First Windows Mobile 6.5 devices due in third quarter of '09?

Buzz is starting to get white-hot over Microsoft's plans for Mobile World Congress next month with a number of cloud services and a fresh UI -- presumably Windows Mobile 6.5 -- heading up the rumor pile, and if Digitimes is even close to right on this latest bit, an MWC unveiling is almost guaranteed. The publication is citing "sources" (oh, those wonderful "sources") at Taiwanese handset manufacturers saying that the first volley of WinMo 6.5-based devices will hit in the third quarter of the year with major volume following on in the fourth quarter, just in time for the holidays. These guys are well overdue for a serious overhaul and they have to be feeling the heat coming off the Palm camp right now -- among others -- so let's hope that window sticks.