for production Windows Mobile devices. The beta version is also understood due late this year.

By Electronista Staff