Microsoft’s TechEd breakout session entitled Windows Mobile 6.5 spoke volumes in what it didn’t say. The session consisted mostly of some marketing spiel, followed by a demonstration of the touch screen interface and integration with Outlook and then, surprisingly, attendees were not given the opportunity to ask questions. Attendees were instead told they could come up and ask questions of individual Microsoft presenters. The image that pops to mind is one of the three monkeys were one is covering his own eyes, one is covering his own ears and one is covering his own mouth.
The demo showed off touch screen capabilities that mimicked the iPhone. Integration with Outlook and OCS is the Windows Mobile 6.5’s only market advantage, but one attendee who buys cell phones for his employees says its not much of an advantage. He buys Windows Mobile and iPhones and can already integrate iPhones with Outlook. The only reason he doesn’t standardize on iPhones is because it is only available on one carrier, AT&T. He also said that the iPhone appears to be more expensive, and so if every employee carried one, customers would think they were making too much profit. But Windows Mobile 6.5 leaves him with no good option as it requires new touchscreen devices to work. “I’m not going to throw out 30,000 worth of Windows Mobile 6 devices for it,” he said.
Windows Mobile 6.5 is built with Internet Explorer 6 (which is odd given that PCs are using Internet Explorer 8). It now offers four ways to swipe data from a lost or stolen device …. the beta app MyPhone, Exchange, Systems Center Mobile Device Manager and System Center Configuration Manager.
In a wouldn’t-you-know-it twist, the presenters gave out a handful of BlackJacke II Windows Mobile phones … none of which were capable of supporting Windows Mobile 6.5 and its new touch interface. WM 6.5 is expected to be available on new phones later this year.
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