HP confirms support for Windows Mobile 6.5
By Laura June 
posted February 21st 2009 8:10AM
posted February 21st 2009 8:10AM
[Via Pocketnow]
HP Announces Support for Windows Mobile 6.5
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 16, 2009
HP today announced plans to support the Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.5 operating system on future smartphone devices, continuing its efforts to deliver the latest wireless technologies to the diverse mobile professional market.
Windows Mobile 6.5 on HP smartphones will offer key enhancements to business productivity, personal messaging and mobile Internet capabilities, making it even easier for mobile customers to communicate and to manage critical business and personal information. With its new visual appeal, enhanced mobile Internet experience and greater personalization capabilities, the new operating system boosts the opportunities for Windows-based smartphones in broader market segments.
"HP continues to work toward developing smartphones that simplify the mobile experience and meet evolving customer needs," said Susan Macke, vice president, Marketing, Handheld Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. "Working closely with key partners such as Microsoft allows for smooth integration of new technologies for the best possible customer experience."
"Windows phones enable people to stay on top of their personal and business lives by connecting them to the diverse array of information they need throughout the day," said Todd Peters, corporate vice president, Mobile Communications Business, at Microsoft Corp. "We're excited HP will offer phones with Windows Mobile 6.5, which will help people access and personalize services and applications that can make a phone truly individual."
The refreshed look of the new operating system offers a more interactive touch experience that responds to tapping, flicking and panning on-screen movements. The mobile Internet experience is improved with browser enhancements and Rich Internet Application (RIA) support that allows users to add new dynamic applications on the home screen.
Additionally, with Windows Mobile 6.5, customers will have new ways to personalize their smartphones including new themes, applications and ring tones, and by using personal photos as photo contact cards and for the home screen background.
Customers can also transfer music and video to their smartphones with Windows Media Player and select an array of widgets for use on their home screens. Customers will enjoy staying up to date with a rich and more-efficient messaging experience. HP smartphones with Windows Mobile 6.5 will automatically discover Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 settings for company e-mail. A unified e-mail inbox allows customers to see "text" or Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages and conveniently playback their voicemail. SMS messages can also be archived on an Exchange Server to safeguard information for later reference.
About HP
HP, the world's largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
Awesome? This is practically no-announcement. What else they can do? And no upgrades for existing devices - awesome :)
Unfortunately, due to the fact that HP and other manufacturers more or less has to hand over control of the firmware over to the network when they [contract]/[whore] the device out, firmware updates are almost entirely left up to the discretion of the provider. Many of them even disable the Automatic Updates features of newer (even non-smart) phones that can download firmware OTA.
I agree, I saw "awesome" here and wondered what was up. I've had really bad luck with HP devices and computers, to the point where I just won't buy from them as a rule. Certainly a large company adopting the newest version of a windows product is a no-brainer. Awesome would be if they announced that they were going to create a device that was designed to run both WM and Android, with an easy method of installing and upgrading both. Now that would be news. Or, if HP would actually "invent" something...
this isn't news.
Actually, from my perspective this is good news. The iPaq line has always been the high end of PDA and hand held mobiles, from the HX4700 in 2004 (which I still use today, with VGA screen and processor capable of playing most videos using Coreplayer) to the iPaq 210 last year, with similar but improved specs.
I have yet to come across a more versatile device, and I own plenty of handhelds from a half dozen different manufacturers.
So, if this means they are planning to continue their high end PDA lines.... hurray!
Of course, if this applies only to HP Smartphones...... then meh.
I am the owner of an iPAQ 210 and HP is, in fact, not at all awesome. There has been no support for this device whatsoever and it is fairly buggy.
It is also unfortunate that no one has been able to hack the bootloader so the wonderful folks over at XDA developers can not release any third-party ROMs for it. :(
Unless they release some irresistible device in the future, HP has lost me as a customer.
For the ‘no upgrade’ politics and lack of usability, last week I finished my relation with Windows Mobile; changed back to Symbian, a Nokia E66.
I love Microsoft.
However I have question emerging from my positive experience with Vista, and with an eye on Windows 7, which is excellent;
Does the designation of " point 5 (6.5)" indicate that this is a bit half baked, and that relatively soon a Mobile 7.0 will be due out ?
(I do know what decimal releases really mean).
Of course Microsoft are not as bad as Apple is this regard, leaching out incremental releases every 24 months...but come on... let me in on it Microsoft, should I hold off till Mobile 7.0 ?
yes and no
Firstly i must correct you on OSX. Yes they do realse a new os every 18/24 months but these are major releases adding significant features. If xp is 10.0 then vista was 10.1 and 7 will be 10.2 The difference is we dont have to wait as long for these new features. Plus our upgrades are $120. Yours are double that. So really. Apple and MS are equal. Microsofts upgrades just *seem* more significant because they dont release them in point form but give them seperate names. Its just marketing tactics.
Back to your question, yes 6.5 is a half baked release. 6.1 was much more significant comparatively. 6.5 is simply a coat of gloss. My opinion is 7 is taking longer to develop than they anticipated and they had to do something so released this in the mean time.
7 will not be available for quite some time. Honestly its more about the device. If you really like the Diamond2 or whatever then get it. XDA Devs will port 7 to your device even if you can *officially* upgrade it.
@Adderz: Shows how much you know about Windows. 'We' get upgrades in the form of service packs or security updates. They're generally 100% free. Upgrading to the next Windows version does NOT cost twice the $120 you have to spend for a new OS X version. I looked it up, and to the highest price you have to pay to upgrade from XP to Windows Vista is $220, NOT $240 if you want to be all technical about it.
It's sad that there are lots of people spreading misinformation to other people, pertaining technology.
Even thought 6.5 doesn't offer too much new to the table, I disagree that it was just tossed in before Windows Mobile 7. I think Microsoft wanted to make 6.5 a transitional OS towards 7, to at least give Windows Mobile 6.X users at least something they can upgrade too, if they're carrier or handset maker offers it (which most then often, isn't likely - Something MS should fix).
Not what i meant dimbo.
I wasnt talking about service packs i was talking about actual UPGRADES as in major releases.
You have service packs, we have we have two point releases such as 10.5.6.
And yes yours do just twice as much or more. For $120 i can install Leopard on any machine that meets the requirements. You will need to buy the full version to do that. Not the "upgrade" version.
So you..stop...spewing..your...crap im not touting Windows is better or OSX is better, im saying it how it bloody is. Microsoft is no better or worse than Apple when it comes to releases.
Sure you can disagree with me on 6.5, thats your opinion. I just think if Microsoft is losing market share because of its dated OS, do you really think they are going to waste time putting out 6.5 when if they had something more substantial? All 6.5 is is basically a lock screen, a today screen plugin and a new keyboard.
To me that smell half baked.
Adderz is right.
2000 - OS X Beta
2001 - OS X Cheetah
2001 - OS X Puma
2002 - OS X Jaguar
2003 - OS X Panther
2005 - OS X Tiger
2007 - OS X Leopard
2009 - OS X Snow Leopard (TBA)
2001 - Windows XP
2007 - Windows Vista
2009 - Windows 7 (TBA?)
From Cheetah to Leopard: 6 major releases of OS X.
From XP to Vista: 2 major releases of Windows.
But anyway, going from WinMo 6.1 to 6.5, what is the difference/change in terms of technological advancements?
I mean specific things, not vague wording like "faster response," "stability," or "honeycomb." For example, Apple continually works on enhancing the iPhone's OS X Core Graphics. A graphics compositing engine framework layer built to create the user interface, including on-the-fly rendering and anti-aliasing.
What's WinMo 6.5 improving over 6.1?
i agree with you gilberto.
People now days i guess use more of symbian phones and with the latest news of the nokia e55, people will tend to buy it-
http://www.techreviews4u.com/2009/02/16/nokia-announces-e55/
bag of hurt
So, will this only go for HP's smartphones or also their PDAs? (Is HP the last company left in the PDA business now that Palm's pulled out?)
haha HP is truly awesome.
I am an owner of HP ipaq 214 (210 in US) and while the hardware is good the software isn't. Slow at some times, bluetooth module doesn't want to turn on until I restart it... I would like to see an upgrade to WM 6.5 but I don't think that will happen.
I also have an ipod touch 2g which is great. Super fast software, app store... And I also like that I can update my software if I want to - with HP I can't.
HP is average...not awesome.
It would be Awesome if they put out an upgrade to the ipaq 210 line. When HP officially said no 6.1 updates, I thought they would abandon mobile devices all together.
Awesome? Don't think so. I will never buy another HP product again, unless it's an RPN calculator. My HW6515 had a ton of issues with dozens of people reporting the same problem on the HP help website. HP never even acknowledged the issue, then forgot about the product as it went on to release the 69xx series. I won't even get into their bloatware printer drivers that they never fix problems with.