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Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5.3 shown off very, very quietly

Say, for a moment, that you're Microsoft and you're on the cusp of releasing a version of the much-maligned Windows Mobile 6.5 that actually made it touch-friendly for once -- but like all WinMo versions before it, you're relying on carriers and manufacturers to wage an inexcusably slow, arbitrary, incomplete upgrade campaign. Wouldn't you think that quietly burying its launch amongst a sea of more interesting (and less controversial) products might be a good idea? Indeed, that appears to be the angle Microsoft is taking at CES by discreetly showing off a Toshiba TG01 and Pharos Traveller loaded with the long-rumored 6.5.3 with "tiles" along the bottom and finger-friendly adjustments throughout the UI. As far as we can tell, this truly is what 6.5 should've been -- in our quick look, we're finally comfortable not having a stylus handy, even on a resistive display. It's still not pretty, but this is a case where function is at least earning its money trying to trump form.
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