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To help give you the best shopping experience, we need you to sign in to Marketplace for Mobile on your phone, then you’ll be able to buy apps from our site. Don’t have Marketplace on your Windows Mobile 6.x phone? Download it here. World View – Select Catalog: Australia – EnglishAustria – GermanBelgium – FrenchBelgium – DutchBrazil – Portugese-BrazilCanada – FrenchCanada – EnglishFrance – FrenchGermany – GermanGreece – GreekHong Kong – Traditional ChineseIndia – EnglishIreland – EnglishItaly – ItalianJapan – JapaneseLuxembourg – FrenchMexico – SpanishNetherlands – DutchNew Zealand – EnglishNorway – NorwegianPoland – PolishPortugal – PortugueseSingapore – EnglishSpain – SpanishTaiwan – Traditional ChineseUnited Kingdom – EnglishUnited States – English (home)United States – SpanishKorea – Korean SHOWCASE UNO Kinoma Play Winter Sports L… Battleship Conn… Battleship Conn… Agenda One Guitar Hero 5 Heineken Vancou… AP Mobile MySportTraining MOST POPULAR MySpace for Win… Social Networks Microsoft My Ph… Utilities Meon Lite Word & Puzzle Mobile Manager… Entertainment AP Mobile News Bing Maps TouchTwit WHAT’S NEW Satski Health & Fitness Terminator Travel Wordly Lite Word & Puzzle Wordly Word & Puzzle MobilePad Utilities Sadhana Mobile Health & Fitness

number of view: 24

| By Steven van Hemert

Microsoft has steadily been shedding market share in the mobile arena over the past couple of years, with only an estimated 8% of handsets worldwide running Windows Mobile.

But with the release of their latest operating system, Windows Phone 7 Series, the software giant looks set for an impressive fight back. While the name leaves much to be desired, the OS represents a sophisticated step forward, with a fresh approach to organising and displaying content.

Based loosely on the Zune OS, 7 Series prioritises information in a number of content “hubs”, with a clean interface and bold typography.

The hubs are tiled on the home screen and provide an instant snapshot of new content in that application.

For example, you can load your favourite contacts into the People hub and have instant access to your friend’s Facebook updates, including posted items, as well as text messages, calls and Twitter feed. The 7 Series features integrated XboxLive content, so you can feed your gaming fix on the go, and has full Zune media player functionality as well.

A dedicated search button on new devices will connect directly to Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Already tipped as a serious competitor to the iPhone OS, 7 Series offers seamless multitasking between applications.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article317501.ecenumber of view: 24

Microsoft mobile partners fly the Windows flag: HTC, LG and Orange preview first Windows® phones.

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 16, 2009 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2009, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer along with key mobile partners, HTC, LG and Orange, unveiled new Windows® phones featuring new user-friendly software and services. The next generation of Windows® phones will be based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and feature a new user interface and a richer browsing experience. In addition, Windows® phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the Web; and Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a new marketplace that will provide direct-to-phone mobile applications and can be accessed from both the phone and the Web.

Contacts are backed up with My Phone so users don’t have to worry about losing contacts. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/images/press/2009/02-16Contact-Page_lg.jpg

“Windows® phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are,” Ballmer said. “We’re working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows® phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home.”

Windows Mobile 6.5 Delivers New User Experience

The new Windows Mobile 6.5 home screen keeps people up-to-date on important information by providing a dashboard-like experience to items such as new e-mails, texts, missed calls and calendar appointments. It also includes an improved touch-screen interface, making it easy to take action with a finger, and an updated version of the latest Internet Explorer Mobile browser, which in a third-party research study sponsored by Microsoft supported execution of up to 48 percent more assigned tasks than the other browsers and phones studied.

My Phone allow users to view and manage photos on their phone on the Web. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/images/press/2009/02-16Photos-Screen_lg.jpg

My Phone Service Connects the Phone to the Web

The free My Phone service will enable people to access, manage and back up their personal information on their device to a password-protected Web-based service, making it easier to upgrade phones without the worry of losing important information. With automatic syncing and backup, users can count on their contacts, appointments, text messages and other information being kept up to date and easily restored should they lose or upgrade their phone. Consumers also will be able to automatically upload photos and video from their Windows® phone directly to the My Phone service, making it simple to preserve content that, in the past, would have lived and died on the phone. The My Phone service is currently available in a limited invitation-only beta.

Rich and Integrated Marketplace Service Will Offer Easy Access to Mobile Applications

The new operating system features Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a rich and integrated marketplace for searching, browsing and purchasing mobile applications from Windows® phones or from a PC by simply using a Windows Live ID. The new marketplace will be included with all Windows phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5, which will help consumers to easily find, install and experience those applications that fit their needs and make the phone truly personal. Developers, who have already built over 20,000 applications for Windows® phones, will be able to offer applications to customers through the marketplace via a simple security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

Partners Showcase New Windows® Phones

Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer speaks at a press conference during the 2009 Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Feb. 16, 2009. Click for high-res version.

Leading mobile partners from around the world revealed some of the first Windows® phones showcasing the new operating system. In particular, mobile operator Orange will update its portfolio to offer new Windows phones with enhanced browsing, diverse personalization options and new user experiences. Similarly, two of the world’s top phone manufacturers displayed their Windows® phones.

The new Windows^® phones are expected to be available in the second half of 2009. Additional information on companies supporting Windows Mobile 6.5 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mobileworldcongress/docs/partnerlist.doc.

Additional Services and Partnerships

The company also announced Microsoft Recite, a voice search technology for Windows® phones version 6.0 or later, which provides users with a fast and simple way to capture, search and retrieve spoken notes and reminders using just their voice without the need to navigate menus or type text. Microsoft Recite efficiently organizes a user’s spoken thoughts based on same or similar terms and phrases, and is available as a free technology preview at http://recite.microsoft.com/.

Microsoft announced that several European mobile publishers and network operators have chosen Microsoft as their mobile advertising partner: Mobistar (Orange Group) and BASE, the second and the third largest mobile operators in Belgium respectively; fast-growing mobile travel site WAYN; eFinancialNews and Private Equity News, the financial and private equity news sites, part of Dow Jones; Le Parisien.fr, the mobile site of Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France, the first daily newspaper in France; La Vanguardia, one of the leading Spanish daily newspapers; Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo; and Le Post.fr, the first interactive French mobile site. Microsoft offers full mobile advertising services including media sales, ad delivery and optimization in 12 countries, delivering mobile ads on both Microsoft and partner properties.

Microsoft partners also announced support for mobile broadband enhancements in Windows 7, Microsoft’s next-generation operating system. Mobile broadband enhancements include simple and reliable means to connect to the Internet, as well as a common infrastructure for partners to build on to create new, high-value mobile services. Partners announcing integration with the Windows 7 native mobile broadband include Acer, Asus, Birdstep Technology, Dell, Ericsson, HP, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Huawei Communications Technologies, Option, Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless, Smith Micro, T-Mobile International and ZTE.

Additional information about Microsoft at Mobile World Congress 2009 is available on the Microsoft MWC Web page at http://www.windowsmobile.com/mobileworldcongress.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.number of view: 149

Skype has officially decided to remove support for Windows Mobile 6.5 in anticipation of rolling out a client for Windows Phone 7, however, if you want to download the Skype 3.0 Client for Windows Mobile, we have you covered.

You can download Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile to your PC or directly to your device by visitinghttp://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windowsmobile/. If you are not able to download Skype 3.0 from the above URL, Ask the Admin has a file hosted on their servers, which you can download from here.

techie-buzz.com, 2010number of view: 86

The first smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5 are being launched this week, and upgrades for some current models are expected soon.  This is an incremental update from the previous one — version 6.1 — with only a few really noticeable changes.

I’ve been testing a couple of devices running this new OS version, one running a generic edition, and one that branded for AT&T.

Finger Friendly… Sort Of
Previous versions of Windows Mobile were built with the assumption users would control them with a stylus, and therefore items are often small and close together. With 6.5, that’s starting to change.

Some screens have been re-designed with large icons, and there’s a new on-screen keyboard that lets you type with your fingers.

But there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Some of the oldest apps, like the calendar, have changed their look in the slightest, and there are plenty pf times you have to pull out a stylus to use them.

New Today Screen
Microsoft offers a new version of the Today Screen in Mobile 6.5 Pro. This is somewhat similar to the one that has been on WinMo Standard for a while.

It takes the form of a list of items, each one giving details about a major function of the smartphone. Many of the items from the previous version are still there — the clock, the number of unread messages, and upcoming appointments — new consumer-oriented items have been added. This includes ties to the music player, picture viewer, and web browser.

Small numbers next to items give a status update. For example, if there’s a “3″ next to e-mail, you have three unread messages. If you select the e-mail icon and slide it to the left or right, you cycle through your  e-mail accounts. The others work in a similar way; you can flip through your upcoming appointments, too.

This is an all-or-nothing arrangement; you can’t pick and choose which of these items you want listed. However, if you don’t like this new version, you can even revert to the classic one.

One thing to keep in mind is that, depending on what device you buy, you may never see the default Today Screen. Companies like HTC and Samsung often overlay it with their own custom user interfaces, like TouchFLO.

New Start Screen
One of the most significant changes in this new version is the merging of the Start Menu and the Programs Screen. Previously, the Start Menu was a drop-down list of your favorite applications, while the Programs Screen listed all the software installed on the device. In 6.5, these have been combined into one screen listing all the apps.

You open the Start Screen with, you guessed it, a Start button. This is a physical button that replaces the old Home button, which once opened the Today Screen. The Today Screen is now accessed through the Start Menu.

This is one of the changes designed to make Windows Mobile more finger friendly. The icons on this screen are large and comfortably far apart.

If you’re someone like me, who regularly uses lots of different apps, you’re going go love this change. On the other hand, if you like to frequently refer to the Today Screen, you’re probably going to be less happy.

But the next version needs to make it much easier for you to re-arrange the icons. At this point, all you can do is jump an icon to the top. You can’t move one just slightly, or bump one down. This makes changing their order into a major hassle.

New Internet Explorer
Windows Mobile 6.5 comes with a new version of Internet Explorer. While this has been improved in many ways — it does a better job of rendering pages with advanced formatting — it’s still very slow.

This is even more true for what could have been a huge enhancement: YouTube support. This browser can now display in-line YouTube videos, but queuing these up is a sl-o-o-o-o-w process.

Admittedly, I’ve only used this software on devices with 528 MHz processors, and its possible the newer models with 1 GHz ones will make the performance acceptable. But if you’re using anything close to 528 MHz, and do more than occasional web browsing on your phone, I suggest you look into the alternatives.

The performance problems are too bad. Microsoft did an update of IE’s look, and gave it a set of on-screen buttons to control major functions. This makes it easier to use. But it’s still slow to render pages — much slower than its competitors. 

New Windows Marketplace
One of the new features in v6.5 is Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft’s on-device software store.  This lets you easily find and install new games, utilities, etc. onto your smartphone.

This includes free apps, and for-pay ones. Pricing is up to the software developers, but Microsoft is taking a cut of the revenue from paid apps.

This service is just getting off the ground, and the selection isn’t great right now, but I know Microsoft is working hard to bring apps in.

I’ve grown used to on-device stores on other mobile operating systems — iPhone, webOS, Android — and it’s great to see Microsoft getting on board.

Conclusion
I really like the changes in Windows Mobile 6.5, especially the new Start Screen. And any improvement is good.

But when I consider that it took Microsoft a year to add these tweaks, I have to shake my head. I’m really hoping future versions of this operating system can pick up the pace a bit. Windows Mobile is facing some intense competition these days, and it needs to pick up its heels if it’s going to keep up.number of view: 44

Is Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 7 Series too late to rescue Microsoft’s mobile strategy?

Last week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona was all but dominated by talk of Google’s Android operating system. But admist the Android clamour was a much-anticipated announcement from Microsoft regarding its Windows Mobile 7 operating system. So it wasn’t a surprise when Steve Ballmer himself showed up at the mobile world’s largest get-together to talk about the much-delayed mobile phone OS.

A phone OS that draws its inspiration for its interface from the Zune media player and ties into the Xbox network seemed a perfect product to announce. Those lucky enough to be there all but sang its praises. Even hardened anti-Windows Mobile journalists said that this could be the phone OS that made them change their minds. All in all it was a successful show for Microsoft.

The big question is, however, whether Windows Mobile 7 series hasn’t come a little too late in the day for Microsoft. Right now there are just pictures and descriptions of WinMo 7, no actual product. That is being slated for release in the second half of 2010, although no specific date has been set as yet and Windows Mobile 7 is already well behind its original release date.

Windows Mobile’s history of playing catch-up goes back to the start of 2007 when the first iPhone was released by Apple in January of that year. Windows Mobile 6 was released a month later and was a largely underwhelming product in the wake of the iPhone hype. Apple changed the game with the iPhone in 2007 and Microsoft appeared to not even notice.

Now in 2010 the same is happening. Apple’s 3GS is out, Android is well into version 2.x and Symbian, the world’s most used OS, is now open source. Microsoft still hasn’t released Windows Mobile 7 and doesn’t look likely to do so for another six months or so. Which leaves users with Windows 6.5 and developers wondering whether it is worth continuing with Windows Mobile development or just throw their lot in with Android or the iPhone.

Six months is a long time in the mobile world. The very first Android-based phone, the H1, was released less than 18 months ago. Today it holds close to 3% market share. Windows Mobile accounts for an estimated 9% market share, a portion that has been dropping steadily over the past couple of years. At its current pace Android is likely to pass Windows Mobile in short order, further relegating Windows Mobile to the status of also-ran.

And other handset makers haven’t been sitting by idly either. Apple’s iPhone 4G is already been talked about as a possible release in the first half of this year while Symbian4 is slated for release six months after Symbian3, which itself was released this month. By the time Windows Mobile 7 is shipped to users all of these could already be on the market and Windows Mobile 7 is going to look decidedly old-school.

Microsoft’s focus around Windows Mobile 7 is also strange. Typically a player in the enterprise market where companies buy up bulk smart phones for employees, the entire hype around Windows Mobile 7 at its announcement was around consumer-orientated features; music, video, Xbox. Little mention was made of its enterprise capabilities, which is where it would seem obvious for Microsoft to focus. Ballmer was probably just playing to the crowd at the MWC so this may change over time. But, as it stands right now, there is some promise, no actual product and no fixed timeline for Windows Mobile 7 release. The exact opposite of its competitors who are steaming ahead and leaving Microsoft playing catch-up.number of view: 16