Engadget reports from Barcelona that Microsoft have officially announced the much-leaked Windows Mobile 6.5 – their new Smartphone operating system.
Needless with Microsoft’s announcements, you won’t actually see this until the end of 2009 and then only on new phones. And don’t hold your breath – it looks like a reskinning of the existing clunky, slow operating system. Not that OS X on the iPhone is always snappy, but at least the user interface is superb.
At Conosco’s IT support service, we recommend Windows Mobile for business use based on its excellent integration with Exchange servers for mail, calendars and contacts – but it’s not a great mobile experience in other respects.
UPDATE:
Alex Reeve, who runs the mobile bit of Microsoft UK … says My Phone doesn’t use Microsoft’s Active Sync (licensed to Apple, Google, Palm, Nokia etc) or Windows Live Mesh. It’s a dedicated consumer-oriented solution.
It’s not clear whether the 6.5 Phone OS itself will have ActiveSync, the crucial link to Exchange email, calendars and contacts. If it doesn’t, it’s a turkey.
