First decent Windows Mobile 6.5 screenshots leak out
They're still not as intriguing as those early leaks we got, but the first non-crappy Windows Mobile 6.5 shots hit today, and we're glad to see that terrifying bird wallpaper isn't hardcoded into the OS as we'd feared. Okay, we kid, but everything does look much nicer with antialiasing enabled, and there are some shots showing new curved tabs and new horizontal scrollbars. Welcome cosmetic changes, sure, but it's still incremental stuff -- we'll see if Microsoft has anything besides the honeycomb and My Phone in store for us at MWC. Two more at the read link.

























This is how the OS looks, I have had it running live on my phone.
dude, you need to read more stuff...its not photoshop,pro ;)
Still looks ugly. I actually prefered the original WM professional homescreen. HTC will make its own anyway...
I don't care about ugly. I care about capacitive screen support.
What's with the roadkill's point of view? Is that supposed to mean something or what? ;o)
Sorry, but these screenshots give me a headache.
Strange. It's like they're trying to rip off both old Palm OS and the iPhone simultaneously. Ultimately, it's still a stylus-driven user interface that's trying to not look too out of place next to an iPhone.
@ Darren ...
There is nothing in these screen shots to suggest it is stylus driven. You might have noticed that the honeycomb is finger friendly as opposed to the traditional Today screens on WinMo 6.0/6.1.
What Microsoft?... what is the practical purpose of that honeycomb? in what way will it operate in anyway better than having the icon view that is there now?
no difference thats the answer.
The further answer is that osx mobile and android have Microsoft bricking themselves.
(whats that MS? cant get away with a monopoly anymore?! theres competition with far better software than you now.. your going to have to innovate instead of making new themes for your archaic mobile os!
Right now windows mobile is light years behind the competition. If MS dont redesign their mobile os from the ground up soon they will be left behind. (and no manner of re-skinning and making "new honeycomb" interfaces that won't improve anything will help)
Poor windows mobile user rant over.
I'm afraid this is no more than a gut reaction by MS..
they have to get "something new" out
I must say this is pretty ugly and importantly, inconsistent interface.
Please MS, i want more than this....
Honeycomb isn't the only new thing in 6.5, they are also releasing My Phone which is MobileMe + App Store but there is no $100 per year charge.
Also how is putting the Icons in the grid form "lightyears" ahead of the competition, I suppose you think iTunes is the greatest thing since sliced bread when in reality it's a glorified spreadsheet.
I think MS learnt from Vista that a combined architectural and UI shift often scares users. 6.5 then is a subtle change to the UI which will hopefully break people into the more radical changes planned for WinMo 7.
At the end of the day though, I don't use WinMo for the prettiness (although some skins are quite attractive), but the features, and with Skybox and Live services the integrated stuff should be good.
I take it we shouldn't be expecting any Zune in the 6.5 release?
Yep you go MS.. take inspirations from Zune, you know, your hugely popular and successful product that everyone loves to use.. that would be great to use with Windows Mobile.
Seriously, where do MS get their developers from??
"Yep you go MS.. take inspirations from Zune, you know, your hugely popular and successful product that everyone loves to use.. that would be great to use with Windows Mobile.
Seriously, where do MS get their developers from??"
You mean like Apple took the look from OSX, you know, your hugely popular and successful product that less than 10% of the computing world uses..that would be great to use with the iPhone.
The interface of the Zune has always been highly praised, and it's great that its in there especially for those of us with older devices that may not be able to handle the honeycomb interface.
But I can assume no matter what they did, you would just call it "fugly" or say they copied Apple in some bizarre way, so what was the ultimate point of you post?
"You mean like Apple took the look from OSX, you know, your hugely popular and successful product that less than 10% of the computing world uses..that would be great to use with the iPhone."
Have you even seen osx? you must be blind if you think it has the same extent of similarities as the new today screen to zune..
If you haven't noticed it is a hugely popular product with most people that try it. (that aren't MS fanboys that decided they dont like it before trying) I dont know where you've been but both osx and osmobile have had unparalleled market growth in the past few years, something that MS can only dream of, including public product satisfaction ratings which MS can also only dream of..
(just look a few up it you like, i believe its something close to %79 satisfaction?)
Zune market share? less than %4.. so yes with respect, not a good idea to be taking much inspiration from it.
I am a happy osx AND windows+winmobile user. Get off your high horse and learn how to be objective, no os is perfect. I reserve the right to express my opinion on both platforms.
But I can assume no matter what non fanboys say, you would just call it "stupid" or say they shouldn't be allowed to criticize their own product (I am a WINDOWS MOBILE USER) in some bizarre way, so what was the ultimate point of your post?)
I like the sliding panels interface. I've been using it on WM6.1 Standard, and it is a simple and easy to navigate system which gives you a lot of information at a glance.
At the end of the day though, for sheer speed (mine, not the UI's) I actually prefer the conventional today screen: it ain't pretty, but it tells me everything I need, which I value much more. At least you can turn off the pretty effects if you want to. Not many OSes allow you that luxury.
It's still fugly and the fact that people think this has been Photoshop'd to make the OS look bad just goes to show how bad Microsoft's graphic design is.
That comment made no sense.
Remember when people thought those leaked shots of the Nano were Photoshoped?
Did that speak to how how bad Apple's industral design was?
It's also not going to be released until September. So chill out, it's still pre-release software. At least wait until next week, when Microsoft will be showing off what it will actually look like.
Who among you would pay $149 for one of these louse-ridden WinMo permanent beta OS's over an iPhone?
Be honest.
Anyone who wants Copy & Paste?
You don't need to jailbreak WinMo to get it to work
anyone who doesn't want to use At&t's shitty network?
Anyone who wants to install their own apps without having to ask Apple if its ok.
Anyone who wants flash.
Anyone who wants MMS messaging built into the device.
Anyone who wants a hardware keyboard option.
Anyone who wants a stylus to write traditional Chinese characters.
Anyone who wants to be able to remove their battery.
Anyone who wants a choice in the browser they use (including the underlying engine powering it).
Anyone who wants a choice in how their phone operates, looks, functions, and executes.
Anyone....
WHY IS THE X IN THE CORNER SO PIXELATED I DONT UNDERSTAND MICROSOFT
Or how to turn off caps lock, apparently.
Well, I guess it's time for ya'll to call me a fanboy or a troll, as once again, I just don't see it for this new version.
I don't think the honeycomb thing is in any way visually exciting, and as for usefulness, well, so, it's on par with icons... big whoop.
But here is the thing, that is a launcher interface, one screen, and that is what is constantly shown, so MS spent years and millions to make a launcher screen? I know there is more, but ...
So, the thing that makes MS Mobil so hard to use is.... the OK button, top right, and the two buttons on the bottom, or ... the top and bottom bars, they are not finger friendly and with changing mode often toss a few tasks in your way when you want to look at a calendar.
So, like Vista, it seems that they made a [dubious] interface screen and then we all go Ahhhhhh, nice!
Well, not me, the interface needs a FUNCTIONAL re-tooling.
Also, MS can open an app store all they want, but the general Min mobile app state is just lame, shallow, and done with little or no aesthetics by the programmers. Very tired and not interesting and certainly not fun.
I am just amazed years on that MS gets such a big FAIl when it comes to user experience, and, sorry, but I consider it a dodge for ya'll to say, well you can change everything with a third party app... Yup, and I have on bith my desktop and my phone, and that is the only reason I can stand to use them anymore.
iTunes, amazing spreadsheet interface! Sorry dude I don't use Excel to store my music.
I won't believe all these shots until Microsoft launches the OS itself.
Is the font Chinese or Japanese or Korean? My guess is Chinese. Hehehe. I'm practicing how to determine which writing is Chinese, Japanese or Korean
The New Windows Mobile 6.5 on HTC Touch HD!
check the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAq5lFQFyMI
Windows Mobile 6.5 looks pretty nice. The home screen honeycomb style looks slick. I hope 6.5 will work on my HTC Touch Dual.