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Microsoft names Windows Mobile 6.5 release date

New Windows phones in-bound

The latest version of Windows Mobile will be available on mobile phones next month, Microsoft has confirmed.

The software giant has hyped up Windows Mobile 6.5 for some time now, but today finally announced that the first handsets to support the redesigned OS will start appearing in retail stores on 6 October.

Despite insisting that Windows Mobile 6.5 devices are referred to as “Windows phones”, Microsoft hasn’t actually made any handsets itself – in spite of claims to the contrary.

In Europe, version 6.5 devices will be available from the likes of Orange, Vodafone, HTC, LG, Samsung and Toshiba, Microsoft said.

Windows Mobile 6.5 provides an “improved, easy-to-use user interface”, Microsoft said. The latest OS also supposedly boasts “better browsing capabilities” and access to the likes of Marketplace for mobiles and My Phone – a cloud-based service where you can back-up your handset’s data to a password protected website. ®

Latest Comments

@Preston Crow

Orange issued a press release saying that they'd be offering free upgrades for Customers on 6.1 - though there was no mention of compatibility issues.

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Re: I've had a Windows Phone for the past 9 years

>I've had a Windows Phone for the past 9 years

Yep, probably the last time they updated the browser and interface :-)

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And the upgrade path is ...

... to buy another phone? If M$ is serious about competing in the phones OS market then it better wise up and start doing some more copying of the Apple iPhone and Google Android paradigm. In-life updates/upgrades to the OS.

But then this is Microsoft we're talking about., fat and complacent.

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@Preston Crow

Agreed. It would be very astute of MS to give this one away to existing WM users, perhaps as a kind of "sorry the interface has been so bad." They won't, of course, but it might delay my jumping to something else too.

At the moment that's looking like an Android because I won't let Stevie-J dictate to me how I should use *my* device. But there's no way I'm waiting until WM7 for what is meant to be the dogs. If it's that good I'll come back.

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Upgrades?

Will this run all phones that currently have WM6, or did they raise the requirements?

I might be willing to do an OS upgrade to get a better browser, which might postpone my jumping to a Google or Apple phone.

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