Well, it seems Microsoft is (finally) getting serious about taking Windows Mobile out of the boardroom and into the hands of consumers.
Sony Ericsson announced a new Windows Mobile 6 Professional handset today and Microsoft is tickled pink (I'm sure they're hoping for green).
Crave had the press release:
Handset maker Sony Ericsson is announcing plans for its first Windows Mobile device, a move aimed at boosting the company's presence in the North American smartphone market.
The first product is a business-oriented phone with a QWERTY keyboard, but a family of devices is expected. Over time, Microsoft hopes Sony Ericsson will leverage its camera and music expertise to help build more consumer-oriented devices.
"They've really got some great consumer brands that we'd love to partner with and bring to Windows Mobile," Microsoft Vice President Pieter Knook said in an interview.
As the Mobile World Conference gets underway in Barcelona, it looks like it's going to be a pretty busy day for Windows Mobile. There may be more partners to announce and we may finally get official word on Windows Mobile 6.1, what it does, what it doesn't do and how it looks beyond the leaked photos earlier in the week.
Me, I'm happy that Sony Ericsson is on board, it helps get Windows Mobile in front of more people and that will help change the perception of the average user on Windows Mobile may actually be the OS for them on a device they like.
I'm still not sold on QWERTY sliders but a lot of people swear by them. The new interface looks really nice, iPhone-esque but not really. It looks like Sony Ericsson took the "concept" of the iPhone interface but then took in a different direction. Now, the interface looks to be more like a distant relative more than a clone. At least in my opinion.
I see traction with this concept going forward. Yes, the Windows Mobile haters will be all over this saying it's still Windows Mobile under the snazzy interface. But if you already like Windows Mobile (like yours truly), there's nothing wrong with prettying it up.
The site for the XPERIA X1 is up and running with a snazzy commercial. Don't expect to see much in the way of how the phone actually operates as they've gone for about 50 seconds of paper airplanes flying around as opposed to showing the actual device, but you can glean enough from the video to see they may really be on to something here.
via Engadget Mobile and Crave
Recent Comments