Windows Mobile 6.1 confusion

Several sites are reporting problems or confusion with the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade we posted about yesterday.

The issue seems to be some confusion on what was stated about the upgrade and what it would do. As stated, Microsoft had released a link to download Windows Mobile 6.1 to support file formats of Office 2007 to be read natively on any Windows Mobile 6 phone. When we posted the item yesterday, the link was live.

Today, however, the link has been removed with no official word on Microsoft's Download Center page.

I  first got wind of this change in course from jkOnTheRun. They were able to get this statement from Microsoft :

"Office Mobile has always been provided as an optional license for our partners so they can create a custom portfolio. That means that not all Windows Mobile devices have a full version (editing and creation capabilities) of Office mobile on their device. The full version of Office Mobile is being made available as a standalone application for Windows Mobile 6 (Standard and Professional) and Windows Mobile 5.0 Professional devices that do not have the application on their device. Pricing and exact availability are still being determined, but things are close."

So, there is obviously confusion in the ranks. Initially the upgrade was reported to simply allow your Windows Mobile 6 device to work with the new file standard in Office 2007. Now it seems Microsoft had other ambitions in seeking to make Office Mobile a separate application and charge for it, perhaps similar to DataViz's Documents to Go.

I'm not really sure what is happening. I thought simply allowing files to be read in the Office 2007 file formats  was the whole point of the upgrade.

Maybe in the upgrade, Microsoft realized they were about to give Windows Mobile 6 Standard users features that were only offered at the Professional level. Then, probably realizing you can't charge for something that is already a feature for those who have Professional probably caused some sort of brain fart in Redmond and they had to go back to the drawing board to sort this all out.

There is the understanding that users who purchase Windows Mobile 6 Standard don't get document creation/editing  features from Microsoft unless they go third - party. That is what differentiates Professional from Standard. If you want to create documents on your phone, you get a phone with Windows Mobile 6 Professional, if you just want to review them, you stick with Standard. (There is a workaround for Standard users but that's a different topic ;)

I don't know, this is all pure speculation at this point. I didn't have an opportunity to even try the upgrade last night (had every intention but, as usual, got distracted :( so I cannot say what it did or would have done.

I'll keep you updated as this plays out.

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