First WinMo 6.5 handsets in September '09, 7.0 in April '10?

Chatter over Windows Mobile 6.5 has grown into a deafening din the past few weeks, strongly suggesting we'll all be treated to the next WinMo release at MWC in a couple weeks -- but how does that translate a device that we can hold in our own two hands, exactly? We'd previously heard Microsoft was targeting the third quarter of 2009, and "sources" of ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley are right in line. In a nutshell, she's saying manufacturers will have access to the gold code in April and the first 6.5 devices will hit the market in September (okay, tail end of the third quarter, but that's how the cookie crumbles), but she doesn't stop there -- she goes on to say that beta Windows Mobile 7 code will be in the wild in November of this year, with the first handsets following on in April of 2010. That's a long-ass time from now, yes -- but on the flipside, that's a record for releasing two major WinMo versions in rapid succession. Can't blame us for trying to find the silver lining.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 4th 2009 11:19PM]

that's depressing actually. i understand these things take time, but with 6.5 probably just bringing in a new look and a few minor feature upgrades (ala 6.1), by the time 7 actually drops it may already be outdated. i actually like WinMo (been using them exclusively for a few years now) but i've pretty much made up my mind that i'm getting a Pre so this doesnt really matter either way for me now..

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 2:08AM]

Is it just me, or is that screenshot of WM 6.5 sort of a step backwards in terms of interface design? WM 6.1 looks fantastic with the sliding panel interface, why on earth did they replace it with that standard ugly text layout?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 8:41AM]

yea im really hoping that this is just a mock up shot because the whole point of the UI is the "at-a-glance" info you can pull off of it. i can pull my WinMo Treo out of my pocket, turn the screen on, and see my next appointment, if i have email, my next task, etc. with this Zune style interface, it seems that aspect is gone. it's all scrolling, all the time. or at least that's what it looks like.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 8:44AM]

well i take that back, it may be able to show an appointment "at-a-glance" after looking at the pic again. but still, it seems too cluttered. the 6.1 Standard interface was great.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 3:24PM]

Are you talking about the touchflo overlays?

Aside from that, I'm pretty sure that pic above along with the others look a little jacked up due to the process used to grab the screenshots, as well as the nature of putting 6.5 on a 6.1 device...so it was running pretty roughly/buggy as is, but it's a pretty good representation.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 2:09AM]

I agree with SoCoolCurt -- unless Microsoft pulls a miracle out, it seems like every mobile phone vendor will want to create their own UI layer on top (like HTC's Flow or Toshiba's new stripe-bar thing on the TG01).

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 5th 2009 3:24PM]

Agreed, the release schedule is a recipe for product-canabalism. Who's gonna buy a 6.5 handset in the Fall when they can get a major release 7.0 handset in the Spring ? This seems likely to change.