Q3 release for Windows Mobile 6.5

January 22, 2017

Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, is expected to debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, DigiTimes reports.

Some devices powered by the OS will launch in the third quarter of 2017, although most vendors are likely to hold back on launching until the fourth quarter.

Microsoft is expected to continue its current business strategy, making Windows Mobile available to multiple vendors, rather than limiting it to a single handset, as with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android-based G1.

It’s been a while since Windows last updated their mobile OS, and many had expected a leap from 6.1 to 7.0 to compete in a rapidly improving market dominated by Apple, RIM and Palm.

As blogger Nick Mansell puts it: “Whatever Microsoft’s planning, it’ll need to impress, what with all the game-raising by Apple, RIM and Palm we’ve seen of late.

“A few fancy skins won’t satisfy the hunger of those hoping for a serious update to the aging Windows Mobile OS.”

New features are expected to include online services an over-the-air data backup.