Windows Mobile 6.5 phones coming Oct. 6
HTC's Touch Pro2 is among the new phones expected to ship with Windows Mobile 6.5.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft is hoping that a new crop of phones this fall will help the company in its quest to stay relevant in the cell phone market.
The software maker said on Tuesday that the first phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 will launch worldwide on October 6 and will include phones running on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.
The new crop of phones will also be the first that Microsoft will sell under the "Windows Phone" brand, an effort to tap into the marketing power of its flagship desktop operating system.
With Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is hoping to convince users that its phones are not just good for doing work. Much of Microsoft's phone focus in recent times has been on improving the operating system's consumer features in an effort to regain ground lost to rivals.
"We know people want a phone for their whole life," said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile unit. "They just frankly want to do more. That's why we've shifted."
Although it includes features such as improved Web browsing and conversation threaded e-mail, as well as a new Windows Marketplace app store, Windows Mobile 6.5 is seen largely as an interim upgrade of the operating system.
Microsoft has come under criticism for the rather slow pace at which its software has evolved in the face of competition from the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre.
AT&T, which is one of Microsoft's oldest partners in the cell phone business, said that it is supporting Windows Mobile 6.5, although the carrier acknowledged that Apple and others in the market have grown faster.
Even in large corporations, Windows Mobile has not maintained the position it once seemed poised to inherit.
"Microsoft probably didn't get the share of the enterprise space that we all would have expected three or four years ago," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices for AT&T. "I think Research In Motion did even a better than expected job of gaining that share."
AT&T didn't say which of its phones will support Windows Mobile 6.5, but it will likely be a mix of new phones and current models that can be upgraded to the new OS. The company is looking to close one gap between Windows Mobile and its rivals. Starting next month, customers will be able to more easily use their Windows Mobile phones on AT&T's Wi-Fi network, matching a feature already available to its BlackBerry and iPhone users.
As for Android, AT&T has yet to commit publicly to shipping an Android phone, but Bradley said the company is actively studying whether to do so.
"We are going to do what's right for customers," Bradley said. "It's an important development in the industry and one that we are watching real carefully to make sure that our customers have choice and the best service."
For her part, Ferguson said she believes that Windows Mobile 6.5 is a significant step forward, although she declined to predict whether Microsoft will gain share in the wake of its release.
"These are going to be fabulous phones that meet the customers' needs for their whole life," Ferguson said. "In the end, that's how I judge us."
The October 6 launch ties in with a "consumer open house" event that Microsoft Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach is hosting that day in New York City.
One of the big pushes with the new release is the Windows Marketplace app store. Although Microsoft has long offered tens of thousands of applications, they have been hard to find and download, something Marketplace is designed to address. While the Marketplace will launch with Windows Mobile 6.5, Ferguson declined to say how many programs have been submitted or approved thus far.
Ferguson did say that among the programs will be Netflix, Facebook, and a variety of games.
"We need enough apps that customers can have some great choice," Ferguson said. As for the Netflix app, I checked and it lets users manage their queue or watch previews, but not actually watch movies form their queue. (That would have been a compelling feature, I reckon.)
Microsoft will also formally launch its free My Phone service, which has been in beta. In addition to backing up contacts, calendar, text messages, photos, and other data, the service will also have a "Find My Phone" feature, similar to a paid iPhone service that helps users locate a lost iPhone.
In a July interview, Todd Brix said that the Find My Phone can be used to remotely send a message to a phone and cause it to ring, even if it is set to vibrate. If that still doesn't locate it, users can look up on a map where the phone last synchronized to the service. Users can also remotely lock the phone and send a message to it urging whoever has it to call a specific number. If that doesn't work, users can also remotely wipe the device.
The software maker has said little of its plans for Windows Mobile beyond the current release, although the software maker has been working for more than two years now on a more substantial overhaul of the operating system as well as a collection of new consumer-oriented mobile services. The operating system upgrade, Windows Mobile 7, was originally expected early this year and has hit several delays. It's now not expected until sometime next year.
Microsoft is expected to work closely with a smaller number of hardware makers, who will be among the first to adopt the new products when they debut next year.
AT&T's Bradley declined to talk about Microsoft's roadmap for the future, but said he has seen some encouraging signs that the company will make devices with more consumer appeal.
"I have every reason to think they are going to make that happen," Bradley said. "That's frankly an imperative."
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
I guess that means Windows Mobile will be taking over as the market share leader in smart phones eh?
Amen
The parent post was a little trollish. That said, Microsoft has spent millions of dollars promoting the start menu as a brand to associate with the windows experience, which is the real reason for its inclusion on windows phones. I can only imagine the designers had a terrible time trying to make that metaphor work on such a small form factor and in my opinion weren't very successful - I'm assuming that it still does what it used to do and takes you to another screen full of icons.
On the iphone the home button is a start menu of sorts and the spotlight screen means that you don't have to clutter up your phone with loads of app icons. Not sure what metaphors blackberry/pre/android use - anyone know??
Amazing.
Serious... this 'first' stuff is boring.
The UI looks much better, and response quicker. Better functionality, and the app store can't be a bad thing.
But I guess that we need to see the final version to knoe if Microsoft as done a good job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFjPVpyGvsk
Amen
You're earning quite the reputation with each and every post you make.
We will see if they manage to put on some polish so their application advantage means anything.
I've been waiting for Sprint to release the Touch Pro2 since last April. It was officially announced for next Tuesday yesterday.
Now I have to wonder if I buy it, when an upgrade will be ready...
Horrible thought: it could be a Microsoft troll using more devious tactics...
Amen
If it's so great, why don't they have any market share? Jamming features onto a device doesn't make it good. I agree those features are good in and of themselves, but they have to be implemented in an easy to use way. The iPhone does it. WinMo does not.
Amen
'm using a WinMo and happy with it. I didn't pick this phone because its fancy interface. I chose my phone 'cause I want FREEDOM to install WHATEVER I want on it. I COMMAND my phone what to do and how I want it to be done. Sorry Apple!! You (apple) can't tell me what to do.
Amen
Really? This has very rarely been the case historically. Hacked builds find their way onto all kinds of devices but official, carrier-supported OS upgrades to Windows Mobile devices are pretty uncommon. The claim is always that the hardware can't support it but it seems more likely that they don't want to dump money into it. They know they can't charge for the upgrade so why go through all that trouble when they can just market a shiny new phone?
Maybe, *maybe*, some 6.1 devices will get a true upgrade option but there aren't many 6.1 devices out there right now. I'd be shocked if any 6.0 devices were given official upgrades.
I think you better be prepaired to be "shocked".
Also, both Sprint and T-Mobile are charging $350 for the HTC Touch Pro 2 pictured in this article. That price is AFTER singing a 2 year contract and after a $100 rebate!
I have given up with my Storm after hitting endlessly on its fancy screen and not getting it to register most of my touches. The HTC wins without question PLUS it gets its job done when required!
http://mobilebroadbandblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/does-iphone-increase-browsing-better-believe-it/
Amen
I get no enjoyment whatsoever in browsing the web on little tiny screens.
@frozenjello why would you "automatic fail" a device because of the type of touch screen it uses? If you haven't tried it on one of the newer phones, don't knock it. It works perfectly well, and better than capacitive in some cases.
ps. "fail" is so 10-year-old.
It is a big reason why I don't like the iPhone.
I sincerely believe that one of the reasons why Windows Mobile has failed to catch on with the general public (for nearly a decade now) is because of their laggy resistive touch screens. The new models coming out might be better.
Almost all of my iPhone use is web browsing, mostly mobile-formatted versions of news sites so the text isn't too small. Yes, that requires A LOT of scrolling, and I wholeheartedly appreciate the capacitive screen registering the slightest touch of my fingertip.
My major concern is if they've fixed the memory management. About once a week or so I have to reboot the phone to get all the memory back. I would also like the ability to move more of the o/s apps to a memory card to free up more main memory.
I don't claim it's the best phone on the market or anything like that, but I really don't have any problems with it. I do like how much you can customize it.
Having said that, if I ever need to replace my phone I wouldn't mind trying a Palm Pre, or an HTC running Android. Most likely I'll keep using this phone for a few years before I get tired of it.
If you don't like winmo that's fine, but don't blame it on HTC. They make nice phones.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/09/01/iphone.app.wins.ms.contest/
Amen
Amen
6.5 is the biggest let down! It's 6.1 with a few band aids and make up. When is Microsoft going to come up with a fresh mobile product instead of giving us the same old garbage?
Amen
I'll go figure- how much did Apple spend on advertising and pushing the iPhone? Now how about Microsoft? Do you have that data available?
Could be that Microsoft was waiting before making their move. Such things are not terribly unheard of in the business world.
Clue, meet BogusBasin. You two appear to be strangers.
Amen
Seriously? Sorry, but you sound like an idiot. Yes, Apple advertised their product, and look at what happened: Their ONLY phone outsold ALL of Microsoft's phones while being tied to only ONE U.S. carrier. And guess what? Soon the country with the largest population in the world is going to be able to get their hands on an iPhone. How's that for a clue?
BogusBasin, Amen.
Even bigger problem for MS is that WinMo simply isn't making any money, maybe $300 million per year tops. Meanwhile, Apple has a $10 billion cash cow per year from nothing in less than two years. That didn't happen just cause Apple did a lot of advertising.
Amen
Apple, on the other hand, makes money off the hardware, the apps, the retail sales (from it's own Apple stores), the "Made-for-iPhone" licensing, AND the carrier kickbacks!
That's why Apple's iPhone division is rolling in $10 billion per year revenue, while MS only gets a measly $8 to $15 off of each WinMo license. So even though MS sold more licenses than Apple sold iPHones last year, they didn't make squat because they only make money off of a very small part of the ecosystem.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/171238/windows_mobile_65_wont_fix_microsofts_mobile_woes.html
PCworld. PC. World. I love it.
Amen
http://www/bogusbasinisclueless.com/
http://www/bogusbasiniisanappleemployee.com/
(P.S. - typed on my iPhone...suck on that Ballmer!!)
(PS. Im writing this on my cheap symbian phone)
And by the way, i could have easily posted this from my WinMo phone too.
Thanks.
- by krootdude September 1, 2009 4:18 PM PDT
- The iPhone widely outsold many of its competitors through sheer image. The iPhone is by all means a good phone, but not one I would ever intend to buy. It is too centered on all of the apps and one is soon tempted to load all sorts of junk onto it. I need a phone to make calls, text and maybe even surf when absolutely necessary. I don't need to waste my time playing low-grade phone games or checking my facebook status every other minute just because I can.
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- by Piva123 September 2, 2009 1:21 AM PDT
- Did you just say the iPhone was bad because it had to many features. These apps you claim to wreak the phone enhance it and take it to another level. For you to post a negative thing on the iPhone solely because you believe that you wouldn't be able to stop yourself loading it up with games i s problem for you and one that others shouldn't have to read about. It is also amusing that you discredit the iPhone by saying that you will carry around your zune,xbox and Phone.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (88 Comments)The iPhone is talked about too much and frankly (as you probably were able to tell by my prior comments) I'm not a fan of this oh so wonderful phone. I'm stickin' to my blackberry curve 8310 and maybe later going to switch to the Bold. If I want music I have my Zune, if I want games I play on my 360 with a big screen. The iPhone is everything i never needed ... oh and its a phone too... its all that.