Some deets on the future of Windows Mobile laid bare
By Ryan Block 
posted Apr 24th 2006 12:09AM
posted Apr 24th 2006 12:09AM
Brighthand appears to have
unearthed a few details on what's up with Windows Mobile 5.0 and beyond, as laid out in a Microsoft "Tech
Days" presentation given in Switzerland (which we can only presume they didn't expect to make it into the wild --
oh come now, sillies). There isn't much to work with here, but the document makes mention of "Crossbow," what
might otherwise be remarked as WinMo AKU3. We know, we know, you probably still don't have AKU2 yet, but with Crossbow you might be able to look forward
to "Great mobile messaging," "Advanced Business and Enterprise propositions," a "Strengthened
phone experience," "Faster, easier application development and distribution," and a "Q1/Q2 '07
Marketing Launch." Yeah, that doesn't really tells loads. As for Photon: "New, Flexible
Shell," "Modular Containers," "'Yamazaki' CE kernel," and "Q1/Q2 '08 Marketing
Launch," meaning it could be mid to late 2008 to see the true successor to WinMo 5.0. Dems the breaks, ladies and
gents, we're just letting you know what we find.[Via MGN]
Update: Reader Uni points out you can snag the PowerPoint presentation here.
The notes from the "Windows Mobile Release Roadmap" slide in the actual PowerPoint file are interesting:
MSFP – AKU 2.0 – devices in market throughout 2006
Crossbow – devices in market throughout 2007
Photon – devices in market throughout 2008
AKU 2.0/MSFP: In addition to our major releases, we have also adjusted the schedule for AKU 2.0 and MSFP.
We have high expectations for the release of Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 2.0 and have received considerable, positive, internal and external feedback on our plans for this release. AKU 2.0 will deliver MSFP which in combination with Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2), provides an enhanced end user messaging experience, better performance, and several key device management capabilities when deploying a mobile messaging solution. The final release of AKU 2.0 is now projected for November 4, 2005. A release candidate is projected to be available on October 14, 2005 to OEMs.
Crossbow Wave: As devices and upgrades featuring Windows Mobile 5.0 Adaptation Kit Update 2.0 (AKU 2.0) with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) become widely available in 1HCY06, a Crossbow release in that same time period decreases Microsoft’s, OEMs’, and mobile operators’ ability to realize the investment made in devices based on AKU 2.0 with MSFP. Under this consideration, we plan to make Crossbow available to OEMs in Q4 2006, to start the commercialization process. This provides an opportunity for OEMs and Microsoft to market and sell MSFP devices for the majority of the 2006 calendar year, including the Holiday season.
Photon Wave: Photon is a very strategic release for Microsoft. The vision of a unified platform, modular architecture, and a customizable user interface are all focused on enabling our OEMs to deliver a wider range of differentiated products to meet the unique needs of target market segments. As we considered the scope of the Photon release, the Crossbow schedule and goal of the long term roadmap, it was clear that adjusting the Photon schedule was also necessary. We, therefore, plan to make Photon available to OEMs in Q4 2007, to start the commercialization process. This adjustment should help enable OEMs to ship Crossbow devices throughout 2007 and provide necessary time to commercialize Photon devices for a 2008 release. This adjustment should also help enable us to base Photon on the next major release of Windows CE (“Yamazaki”). “Yamazaki” will provide an improved kernel, a new security model, and a number of other enhanced features.
Also it appears the AKU3 is not in fact "Crossbow". AKU3 is listed as an "AKU RTM" on the slide, and is shown as dropping sometime in Q2 or Q3 in '06. Crossbow is listed as an "Add-On RTM" and is shown as dropping in Q4 '06.
"“Yamazaki” will provide an improved kernel, a new security model, and a number of other enhanced features."
Reading through the details, this sounds an awful lot like Symbian v9. The major difference is that Symbian v9 is shipping right now.
Slide 55 is the juicy one. You can see it directly by clicking here: http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/index.php?showtopic=11890&pid=50956&st=0&#entry50956
Of course roadmaps are not set in stone. But seeing this does give one a feeling that Windows Mobile is very well positioned to take leverage Moore's Law as mobile devices double in horsepower every 18 months. We're just a year or two away from a 1,000 MHz PDA/Smartphone.
Combined with the release of Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile (http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/index.php?showtopic=11884) the bar has just been raised.
These are exciting times. :-)