It is a bit unfortunate that everytime I write something about Windows Mobile in this blog, it is mostly about some bad news. The latest one comes in the form of the delay in the launch of the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 iteration. This is especially bad considering the flurry of new platforms and handsets that are coming from competitors.
The delay of WinMo 7 reminds us of the bad phase that Palm is going through. After hiving off the software division, Palm hasn’t been able to release a new operating system in almost 5 years now. To stay current, Palm started shipping Windows Mobile handsets. This strategy is not going to help any longer as the Windows Mobile operating system is also not seeing any upgrades in the near future, even evolutionary. With an antique browser and its poor internet capabilities, the current version of Windows Mobile can no way match the feature set, not to mention the fit, finesse and polish the competitors like the Android or the Mobile Mac OS X are offering.
It is hard times for Windows Mobile ahead. It is even more harder for Microsoft’s partners as the delay in new operating system release could mean that they have to put up with the WM 6.1 platform for a much longer time. To differentiate themselves, they have to continue with the tweaking of the UI, which has already reached tiring levels and makes the ODM’s life difficult. If the scheduled release of WM 7 is moved to mid 2009, we won’t be seeing a WinMo 7 handset till the last quarter of next year, which is a very long time in the technology world.