So we can't really delve into a lot of specifics, but today Microsoft showed off the next version of Windows Mobile at their annual Mobius conference. Nope, it's not Windows Mobile 7 /
Photon, but what we saw "is an update, not an upgrade", was running on current hardware, and is due to manufacturers Q108. Our first impressions: very slick, and has a lot of features that just about any WinMo user will agree is way overdue. In other words, we're expecting users will be stoked -- no doubt about it. Expect specific details on features and the like in the near future, we wouldn't be surprised to hear more about it CES.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Totalfixation @ Nov 29th 2007 6:35AM
iPhone Killer?
Ryan Block @ Nov 29th 2007 6:52AM
iPhone users won't be swayed, but WinMo users will be stoked for some of the new stuff!
Jon @ Nov 29th 2007 8:35AM
The Iphone does not need killing when it is already lagging behind its competitors.
waiownsyou @ Nov 29th 2007 6:35AM
Wait, so what's the point of Microsoft showing it to you early if (1) you don't get to keep a copy for the 1337ness of it or (2) inform us of what Microsoft is trying to sell here?
If this is a viral campaign, Microsoft has phailed again
Ali @ Nov 29th 2007 9:11PM
Engadget has already leaked this though...
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/23/samsung-ultra-messaging-a-peek-at-the-future-of-windows-mobile/
LordJohnWhorfin @ Nov 29th 2007 11:32AM
So, this is an incremental update to WM6? It's not like WM6 itself was a revolution compared to WM5. I "upgraded" a few months ago and still can't notice any improvement other than the support for HTML mail. Yawn.
Nogami @ Nov 29th 2007 12:19PM
Update - excellent! Finally MS is allowing us to "update" our device without having to buy a new device! Maybe it will even be FREE!
Josh @ Nov 29th 2007 4:14PM
Ali - that is only WM6 with a fancy homescreen. NOT Photon.
Jeff @ Nov 29th 2007 6:44AM
Hmm....I wonder if anyone on xda-devs will have this soon >:-)
Angus Hedger @ Nov 29th 2007 7:05AM
Those guys rock, I have my old 2004 HTC Blue Angel on WM6 thanks to them, runs great, if anyones going to get it going on anything and everything it will be them!
Jeff @ Nov 29th 2007 7:25AM
I'm just getting used to FTouchFlo on my 8525. I wonder if this is the whole WinMo (Yahoo Go Copy Cat) Carousel thing thats coming out in Feb 08...
http://wmexperts.com/articles/rumors/windows_mobile_61_coming_with.html
Sam @ Nov 29th 2007 7:00AM
Not interested. I'll likely need a pocket supercomputer to run the improved Windows Mobile.
Angus Hedger @ Nov 29th 2007 6:29PM
Erm.. WM sucks on a 200mhz's cpu, which for some reason.. people love making phones with, but give it a 400mhz one, and 128mb of ram and it runs like a champ if you don't load it with crap, aka install most things on your mem card..
Anyway, just for kicks i opened up most of the stuff i have installed on my phone, and it only went down to 61meg free, from 71.
And it didn't moan about task switching, and this is 3 year old hardware!
Dave @ Nov 29th 2007 7:04AM
is this like saying..... ummm yeah we know winmo6 still sux even though it only came out last year on a majority of handsets.
maybe it will include features such as
not crash twice a day
actually being able to exit an application without using task manager
a version of IE that can view simple pages
not as bloated
Jon @ Nov 29th 2007 8:32AM
WinMob 6 can fit on a 64MB flash drive. How is that bloated. I agree with IE but stability seems to be fine on my Artemis.
Sam @ Nov 29th 2007 7:05AM
Is there any doubt the "improvements" are just a iPhone-like UI for what is already a bulky, cumbersome mobile OS?
Jon @ Nov 29th 2007 8:35AM
700MB for a mobile OS is bloated.
Ike Turner @ Nov 29th 2007 7:08AM
Got Damn! We want Photon! Did they at least talk or hint about it a tiny bit?
MikeWPBF @ Nov 29th 2007 7:08AM
Dear Engadget, you have become part of our daily lives. But of lately, you have been posting nonsense. This post provides no real information, Gives us loyal readers nothing but a slap in the face. You got to see something that you cant tell us anything about. In no way is that breaking news like it has been tagged because really it's no news.
Just because of AOL payroll does not mean the way you blog has to be any different. The reason we love you guys and we keep coming back is because most of us are loyal from the start and don't want to support any other site.
So to stay loyal to us, Give us a bone. Don't tell us you cant give us any details bend the rules a little or don't talk about it at all.
I'm sure more could have been said about this post. It's said to have to search for more information some place else or wait until CES.
Ryan Block @ Nov 29th 2007 7:30AM
Are we reading the same post? Sure, it's not as much information as I'd like to print, but wouldn't you rather have something than nothing? In this post you just learned:
-The next version runs on current hardware
-The next version ISN'T 7, which is pretty important
-It's got some stuff that's actually worth looking forward to
-And it's coming in the next 4 months
As someone who thinks WinMo is very important and who's followed it for years, I think this is still pretty interesting news.
Surur @ Nov 29th 2007 7:57AM
Its also old news.
http://wmexperts.com/articles/rumors/windows_mobile_61_coming_with.html From October this year.
DAZA @ Nov 29th 2007 7:58AM
I'll have to agree with Ryan, honestly. This post is pretty newsworthy, while no specifics are announced it's letting us know "keep an eye out for the next Windows Mobile, it's going to be interesting". Few points worth nothing, the fact it's not an upgrade but an update, and it's due within 4 months or so. I don't even own a Windows Mobile device (well, maybe apart from my GPS), but I found it pretty interesting. There may be plenty of other reasons to plea to Engadget, but calling this non newsworthy is your own opinion.
Velcrocore @ Nov 29th 2007 8:17AM
Yeah bro! I'm runnin WinMo 6 on my 6700, and am stoked to hear that there is an update in the works. Back off or step down, or something... geez. "Posting nonsense" my ass.
MikeWPBF @ Nov 29th 2007 9:24AM
Im not trying to start a fight or bash on engadget. I don't think it's wrong to question a professional bloggers post. The reason why he is a pro is because of the readers of engadget. There for a found it not to be an insult to anyone or engadget. I just hold them on a high standard of posting because I know for a fact what Ryan and engadget are capable of. It's only a matter of time until ryan becomes a technical analyst for CNN, or MSNBC or something. Maybe even the next David Po. So my point to all of this was give us a little more.
A news reporter always pushes his limits a little. I can understand ryan not wanting to boil any water with MSoft and in no way am i asking for that.
I was not asking for a little more information.
and ryan i apologize if you took my comment the wrong way, I in no way meant to question you or offend you. It's just normally you push the limits a little bit, this time it was a little dry.
Luigi193 @ Nov 29th 2007 10:15AM
Wait...You would rather NOT hear about it, then hear some details? I don't get it...
Why is everything a frikin saga here? Cut the "Formal Letter" crap.
Naveed @ Nov 29th 2007 12:58PM
"cut the formal letter crap"
lol
Tom @ Nov 29th 2007 9:50PM
ANYONE who runs a windows mobile phone and visits ANY forums related to it knew about all of these things MONTHS ago. This isnt news, its just engadget gloating that they got to test it out.
Ryan Block @ Nov 30th 2007 2:24AM
Mike, we push the limits of what we do every day. But we don't break embargoes -- never have or will. If we agree to only publicly discuss X, Y, and Z about a product, that's exactly what we will discuss -- unless someone wants to send us some leaked info.
Homeboy @ Nov 29th 2007 7:08AM
Finally! With the iPhone's slick UI and Google's Android on the way, MS has no choice but to update Windows mobile. No they need to team up with a manufacturer which can adapt a device to the actually OS.
quandmeme @ Nov 29th 2007 4:28PM
That's what its about. Better competitors means better products. Consumers win whatever their flavor. I say bring it on.
Sam @ Nov 29th 2007 7:08AM
The more Microsoft tinkers with Windows Mobile, the more I long for devices with Palm OS. Sure Palm OS is old and dated, but it's efficient, effective, and clean.
Dammit it Verizon. Where is the 755p?
Bloobie @ Nov 29th 2007 10:33AM
Be careful of what you say this morning. The MS fanboys all had their morning meetings cancelled and are low-ranking all comments like these. Just check out the Zune article from today to see. :)
dj-kenpo @ Nov 29th 2007 1:37PM
wow, you both did get low ranked. can i get low ranked too for echoing that palm os is faster to respond?
low rank the truth! shut yer ears and cry! I'd rather use winmo over palm os, but it doesn't mean I'm going to lie to myself and say it's better coded. it's not.
Draconix @ Nov 29th 2007 7:15AM
It would be nice if they actually improve on an existing OS rather than rush into a new one. Bout the only thing missing from my Q9m is Flash support and ability to kill apps on demand w/o opening the task manager. a few performance tweaks would be really nice. Its nice to be able to open IE, Listen to MP3s and text message at the same time, but if I swap out of IE for more than a minute, I lose the page I was on... very crappy. FIX MEMORY ISSUES!!!
p3ngwin @ Nov 29th 2007 8:25AM
*It would be nice if they actually improve on an existing OS rather than rush into a new one*
dude, did you READ the article:
"is an update, not an upgrade"
that means it improves existing OS and is NOT a new OS.
Draconix @ Nov 29th 2007 9:19AM
Yes, I know, Read my comment before you try to blast me...
p3ngwin @ Nov 30th 2007 1:01PM
i read it...i still only see:
*you ask for them to fix current version instead of making NEW version
*you say what you want to fix what's missing from YOUR phone.
i say read the article because it says it IS an improvement and NOT a new version (it's what you asked for and you still complain?)
......where's the confusion dude?
Draconix @ Nov 30th 2007 2:08PM
I think you're mis-reading something somewhere or I didn't write my comment 100% correctly. Either way, I'm stoked that MS is making an upgrade rather than releasing a new version that probably won't be released for my phone, let alone any of the other countless PDA/Phone Models out there. (IE: my HP iPaq rx5915 has MinMo5 and no upgrade to WinMo6 is ever going to exist, even thou it is well compliant with it)
Rich @ Nov 29th 2007 7:27AM
You mean Windows Mobile will finally come with a web browser and media player that don't completely suck?
Ebbi @ Nov 29th 2007 7:37AM
Hope it has threaded messaging...
helio9000 @ Nov 29th 2007 7:54AM
Did they say anything about what happened to Photon? They showed that off 3 years ago!
joule @ Nov 29th 2007 7:54AM
A browser that doesn't suck would be great. pocket ie is NOTHING compared to the safari on iphones. I've never used a slower browser.
Andrea @ Nov 29th 2007 7:56AM
I think great deal of the Window Mobile experience is ruined by sluggish 200Mhz cpu phones. Microsoft should require at least a 400 Mhz cpu to run their next version of Windows Mobile.
Lein @ Nov 29th 2007 8:14AM
Something to the tune of 624MHz would be great. Oh, and if they started breathing down hardware manufacturers' backs to up the resolution on the display, that'd be nice too (how long have we been stuck on QVGA... and why are high-end phones such as the Samsung i760 and the Audiovox XV6800 STILL coming out with them?)
Damn, I wish SOMEONE would come out with an EV-DO Compact Flash card that would work in a Dell Axim x50v. It has all of the above, and then some.
Outdoorist @ Nov 29th 2007 8:20AM
I agree with Andrea, but also RAM is a problem too. I went from a wizard (8125) with 200mhz and 64MB of RAM to the Touch (sprint) with 400mhz and 128MB of RAM...HUGE difference. with 64MB of RAM there was barely 20 left after WinMo started up, and then if you didnt close programs after every use (in memory settings) you'd use up the memory very quickly.
joule @ Nov 29th 2007 8:21AM
I agree on the qvga stuff, I want a full vga touch, but I don't think it can be done in the 2.8" display format, all vga pdas are 3.5" and that in my opinion is too big. On the processor issue, battery will suffer if we overclock 2-3 times, won't it?
p3ngwin @ Nov 29th 2007 8:41AM
i hear ya LEIN!
this is mainly the reason i'm still using my HTC UNIVERSAL after 2 years, because for ME there is nothing yet that meets what i want.
* minimum equivalent 500mhz processor, preferably with multimedia co-processor for awesomeness!
*minimum VGA resolution, preferably wide-screen (like 800*480). the screen may as well be the entire front of the device like devices as the the iPHONE. the people that don't like "touch" screens for buttons are the insecure types that NEED to feel a real hardware button. christ, Samsung even pandered to these people and made HAPTIC buttons a feature of there screens because people "didn't like the lack of confirmation a button is pressed".
*real QWERTY keyboard (until decent voice recognition is possible)
*enough RAM to run more than 2 apps IF i wanted to. that means none of this bullshit of having to close an app to run another because you CAN'T do both
*GPS, the only thing i miss in hardware for my UNIVERSAL. i currently use maps, but GPS has so many cool uses like "GPS TAGS" (you pass a place you have previously "tagged" and it pops up a notification to remind you to do something there)
*decent camera autofocus and get a decent lens, enough of the pointless 5,6,7,8 megapixel rubbish. get a decent lens and anything above 3MP will be great.
*VGA and above movie recording @30FPS at least. why are we still forced to endure QVGA @15 FPS?
these are some of the most basic things
Thierry @ Nov 29th 2007 8:27AM
Windows Mobile is not an iPhone killer, as the latter is already dead when you see performances of i.e. Samsung Ultra Smart F700... ;-)
More seriously, Engadget, could you insert a link to the Mobius Event in Amsterdam (I suppose it this event you speak about, nov 29,2007) or to Windows mobile press room related to this update (where you find this info), as nobody has cover yet this event ?
thanks.
strider_mt2k @ Nov 29th 2007 9:45AM
Remember when PalmOS was COMPETITION to this OS.
Really brings home who's working on stuff and who isn't, doesn't it?
Bombaclaat @ Nov 29th 2007 11:38AM
I just bought a mogul with winmo 6 and buggy firmware. Now I will have to buy a whole new phone to get 7?