Windows Mobile 6.5 to support widgets?
updated 04:55 pm EDT, Tue March 10, 2009
Win Mo 6.5 Gets Widgets
Microsoft could be giving Windows Mobile 6.5 a hidden feature that lets it run web-like widgets, according to a source. The unnamed contact for Unwired notes that, somewhat like Apple's Mac OS X Dashboard widgets, the mobile OS will let users run mini apps based on HTML, JavaScript and images that would use the Internet Explorer rendering engine. It would give Windows Mobile small web apps that let users check information or perform some tasks without launching the browser or going further than the home screen.
An example MSN Money app (shown below) would provide a stock ticker similar to the built-in Apple widget.
No other details are available of how widgets would be implemented, though the feature will likely be available when Windows Mobile 6.5 arrives on shipping products in September. It's also uncertain whether Microsoft will publicize the feature and streamline development ahead of launch.
Adding the feature would put Microsoft on closer parity with software from Google, which offers widget-like apps in Android, as well as Samsung's TouchWiz layer on top of multiple operating systems.
