Microsoft report hints at Windows Mobile 6.5 launch by October!
By Will Park on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 11:38 AM PST In Rumors, Windows Mobile
Still waiting on pins and needles for Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to finally launch their latest Windows Mobile revision? Well, keep waiting. Sorry. Them’s the breaks.
But, it seems we may have a bearing on Windows Mobile 6.5’s launch window. Microsoft’s latest earnings report indicates that the new touch-optimized WM6.5 OS will launch “by the fourth quarter.” It’s not much to go on, but that means Redmond is looking to go live with the oft-criticized mobile operating system sometime between now and October.
Windows Mobile fans can expect Windows Mobile 6.5 to take UI customizability to a whole new level, allowing for custom graphics overlays and homescreen “Titanium” plug-ins. WM6.5 will also sport all kinds of designer themes from the likes of Vera Wang and Isaac Mizrahi, which should appeal to the fashionista within. And, don’t forget that Microsoft is looking to launch their own mobile application store, the Windows Marketplace, with Windows Mobile 6.5. Still, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s unrivalled success with their App Store makes for some big shoes to fill…
[Via: WMExperts]
Actually October is not the right timeframe – it’s a little odd, but Microsoft’s fiscal year runs July to June. So the 6.5 version of the Mobile OS will ship in their fiscal Q4, which is this calendar quarter. You can expect 6.5 to show up on phones on US carriers mid to late summer, depending on the carriers.