Windows Mobile 7 Testing Starting Next Quarter?
Microsoft just released Windows Mobile 6.5 last month, but already, there’s talk of testing Windows Mobile 7. That might explain why 6.5 is more of a minor bump after all the time between it and the prior version. WMPowerUser caught wind of the “Maldives” WinMo 7 tester program, allegedly slated for the first quarter of 2010. Now by “tester program” I mean testing by handset manufacturers, not for average Joes and Janes. And there’s no indication that Windows Mobile 7 will hit any earlier than the third quarter of 2010. But it’s a positive sign as other mobile operating systems have caught up to, and in many ways passed, Windows Mobile over the last two years alone.
The big question in my mind isn’t where Windows Mobile 7 will be when it arrives, but rather, where will all of its competitors be at that time. Apple appears to be on a major release schedule each June or July with updated handsets and new operating system features. Google is proving that it can press the gas pedal with Android updates, too — not long after version 1.6 hit the air, we saw a flashier version 2.0 arrive. Nokia’s first Maemo phone is now shipping, but updates for that platform have no history to form a basis. BlackBerry also continues to move forward and, of course, some of us are still waiting for more great things from Palm.
Three quarters of a year can be a lifetime for mobile devices, so my hope is that Microsoft debuts something that’s ahead of its time with Windows Mobile 7.
To paraphrase an old 60s remark -
“What if you made an OS and nobody cared?”
A lot of people have already written Microsoft off much the same way people wrote Apple off years ago. Look where they are now. I am not a fan of Windows Mobile at all but I find it difficult to assume a company cannot turn things around.
It is good to read a Windows Mobile article by someone who does not appear to have written them off. I too am hoping they come out with something that is ahead of its time.
And Let the leaks begin! I cannot wait until xda gets thier hands on this. Hopefully my Touch Pro2 wil benefit somehow from a wm7 leak.