Following my Windows Live Wave 4: What We Know So Far post (which I will be updating some time this week) I thought I would collect some of the information about the rumoured Microsoft announcements in Mobile World Congress starting in 2 weeks. So for anyone who might have missed some of the news likely to come out of MWC the list below should bring you up to speed.
Windows Mobile 6.5.3 or 6.6
It is very likely that Microsoft will officially announce and release the latest version of Windows Mobile 6.X. The update will most notably include a revised UI across the whole OS and support for capacitive screens.
Microsoft have already announced this update to Windows Mobile.
Zune
Zune Windows Mobile Software
Steve Ballmer promised, via The Engadget Show, that when Microsoft next release a version of Windows Mobile (6.5.3 or 6.6) they will also release a Zune app for their mobile OS. As far as I can tell in the US and Canada the app will link in with the Zune service, as the Zune HD does, however outside of those countries the Zune app, if there is one, will only play music synced from a user’s PC.
“Zune Phone”
Rumours have been growing over the past year about a Microsoft branded phone(s) firstly beginning with Project Pink, well documented by Mary Jo Foley, and has recently taken on the form of the “Zune Phone”.
This phone, whatever it may be, is likely to be Microsoft branded with heavy Zune integration both in terms of the UI design and how to sync content on the phone. The operating system is likely to be a scaled back version of soon to be announced Windows Mobile 7 and will use a the same Nvidia Tegra chip as in the Zune HD.
There is likely to be a brand new set of premium services on devices(s) from Project Pink but what exactly these service will feature is unknown.
Windows Mobile 7
Probably the most anticipated announcement Microsoft could make at MWC is about Windows Mobile 7 which they have described as “more than evolutionary”. Little is known about what Windows Mobile 7 will be like and what new features Microsoft will be adding but it is rumoured that there will be two versions of the OS; a business version which will allow OEMs to replace the default UI and a Media version which is likely to have close integration with several Microsoft services such as Zune and Xbox Live.
Windows Live Wave 4
There has been no word on whether Microsoft will demo any parts of the new Windows Live release however I expect and hope Windows Mobile to make use of Microsoft’s social network, online service and features to enhance Windows Mobile. I hope that Live Mesh technology is used to backup data to the cloud and user’s computers and things like contacts and calendar can be easily kept in sync across the whole suite and all devices that can access the services.
If you have heard or hear of any other rumours about what might be announced by Microsoft at MWC then please let me know via comments or Twitter.
Keep up to date with all the latest “Zune Phone” and Windows Mobile 7 news.
