So in the last few days many in the blog-o'sphere have been opining about the reported delay of Windows Mobile 7. Have you heard this one yet? Evidently Phil Moore at a recent event stated in regards to the never in sight mobile OS:
"It has been put back until late next year but it is definitely coming."
Okay. But we already assumed Windows Mobile has been pushed to late 2010. Actually, lets step back a second: what do we even know about any release date for this big OS overhaul?
- Back in 2005 is what referred to as 'Photon' and it was still "years away"
- One rumored said it was beta testing in Q1 2010
- RTM in Spring
- Microsoft will be talking about it in March
- Something about a Q3 date from a "Taiwan factory" (ooookay)
- Ballmer says little, but does mention Zune in same breath
- Mobius '09 was under a lot of NDA and a bunch of something was shown
So the latest rumors were: beta test in Q1, release to manufacturers in Spring, carrier testing and release in Q3/Q4. So "late in 2010" sounds about right to us. Outside of getting a Phil Moore quote on Windows Mobile 7, we don't see what the "news" is here. (Note: these are Taiwanese fiscal quarters, which match the calendar year, unlike U.S. fiscal quarters).
Don't get us wrong, we love leaked "roadmaps" and such, but we also know they can be out-dated when leaked and are not written in stone. Other than that, there are plenty of single, un-named sources and rumors galore. Shoot, in May of this year Winedows Mobile 7 was planned for a software release in the fall and hardware in the Spring--but that came and went with no news.
Call us crazy, but seeing as WM6.5 just launched in Fall 2009 (right on schedule) and is still rolling out, "late 2010" you know, about 1 year after their last over-haul, seems like a good time frame to release a major new OS.
How Phil Moore's comment is read as "delayed again" is beyond us since Micorsoft has never publicly confirmed a release date. Oh sure, no doubt Microsoft has missed milestones and they are none-too-happy about the progress in the last few years, but that doesn't mean every time someone says something we need to infer yet another delay.
Fact is, the OS will be done when it is done and we don't know what "late 2010" means: RTM, in our hands? And Microsoft has some minor tricks up its sleeve till then. We think next-gen CPUs, capacitive screens and a compatible OS will be the big thing of early-mid 2010 and we'll anxiously await WM7--when Microsoft is ready to show us.
Lets just keep those rumors and speculation in check, mmkay?
